Lessons Learned

A year ago I was finishing up my last lab reports, frantically trying to cram a semester's worth of Diff EQ homework into a few mornings, getting shots and buying malaria medication, and discovering that my graduation gown (borrowed from my older brother) was significantly shinier than the new eco-friendly gowns recently purchased by the rest of my friends. I also had absolutely no idea what my life would look like after graduation, and I can safely say that sitting in a Panera in Missouri was probably not even on the list of possibilities.

Since then, I think I can safely say that I've learned a lot. I may not be finishing up my first semester of medical school as I originally had hoped, I may not be working on a fascinating research project, and I may not even have a "real" job, but I've still learned that....

1. People value "real" work far more than they'll ever actually admit. Being busy and "doing something" with your life is viewed as what all individuals should be doing--especially all college graduates. Since I haven't had a "real" job for the past year, I've been served plenty of delightful dishes of others' opinions on what I should be doing. What I'd like to tell most of these people is that I've learned to be grateful for not having a "real" job--if I had one, I wouldn't be traveling for a 7 weeks and taking days off whenever I jolly well please.

2. E'rybody thinks that I'm on some sort of hunt to find my husband, now that I've graduated from college. Seriously. It's a bit disturbing. Especially since the last guy who confessed feelings towards me also revealed that he thought living in his parents basement during the first year of his future marriage would be a grand plan.

3. God will always provide. Working on a week-to-week, day-to-day basis with my clients, I know that my source of income could collapse at any point in time. Sometimes this worries me, but I've learned to put aside these worries and trust that God will always provide me with what I need....even if it's through work that involves researching hundreds of colon-cleansing products. 

4. I really like tortillas. (Ok, so this isn't exactly a new realization, but more of a rediscovery of my love for them.)

5. Sometimes all the training may not really matter. You can work hard throughout college for stellar grades, study your ass off for the MCAT...and still not get in to medical school. You can follow a marathon training schedule religiously and still have a run on the actual day that consists of more exhaustion and cramps than you ever thought possible. But in the end? It's all ok. You move on, you may work harder the next time, but you don't place blame on yourself.

6. 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. Really. I don't think that I would have been able to get through the past year without learning this lesson--even though it's a lesson that I should (theoretically) already have learned.

....

and that was a terribly long post. Which I will end with a terribly random photo :)

Happy Things

1. Being done with The Beast.
2. Getting to see a dear friend 4 weekends in a row
3. Having only one week left till I'm leaving on a jet plane...and being thrilled over the aspect of getting to see/live with friends for the next 6+ weeks
4. Knowing that in a week and a half I'll be done with my first marathon
5. Enjoying a steady stream of work, even if it means getting up at 3am to finish an assignment because I was too tired after my long run the previous day to do anything productive
6. Stocking up on books to read while traveling
7. Seeing sunshine, even it it's still cold outside, and the sunshine only occasionally breaks through the rainclouds
8. Hearing a song by Ebo Taylor on this week's We Are Hunted playlist...and being instantly taken back to a hot, bumpy ride in a van in Ghana