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Everything and Nothing

Another orientation season has come and gone, and just as it is with every year, I don't know how it happened. The days were long, the stress was high, and the summer flew. And it was awesome.  But while this all happened, everything, and nothing, changed.  When you're on campus for up to 18 hours a day, sometimes nothing of magnitude happens, but during that same amount of time, the effect of all of these days of 'nothing' on a regular basis add up to something.  Here's what I've learned or discovered has changed about me during the past 2 months:
  • I gained weight :(
I was doing an awesome job of working out and eating right until mid-June when work really took over my life.  And despite the fact that I was walking all over campus, it happened. I wasn't eating well (or how I like to) and wasn't getting my heart rate up enough regularly. I also sat for long periods of time in between sessions during the day. I hate how I feel, so here's how I'm getting back to good: I'm going to run a half marathon in December; I'm committing to working out 5 days a week (to include training); I'm committing to walking Maggy at least 3 days a week; I'm going to continue with my original menu planning; I'm going to start juicing again.

  • I'm building a community here in Raleigh :)
I'm really starting to feel my community come together here and I love it.  I've lived in Raleigh for almost exactly 2.5 years now, and once I get to that point, it will be the longest I've lived in a city since leaving Athens in 2006 (I was back in Cincinnati for 9 months, then back in Athens for 2-3 months, then Greensboro for 2 years and Tuscaloosa for 2.5 years). I've got some great girlfriends here in the area and am hopeful for more to development (I'm hoping through joining the Junior League, which starts in late August). I love it- this is what I've been wanting and waiting for.

  • I learned that forgiving is easy... forgetting is hard :(
When people break your trust, it can be (but isn't always) easy to move past the incident that broke trust but it's not always easy to forget what happened. I know I have trust issues and that once my trust is broken, it's incredibly hard to earn it back. But you have to learn how adapt and still work together sometimes. It's a skill that takes time and effort to continue to work on.  And one I definitely am going to continue to work through.

  • I enjoy working with students in a one-on-one setting as they work through individual challenges they are experiencing :)
This is something I'd lost touch with over the past couple of years, but had the opportunity (fortunately and unfortunately) to do quite a bit this year. It can be an exhausting process, but I love watching students work through whatever issue or stressors they are experience and I love being their support and cheerleader. That connection is why I got into this field. I love the relationships I've built with students over the years and those I keep in touch with over the past 7 years. When I think back to the past 6-8 weeks, those are the moments in which I feel the most rewarding- the moments I was able to connect with a student to help and support them.

I'm sure I'm going to have a lot more reflections over the next couple of weeks and I plan to document them here so I can go back and share what I've learned with others and maybe help them, or just so I have a forum in which I can share my goals that I'm setting as I reflect (like running this half marathon) and have people in my life help keep me accountable.  Every summer, while the same in theory, is different and unique and I learn new things every year.  And I'm so lucky to have a job that affords me those opportunities to continue to learn and grow.

Now it's time for me to go and wash the coconut oil out of my hair, and get ready for heading to the office tomorrow... something I haven't done in almost 2 months... to start the process and the learning all over again.

'The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.' -B.B. King

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