there's always a story...

but mine's getting easier.

Sometimes it can be so hard to answer questions honestly. I have friends who don't admit why they wanted to come here at all--truth was that they were unhappy, and they didn't like being quite so close to their families. But that doesn't sound good.

But me? I don't want to lie. And besides, I didn't find a ChE job for five months after I got here, so it's not like I can say that I came for a job too. But when people ask me where I went to school the next question, after they say something like "wow, that's really far away" is "what brought you here?" I've tried to fumble through responses, but now I'm okay with saying it...something along the lines of "I moved here with my ex-husband" or something like that. I sometimes preface it with something about feeling bad about making the person uncomfy.

It's like telling someone you moved because your mother passed away, or that you quit school because you got pregnant, or something like that. Nothing that's bad for you to have done, but something that makes people uncomfy when they hear the truth.

But I'm very glad to say it's getting easier every time. Of course it was weird when we were just separated. I had to remind myself to say "I'm getting a divorce" instead of "I'm getting divorced." Subtle, but different.

I'm looking forward to getting to say "I came here for graduate school. I'm getting my PhD in Materials Science and Engineering." It might be August 2007 before I get to say that, but I'm looking forward to it.

Because it's a better story.

I guess that's what I'm wanting. For my story to be better and better. Awkward, sad, funny, terrible, enthusiastic, horrifying or inspiring, I want it to always be a better story.