Last year around this time I was extremely frustrated and didn’t know what to do with my life. I decided to plan a Christmas break trip to spend some time with a high school classmate who was living in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic as a school teacher. She told me that she didn’t have a car so we’d have to rent one while I was in town. When I reached her apartment I saw that she and her son had only what they needed. When she got off work, we went to the beach. We could just go to the beach whenever we felt like it. That experience completely turned my life around. 
By the time I returned home to GA a couple of days before Christmas, I had decided that I wanted to leave the mainland. I wanted to clean out all of the extra crap that I had and start living a more minimalist lifestyle. I slowed down on shopping tried to buy only what was necessary. I knew that I wanted to travel more and a good friend in Little Rock had already talked to me about how I could afford to travel if I changed my mindset on spending. How a closet full of clothes and shoes didn’t compare to experiences you gain when you travel! I knew that financially I couldn’t really afford it, but I started preparing anyway.
So, I wanted to leave the mainland, live near a beach, and travel more… Well I decided to take a job on an island which means the first 2 desires were checked off of my list. My drive to work includes passing by one beach everyday and of course there are several others all around. However, it’s more expensive to travel from an island when you have to fly off and you can’t just hop in the car and drive to another state or nearby city. I was afraid that I would be “stuck on the island” because I knew I couldn’t afford extra plane tickets since mom’s requirement for my move was that I have to come home twice a year. But it’s amazing how all things come together. One of the perks of my new job is that we have campus sites on all 3 US Virgin Islands, and my role includes frequent visits to the other main campus as well as professional development off island. So on any given morning my commute could be a 7-10min drive to campus or a 20min plane ride to campus…
Dreams come true.

Are you reaching for your dreams?
–Stassi Nicole