The Final Post...

Two years ago I told my family I was moving to Ohio. I told them I was sick of the crowds, sick of the high cost of living and even sick of the constant sunny weather. In reality, I felt lost. I didn't know what I wanted out of life or who I wanted to be and I felt like the only way to figure that out was to move away from everything I knew and start fresh. The idea of leaving terrified me but the idea of never experiencing life outside of California scared me even more. It was now or never.

There was one person who picked up on my fear more than anyone else and of course that person was the only one who really had a chance at changing my mind, my Dad. We had many conversations about my decision to move before I left, but there was one particular conversation that I will never forget. He told me, "I know what you're looking for and you're not going to find it in Ohio. You could move anywhere in the world and you're not going to find it. What you're looking for is here." Then he pointed to my heart. If you know my Dad this conversation may shock you. He's not a mushy, heartfelt conversation kind of guy. He doesn't even say, "I love you." But he was right. I was looking for myself and my purpose in life and the only place I was going to find it was within myself. What he didn't know though, was that it would take almost a year of living away from home and pushing myself to try new things before I would be able to hear what my heart was telling me.

So I, along with my boyfriend Derrick and our two dogs, Mya and Stitch, drove across the country via Route 66 to the Promise Land. Grafton, Ohio. LOL! What a big shock that was. I went from Orange County, California to a small town in Ohio where the nearest thing was Walmart and that was a decent drive away. The next few months were filled with tears, sad phone calls home, long drives and lots of loneliness. But through all the struggles, I learned to rely on myself and the more I relied on myself, the more my confidence grew. I started to explore new places on my own, driving down roads just to see where they led. I had conversations with strangers (a big California no-no but a common occurrence in the Midwest). I even went to events all by myself, which is something I had never done before.

The more I put myself out there the more people I met and the more I learned about myself. I was able to form a relationship with Derrick's Mom who I didn't know at all before moving. Now she's like a second mother to me (which is good since one day she probably will be). The people of Cleveland are an amazing group of people and I am so thankful that I pushed past my fear and became one of them. Clevelanders have taught me it's ok to fail, as long as you get up and keep trying. They've taught me it doesn't matter what other people think. That no matter who you are you should stand tall and be proud because YOU have something to offer that no one else does. These were the things I needed so badly to understand and it was the city that so many people disregard that taught them to me. In addition to Cleveland, each city we lived in, Grafton, Avon and now Lakewood, have brought to life parts of my soul I never knew existed. I now know I could move anywhere and thrive.

Thank you for going on this journey with me the past two years. If it wasn't for your comments and requests for more pictures I probably wouldn't have stayed committed to documenting and sharing my experiences. I hope you've enjoyed the past two years as much as I have. You can continue reading about my life and viewing my pictures at my Kimberly April Photography Blogsite: www.kimberlyapril.com. I really appreciate your interest in my journey. This was only supposed to be a 1 year adventure. Two years later I now know my whole life can be an adventure. It doesn't matter where you live as long as you get out and live.

Thank you Cleveland for helping me find myself.

Love,

Kimberly

Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie!

Derrick's birthday was the 23rd and to celebrate we went to A Christmas Story House! I love this movie and it just so happens that a portion of it was filled in Cleveland not too far from our house. The house it was filmed at has been turned into a museum. We had a total blast at the museum and we even met the mean woman elf from the movie. We met the guy who delivers the leg lamp too. The gift shop was really entertaining. A mom and her daughter were arguing because the daughter really wanted her mom to buy her one of the hats from the movie. The one the kid in the mall wears with the goggles and says, "I really like Santa." Super creepy (the kid in the movie, not the daughter). Their conversation went like this:

Daughter: "Mom, will you buy me this hat?"

Mom: "Why? So you can wear it once and never wear it again?"

Daughter: "I'll wear it more than once!"

Mom: "You're not going to wear it to school."

Daughter: "Yes I will! I'll wear it every day!"

I'm not sure how it ended since we finally made it to the front of the line to buy our tickets for the museum, but I'm thinking the daughter didn't get her hat. Either that or she was really embarrassed on Monday when she went back to school.

The Bridge Project

Words can't explain how amazing The Bridge Project was. We entered the Veterans Memorial Bridge by going into an old building and walking downstairs. When we reached the bottom of the stairs I felt like we were walking into some secret VIP club. There were colored lights, a fog machine, a DJ, films projected onto the walls and a million other details. Artists lined the length of the bridge and at the East end of the bridge there was a live band. If under the Veterans Memorial Bridge was turned into a public space, I would visit every weekend.

While Derrick and I were walking back to the West end of the bridge it started to rain. We sat on a bench made of recycled material and watched it pour. How many people can say they sat inside a bridge and watched it rain over a major city? It was one of those moments that takes your breath away.

Veterans Memorial Bridge Tour

Yesterday, Derrick and I had the awesome opportunity to take a free tour of the Veterans Memorial aka Detroit-Superior Bridge in Cleveland. The tours are hosted twice a year and by some miracle we both had the day off! This definitely ranked up with the top experiences I've had so far in Ohio. There were lots of informative volunteers that were able to answer questions and I was really impressed with the details of their set-up. When you first walked into the old subway portion of the bridge there were tables set up with old pictures and information about upcoming events. There was music from the 40s playing from a stereo and two different old films about the trolley system projected onto screens set-up inside the subway. I felt like we walked into a time warp. I was a little freaked out at first walking across the bridge because you could see through the grate down to the Cuyahoga River. There were wood panels along the middle to walk on but of course Derrick and I had to freak ourselves out by walking on the grate. Plus, that was the only way to look over the edge of the bridge at the awesome view! Yet another, "This would never be allowed in California Moment."

After we made it to the other side of the bridge we walked around the flats and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Seeing all of the bridges and cool architecture while soaking up the sun made me fall in love with Cleveland even more. There's an upcoming event at the bridge on September 25th that you can get information about at www.clevelandbridgeproject.com.

I.E. Girls Stick Together

As you may or may not know, Cleveland's basketball team is in the playoffs. On Tuesday I was at work and Derrick sent me a text asking what time I would be home because he had tickets for the Cavs Game. He recently starting working for his uncle and they happened to spray the Assistant Coach's house for bugs. Derrick, being the social person that he is, started talking with the wife and found out that she grew up in Riverside. He told her I grew up in Chino and when he went to leave she gave him two tickets for the game in the 4th row! She gave one to his uncle too. It was awesome! We had a great time and got to see Labron James receive the MVP award. The woman who gave us the tickets sat by me for a little bit and we talked about how we like Ohio even though the winters are cold. She is such a nice, friendly woman.

Here's a picture taken with my phone from our seats. I didn't want to bring my big camera and look like a nerd. You can see Labron James on the left (he's number 23). I feel like an official Clevelander now. I've seen the Indians, Browns and the Cavaliers all at home games.