#NASHVILLEbabyNASHVILLE

No more apologies for my slack blogging game over the last 3 years. THREE YEARS!?! I fell into the mindset that nothing blog-worthy was happening in my life, but I'm trying to get out of that. Slowly, but surely.

This past weekend I went to NASHVILLE! My friend Emily lives there, and for the past year has said, "When are you visiting?" or "You should just move here," repeatedly. Thanks to Egie and her Southwest companion pass, I finally got to go! I've really been praying a lot about my next steps in life, aka whether or not I am moving away from Goldsboro, and where. Nashville was on my radar, mostly because it is somewhere different (not North Carolina - that's a whole 'nother blog though), and I knew I could go into it already having a friend. Allow me to digress for just a second. When I was a junior in high school I reaaallllyy thought that I wanted to go to Appalachian State University after graduation. We've got a house in the mountains and I have always loved it there, so naturally, I thought it made so much sense for me to go to college in the mountains. One week while we were there the summer before my senior year, we were in Blowing Rock for the day and decided to drive through Appalachian's campus. My parents reminded me recently that during the entire ride I was silent (very unlike me) and when they asked what was wrong, all I said was, "I don't wanna go here," very matter-of-factly. I still can't put my finger on why. I love Boone and think App has a beautiful campus, but I just felt something inside me saying, "This is not where you are supposed to be." I know it was the Lord closing that door. Not slamming it shut, just gently closing it so that I could move forward in my college search. That is sort of how I approached this trip to Nashville. Before going I really prayed that if it wasn't the place for me, that the Lord would give me peace about it, but that he would let me know for sure. That is not what happened. If anything, he gave me a sense of peace about staying in Goldsboro for one more school year, then moving - which is what I had been thinking I would do all along. Gosh, it is so easy when the Lord "agrees" with the plans you make! I know people say "Make plans and God laughs," but I think if you are really seeking Him, the plans you "make" are guided by Him. It's hard to explain, and feel free to comment or disagree, but I feel like if I am faithfully pursuing a relationship with the Lord and really asking Him to guide my steps and "be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" He's going to. So I guess it's more like I'm just following Him rather than making plans for myself. Either way, I think Nashville is where he's leading me and I am so excited! There will be lots more posts about the logistics - housing, jobs, etc - and I will need any connections or suggestions you may have along with your prayers! For now, though, let me tell you about my weekend!

**Everyone teases me about my stories being great, but taking FOR-EV-ER because I feel the need to share every. single. detail. I'll try to find a happy medium.

I fly standby. That being said, it is important to know that my travel plans can change multiple times before I actually arrive at my destination. This weekend was no exception. I was initially supposed to arrive in Nashville around 6:00 on Friday evening, which would give Emily time to get off work and get to the airport to pick me up. On Thursday night I talked to Egie and we realized the flights I was scheduled to be on were completely full. My better option was to get to Nashville at 1:30 in the afternoon. That was fine by me, but I knew Emily couldn't leave work early, so I texted her and told her I was totally fine hanging out in the airport until she got off of work. Remember, I spent 9 hours in BNA last summer so I am well acquainted with the place. She was with some friends when she got my message, and her friend Jake volunteered to come pick me up! See, this is what I love about Young Life. (Jake is a YL guy and is about to start a year-long internship at Sharptop. If you're there, tell him we're friends.) Another sidebar - once you are involved with Young Life you are immediately part of a family. Even if you've never met someone, once you figure out that you've got YL in common you've got an instant bond. So no, I didn't think it was weird at all that some guy I'd never even heard of was going to be waiting for me at the airport. Jake picked me up at the airport, we went to lunch with Emily, and he dropped me off at her house. That night we went to Edley's BBQ with some of Emily's friends, then Emily, Jake and I went to the Full Moon Pickin' Party with a friend of hers named Sarah, and a guy named Matt. Coincidentally, Matt and I did summer staff together, and spent the next school year weekend-wrangling together at Windy Gap. I hadn't seen him since college so that was such a fun surprise! The Pickin' Party is basically a huge blue-grass jam sesh that happens once a month at Percy Warner Park. If you bring a blue grass instrument you get in for $5, so obviously I carried a guitar - and promptly put it down. There is a stage with performances happening throughout the night, but there are also circles of 5-10 people just standing around jamming all around the party. It was so much fun.

Pickin' Party

On Saturday morning, Emily and I had bagels with some of her girlfriends (they were so great) and then she drove me around Belle Meade. Belle Meade might be a town? Or just a section of Nashville? I don't know. This is what I do know: it is (one of the areas) where the fun-to-look-at mansions are. I mean, WOW! I love to drive around and look at houses anyway, but this was like nothing I've seen before. After that, we hung out at her house for a while and got ready for a birthday/going away party for some guys that she knows. One thing about this weekend that was so great was getting to meet so many of Emily's friends. I love going to visit places and getting the everyday I-live-here experience. We left the party and met up with friends for dinner and then went to Patterson House. I think Patterson House is kind of like a speakeasy in that it isn't marked so if you aren't looking for it, you probably wouldn't realize it was there. Also, they said it is a pretty good place for a celeb spotting. We had no luck in that department that night, but it was fun to just sit and hang out.

MC and Emily at Patterson House

On Sunday, we went to church - and saw lots of friends again (I love that!). Afterward a big group of us went to lunch at a place called Taco Mamacita. Drake, one of Mallory's best friends from growing up (and one of my friends), lives in Nashville as well and we had been texting back and forth all weekend trying to make plans to get together. It finally worked out to have lunch on Sunday and I was so excited to see Drake and meet his NEW fiance Joanna. It was so good to catch up and hear their proposal story! Joanna is awesome (we all knew whoever ended up with Drake would be) and I am so excited to get to know her better and have another girlfriend in Nashville once I get there for good!

Drake, Joanna, and MC - I'm so excited for the future Gurleys!

After lunch, it was time for me to get to the airport, but not before a drive down Music Row and Broadway. That was an experience! If Nashville had a Times Square area, it would be Broadway. Super touristy, but definitely cool to see! I was so sad to leave Nashville, and a little excited when I thought I might not get on my flight. I am so excited to begin the journey of trying to move my life there! I can't wait to keep y'all posted!!