The Final Countdown

"Today I close the door to the past, open the door to the future, take a deep breath, step on through, and start a new chapter in my life."
Well it's that time friends, family, loved ones. After counting down since day 300, I have only four days left in Illinois. Four days left until I began the next chapter of my life in the wonderful Music City. Only four days left in the one state that I have called home for the past 18 1/2 years. I find it funny that I have always hated Illinois and couldn't wait for the day that I could leave, and now with that day slowly approaching, I find myself getting nervous. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited as heck to be moving to a new city, but with that comes leaving 18 1/2 years of memories and family and friends and so many other awesome people that I have met. And I realize that I'll make more memories and friends in Nashville, but you don't realize what you have until it's gone. Cliche, I know. But I never knew how important certain people would be in my life, like the obvious: my parents, brother, grandparents, friends, co-workers, etc. But there's another person who was important to me, especially with my Belmont interest.
My manager Kate was the first manager I had, she was also the only other person at Savers who loved country music. That was one of the many things we bonded over. But I'll get to the point. During my college search, specifically after I saw Vandy, I discovered Belmont. It was a private, Christian college located in the heart of Nashville. What more could a girl ask for? Well I just knew that I needed to visit the campus. Low and behold there was a special day for students, and it lined up perfectly with my Spring Break. The only problem was, I had to work. And if you knew anything about Savers and their ideas for work schedules, well you would understand how I felt when I realized it was too late for me to request off.  I needed somebody to cover my shifts. But what teenager wants to cover a Friday and Saturday closing shift? No one, that's who. So I mustered up the courage to ask a manager to help me out, and thankfully that night it was Kate. I marched straight to the office and simply told her my dilemma and that I really wanted to visit the campus. Without blinking an eye, she said no problem and that she would have someone cover my shifts. That was that, no issues, no begging, or tears. When I came back from my visit, she was super excited to hear how it went and if I liked the school or not. The rest of the time she was at our store, she was intrigued with my college searches and applications and was always there to offer support if I needed it. 
You may be asking yourself why I told you guys this story. Well because on July 9th, I learned that life is short, too short. Kate was found dead and later on they discovered her husband murdered her. His trial has yet to begin. I'm not telling you this for extra sympathy or anything like that, but that there are people out there who are put in your life and sometimes you don't know why, but it turns out for the better. Had Kate not approved my request off work, I may have not had the chance to look at Belmont and fall in love with it. I could have looked at other colleges and chose to go elsewhere, but I did get that chance to check out Belmont and fall in love with it. 
Now I know that Kate obviously wasn't the only person who helped me get to Belmont. But that simple request and even simpler "yes" has been on my mind lately as I prepare to leave. I keep replaying that scene in my head over and over again, and truthfully I don't know why. There have been countless people who have played a role in my soon-to-be college journey, but that one moment has stuck with me. I guess I shared this tonight because I just heard about the death of Robin Williams. A man who brought laughter and smiles to so many, but was silently struggling. Kate was like that, minus the struggling. She brought so much laughter and smiles with her, wherever she went. 
That's just one memory that I have to reflect on when I leave. The awesome friends I have accumulated over the years. There are thousands, possibly even millions more, and I will probably share more tomorrow, memories that is. :)
But as I sign off for the night, I want you all to think about and cherish the loved ones you have in your life right now because they could not be there one day.