A Year In Review

In the past year I have:

1. Gotten engaged
2. Finished 1 year of Graduate School
3. Endured a long-distance relationship
4. Learned about the effects on depression on significant others (first-hand)
5. Worked at a very progressive university and had a very educational experience
6. Played Adult Recreation League Ice Hockey
7. Was 1 of 7 Interns selected for a National Conference of over 3000 people
8. Developed some amazing relationships amongst my colleagues in my cohort
9. Passed Statistics 
10. Helped a friend cope with his unengagement
11. Made stupid financial decision to purchase more hockey equipment and sold it back
12. Put down my lifelong friend/dog Lucky the day after Christmas
13. Called off my engagement
14. Helped a friend become independent and cope with depression
15. Buried the most influential person in my entire life, my Grandma on my Mom's side
16. Traveled to St. Louis & Philadelphia for conferences and met some amazing people
17. Lost my best friend
18. Found my best friend
19. Developed stronger relationships with friends in general
20. Graduated with a M.S. in Higher Education: Student Affairs degree

I am currently:

1. Trying to find a job
2. Trying to balance my personal goals & what my family wants
3. Saying "See you later" & "Goodbye" to some of my greatest friends and mentors
4. Trying to define what my values are compared to what people around me want them to be
5. Trying to be the best person that I can be to the most people who need me to be there for them

The past 2 years have been the most challenging years of my entire life. There have been major highs and major lows as you can see above. These 2 years have made me develop a more holistic perspective as to what the real issues are in life. I have been a planner my entire life, which in response my Dad just laughs at me because there are so many situations you cannot prepare yourself for. The past 2 years have felt like a military boot camp, figuratively speaking of course. One of the major points of a boot camp (that I have read at least), is to do everything they can do to emotionally, physically, and mentally break a human down so they are totally reliant on their commands. During the past 2 years I have spent countless hours on the phone following 8 hours of office work, 3 hours of class, and hours of studying, reading, or writing. Add to those factors some of the items listed above and it became pretty overwhelming for a 23 or 24 year old just trying to graduate and find a job. I have realized that I cannot do everything on my own.

I say all of this to really say that honestly my petty issues that I have been dealing with are nothing compared to people in Haiti or Japan, whose lives have been completely destroyed by natural disasters; or people in Africa who just happen to be born in countries that force children to be soldiers at age 4 and kill completely innocent people.

Although the future is important, all we really have control over are the decisions we have in the present. Human nature makes us feel like we NEED answers and we need them now...I have gained a great deal of patience and the realization that I do not need to plan everything out right now in my personal life.

I do not think that any of this is particularly important or even interesting to read, but it does feel good to get it all out. Have a wonderful evening!

TS