Graduation Day: In a few Snapshots...

Free

I'm free
Like a foot released from a hiking boot after hours of trail maintenance,
Like an eagle flying where it wishes,
Like autumn leaves fluttering about,
Like pollen scattered through the air,
Like the wind blowing as is chooses.
Free! With my finals completed, I'm free!

*Despite my excitement over being finished with college, I assure you, I am thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the 1% of the world's population who gets to go to college.

many steps

How far have I come? How many more steps will I take? Sometimes it's hard when we don't accomplish the goals that we set out to accomplish. I had hoped to have a successful track season this year. After taking the indoor season off, I began with a good half marathon, but the rest of the season went poorly. It was frustrating to me to be unable to achieve my goals and have my last track season be by far my worst one. The day after our conference meet (which was a fun and successful day for the Doane men's and women's teams), I began the Lincoln marathon, but dropped out a couple of miles beyond the half-marathon mark. For someone who does not like to quit things that I start, this was a big disappointment, but I also thank God for giving me the sense to stop, rather than completing the run in misery. The following day, I came across this quote:

“Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.” -Chinese Proverb

It is a good reminder, that all experiences, both the pleasant and unpleasant can be used for personal growth and the only way in which they are a failure, is if we fail to recognize their value and learn from them. I learned that it is okay to set high goals and to back away from them, when the costs outweigh the benefits, so long as it isn't harming anyone else. Just take things step by step. One foot after the other.

Despite not finishing, it was a fun day to spend with my cousin, a few of her friends, my mom and aunt.

Day by Day...

"Graduation is only a concept. In real life, every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference." Arie Pencovici

Each day I wake up and enjoy some fresh air before getting ready to go to class or my ELL practicum at the elementary school. For most of the year, I ran in the mornings. Lately I've been taking walks. Regardless, the feel of soft earth and grass beneath my feet, the songs of the birds, the colorful flowers and chance to glimpse a cardinal, baltimore oriel or a fox, and the fragrence of the long row of lilac bushes along the backside of campus...All these things are a beautiful welcome to the day.

I am looking forward to my college graduation and the opportunities the await me afterwards, but sometimes have to remind myself to slow down and enjoy this time too. There is a saying: "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery. Today is a gift; that's why it's called the present."

This semester's history has been filled with both good times and tough ones this semester. I have been busy with classes (some that I love and some that I must endure), work and running as well as maintaining relationships with friends. This track season has not been what I hoped it would be, but I've been blessed in many other ways. I received a Fulbright grant to teach English at teacher training institutes in provincial Peru in 2013. I also ran my quickest half-marathon and enjoyed a more liesurely one with a friend in Lincoln. I also got to spend some time with a wonderful cousin in Omaha over Easter weekend.

The mystery of my future awaits, although I have a few hopes for it. Just this morning, I was struck with the realization that in less than 5 weeks I'll graduate and in 6 weeks and 1 day I'll be on my way to Kenya! I know very little of what awaits me there and the joys and challenges I will encounter, but I look forward to the experiences and learning through them. I'm also hoping to do the Lincoln marathon in 2.5 weeks with one of my cousins.

Presently, I'm taking each day as it comes, working little by little on the term papers I need to complete, loving the weather and remembering that no matter how excited I am to finish up with these classes and formally graduate, each day we begin again and end by graduating to a new day with the knowledge and experiences we've acquired throughout that one.

This spring...

Spring is in the air! I love waking up to the sounds of birds chirping and being able to go for a run without wearing a bunch of layers and having it be light by the time I get home, with still plenty of time before I have class or my practicum.

This semester I'm staying busy with classes and am doing a practicum in an ELL (English as a Learned Language) class at the local elementary school as well as continuing to run, work and do adult ESL classes two nights per week.

Some of my classes include social psychology, medical Spanish, Spanish and German language methods, a senior honors research seminar (for which I am researching the affects/effects of the Spanish influenza at Doane College and how the college's president dealt with the issue), American literature and modern poetry.

This weekend I will have my first half-marathon of the year at Fremont. I'm looking forward to it, although I am not sure what to expect of myself for a pace since I took indoor track season off. It should be fun anyway.

I'm looking forward to graduation in 2.5 months. Hope you're having spring weather too and that it's brightening your days.

AHADI means promise

I've been picking up a few Swahili words in my spare moments, since Swahili and English are the official languages of Kenya.

Ahadi means promise.

Tumaini means hope.

Uhuru means freedom.

Amani means peace.

Upendo means love.

And finally a simple sentence: Maji ni maisha. Water is life.





A few inspirational/motivational quotes (all in English of course =D )that I've come across in the past few weeks that I'd like to share follow.

*Mankind's greatest error is to try to take out of the mind that which will not leave the heart.
...If you're passionate about something, go for it! Even if it's not easy.

*Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain.

*When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

*Forgiveness: The perfume a flower leaves on the shoe that crushed it.

Expanding horizons

I plan to depart for Kenya on May 30th--although I won't arrive at my destination until 2 days later. Sometimes I am really excited about this opportunity to explore a new culture, an unfamiliar country (not to mention continent) and new languages, but I must admit that that isn't how I always feel.

I've been asked, "Aren't you scared?"..."Aren't you nervous?"..."Why would you want to go there?" The answer to the first two questions is "yes": Yes, I am scared and nervous, but I also feel like it is what I need to do. Why go to Kenya...to rural and impoverished Kenya...to a school where several of the children likely have HIV? There is so much in this world that I do not know or understand and so many who are less fortunate that I am.

When asked about the specifics of what I will be doing, its exact location and my other arrangements...my answer is, "I don't know." Lame, right? For a person who likes to be feel in control of things and to know what is going on, that seems bizarre. Yet, although I have anxious moments, I feel at ease about this journey.

In May I'll graduate. 1 1/2 weeks later, I will put my education and other experiences to the test to see how well they serve me in the "real" world.

Below are two websites that will give you more information about Kimori Academy and AHADI if you are interested.

http://www.bridgetgallaghersfairtrade.com/Gallery.html
http://www.ahadicommunity.kbo.co.ke/