I don't consider myself a risk-taker. I don't like big surprises, but I still find that life is full of them, whether you like it or not.

Finding this job in Black River Falls and discovering the Black River area to be one of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring lands I have ever seen was a surprise. Having the courage to step out of my comfort zone and come to a place where I knew no one was a surprise. I sucked it up, I did it, and I am glad.

I'm fairly new at this grown-up thing. I'm 23 years old and recently graduated from the University of Iowa in Iowa City with a degree in journalism and mass communication. Yes, I am a Hawkeye and I can almost guarantee this will warrant a fair amount of teasing from the Badger fans I'll be surrounding myself with in the future.

Not only did I go to college there, I was born and raised in Iowa. This is the first time I have ever lived away from the state I call home. I lovingly refer to my hometown of Mason City in north central Iowa as the "land God forgot." It is flat as a board and all you can see is cornfields for miles.

By coming to Black River Falls, I am readjusting to life in a smaller town. I went to high school in a town of 1,500 people and my graduating class consisted of 36 people. I left friends there when I went to college, and I left friends in Iowa City when I came here, and I am looking forward to making new friends here in the days to come.

My parents still live in Mason City and I am thankful that I still remain close to them. I have an older sister, who I unfortunately moved farther away from than I would have liked. She and my brother-in-law are pharmacists in Davenport, Iowa. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I may become an aunt soon!

I saw writing for The Chronicle as a good opportunity to gain practical experience in my career in more than one area. Our staff is not large, so I will have the chance to write, take pictures and design the paper each week.

The Chronicle is also part of a family, a family of newspapers that embraces a large area of Wisconsin, and family is something that is very important to me. This is one of the reasons I decided to come to Black River Falls. It will give me an opportunity to grow within a family, both in my career and in this town.

I love meeting new people and experiencing new things, which is why I find taking risks is usually not as hard as it seems. The anticipation of learning everything I can about Black River Falls in the coming months is exhilarating and makes me glad that I took the chance at trying something new. I'm looking forward to being a part of this community and contributing to it in any way I can.