NYC meets Alabama An image tells us a story.  Kara was a girl from Alabama who dreamed of something bigger than the plates of deep fried shit and muffins served at family get togethers.  She thought that exercise was not a four letter word to be forgotten once a girl graduated HS and mandatory PE classes.  From watching Sex in the City she knew a Friday night could be more exciting than a drive to Wal-Mart for frozen pizza and redbox.  She also knew from reading books that there was more to life after college than having babies and feeding them.  Instead she saw a life where she could eat sushi and drink vegan shakes and that she could occasionally go to clubs where handsome and high income men would buy her fruity cocktails.  She could have a really badass job she loved and was excited about and even gain a following on social media.  She could join really cool gyms and learn skills like kickboxing.  Instead of a trailer or house in the exurbs she could reside in a simple apartment in the concrete jungle where everything she needed to live was within a subway ride and a 10 minute walk.  Instead of loading convenience meals from the grocery into the back of an SUV and lamenting her ever growing FUPA while stuck in traffic, she could walk home with fresh veggies from the farmer's market climbing subway steps two at a time always remembering to brace her core.   She could make friends with exciting people and someday Mr. Right would come along with a hot body and fat bank account.  Life for her would be as close to perfect as she could imagine.   But what about the people back home?  Unfortunately some of them would chose a different life.  Nothing was stopping them from making better choices, even in Alabama, but perhaps the choice was too hard given the older role models surrounding them.  They would become fat and lazy and hateful.  They would be friends with her on social media and make fun comments on FB but Kara knew that such people would secretly resent her and that when she travelled home they would stare at her with contempt and jealousy.  Kara would be uneasy with these encounters and very shy about it.  Unfortunately that was the price she would have to pay for her new life.  She would have to learn to take the stares from the haters and take them with dignity.  If it ever came to more than that however, she was sure that she could lay out a bitch with a kick to the throat.  See if you can find Kara!