6 x 615 = ...

Last weekend marked my ‘6 years in the 615’. I celebrate my Nashville anniversary every year, and reminiscing is always such a great mind-trip. It was an awesome weekend filled with good times, great friends, and probably a few too many drinks- ALL things that make my life in Nashville what it is. ;)

*Thanks Jesse and Anna for a really great Anniversary weekend!! :)

Every mid-November, I remember my move to Tennessee in 2004. But this year was a little different than the others- it was the first year that I really had to force my thoughts to think about the years here in retrospective. Lately, I’ve been focusing my mind on where I’m going, and what the years ahead will bring.

But part of where you’re going is knowing where you’re coming from, so I spent some time lately reflecting on these last 6 years- from the start. They’ve been 6 years of adulthood- living on my own, learning lots of life-lessons, finding people and adventures that have completely changed my life, and finding MYSELF.

It’s crazy how much a person can change in just a few years, but it’s not hard to believe with how dramatic your surroundings change. I moved right after high school at 17 from a small town in midwestern Minnesota to a capital city in the South, got my first place where I lived alone, my first car (that’s still goin’ strong!!), and learned the joys and pains of life past the age of 18. The good, the bad, and the ugly of the years since I relocated my entire life have totally morphed me into a new person. I subconsciously changed the way I lived, how I looked.. and my personality did a 180-spin in what I feel is a much better direction. Some days, it’s really hard for Emjae to even remember Melissa Jean at all..

*What would ''2010 emjae' have to say to '2004 melissa jean'?? hmm..

But thanks to being a writer through the years, I’ve been able to look back through my journals and see how things have changed my face, my heart, and my life. I remember laying awake in Minnesota the night before I moved here, scribbling my unsure and excited thoughts in my notebook. 2 guys that I had never met (but who have since become amazing friends in my life) were on their way to pick me up and take me away, to a distant place and a new future working in the Nashville music biz- something I’d always dreamed of. My insomnia befriended me in a new way that night, as I tried to imagine just how much my life was about to change.

*My first house here in town. What a palace, eh?

That first season in Nashville was tough, but fun. I made more mistakes than I can count, but the adventure of life on my own (something I’d been waiting for since I was probably 7..) was worth every part of it. And as my Nashville life hit its different stages, I learned how to function in the real world, and how the real world can wreck you to the point of barely being able to function at all. But right from my first visit to this town, it felt like HOME, and I knew I needed to be here. And soon after my short first trip to Music City in 2003, fate had its way with me and I got an offer to live and work in a city that fits me perfectly. I didn’t even give it a second thought, and I was on my way..

*First weekend trip to Nashville in 2003..

The night before I left for Tennessee, I went for a drive and saw one of the most amazing displays of the Northern Lights that I’d ever seen (something I REALLY miss about the night sky. The south needs Southern Lights I think..) I stopped and just sat outside on top of the car and stared up at the stars and the swirling beams of color.. thinking more fiercely than I had at that time of my life, but taking the amazing lights as a beautiful sign that everything was going to be ok, and that I was making a good move. And I think I was right. I couldn’t imagine where my life would have been on any other path..

*Greetings from Nashville- 2006.

Because after 6 years, I still feel like this is where I’m meant to be (as a home base anyways.. I’m realizing I’m sometimes more into a come-and-go, on-the-road lifestyle). Nashville has taken my life so far- I’m extremely thankful for all I’m blessed with and real excited to see what the next few years will throw at me. I’ve seen a lot here over the years- so many friendships, great bands and shows, tours and odd jobs, hardships, possibilities.. What a ride..

So- Happy 6^th Anniversary, Nashville. I started a new life with you years ago, and I plan on stickin’ with ya for years to come… If it’s in the stars that is. But wherever life takes me, I’ll always remember the road we’ve walked together. Cheers!


As the adventure continues,

~Melissa-Jean.