It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day, It's a New Life...

As I prepare to move out of Starkville this weekend, I am no doubt filled with mixed emotions.  I am so excited about all of the changes coming my way:  living in Madison, meeting new people (hopefully some single, attractive, quality men!), starting a new job, having a roommate for the first time in 5 years, etc.  But at the same time I am nervous since I have been given a different job that what I interviewed for (albeit a better job) and I really am not sure what I will be doing.  I am sure I'll figure it out in due time though.  And even as excited and ready as I am to get out of Starkville, I am going to miss this place.  Adding together 3 1/2 years of undergrad, 1 1/2 years of grad school, and 2 years working here as faculty, I've lived here for 7 years!  So it's only natural to feel sentimental about leaving the place I've called my home for the better part of a decade.  A few things I will miss about ole "Starkvegas" in no particular order are:

Mississippi State University

Yeah, this is from way back in my Miss MSU days. I couldn't resist.

I love my alma mater and I always will.  It's given me 3 degrees, countless SEC sporting events, numerous lifelong friends, and many lasting memories.  I will miss being on this campus everyday, seeing all my friends and coworkers that are here, and being nearby for all the concerts and sporting events.  But come football season, I'll be back for most, hopefully all, of the home games! 


The Veranda
My favorite Starkville eating establishment.  I'm going to miss those Blue Plate lunches (especially the boneless fried chicken), the phet whan shrimp, cheese sticks, shrimp and grits, delicious salads, etc, etc, etc.  For that matter, I'm going to miss a lot of the local restaurants of Starkville, i.e., Restaurant Tyler, The Little Dooey, Starkville Cafe, Local Culture, the Grill.... Let's face it, I love food and I love to eat.  It's a good thing Jackson isn't short on yummy places to eat!

The Cotton District

From the Cotton District Arts Festival, to Bulldog Bash, to just any random day/night at Ptolemy's, Bin 612, Bulldog Deli, or any of the other local businesses, the Cotton District is such a fun and unique part of Starkville. 

No Traffic / Commute Time
I'm sure that once I start making my commute from Madison to downtown Jackson every morning and back in the evening, I'll really be missing my less than 5 minute, traffic-less drive from home to campus here in Starkville.  But that's just part of moving to the "big city!" 

CrossPoint
Over the past couple of years since I have been back in Starkville teaching (and really off and on when I was a student as well), I have been attending CrossPoint Baptist Church.  I have loved getting to know the people of CrossPoint, hearing the Word from Bro. Scott Cappleman each Sunday morning, and attending the Young Professionals life group on Wednesday nights.  I have truly been blessed and I am sad to leave this church.  I would encourage anyone living in Starkville to check out this wonderful place of worship (http://www.discovercrosspoint.org)

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list of the things/people I will miss in Starkville.  But it is indicative of the fact that this town and university have played such a large role in my life up to this point and I will miss it and everyone dearly.  And football season and my first visit back are just right around the corner.  That being said, I know that this is the right time for me to make a change and moving to Madison and working at BancorpSouth feels like the right place to go.  I am excited about what the new changes will bring and so thankful for the opportunities before me.