Countdown

What an exhausting weekend! Having today off from work is great, but unfortunately I will probably be spending the whole day doing homework. It's crazy because while nothing I will be working on is due this week, it is necessary to start on because it's crunch time. It's already July which means only a few more weeks until I am done with school...forever! I can't believe how fast the time's gone. It feels like only yesterday I was moving down here with absolutely no idea of what I was getting myself into. While the past year was nothing like I expected it to be, I feel like I'll be leaving here with a sense of contentment - like everything unfolded just the way it should have, for better or worse. It's been a roller coaster of ups and downs, there were times when I missed people from home so much it hurt. But now I'll be leaving behind some wonderful people too when I go back to CT. I've learned so much about myself this year, and I think those lessons will be more valuable to me than anything I learned in a classroom. I think the most important lesson I'm taking away from this experience is that I'll never be done making mistakes. I went into grad school thinking I had to "fit the part" - become this serious, super-professional person who would be content with focusing all her energy on school and being perfect at everything. But that's just not me, and it never will be. I'm only 23 years old, there is still so much I haven't done or don't know, and that's okay. Things have a way of presenting themselves to you when you're ready to handle them, and anything else just makes you stronger. You just have to be brave enough to make those mistakes in the first place.