Time for a Literary Retreat

It’s been too long. 

I’d first like to clarify the reasons behind my recent absence from the world of online posting. It’s not been from lack of desire to share my thoughts, or even lack of material. It just took some time to get past finals,  grades, and other prior engagements that needed a neat little bow tied around them before I had the room in my head to really devote my thoughts. But I’m back!

The summer will have its own challenges, but for now, it is what it is and I’m needing to write. Blogging truly is a good way to organize thoughts, and I have lots of them in a disheveled mess. Needless to say, we have our work cut out for us..

First order of business: I’m all signed up to begin post-master’s classes in the fall. That should be fun. I’ll be working as a school social worker in an elementary school while taking education administration, special education, and school social work classes. It should be a whirlwind school year, but I’d rather it be that way than dragged out. Wasting time in that manner is all but unbearable for me. I’ve signed a lease on an apartment in town, and am collecting various household items as needed already. Graduation is in about 2 months, the lease starts the next day, and that whole week following will be boxing up and transporting my stuff. It’ll be lots of fun. 

Relate to this, I can.

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Yep.

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I have a lot to say

My head is spinning. I’ve lots and lots of thoughts racing through my mind, with no end in sight. I’m trying to manage through the present, all the while organizing life for the not-so-distant future. I’m not afraid.. Fear is the wrong word. It’s more like just trying to keep my head above water, and survive the next few months.

What’s going on?

Well, basically, I’ve decided to try to continue past a master’s degree to specialize a little bit more. I’m going into school social work, which comes with its own specifics, like being able to work in a school (pretty self-explanatory, yes?). Thing is, I’ve decided to try for a different university outside of the St. Louis area closer to home. That entails lots of paperwork, two extra classes, and running around to different departments of both schools to make sure all of my ducks are in a row…..AND finding a new apartment.. (Craigslist, anyone?)

On top of that, trying to finish the spring semester, and begin a full-time internship literally as soon as I turn in my last paper.. Gah!!!! I need one more thing to do (Right…)!! Oh, yes, the training for this internship begins on Monday, which in two weeks also includes a roadtrip to Springfield to attend an all-day training so that I can (hopefully!) know exactly what it is I’m doing at this internship. Sounds like fun, right? No wonder I’ve not been blogging as much as I’d like to be.

Why didn’t I just drop out of school and become a Youtube sensation or something?

Lol…

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I realize it’s been too long…

My sincere and fullest apologies. I’ve been neglecting my blogging due to the fact that school overwhelmed me to the point that I didn’t have time to talk about how much it was overwhelming me. I’m tired, and counting down the days to the end.

Since my last post I’ve had a birthday (that I celebrated heavily!), finished 3 school projects, had my car break down, visited my family, mourned a few losses, gained some new resolve, and much more. What I’ve noticed is that things continue to move at an alarming rate, and change almost constantly. I’ve begun to understand why my dad keeps telling me that one day I’ll “wake up one day, and be 50 years old with grown kids”. That’s depressing..

Moving on from that sad topic now…

 

So who saw the season 2 finale of The Walking Dead?? Whoa.. Michonne is finally on the scene, and believe me was worth the wait! Cannot wait until season 3, which doesn’t actually begin until fall. Well, looks like I need to gain interest in a new television show for the time being (How I Met Your Mother is a good idea, by the way, for those who are in the same boat that I am).

This post was eclectic and busy, but I feel like it was a good restart to my blogging habit. I look forward to posting more randomness, jokes about the idiocies we all complain about, and pictures that I find worth the trouble.

I’ve been trying to figure this out for weeks. Thanks!

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Why does it smell like fried chicken in this classroom?

Oh, randomness, you make me smile. The joy of finding humor in odd places is undeniably lovely. (It really does smell like fried chicken in here, by the way!).

It’s Thursday night, and I’m in my last class of the week. Next week’s workload looks like quite a lot, and there will be time spent on this computer doing many things less fun than blogging, or playing on Pinterest. That’s not fun. For right now, I’m not thinking those sad thoughts of homework. I’m tired, and burned out, but it’s all going to be okay. Just one week at a time is the way to make it in this program, and I see that more and more as each assignment gets checked off my list that’s to be finished by May 4th.

It’s all going to be fine. I know that now, because I was able to let go and allow things to begin to take their natural courses. It can sometimes be so difficult to really allow yourself to understand that the life you planned is not usually the life you end up living. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because often times when we are younger, we see ourselves going in one direction, when that direction is not at all what you really needed in the first place.

We tell our kids that they can be anything they want to be, and that they can do anything they want to do. Parents help their children plan their lives–educations, jobs, families, kids, spouses–they tell them to “be prepared”. This structure has good intentions, but I don’t really believe that I buy into it all the way.

Rather, I’d like to explore another option–or an addition to the first option (whichever suits your fancy). What if we helped our kids get on track for their supposed futures, but then encourage them in this way: let you kiddos know that life isn’t going to go exactly how they envisioned. There will be circumstances, and unplanned occurrences, and even some unforeseen tragedies along the way. What if we told our kids that all of this is part of the joy of life, rather than a potential stressor. Some of the best things that have happened in my life had absolutely nothing to do (or was the opposite of) with what I planned.

What about this? What if we told our kids to expect the unexpected? What if we told our kids to plan to be surprised?

Grammar Enthusiasts Unite!

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