“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” 
– Lao Tzu

The single step at the beginning of a journey is often the most difficult. My current journey's first major step was making the decision to apply for school after being out in the "real world" for four years post-high school. 

Choosing Johnson & Wales was the easy part; I knew I wanted to study at JWU for years. The issue was timing. When does a person voluntarily uproot herself? As it turned out, summer of 2010 was my time. I spent an entire year, from August 2009 to July 2010, completing obligations, transferring responsibilities, and preparing to change my life with a cross country move from Spokane, Washington to Charlotte, North Carolina. 

This move was different from all the others; I'd volunteered to go, and I would be on my own. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but mostly I was excited to move forward with my life and have the opportunity to spend time on my own endeavors.