Jillian Kathleen

I grew up in a small city in Indiana and lived the life of an average girl through high school; played sports, on the dance team, average grades, and absolutely boy crazy. Then, in hopes of finding myself and my place in the world, I went away to college about an hour out from my home town. I met some older girls that talked me into joining a sorority. Just like my old ways, I went with the crowd and chose the most "popular" thing to do. I had an amazing yet packed full social calendar and my grades definitely sufferent as a result. Having a hefty social calendar was much more fulfilling to me than school work, so that trumped all in the logic of me finding myself. I continued in this lifestyle of temporary fulfillment through drugs, alcohol, and men for my first two years of university. I worked out, I tried different clubs and sports teams, I got into a monogomous relationship, I traveled Europe teaching dance and studying fashion. This was all great, but nothing seemed to be enough. I had this hunger burning inside me that was always wanting more! My conclusion for this hunger was that I needed to go to a bigger city. So I moved another hour away from my hometown. I got a job at my favorite clothing store, started classes at the Art Institute and was ready to take on the city. I went out four nights a week to network in hopes of meeting someone that could change my life forever. After two and a half years of this life, no luck. I was in the darkest place I had ever been. I tried to take antidepressents but they made me a zombie, emotionless, and just cold. I'm an extremely emotional person, so this was very different for me, and for the people around me. Then, in the midst of this season, I got a call from my family telling me that my mom had been diagnosed with Ovarian cancer for the second time. As if things couldn't get any worse, I realized that I may be losing my mom, my absolute best friend in the entire world. The only person that stood by my side through all of my ups and downs. The person that would call me every single night just to tell me how beautiful I was and how much she loved me. The woman that prayed for me my entire life, which I believe is the reason God protected me so many times. I, without question, quit my job and moved home immediately. It was my turn to take care of her for once and I wanted to savor every last minute I had with her, whether it was two weeks or twenty years. Well, being back home after living in the city,