A new city, new struggle. Finding a job, finding friends and maintaining some level of sanity. Since moving to Stamford, CT late last fall, I like to think that I've adjusted pretty well. I've been pursuing a very large career change into education which requires going back to school or pursuing private school jobs - both of which have taken up a large portion of time (applying to teaching programs, jobs, substitute jobs and soon, beginning to tutor).

In the meantime though, to preserve a level of sanity we all seem to forget about when re-adjusting to large, life changing decisions, I joined the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk.

I can't begin to write about how excited I am about this.

A friend of mine, shortly after we graduated college, suggested I look into it in DC, but I never quite got around to joining past going to the info sessions. Too much money, too much time and I was too busy working two jobs and planning a wedding.

But now? I've got a lot of time. I don't know many people outside of family and a couple of bloggers I met last year at BlogHer, so I went to a couple info sessions, and the first provisional class. So far, so good.

Reasons why, if you're on the fence, you should join Junior League:

Meeting New People

There are almost 30 girls in my provisional class. Many of whom I'm sure I'll become fairly close with by the end of the spring, I'm excited that a few of them live close to me and that most seem to be around my age and a couple of them are new to the area like myself! What better way to make pals?

Service

Junior League, is first and foremost, about serving the community. Each chapter has different causes they work for, but all of them are centered around women, families and communities. Many chapters, in addition to the community service, advocate for other causes such as human traffiking and programs that support women and families.

Networking

Not only does something like this look good on a resume, but it's a great source of networking. With the number of women involved you're sure to meet someone who will help any career goals you may have. In my chapter here, 60% of our members work (as opposed to other chapters who have less working women), you're sure to meet someone with interests similar to yours. Not only that, but the leadership you can gain from junior league is sure to give any stagnant post-collegiate resume a boost.

Do I even need to rave about the famous women like Eleanor Roosevelt, Sandra Day O'Connor, Barbara Bush, Laura Bush, Katharine Hepburn, Nancy Reagan, Shirley Temple and Betty Ford. What an amazing mix of legendary women!

You can find a chapter in your area here. Also, find out more about Junior League causes here.