Why I moved to California

I have lost count of the number of times I've had some variation of the following conversation:

So, are you from around here?
No, I grew up in Wyoming.
Really? What brought you out here?
Work.

Occasionally, we go deeper and they discover that I had no connections here; it was only because I got the job. Then it becomes, "Really? You're so brave!" To which I reply, "I didn't really look at it that way. I was just doing what I wanted to do."

Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

My last semester in college, I wanted nothing more than to get the heck outta Dodge. I even had a sign on my wall that counted down the days until I could "leave this stupid town." Trouble was, I didn't have any place else to go. Home had family, but very few job or social opportunities. Salt Lake was almost as unappealing as Provo. So I found a place to live and got permission to keep my student job, thinking that by the end of the summer, I would have found a real job somewhere new and fabulous.

Then I interviewed for a job in Springville. I called my dad in tears after the interview because I knew I was going to get the job. He said, "Sweetie, that's a good thing! They're going to give you a job." "But it's in Provo!" I sobbed back. I wasn't upset about the job; I was frustrated because I knew that taking it was the right thing to do. Frustrated because it would mean staying where I was, which was contrary to my desires. Frustrated because I was afraid I would get stuck in Happy Valley, never to leave again, to end up as a crazy cat lady renting out my basement to students and dreaming of missed chances. But I knew it was what I was supposed to do, if not why it was, so I took it. For the next several months, the conversation went like this:

So, you're done with school, right? What are you still doing here?
ARGH! I have no idea.

I had signed up for Monster.com in my initial job search. Every week, they sent me an email with newly posted editorial jobs. Usually, I just deleted them without ever reading them, but every once in a while I'd open them up to see what was out there. I even sent out a few resumes, but nothing ever came of it. One night I read of an entry-level position in Irvine, California. Huh, I thought, California could be fun. So I sent in my resume.

A few days later, I was surprised by a phone call from the editor I had sent my resume to. I took and passed their editing test. I drove out one weekend to interview with the editor and the office manager. They called my references. And finally, they called and offered me the job. This time I didn't cry, but I had the same feeling that this was right.

I was reminded of that a few weeks ago when my office was interviewing for a new receptionist. The old receptionist, who has been promoted and is one of my friends, sat in on the interviews. They had one that didn't go so well. The office manager told my friend that this interview "was even worse than Mindy's." Apparently, I had an absolutely horrible interview, but they saw some sort of potential and my resume was good, so they offered me the job anyway. When my friend told me this, I was overwhelmed with a feeling that I am supposed to be here.

So that is why I moved to California. But this certainly helps: