Orange you glad it's October??

Orange you glad it’s October????

I surely am!

8.25.14 First Day of School Selfie

The last couple months of my life have been eventful, to say the least.

In August, I moved to Louisville and celebrated the 20^th anniversary of “My First Day of School.” It was a great day. August 25, 2014. While twenty years of school seems like SO much, it’s actually not that bad. I’m 24 years old, I’m doing what I love, and I’m sharpening the tools I need to build a life I’ll continue to love, so it’s all good.

That was the happy part of August.

The not so happy part about August was living alone in a new place.

Moving can be such an exciting part of life, but it can also be super lonely at times.  Unlike my previous moves (undergrad studies (MS), summer research programs (MN, MS, RI) and graduate school (AL)) I was not surrounded by familiar faces, and I could not hop in my car to see a friend for the weekend. So, I feel like this is my first REAL move. Learning a new place, meeting new folks, and finding a new rhythm is no easy task, but I’ve met some cool folks in my program that make me feel welcomed and happy. I am grateful for that.

August definitely ended with a bang. My brothers and our honeys took a Labor Day road trip to Destin. I still can’t believe that I rode in a minivan for 12+ hours, but we had a blast.

8.30.14 Road Trippin' Mini Van Selfie

Funny story: I had to travel across the country to fail my first test. So, there’s a Florida law that requires you to pass a test to operate water vehicles. I failed the test three times...and there was a study guide. It was only 25 questions, but I’m pretty sure that I was drained from the heat. Anyway, I should have taken that as a warning because this happened!

 Watch the video here...from my brother's view...lol!

I'm sure I've never been that afraid for my life. Even with a lifejacket. I certainly wasn’t laughing when it happened, but it was the most exciting part of the trip, in hindsight.

Here comes September.

In September, I found myself more comfortable in Louisville. I joined a gym not too far from my house and I meet more cool people. I also found myself crying a lot less. (Some people obviously cry a lot in graduate school…I’m one of them!) My students were awesome, and my classes were GREAT! I felt like I was on top of game…I was the best me I could be, all around.

Then, came Friday, September 12, 2014. My great-grandma passed. Definitely didn’t see that coming. It was tough sorting through all that I was feeling. It still is tough, but everyday gets better. (Read my tribute here.)

I went home that weekend to be with family, and the following weekend for the funeral. During those visits, I thought many things.

Patience was one of the things.  Understanding was another.

I have constantly prayed for my patience in difficult situations and in my interactions with others, but the feelings I experienced after my grandma’s passing helped me see that being patient with myself was just as important.

So, I sat down and asked myself what I was really feeling and dealt with each feeling calmly.  This approach felt much better than my normal routine of telling myself that I was ok when I wasn’t as I continued my normal activities.

I needed to take a minute to be with myself and accept that all the things that needed to get done would get done, but right now I needed to be patient with myself.

(There’s a lot more to be said about these new strides towards patience, but that’s enough for now.)

I’m finding more peace and patience in my own time. And that’s been good for me.

The other thing that happened in September was I lost that new rhythm that I described earlier in the post. I was super behind in my work, in my lesson plans/grading, and in life.

You can’t miss two weekends of work time in graduate school, basically.

I’m pretty sure that life made two laps around me and I was left feeling like I would never catch up. A simple glance at my to-do list made me want to sleep, but things were much easier to manage as September winded down.

Sooooo, the last couple months have been pretty eventful, but I’m better because of them. October will bring great things. I can feel it!

Orange you glad it's October???

9.1.14 Photo Credit: Megen Boyett