Berkeley is Beautiful

The title of this post was chosen carefully. I am in a reflective mood and have many bittersweet feelings that I need to write down, or spout out, or share with "the blog world." Brent came home tonight gleaming because today he finished MBA school. He is done with every final, has given every presentation, has written all of his papers, and has said goodbye to the Haas School of Business. And for some odd, strange, and weird reason I was in disbelief. How did that happen? We just moved to Berkeley. Brooke was just barely born. Heck, we just got married. But wait-we've been married for 4 years, still... reflective.. how did that happen, where did the time go? We now have a child! (I KNOW how that happened.) And now we're done with graduate school and we're supposed to just say goodbye to "the student life" and enter the real world of more bills, more kids (this implies nothing in the near future), maybe a mortgage, and more real, adult responsibilities? I digress-

Brent started studying for the GMAT in 2005 and the preparation for MBA school began. He spent many months including many saturdays taking online courses and practice tests. He took the test and did much better than his goal! Our plan was this: MBA school at BYU with (hopefully) a scholarship, get an awesome job in Utah to jumpstart his dream career, and settle ourselves in the Beehive state for good. But when his score was as good as it was (sorry to brag) we both realized we should probably look at other opportunities. So, he decided to apply to Berkeley. Just like that. It wasn't that I thought he wouldn't get in, but I never thought in a million years that we'd come here. In fact, I was pretty against it (don't judge me, any 'berkeleyites' reading this.) I was born and raised in Utah. I'm a homebody. I like being where I'm comfortable. And Berkeley was going to threaten my level of comfort and perfect homeostasis in Utah. Well, he got in, and it was a pretty strong affirmation in both of our minds and hearts that brought us here. Yet, still opposed and cautious (me, not really Brent). A month and a half went by and I got a job here and pretty much had to pray that I'd be able to make it throught the day. Yes, it was that bad. But it fulfilled it's purpose for the first year because a week after I started, I found out I was pregnant, and I qualified for their excellent maternity coverage. Looks like someone was watching out for me. My life consisted of spending two hours a day on BART, 8 hours at the office, bed at 8 p.m. (I was prego) church being the BIGGEST highlight of my week, and any 1/2 hour that I was lucky enough to spend with Brent in his very busy first year. Oh, and counting down the days on my calendar until Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break. Ok, so anyone still reading... I guess I was a real "Debbie Downer!" ha! Hopefully you won't think different of me. And here is the 'meat' of this post:

As I have moved from one experience to the next in my life, the same cycle seems to take place. Example: I'm nervous at the beginning, in the middle of it, I look forward to the end, and at the end, I'm sad. What an interesting phenomenon! We have spent only 21 months in Berkeley and it has taken me until about month 17 or 18 to realize this and that I need to LIVE IN THE NOW. Brent and I have learned and grown beyond what we ever pictured for our time here. It has been hard. There have been challenges. Business school is busy, Berkeley is expensive, and certain health problems haven't helped. But all that matters in the end of each era of our lives is what we've learned, how we've grown, and the lessons that we'll never forget. And speaking specifically about Berkeley: the amazing people that changed our lives (too many to name, but if you're reading this you're probably one of them), a place that we had our first child and began the quest of learning to be parents, learning to live on a very tight budget, making the most of the limited time we had together, the beauty and grandeur of the San Francisco Bay area, the incredible food and fun that was eaten and had, the way that Brent and I will be forever changed for the better because of being here, living here and experiencing life in this way. I don't know if we'll ever come back and live in the Bay area, but I hope we are able to visit. But for all of these reasons, and many more, to me, Berkeley truly is Beautiful.