Roots

Last night was the first time thinking about the 'end' didn't make me gag from a deep uneasy feeling. No worries. No worries about the preschool, no worries about the final case summaries and exam reports nipping at my backside, no worries about research, and no worries about the looming black cloud that seems to follow my friends and family. I was completely at peace with the world. Then it hit me....the people who have been my rock for the last three years won't be around everyday to force a laugh or be completely inappropriate with. Here comes the lump...

For three years I've watched these banquets and enjoyed watching the students and instructors interacting with a mutual appreciation of the time spent together. This was our year. I feel exceptionally blessed...

I wasn't one of those girls whose grad-application was tossed into the "Yes" pile automatically. In fact, I was wait-listed. At that point in my life, the thought of changing schools, again, hit me hard. Since the age of thirteen I hadn't attended the same school for more than two years. It became routine; change schools, change friends. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the new experiences and people I met. It was just that I had come to admire the faculty and staff at UNI--for the first time in a while I WANTED to stay where I was. 

After the spring banquet that year (2007) I got very emotional and spilled my guts to Hags about being wait-listed. After ten minutes of sobbing he looked me in the eye and told me he had a feeling about me...I had no idea what he meant at the time. Last night it was clear. As we stood there shoulder to shoulder in Jokers balcony he brought up that night and what he'd told me. He laughed with that little grin and said, "I told you." I didn't know what to think. From the beginning Dr. H saw something in me that I hadn't seen in myself. 

Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.  ~Pauline R. Kezer

It took two years of extreme stress and support from the people around me to understand that I've got it--I've got what it takes. As I prepare to pack up my life and head out to create change I want to take a second to thank those people who have helped me succumb to this idea. You know who you are...Thank you!