Happy December!

Can you believe it?! The final month of 2022.

I’ve been sharing State College stories with you for almost a full year now and I’m constantly amazed by how different my experience is these days.

A year ago, I was just starting to make a real effort to find my community. I was timidly peeking my head out of my isolated, work-from-home existence and looking around, wondering where to go to find more of “my people.”

I’m delighted to report (and you certainly get it if you’ve been reading along!), that I’ve found the tip of a really wonderful community iceberg.

Pictured: Welch Pool, one of my favorite new-to-me community spots to spend time this summer!

Why Didn’t I Do This Sooner?

When I went looking for the interesting, the joyful, the unique, and the meaningful, I didn’t come up empty handed.

And after a year of challenging my introverted self to start conversations, walk through new doorways, and attend events (sometimes solo) with curiosity in tow, I’m feeling a little bit of, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?!”

I mean, I will say that it wasn’t always easy. Sometimes I showed up to an event and spent the first 5 minutes in the bathroom, psyching myself up for socializing because there were only one or two people on the other side of that door that I knew, but they were currently mid-convo with someone else!

Mercifully, the Goddess of Social Gatherings made a regular habit of planting someone cool or vaguely familiar in my path, so I didn’t have to flail awkwardly for too long. (I’ve come to believe that she keeps an extra close eye out for the nervous-but-motivated community newbies around town, throwing us a bone so we don’t give up and head back to our couches and Netflix.)

Pictured: Photo evidence that I did, in fact, attend social events and mingle my little heart out. (P.S. Check out Rediscover State College team member Matt Fern on stage receiving a Bracket Award at CP Squared’s October event!)

Finally in the Mix

Social anxieties and solo attendee jitters aside, the efforts have been worth it. I’m living in a vastly different State College than I was this time last year! I finally feel like I’m in the mix and building a dynamic life, instead of just floating around, waiting for things to happen around me.

Sometimes I bump into more people I know when I’m out running errands than my husband, a Happy Valley lifer, does! Sometimes I’m sharing the local inside scoop with him. That’s how I know things are changing.

Yes, I still need a GPS to get practically everywhere. But one step at a time. 😉

So I hope the experiences I’ve shared over the past year have painted a clearer picture of what life is really like here, beyond football and Penn State. And I’m excited to bring more State College stories your way over the next year! If you’re still flirting with the idea of making the move back to town, we’d love to hear from you and help connect you in any way we can.

In the meantime, I’m all about this fall to winter transition. Downtown is cozy and festive. Parking is CHEAP AS HECK. Our Christmas tree from Tait Farm has been acquired and is awaiting fresh new lights from College Garden’s Christmas shop.

Oh… and! I currently have my local food sights set on snagging one of these delights from the Cakeshop by Tati very soon! The trick will be getting my hands on one before they sell out. Will report back.

Happy holidays!