copyright ©1999-2006
DigsMagazine.com.

At college, I found that even the school year exemplified change -- three terms to a school year, after which different classes were chosen, three big tests per class (unless you were extremely lucky), and at least three big events on campus per year. Change was a given; it was mandatory. Change made you grow.

While attending the UO, I moved residences every year, living with friends for the first three, then taking the big step of deciding to live alone for the last. Living with three other girls was an experience. I had grown up with sisters and stepsisters and even a foreign exchange student, but when you live with people who have known you your entire life, you don't start out trying to impress them like you do with new roommates. You start out on your best behavior, but slowly that too changes as you become more comfortable with letting them see the real you -- quirks, flaws and all. Living on your own, you don't have to change anything for anyone. You don't have to adapt your shower schedule, how often you do the dishes, when you take the garbage out. You don't have to change your dress style, what type of movies you're willing to watch, or what kinds of people you have over. Living alone, you don't have to change or be different unless you want to. As it turned out, I wanted to.

Which is why after graduation, I made the move to Salt Lake City. Partly it was to be closer to my sister and her expanding family. But it was also an excuse to try something different -- to move to a new city, to land my first job in the real world, to make new friends. After living with my sister for a little over three months, I was working in a new job and had moved into my own apartment. Three steady, non-changing months later, the restlessness began.

After some deep pondering, I know what the restlessness is. Change has been such a huge staple that it's now embedded in my personality. Every three months I look at new jobs; every year I get the itch and begin to look for a new apartment. I haven't begun to look for a new man yet, but that wouldn't surprise me, either. While this feeling is frustrating, I try to tell myself that maybe constancy is good for me, maybe it will help me grow. Maybe. But I wouldn't be surprised to find me, about three months from now, browsing the classified section in my local paper. This time of life -- after college, before starting a family -- is a time of growth and change anyway. Why shouldn't I embrace it, indeed?

o

Ashlin Salisbury is a proofreader for a marketing firm. She is rabid about grammar most times but uses commas way too much. She also likes to do Mary Catherine Gallagher impressions in front of her pets; "Sometimes when I get nervous, I stick my hands under my arms and then smell them, like this!" Apparently, they are the only ones who appreciate fine humor.

more by Ashlin Salisbury: make it a single

check out these related articles: after school | home sweet homes 

---------------------------> lounge . nourish . host . laze . home.