Journey of Love, Part II — Building a Life
A story of love, heartbreak, and forgiveness
Building a Life
2003–2005
Jason and I made our relationship work long-distance for a year. In the summer of 2003, I moved down to North Carolina. I had graduated with my bachelor’s degree in English, though I didn’t know what I would do with it yet. Jason continued at NC State, working on his master’s in mechanical engineering. We rented a two-story apartment in a complex with a pool.
My first year in North Carolina was lonely. I had lots of friends in New York, but other than Jason, I knew very few people in Raleigh. Jason worked long hours in the lab on campus, often late into the night, leaving me to explore the city by myself. I would go to shopping plazas and malls while trying to figure out how Raleigh’s circular highway worked.
I went through four jobs in the two years I lived down there. First, I waited tables. Then, I got a job doing accounts receivable at a printing company, followed by a claims assistant position at an insurance agency. Each job made me more miserable than the last. When I finally took an office manager position at a dance studio, my life changed. I became good friends with the dance teachers and formed close connections with the dancers and their families…
