Facing fear of change opens new door

By Kellie Singleton

Change is not something that I’m very fond of. I guess that’s true for most people, but it’s especially true in my case.

Growing up, I didn’t like to change schools. I dreaded going from West Elementary to College Avenue to RMS to RHS and even to college. I was always fine once I had been there for a while, but the initial change got me every time.

I was resistant when promotion time came at church and I would have to go to a new Sunday school class with a different Sunday school teacher.

Each time I go to McDonald’s or basically any other restaurant, I order the same thing without fail.

When I get stuck on a song that I like, I’ll listen to it on repeat until it makes my husband want to scream.

But at the end of the day, change is something that makes the world tick so, like it or not, I have to deal with change.

For the past four years I worked at the District Attorney’s office here in Russellville doing a variety of different jobs. In those four years the people I worked with and the things I did on a day-to-day basis became very comfortable and familiar. So when the offer to come work for the FCT came along, I immediately thought, “No… I can’t do that. I can’t leave my job.”

But after I really sat down and considered this position, I had to put aside my fear of change and really weigh my options.

Writing is my passion. It is something I have always enjoyed, even when I was very young. (I think I wrote my first short story when I was around eight years old.)

Writing is also what I went to school to do. I spent four years of my life in Florence at the University of North Alabama taking writing and journalism classes and ultimately received my Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Writing with a minor in Journalism.

Writing is also something I never thought I’d be able to do here in my hometown. Being a writer is not the most in-demand profession by a long shot, and once I received my degree, I figured that I would have to move off to actually be able to use it. So the opportunity to write for a living here in Russellville was a pretty big deal to me.

Sometimes God just opens doors that you may or may not be comfortable with, but you just have to trust that it will be okay. So after weighing my options — and after several pep-talks from my husband — I knew this was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.

I am very excited to be working here and to have the opportunity to put those four years of college to good use. And I’m also excited to be able to do all this right here where I grew up.

Franklin County is near to my heart, and I’m looking forward to reporting for the people of this county.