Life In a Suitcase

Final Words in Tuscaloosa

2009-05-20T23:11:00.000-04:00

Very strange feeling around here. I drive in with an overwhelming feeling of familiarity and positive emotion, as memories and picture run across my mind in a split second. Thinking about how this town has shaped me, grown me and been the home of my college years and growing up as a woman and also how I am about to pack everything up and say goodbye.

As cliché as they say, life is one hundred percent seasonal. One stage of life sets in while the next chapter is preparing itself, only to be placed into forward motion to one day knock you off of your feet and bring you into the next season. We were always taught this when we were little and even anticipate it as adults but one can never really prepare for the transition.

Yes, we have all experienced many transitions in life- how in the world did we grow from that baby into the independent individual? My point exactly. But the strangest thing is that no matter the number of times we go through a transition and all of its components, with every transition that greets us, we are never fully prepared for the emotions it brings out.

I’ll completely speak for myself here…. I am independent and have made “the move” before when I decided to go to Alabama for college. I took the plunge and was blessed completely with friends and a great niche. These past four years have been a cultivation of something much greater than an identity or home but rather a human experience that shows the full potential of adaptability…. Which brings me to my point.

Thinking about chapters, seasons or whatever you would like to call them, they all have some of the similar components in regards to change. But I think what makes a truly successful season or chapter is the ability to adapt to it. What I mean is, choosing to be present in it. Actively committing to every notion and thought, every feeling and every encounter… with the people, places, things, the beautiful and the ugly, the comfortable and the irritating.

This is where the beauty lies because there is no formula to follow. I mean you could try and devise one but as we know, each individual chapter and season is different. There is never going to be a situation in life where all of the elements are going to be the same… and if they are it still wont be the same because you will more than likely be a different person the second time around. More developed and cultured if you ask me.

So with this season in my life that is coming to a bitter sweet close, I have to say it was a successful journey. I believe it was a four year process of adaptation, resulting in the fact that this is now the place that I call home.

These four walls of my home have seen and shared a lot with the lives that have left and re-entered. A history that can only be told through those that were here creating it or through pictures that help us remember the youth of a new season and how it has grown us.

I think there is so much beauty in photography- any type- because it makes a fair attempt at capturing a moment in time. Life gets so busy and blurry that our memories forget the tangible sentiments that a frame can capture. I am grateful for all of the silly pictures Emma and I have taken over the years. It keeps us laughing and crying together. It offers something that can never be erased.

I am looking around my room and I can’t even see to my TV because there are boxes stacked everywhere. This has already kicked the transition into full motion for me because my house no longer feels like a home. And this is where it is bitter sweet.

I am bursting with wonder and anticipation for my permanent residence in Atlanta and my life there. It has been a long time coming and I am ready to be with some of my dearest friends who have been geographically distant from me. I am trading the best four years of my life for another stage that will continue to be the best whatever months or years of my life. I am convinced this is what God has for me. The Best.

Which brings me to my common denominator at the moment. Through the laughter, excitement, anticipation, tears, sorrow, and nostalgia, it all relates back to an overall state of heart for me: grateful. Utterly and undeservingly so but nonetheless grateful.

Bryan, Texas

2009-04-06T08:42:00.002-04:00

Arrived in College Station, TX around midnight last night after a 16 hour work day! Our second tournament- Preseason Junior at Brookhaven Country Club was a good building block for my team and gave us extra practice to get ready for this week/weekend.

Today and Tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday) we will be setting up for our biggest tournament of the Spring- so big that we have a team of full-time staff plus the intern team, so it is going to be all hands on board to pull this thing off.

This week is different because we have a Junior Am on Wednesday where Juniors play with corporate sponsors of the AJGA, we have a practice round that same day, a qualifier the next day, two rounds (36 holes) and a championship round! So- ya: it is going to be pretty intense work and a big weekend because a lot of the full time staff will be there evaluating me to see basically if I have what it takes... Ultimately, I work my heart out and will continue to do so. Doing so has been rewarding to say the least.

I have come to understand time management on a completly different level. I think back to when I used to gripe about a 40 hour work week (from previous internships) and now I am working 2.5 times more! ha! The 100-115 hours a week can be tough at times but I am really enjoying it. I think the biggest adjustment for me is just realizing that work is my life (which I am okay with).

This opportunity has been a beautiful one- I have been able to drive once again from coast to coast and meet some really nice people in the golf industry-- from the cart barn guys who I speak Spanish with every day to the golf pro and superientendent. It has been cool for me to see the many levels of management within the golf world and how precise everything has to be in order for things to run smoothly.

Last week was my favorite tournament so far- it was the first official tournament for our Tournament Director Cover to run all by himself and he did a really great job. It will be cool to look back and remember we were the team to walk through that with him. In Dallas he flirted with the hotel desk and got us VIP level at the Double Tree (ha!) so that was a nice little surprise. We actually managed to go out to a nice dinner and go out afterwards and had a great time.

I think I wrote that in my previous blog but everything just seems to run completely together in my mind (including days of the week) so sorry if you are reading this again! :)

In others news- and rather exciting: I got offered an communications in-house internship for the summer with the AJGA!!! I start May 25th and will work through the end of August. I am really excited about the opportunity and feel so fortunate! Hopefully this will be another positive stepping stone that will help me reach my long term goals with the AJGA.

Other than that, feel free to check out the AJGA Web site- I have some publications up there that I have worked on... but to make things easier, I have attached some links :O)

AJGA Blog- https://www.ajga.org/blog/v200800/

First-round Press Release at my first tournament in Cali-

http://ajga.org/TournResults/2009/TStory.asp?TNo=T14&RNo=1

Final-round Press Release at Brookhaven in Dallas-

http://ajga.org/TournResults/2009/TStory.asp?TNo=T06&RNo=2

Enjoy!

xoxo

K

Long Overdue!

2009-04-02T18:17:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone!

So sorry I have been sketchy and haven't posted anything! I have been so incredibly busy there is barely any time to sit down! I am working about 100-115 hours a week and get about 4 hours of sleep a night so it is pretty intense but I am LOVING every minute of it! My team is amazing and we have a really great chemistry working together on and off the golf course so I feel very fortunate for that!

Last week I made the 3,000 mile trek to California in 2.5 days! It was insane! But great memories were made! Last week was our first tournament and it went really well. It was very rewarding to see the Junior Golfers get out there and play and it made me feel like all of our hard work paid off.

As far as my job as a communications intern- things went well for us last week- we got on the local news there and got some good coverage which was exciting. I wrote my first story last week and am publishing my first blog on AJGA's National Headquarters Web site! Super exciting! I will post those links on here when I get them so you can check them out and get a small glimpse of one of the many things that I do in a day. And let me tell you... this job is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

My life is not my own for the next month and a half and as challenging as that may sound- it has been such a character developing thing. I already feel me growing so much as a woman, individually and professionally and am continuing to learn what it means to have people skills and patience. Patience is something I have always needed to work on and this has been a great opportunity for me considering I am always in a team environment.

This week I am in Dallas and it is a Preseason event which means it is players that are new to the AJGA. These events are exciting because us interns are the "face" of the AJGA and this is the first time that these Juniors and their parents have an impression of what our organization is all about... and to be able to make that a very positive experience and have such a hands-on impact has already been so rewarding. It is crazy to me to see how much of a role model we are to these kids.

I have so much more to blog about but just do not have the time. I am actually going out for the first time tonight with my team because its two of the guy's birthday so we are going to a nice steak dinner and then to a fun karaokee dive bar that I found. Hopefully its fun so everyone doesn't blame me for the beautiful letdown! haha!

I love you all and want you to know that I miss you! Im sorry in advance for not being able to talk and communicate as much but know I think of you all often.

My best,

K

West Coast!

2009-02-28T15:54:00.002-05:00

So the word is finally in- I will be working out in the west coast this spring semester with the AJGA! I am really excited about my team and the people I will be working with.

There are six people on my team, 2 communications interns (including myself) and 4 tournament operations interns. We will be driving roughly 6,400 miles across the country from the end of March to the end of May and will cover 7 tournaments on the west coast.

On March 14th I am heading to the AJGA Headquarters in Braselton, GA for a week of training and then will leave directly from there in a huge van and equipment trailer and drive to California for our first tournament - Golf World Preseason Junior at Marshallia Ranch (March 27-29). It will be quite an adventure indeed!

Until then, I am enjoying my last few weeks in Buckhead with my best friends Beth and Anna. They have been so gracious to have me stay with them and I am enjoying every minute of it! I do have to admit the downtime has been challenging at times because I am used to being so so so busy but it really has been a good thing for me. I know I will be looking back in a month or so and be thankful for this resting time that I have been able to have.

So, until then, I will be enjoying sleeping in, catching up with new and old friends, reading a few good books, enjoying coffee shop leisure and appreciating the freedom of not looking at my daytimer 25 times a day to make sure I am on schedule :)

2009-01-06T13:44:00.003-05:00

"The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today. And that's how I look at life. I will be better as a golfer, I will be better as a person, I will be better as a friend. That's the beauty of tomorrow. There is no such thing as a setback."
-Tiger Woods

2009 AJGA Tournament Schedule

2009-01-06T00:03:00.001-05:00

AJGA Mission Statement

"The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf."

The following is my tentative schedule for the 2009 AJGA Spring Tournaments on the West Coast:

March 27 - 29 Golf World Preseason Junior at Marshallia Ranch
Marshallia Ranch Golf Course
Vandenberg AFB, California

April 3 - 5 Preseason Junior at Brookhaven
Brookhaven Country Club - Championship Course
Dallas, Texas

April 9 - 12 Laredo Energy Junior at Traditions
The Traditions Club at Texas A&M
Bryan, Texas

April 17 - 19 Junior All-Star at Kingwood
Kingwood Country Club - Forest Course
Kingwood, Texas

April 24- 26 AJGA Junior at Craig Ranch
TPC Craig Ranch
McKinney, Texas

May 1-3 Cleveland Golf/Srixon Boys Team Championship
Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club- Prospector Course
Golf Canyon, Arizona

May 8 - 10 Preseason Junior at Oak Valley
Oak Valley Golf Club
Beaumont, California