Every now and then, I find myself at a point of reflection — thinking about how my life has transitioned since my divorce and moving East, and how things have been made possible through a series of sacrifices and learning to operate outside my comfort zone. Since becoming involved with the First Wives World community, I've been bombarded with thoughts about the last four years of my life.

There have been many changes in my life since my divorce: Moving from Colorado to San Francisco, then to New York; bad job to good job to no job (employment being replaced by school); several changes of friends; and an ever-fluctuating waistline. These are just a few of the things that I've contended with in recent years. Sometimes I feel as if there has just been too much change and instability in my life — most people my age don't hop around as much as I have.

They have stable jobs, a home life or other adult-like responsibilities to keep them grounded. I have none of that. One would think that this would make me sad or regretful. On the contrary, I know that I've had opportunities to do and see things that I wouldn't have otherwise! Take packing my car and driving to California on a whim and moving to New York to pursue my degree. They're not things I could have done with a family. I love the freedom I have to experience life and all its turns, the ability I have to call my own shots. I know one day I will achieve "stability," but for now, it's all about finding happiness in the fact that I am doing exactly what I want to right now.

The time I was going through my divorce was an extremely unstable one for me, just as I imagine it would be for anyone. I had separated from the military not even two years before, and hadn't been able to secure substantial, meaningful employment.

Worse than having nothing, I felt as if I had less than nothing. I wasn't gainfully employed, I was uneducated (I didn't have a B.A. and am working on completing that now), divorced and without family (I was in Colorado, they were in Florida). By the time my divorce became final, I knew I had to take drastic measures if I wanted to turn my life around and fulfill my purpose on this planet.

By mid-April of the year I got my divorce, I was on the road to California to start over and attempt to mend my life. San Francisco and the Bay Area really agreed with me and it didn't take long before I was gainfully employed and on my way to being happy. I tried everything I could while I was there, as I had no real idea what I liked to do as an adult. I took dance lessons, kickboxing, skiing, kayaking, you name it. After a year of working very hard to reestablish myself (for a time, I held two jobs), I found myself wanting to go back to school.

I enrolled at Skyline College (a local community college), a move that proved to be beneficial. After almost 10 years of not thinking academically, I was finally challenged and allowed my curiosity to run wild. At Skyline, I also found my friend and mentor, Michael Moynihan PhD., and a professor of Sociology. Professor Moynihan spurred me to complete my studies at Columbia University in New York, where I'm now attending school.

The current chapter of my saga finds me here in New York and the hallowed halls of Columbia where I am finishing my last year of studies as a Sociology major. I've been on a remarkable journey up to this point, and I look forward to each day just to see what else will unfold before me.

Hello First Wives World community! I'm a relative newcomer to the blog but no stranger to the experience of divorce. I've been divorced for four years...was married for five. And at 31, I'm a non-traditional college student attending school in New York City and working toward my B.A. in Sociology. I'm going all out-going to school full-time-to complete my degree.

My story has a lot of twists and turns and bumps, and I'm sure that's like a lot of women's stories. I guess you'll discover all the bumps and detours here on the blog. I was raised in Gainesville, Florida, but born in Cincinnati where I lived for the first six years of my life. My roots are distinctly southern and Florida is my home; I am a hillbilly! I was raised almost exclusively by my mother who also juggled my four siblings; my father wasn't a contributing factor in my development. When I was 14, my parents finally divorced, a long overdue move by that point.

I left home four years later to start my life and tried the college route. Three semesters later, the attempt proved to be a bit premature. So shortly after leaving Florida State University at 19, I enlisted in the U.S. Army, where among other experiences, I met and married my husband at 22.

Without going into too many details about our split, I will say that if ever two people did NOT match up, this was IT! I wasn't who he wanted, though he tried in a very warped way to make me into that person, chipping away at who I had already become by this point and leaving a very brittle exterior.

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