San Diego Here I Come!

Alright, as many of you have probably already heard, I have some big news. For those of you who haven't heard, here it goes...I'm moving to San Diego! I know this may seem like a shock to most of you but its been something that has been on my mind for awhile now. God has opened up some big doors for me and I have no doubt in my mind that this is where He wants me to be. Looking back I can see how He began planting the idea of San Diego in my head before I even realized I would really love to live there. But before I get into that, let me take a minute to answer a few of the most commonly asked questions when I told people I was moving to San Diego.

Q: What about acting?
A: For awhile now I've really been struggling with deciding if I should continue on with acting or not. Ever since the spring/summer I've really been debating with myself over this. I have no doubt that God used my love for acting to bring me here and bless me with many great experiences that I wouldn't trade for the world! I've had a blast the last couple of years, really reaching for my acting dream and getting to work on some amazing sets and meet all kinds of great people. But the fact that the career I had always wanted in acting didn't seen to really progress, started me thinking if maybe God had another plan for me. This past summer I took time off and had a great time just hanging with my friends and having fun. After summer ended I thought briefly about continuing on with my acting but was unsure. I began thinking about what I could see myself doing. It used to be that the only thing I could see myself happy doing was acting but the more I thought about it the more I realized that wasn't true anymore. I would still love to be a working actor and have a blast with it--but I could also see myself not doing it and being just as happy. So I realized if I could be just as happy not doing acting then it's not worth it. And I began to think that maybe this was God's way of showing me He had something else in mind, but I didn't know what. I slowly saw God closing doors of opportunity in acting and kept praying He would open another one and show me where I was supposed to be. And He did.

Q: What are you going to do?
A: Once I decided that acting was no longer my focus, I began to think about what else to do. What else could I be just as happy doing? I've always loved to write. Even when I was really working to break into acting, writing was something I was doing on the side and planned to continue along with acting. I still plan on pursuing my writing. I finished my first episode for a 1-hour long drama TV show script. And I am currently hard at work on a novel. My plan is to try and finish it before the end of the year and try to get it published. I still very much love writing and want to continue on with it. However, I can't make a living just writing right now. So I began thinking what kind of job would I enjoy? Aside from acting and writing what was my biggest passion? It didn't take long for me to figure out. Baseball. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love baseball. I spend all my spring and summer practically living at a baseball stadium. So I decided I would try to get a job in baseball. Doing what, I didn't know, but didn't care either. So I started submitting myself like crazy to different baseball teams for jobs they were hiring for for this upcoming season.

Q: Why San Diego?
A: When I started submitting for baseball jobs, I began thinking where would I be willing to work? I was willing to move, but how far? I decided I still love California so much that I would stay in state. I also concluded I would like to stay in southern California. So I began submitting. I submitted for various jobs with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, a couple minor league teams nearby and I even submitted to the San Diego Padres, just for the heck of it. I decided I wouldn't mind going farther south--just not north. Slowly I started getting e-mails back from the teams saying "thank you for submitting but we're not interested at this time"--even jobs I was well qualified for. I started getting a little discouraged but decided to keep at it, knowing if it was meant to be then the right door would open up. About 4 days before my friends and I were planning on leaving for our San Diego girls getaway, the Padres called me and said they wanted to bring me in to interview. I was so surprised but happy too. As fate would have it they were holding all their interviews on Tuesday of that week. My friends and I were already planning on going down there Sunday-Monday, so me and one friend just stayed on an extra day through Tuesday, I went to my interview and then we came home. I felt like my interview went well, but you never know. I didn't want to get my hopes up so I tried not to think about actually getting the job, plus I figured that I wouldn't hear for a couple weeks at least. I had been seeing God close so many doors of opportunity though, that I decided if I did--by some chance--get the job, I would take it. I wouldn't think about it and change my mind. I decided that if God wanted me in San Diego then I would get the job. So if I did get it, then I wouldn't think about it--I would take the job and move. Thursday afternoon--just barely over 1 day after my interview--I got the call that I received the job for this season with the San Diego Padres.

It all happened so fast that I was left with no time to really process what had happened. I hadn't even had time to tell my family I'd had an interview to begin with, much less that I was going to be packing my bags. So that night I called my family and shared the news that I was going to be moving to San Diego--they were supportive but I'm sure really surprised too. But I kept up my end of the bargain and didn't think about it--I just said yes. I hung up my phone after hearing the great news that the job was mine and said "Apparently God wants me in San Diego". I signed and returned my offer letter with the Padres to make things official, got drug tested as per their requirement, and began looking for places to live.

I have no doubt in my mind that this is where God wants me to be. I'm not entirely sure why yet, but I'm trusting Him. The last time I felt completely at ease that I was right where I was supposed to be was when I moved out here 2 1/2 years ago. It seems like a lifetime ago, but it also seems like just yesterday. I've grown so much since moving here as a starry-eyed, 19-year-old, Virginian girl who dreamed of nothing more then being on the big screen. I've had so many great times and I know there are plenty more to come! San Diego is just the next step to my next adventure in life. And I can't wait to see where it will all lead!