In July 2008 I packed up my little Kia Spectra with all of my worldly belongings and made the trek west. I recently was selected for the job that I had been crossing my fingers hoping it would pull through and want me as bad as I wanted it. So here I was traveling to landlocked Kansas City from my beloved coastal town of Newport News, Virginia. After spending all of my life on either the Pacific or Atlantic coast, I knew I was about to enter uncharted territory. As excited I was about my job, I was not excited about moving to....Kansas? Really God? I certainly had my hesitations but I refused to go into this new adventure with anything but an open mind and give this new city an honest shot. There were so many times I wanted to turn the car around and just go jump in the ocean and smell the warm, salty breeze.
But two days later there I was, camping out in my parents' upstairs bedroom until I could afford a place of my own. Those first couple months all I could think about was the life I just left behind. I missed Virginia, I missed the people of Virginia, the big puffy clouds, my secret spots where I felt truly at peace at, but most of all I missed the familiarity. It made it easier to get adjusted with the fact that as soon as I arrived to Kansas City, I instantly felt a difference in the way people were out here. I had never met so many nice people in my life. Strangers would spark conversations with other people in the middle of the grocery store, pay it forward moments were happening all over the place, it was all very Pollyanna indeed.
One particular incident that stands out in my mind happened in my first month here, I was just starting my car in the Wal Mart parking lot with my newly purchased items in the front seat when a middle aged man knocked on my window. I, of course, being a young female in the century of crazies, instantly became nervous. Against my inner security guard, I rolled down the window to discover the nice man was simply trying to give me back the money I had left in the automatic check-out change depository. I was absolutely shocked. In Newport News, the next person in line would have pocketed the money and convinced himself he deserved it more than me. This is just how Kansas City is all the time and I love it!
The point of this blog is to show my lovely friends all over the country and the possible new friends I meet via this blog, how truly amazing Kansas City, this hidden gem of America, and my new home, truly is. I will be featuring a newly discovered attraction in the area as often as possible. I promise to state my honest East Coast perspective on this lovely, landlocked town. I encourage any thoughts and comments along the way, enjoy!
