6,000 Thank Yous (Hi, I'm Chelsea).

Last week, my blog reached 6,000 followers on Bloglovin'. I'm not sure why it was that little milestone that gave me all the feelings, but it did. The fact that 6,000 of you are interested enough in what I write that you care to subscribe to it blows me away. I want to say thank you for that. 6,000 thank yous. I do not take for granted that you spend your time reading what I write, and I appreciate it so, so much. 
Since you've all come along at different times, I thought I'd reintroduce myself so we could get to know each other a little bit better. 

So hi, I'm Chelsea. 
I grew up in Tennessee, but when I was fourteen my parents moved to Florida to start a church. They had this notion that since I was only fourteen, I had to move with them, and naturally I hated it. (pro tip: making someone move from where they've always lived their freshman year of high school is probably the worst timing). But, I got to spend my teenage years going to the beach every weekend, if not every day, and quickly learned that I was always meant to be a Florida girl. 
Speaking of Florida, that's where I met Chris. He was a lifeguard and I would make up reasons to go to whatever beach he was working at so I could see him. We fell in love during the summer when I was seventeen and it's been him ever since. I think that having a summer romance by the beach is an experience that everyone should get to have. 

We got married when I was 20 (I KNOW, so young) and moved to Orlando so he could go to medical school. Med school is insanely hard, but we had four insanely fun years in Orlando. 
In May of 2015, I woke up one day feeling weird (that's a lie, I woke up to my boobs looking big(ger) for the first time in my life), so I took a pregnancy test eleven pregnancy tests even though there was no possible way I was actually pregnant...but lo and behold, I was. And on January 14, 2016, Jack joined our family. He is the sweetest little guy and everything I never knew I desperately wanted in life.  

In March, through an insane (and torturous) process known as "the match," we found out we were moving to Gainesville, meaning I get to stay a Florida girl and Jack gets to grow up as a little Florida babe. I was more excited over that news than I can tell you.
So now we all live in our first real house in Gainesville: Me, Chris, Jack, and Gatsby (our dog who we think is actually low-key a fox). Chris is now a Doctor and is in surgery residency now so he can be a surgeon. Residency is so hard, but life is still good. 
I drink way too much coffee, reading is my favorite hobby, and I'd spend every day by the pool if I could. 

I love writing. I always have. I think that words change things. They move us to action. They reach places deep inside of us we didn't know needed to be reached. I wrote poems in elementary school, journaled through high school, majored in English (yeah, I'm still looking for a way to use that degree, too. Let's not talk about it.), and will write in some shape or form for the rest of my life. Because I just love words. 
And I love this blog. I view every single post like a little coffee date with friends. Sometimes it's deep, serious coffee dates where I share my heart on important things. Sometimes it's a fun coffee date where I tell you about my favorite cheap sunglasses (affiliate link, disclosure here). Sometimes it's book talk, sometimes it's life updates, and sometimes it's just me trying to inspire you in some way. I hope that when you visit this little corner of the internet, you feel inspired. 
Now, if you want to take this relationship to the next level (Dinner? A movie?) we can also be friends on instagram and twitter. If not, we'll just keep having coffee here. 
I think that life is, at the root, good. That it is worth celebrating. That even through the hard days we should try to see the good and focus on that, because life is just too short to be consumed by the bad. I'm an optimist to my core, and I try to use that to create a little hub of encouragement and inspiration here. Of sunshine. 
I think that life is so good, it's worth writing about. Thanks for joining me here in my little hub of sunshine.
Now, do me a favor and tell me about yourself!