8 THINGS I LEARNED FROM MOVING ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Moving away from home was by far the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm not talking about college. My entire college career was nothing in comparison to this. But living in the next state over is nothing like packing everything you own into your car and road tripping across the country.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that I regret the move, but I recognize now more than ever that I am a Midwesterner through and through. And I now know that there is nothing wrong with that. I used to want nothing more than to move out of the Midwest. I wanted to try something new -- experience something bigger.

But then I decided to move to Florida. Here's what I learned from that experience:

1. If you're thinking about picking up and moving across the country, make sure you know what you're getting into. 
It's often impossible to fully understand what you're getting yourself into. You can't predict the mishaps in life that throw things off course. But when you're making a move like this, there's generally a larger purpose behind it. You don't just randomly uproot your life for no reason. So whether it's a job, a person or a new experience, make sure that you understand the worst case scenario before you make the move. Is this job really what you want to do? What if it doesn't work out with the person? Can you find that experience anywhere else?

2. You will get to know yourself better.
You will never spend as much time with anyone else as you do with yourself. And you learn that even more when you move across the country by yourself (especially when you work overnights and weekends).

3. You have a blank slate, but be yourself. 
No one knows you here. They don't know your family or how you wore purple eyeliner all through the 8th grade (true story). So you get a fresh start. But that doesn't mean you should try to be someone else. Be yourself. After a while, you can't help it anyway, so why try to put on an act for anyone?

4. You learn to build your own network.
Oh, the joy of making friends. Wasn't it easier when you were just in the same class/dorm with people? You had built-in friends. As an adult, you have to actively work to build connections and friendships. But it's worth it.

5. You grow as a person. 
Going through one of the most trying periods in life will definitely help you grow as a person. It challenged me in ways that I never dreamed possible. For example, I have so much respect for the people who commit decades of their lives to working overnights and definitely don't get enough credit for it. Unless you've worked overnights for a prolonged period of time, you really don't know what it's like. And I will forever have that extra appreciation for the people still doing it.

6. You learn more about what you want (and what you absolutely don't want).
It made me think about what was most important in life and most important to me. This experience taught me more about what I want going forward then school ever could. And for that, I am forever grateful I had this experience.

7.  You figure out who is most important to you. 
The people who are there when everything feels like it's falling apart. The people who actively check in to see how you are doing. And the people who support you -- sometimes by encouraging you to push past the bad stuff. Those are the people who matter.

8. You question what your purpose is. 
When you make a long-distance move it pushes you to think about what you are truly called to do. And the weirdest part is that this particular move taught me how much my purpose is back home right now.

So in case, you couldn't already tell, I made it back home. Safe and sound. I can't help but think the reason for my move to Florida was to bring me back home. I know it sounds funny, but I think if I had found a job anywhere else, I might have stuck it out, and I would never be where I am now. And I know I ended up where I am meant to be at this moment.

The people I met, the experiences I had, the time I spent in Florida, I truly believe it was meant to be.

WHEN WILL I STOP WAITING FOR MY LIFE TO START?

Like most of what I write, this post was inspired by a conversation I had not too long ago. We were talking about the future and where we were in our career so far. And then the conversation turned to how we were always waiting for our lives to "start," as if everything we had done up to this point didn't really count.

In high school, you can't wait to get to college and for your life to really start.

Then in college, you can't wait to graduate, because you're still in school and have so many limitations, so you feel like it hasn't really started yet.

Then all the sudden you're out of school. You're in your first job, but you're clearly not where you want to be yet because no one lands their dream job right out of school. So, you're right back at the: well when this happens, then my life will really start.

When I move to my dream city.
When I meet my person.
When I lose that weight.
When I get engaged.
When I get my dream job.
When I get that promotion.
When I get married.
When I start working for myself.
When I'm the boss.
When I buy the house.
When I pay off my debt.

You think to yourself, that's when my life will start.

But here's the thing: what was everything up until then? You've been living. I've been living.

When I talk about where I see my life going and what I want to do next, a lot of people seem to have an opinion. I've gotten a lot of advice about how to navigate my life choices -- from people who have more life experience. And while I appreciate the concern, I am the only one who has to live with my choices day after day. I get to decide when my life "starts" and where it goes from there.

Waiting for your life to start is exhausting. I've spent a lot of restless nights (and by that I mean days--because I work overnight) trying to fall asleep, only to be kept awake by haunted musings of what could have been. At some point, I have to step up and change that.

In my business, I see a lot of things that really make you think more about the world. Just this weekend we reported about a 23-year-old who lost his life in a car accident. He was 23. And I couldn't help but think what if it was me? I could have a long, healthy life ahead of me. Or I could die tomorrow. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. But it's true. So, why aren't we all living like we're dying?

I've spent my whole life looking way too far ahead into the future. And of course, I want to prepare for the future that I hope I have. I work very hard to set myself up for a good future. But I also want to find some happiness in the present. After all, it's where we spend all of our time, isn't it?

What are you waiting for?

WHAT I'LL TELL MY FUTURE KIDS ABOUT HURRICANE IRMA

I never thought I would live through a hurricane. Midwesterners know thunderstorms and blizzards. Extreme winds back home are just mildly inconvenient at worst. I don't why, but I assumed it was one of those things that people talked about -- but would never actually happen.

But as I curled up on an air mattress on the second of the news station -- just months after arriving in Southwest Florida -- I couldn't help but wonder what I would tell people about what it was like to survive a hurricane.

Wrapped up in Wisconsin... I realized I covered myself in what felt familiar in such an unfamiliar time. My WINK hurricane survival kit included:

• 3 Wisconsin T-shirts
• 2 Wisconsin Sweatshirts
• 2 Wisconsin tie-blankets
• 1 Wisconsin Baseball cap

No, that's not all I brought with me. But as I laid there, actually trying to fall asleep in my workplace, I realized I was subconsciously comforting myself with things that reminded me of the place I called home for the last four years.

While my new home became threatening, I brought in my old home to keep me safe.

For some reason, as I laid there, I thought about what I would tell my future kids. Years from now, what would I have to say? What will I remember most about this super storm?

It felt surreal. 
Although the hurricane hit Fort Myers, I only saw the storm through the screens in the station -- making it still feel like just something that was happening on TV. Despite being stuck at the station for days, I struggled to wrap my head around the fact that it was actually going on around us. I think that's why I didn't know have anything profound to say about it to friends or family after the fact.

It was scary. It was crazy. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. That's it.

Irma caused widespread flooding, power outages, and destruction. 
Irma left behind catastrophic damage in parts of Florida. As pictures and videos of the aftermath began to flood our inbox, I couldn't believe some of the images I was seeing. It was heartbreaking.

People went into a state of panic -- especially since Irma came through right after Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas. 
It was a little like what I imagined the end of the world to be like. In the days before the storm, crowds rushed to the grocery stores, wiping out the bottled water supplies and flashlights. Gas suddenly become the most sought-after commodity. Both before and after the storm, lines that backed up onto main streets, leaving many people waiting for gas for hours. We heard stories of people waiting for two hours only for the gas stations to run out by the time they got to the pump. Others were taking advantage of the shortage -- filling up gas containers, and trying to turn a profit off of other people still stuck in the lines.

The hurricane brought out the best and the worst of people. 
We had the pleasure of telling stories of communities coming together to help each other out in the wake of a natural disaster. And people really stepped up. Neighbors helping neighbors, strangers helping strangers. It was truly incredible to see our reporters telling the stories of people who risked their lives and spent hours in the heat, helping others clean up the mess after Irma. At the same time, it was distressing to hear the stories of people who took advantage of others, like the looters who stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that a pastor used to spread the word of God.

Working during Hurricane Irma was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. 
When my family and friends up North found out that I had to stay to work during the hurricane, they freaked out.  They were scared. They didn't want me to stay. Governor Scott was telling millions to evacuate and, admittedly, it was scary. I didn't fully know what to expect. Irma had a pretty uncertain path for a long time -- and it definitely raised concerns. But I can't tell you how proud I am to have been a part of something like that. I watched hundreds of emails pour in about how grateful people were that we were there for them throughout the storm. And I knew, if I had to, I would do it all over again. We were there from Saturday morning to Monday night straight, and we were on the air for more than 80 hours in a row. We couldn't shower. A few people even washed their hair in the bathroom sinks. Everyone was exhausted. But it was worth it. We provided vital information for people in their time of need.

When I was 16, I wrote a paper in AP Comp about how I wanted to save people through my writing, because I realized I no longer wanted to be a doctor. I knew my calling was writing. But I had a really hard time believing in myself for the longest time. When I have kids, I want them to know that Hurricane Irma taught me how valuable what I am doing really is.

I often wonder if what I'm doing is worth it-- the long hours, the odd hours, the lack of time I have to have a life outside of work. But as I laid on that air mattress on the second floor of the news station, I couldn't help but think: if I make it through this, I can make it through anything.