Friday, August 28, 2009

Summer Thoughts

Seven days ago I was sitting at the Mexico-United States border, waiting for about three hot stinky hours to be let back into our country to embark on another great adventure: 2L.

It's strange to think the summer has ended. A few months ago I was emailing dozens of strangers, thousands of miles away, praying that one of them would be willing to let me come and live with them in Moscow. A short time later I was in a gorgeous city, visiting churches, praising street bands, eating vafly, and helping work through legal issues for a world-wide organization in multiple eastern European countries. Then it was off to Ukraine to see some people and places that I have missed for several years. Back in the states I started working on a treatise for practitioners providing information on religious litigation. The job search for next summer began and took me to Washington DC. Shortly afterwards it was off to Mexico to see Uncle Will for a little over a week. And now, 2L has begun.

This really was my greatest summer. I changed a lot and grew during these three or four months. I became more confident and sure than I've ever felt in my life. This summer put a lot of things in perspective for me; I've decided to not worry so much about so many things that aren't really important and start focusing on things that really are. I've decided to be more grateful and have more faith. I started the "charmed life" campaign a few months ago where anytime I start to feel stressed or overwhelmed I stop and say to myself, "you have a charmed life. Everything always works out the way it should." I then remind myself of all the reasons I have to be thankful for both the blessings and the trials. I encourage you all to adopt the campaign; it's worked wonders on my quality of life. While I think I have more now than ever before to feel anxious and worried about, I've never felt more positive in my adult life.

And now here we are; one week into school. One long long long week into school where I'm finding out what it means to overbook myself. And I'm really pretty happy.

~It Just Gets Stranger

5 comments:

  1. good attitude to have. We really are pretty lucky. Glad you made it through the first crazy week and you aren't in the fetal position, rocking and crying in the corner...

    Buh..buh..buh...buh..buh..

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  2. I'm proud of you. Still mad that you didn't tell me you were in DC, but proud.

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  3. I'm glad you survived your first week! And I'm so glad that you're happy :) I think I would like to adopt the "charmed life" campaign too... in a way I guess I already have, because I feel the same way! Everything always works out, and its amazing. We are so blessed.

    That was such a great, uplifting post. Thank you!! Good luck with week 2 :)

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  4. Wow, what a summer! Great memories and a great post. Thinking of you and wishing you the best in school.

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  5. Definitely the best summer of my life as well! So glad we were there to experience the craziness together!! And maybe a little of the growing up...*sigh

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