Hi everyone! I'm trying to get back to my normal routine of posting regularly-here's a recap of recent events.

Today I went to a conference put on by the Leadership Institute (LI) out of Arlington, Virginia. It. was an excellent day of workshops and training, and (honestly) covered about a semester's amount of information in 8 hours. It was held in Bloomington, and the facilitators were both from the deep south (Georgia & South Carolina), which made their "war stories" even funnier to listen to.

Now I'm exhausted, but I'd like to talk this opportunity to apologize to everyone (in particular, a few people close to me whom I talk to regularly-you know who you are) for my behavior for the past month. The past month has not been a particularly easy time for me. I can safely say that it's been one of the more difficult and stressful times of my entire life (you're probably thinking DANG Amy, you can't have had a lot of stress in your life if you're saying that). I'm in transition mode. In addition to dealing with the fact that I'm not longer a student, I have been sad and borderline pissy about finding a job.

Everyone knows that the job market in politics is always a competitive one, but add in the fact that Springfield is overrun with Democrats, and it's bad news. I've let other people make me think (no one close to me, mind you-not family, either) that my self-worth is determined only by a job, which I know is not the case. I will find a job. I've got the degree and I've got the experience, so I know it's only a matter of time. I draw strength and inspiration from those people who have worked long, hard years in the "business" in order to get where they are today-it didn't happen overnight for the, so I shouldn't be selfish or impatient with my expectations.

I've never been a down-and-out person, I've always been the one that lifts people up and makes them feel better about themselves-so it's high time I do just that-this time, for myself. I've always been a confident and positive person who loves life-and even though everyone is entitled to a little down-and-out time, this has gone on far enough. I find feeling sorry for myself PATHETIC, and I hate the fact that I've potentially become an emotional burden to family and dear friends. To those of you who were affected, I apologize deeply, and I'm thankful to all of you who have been there to listen to my drama, whatever it may be.

Life is far too short to spend nearly an entire month sad about things that may not even happen-so from this day forward-Amy is all smiles again.

I have another interview this Wednesday. Things are looking quite promising. I just need to be patient. Maybe everything DOES happen for a reason.......maybe.