Every mile a memory.

Over the 21 hour journey from Charlottesville, VA to Minneapolis, MN, I had plenty of time to think. Think about life. Think about the new adventure. Think about all that’s led me to this point. Since the thoughts were scattered, from the mindless to the meaningful, I deem it only appropriate they be compiled in a hodgepodge list (and in no particular order). Although it’s a little delayed, I wanted to document the journey. Welcome to the haphazard train of thought known as Jill Heuer’s brain. Enjoy.

The mountains in Virginia and West Virginia are absolutely breathtaking. I wish I’d been there long enough to take a fun backpacking trip to reel in some of the local beauty. My hiking backpack will just have to stay put until a wonderful spring day makes its way to Minnesota and I find some nature trails to explore.

The Corolla has been a trooper. The first trip to Virginia, a long trip to T-Town and back the beginning of January, and finally, the trip back from Virginia. 2800 miles is a lot of miles. Wowzer. I cannot explain how grateful I am for the lack of car troubles during the many, many miles I’ve traveled to and fro.

I absolutely, positively cannot wait to live in the same city as family. I’ve never, in 25 years of existence, lived within the same city bounds as relatives. Growing up, my closest relative was 3 hours away. Now, I have aunts, uncles, and cousins all around! Life is too good.

Living in the same city as the Mall of America (and countless other shopping areas, including a Michael Kors outlet) will be awesome and dangerous all at the same time. Budgeting skills will certainly be a must, although I have a feeling I'll justify nearly every purchase.

What’s worse than driving through the entire state of Iowa from east to west? Driving through at 45mph because of a white out, black ice, snow storm. What a tremendous welcome back to the Midwest. Needless to say, the 3 hour, white knuckled span of snowy disaster was just in preparation for all that is to come.

I absolutely, positively could not live without Diet Coke. I don’t know how people do it.

Starting over is scary. I don’t care who says otherwise. I’m so thankful for my support base of family and friends who have always assured me that everything will work out, even when my confidence waivers. Beyond that, I’m just as thankful for the acquaintances that have popped up and sent me thoughtful messages about the new job and move. It’s funny how even if many years have passed, the spark of friendship has remained. I’ve come to find that everyone comes into your life for a reason, whether it’s for years, months, or days. Each serves a great and meaningful purpose and it’s important. And for that, I’m oh so grateful.

I have the most randomly awesome music taste ever. Okay, maybe not ever, but I consider it to be pretty eclectic. No more apparent is this than when I put the iPod on shuffle for 21 hours. From Jason Aldean to Big Pun to James Taylor, I love 'em all.

This will be the fourth school I've worked at, which means yet another university ID card. I’m starting to feel like they’re Pokeman cards—gotta catch 'em all!

I think I was a truck driver in a previous life. Over the thousands of miles I’ve journeyed alone, I’ve somehow found a way to entertain myself. My recipe for success? Singing my heart out. Oh, and an IV of Diet Coke.

I have the act of packing my car down to a science. On the journey from South Dakota to Virginia, I barely had enough room in the car to breathe. But, from Virginia to Minnesota, the mounds of clothes and shoes only reached headrest heights. Amazing how much easier the drive is when you can see out the back window!

Sorry to all my loves down south, but I am beyond excited to be surrounded by taller people again. I swear, there’s something in the water up there. Time to bust out those 4 inch heels again!

Not only is summer my favorite time of the year, but there’s an additional highlight this year: I’ll live closer than I’ve EVER lived to my lake cabin! No, this isn’t some nasty lake, topped in algae and smelling of dead fish. It’s the clearest lake I’ve ever swam in. Hands down. Swim off the end of the dock twenty feet and you can still see your legs and arms. West McDonald Lake is truly heaven on earth. Just add the pontoon, great friends, a few brews, and some country music and that’s a perfect summer day for me. I can feel the sun beating down on me already!

During the road trip, I got to stop off in Columbus, Ohio to visit a grad school friend. For those of you that know Craig, you’ll understand why the 20 minute detour was imperative. He’s one of the funniest, most spontaneous, and downright goofy (in the best way possible) guys I’ve ever met. Just one more reminder of the amazing people I met in Alabama. Can’t believe such a short time brought so many best friends into my life. I can only imagine the people Minnesota is going to bring my way!

The more I think about my journey, the more I realize that everything happens for a reason. Many people have asked, “Do you wish you would’ve done the Olympic Training Center thing instead of heading to Virginia?” Without batting an eye, I say that Virginia was where I needed to be. Virginia showed me that volleyball operations wasn’t my passion anymore. Equally as important, it put me inside a well-known athletic department that connected me to amazing marketing and development departments. Through volunteering with those departments, it became clear to me that my heart was in the external relations side of the business. While volleyball didn’t pan out like I’d expected, the other benefits were much farther reaching. I will always cheer for Virginia (unless they’re playing Nebraska, Alabama, or Minnesota of course) and be thankful for the great friends and colleagues I gained throughout that experience.

I need to make a new bucket list for the area, as I’ve done in all my previous moves. During my many hours in the car, I couldn’t come up with much: WeFest, go to at least one game for each professional team in Minneapolis, try out snow shoeing/cross country skiing, and don’t develop a Minnesotan accent. Ok, the last one is a bit of a joke. But not really. I will die before I ever say baaaaaayg (bag) or make tapioca pudding.

I wonder if it’s some kind of record to work for 4 BCS schools in 4 years. Big 12, SEC, ACC, and now Big 10. I better hit the Big East next year because Lord knows it may not be around much longer than that.

So there is it. Totally random. Not necessarily inspiring. But I felt like I had to jot these down for future reference. I’ve had my fair share of road trips, yet they never get old. Probably a good thing I feel that way, since I’m sure I’ll have many more up ahead of me. It’s cliché, but I thought of the Dierks Bentley song “Every Mile a Memory.” From undergrad to grad to post grad, I’ve had so many trips that have driven me through nearly every state north, south, and east of South Dakota. And with each, another set of memories is made. Can’t wait to see what the next set of pavement brings my way. Oh, and GO GOPHERS!

Find your intersection point.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012:

6am: Departure from Sioux Falls Airport

7am-8pm: Experience travel nightmare

8:30pm: Arrive at apartment in Charlottesville, sans baggage

To say yesterday was a travel disaster may be an understatement. Running on 3 hours of sleep and traveling for 15 hours wasn't exactly the way I wanted to enter back into reality, especially after coming off a refreshing and much-needed vacation back to good ol' South Dakoooooota. While the details of the day seem to blur in my mind, there was one thing that stood out: Dan. No, I didn't meet the man of my dreams on the airplane and fall in love. That would be a fun story though, wouldn't it?

Anyways, Dan and I both missed our connection from Philadelphia to Charlottesville thanks to the wonderful people of US Airways and Chicago O’Hare (insert sarcastic comment here). So, they plopped us on the next flight to Charlotte, which then connected to another flight to Charlottesville. After leaving the re-ticketing area, Dan and I parted ways, assuming I’d see him hours later in the gate area. As luck would have it, we almost literally ran into each other 15 minutes later in another terminal. After a few minutes of moaning and groaning about our flight misfortune, Dan mentioned going to grab a beer before the flight. Being the kind person I am, I volunteered to join him. I mean, I didn't want him to have to drink alone at 2pm on a Tuesday. And let’s be honest, the thought of a Blue Moon was just too good to pass up.

While sipping on our beers, we did the casual conversation thing, both sharing why we were heading to Charlottesville. He was heading to UVa for a medical school interview, so I gave him the inside scoop on the town, people, university, etc. When he asked why I was heading to Cville, I chuckled, not exactly knowing what to say.

I wasn’t heading to Charlottesville for a job anymore. What WAS I going back for? For those that don’t know, my position as Technical Coordinator for UVa Volleyball recently ended due to the resignation of the head coach. 

As I stumbled to find an answer to Dan's question, my optimism took over and I came up with this: “Well, my job recently ended so I’m heading back to rack up volunteer experience in departments I’m more interested in…it’s been GREAT so far!” Since October, I’ve been working with both athletic marketing and development to explore a potential career change. I knew working with volleyball wasn’t my passion anymore, so dabbling outside of the area was an essential move to figure out the next step.

And it totally paid off.

My experience with development has shown me my next career move, which is both exciting and terrifying! Finding where your strengths and passions intersect is crucial, and that’s what volunteering in development did for me. I also did multiple information interviews with development professionals and soaked up tons of information about the UVa development department and its initiatives. When searching for a new path, it’s easy to think a career is a good fit just by hearing about it, but until you do the research and spend hands-on time working there, it’s difficult to have a true basis for that decision. As I’ve learned, it’s definitely a “trial and error” type of thing.

As our conversation progressed, Dan asked more questions and I babbled on about the craziness that is about to happen in the next few months. Yet, I never felt my optimism waiver. Although I’m about to embark on a new adventure, having to start at the bottom yet again, I feel confident in the direction I’m going. My experience with volleyball at UVa showed me something big: Sometimes it’s more important to figure out what you DON’T want to do, rather than what you WANT to do.

As the conversation about my career and future trailed off, he noted my optimism and said something that really resonated with me:

Optimism comes from confidence.

I’d never really thought of those two being interrelated. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. After deciding volleyball operations wasn’t as fulfilling as it once was, I began a meaningful journey of questioning “What do I love to do? What are my strengths? Where do those intersect?” When I figured out that the intersection point was in development, I had confidence to pursue a new career that was a better fit for me. Because of that confidence, I’m optimistic that my steadfastness and strong background will provide an opportunity soon. In the meantime, I can enjoy the paid vacation and be thankful for the extra time to scour job boards, network my behind off, and make the most baller resume and cover letters known to mankind. (Okay, that last part may be a bit of an exaggeration, but that’s just my confidence and optimism shining through.)

So I encourage you to explore. Spend meaningful time questioning where your intersection point is. If the craziness of the past few years has shown me anything, it’s that it’s never too late to try something new. Life is too short to be unhappy. Be confident to push the boundaries and optimism will follow.