Hi, My Name is Jessi

Hello and welcome back!

It feels weird sometimes to be a 'blogger' and try to understand where all of the new readers are coming from, but it's been seriously fun to watch my blog growing over the past few weeks and making new friends along the way. I attribute it all to commenting within the community, making my posts worth reading and keeping the conversations going even after the post (twitter, instagram). You'll see some of my daily reads in the right border --> and hopefully adding more soon (since Wordpress.com doesn't allow ads... and I'm not code savvy for .org and can't imagine merging over to Blogger).

Even though most everyone in blog-land is a lurker at heart, I'll save you the trouble of digging into the archives and re-introduce myself.

Hi, my name is Jessi.

I was born and raised in Portland, OR and have lived within the same 25 mile radius my entire life. My family lives close, I work for the #1 sports brand in the world and I have an amazing boyfriend - all factors that keep my heart in the Pacific Northwest.

I grew up very active in sports and eventually turned my passion and skill as a softball pitcher into a full scholarship to Portland State University. At that same time, I made the most of my education to earn three different degrees - Major in Management, Major in Marketing and Minor in Spanish. After all - you don't just go from high school valedictorian to C level college student, even if you do have so many other things going on.

Blogging...I started this blog-thing as a way to convince myself that I needed a fancy DSLR camera, as a creative outlet for my crazy thoughts and as a way to fill up my days last year when work wasn't as demanding as it is today. I get my inspiration for blogging from the things I'm passionate about, learning more about myself through writing and expression - and lately drawing off of the hilarious and insightful posts I read from other bloggers out there in the community. I'd like to also point out that Buzzfeed articles and perfect sloth GIFs inspire much of my content as well.

^ Also because this is how I look when I've had one too many, and that girl's name is Kitty ^

No, I'm not perfect. I've had my hiccups in my personal life through the years. Self-image insecurity and toxic people around that I couldn't get out of my life really took a toll on me. Angry, misunderstood and victimized shouldn't be how one should describe ages 18-22, but I thank Linkin Park and my discovery of distance running to get me through the rough times. And my family... my family is my rock.

The highest highs and the lowest lows have all shaped who I am today.

The girl you see today is strong, resilient, confident and composed. She's witty and friendly, she's loyal and caring, she's smart and focused and she has the whole beautiful world in front of her to look forward to.

Want some from the archives? Here's some of my greatest hits to know more:

Boyfriend:

|| The Truth about Cohabitation

|| He's the bravest guy I know

Career:

|| I'm a hard worker

|| Where it all changed

Lifestyle:

|| I'm a mother of a furry daughter and a fishy son

|| Running is my jam

|| I'm an Introvert - are you?

Thanks for being my new Internet friends and thanks to those who have been reading all along.

What else would you like to know about JumpingJE?

Linking up today with Sarah and Helene