Half a semester DONE!!!!

Today is a monumental day! I just finished my last assignment for next weeks November Practicum, at which time I will receive another page full of assignments that will be due in eight more weeks. But let's not jump there too quickly!

What a journey the past seven weeks have been.  Learning to balance the reading, papers, and soul-searching that has come with this program has proved to be more challenging than I expected.  It's not the work necessarily, but it is the digging deep into ones soul that brings transformational learning and realizations, that has been stretching.

The last assignment that I needed to complete was my Leadership Autobiography.  After a few weeks of work, I did that today.  Though I still need to have someone do a proof reading, I sit back in awe.  Through this assignment I had to reflect on experiences that make me who I am.  In order to do that, I had to reflect on my life.  I can honestly say it is the first time that I have thought back to my childhood in such a reflective and thoughtful way.  In the end there were many learnings.  One of the learnings is that I can attribute positive parts of who I am to my mother. 

Until now, the only thing that I attributed to my mother were those pieces of my personality that I so desperately despised.  What I found in writing this was that my life, though difficult, was changed in a positive way by her as well.  She was innovative, a risk-taker, and led the way in the 60's as a working mother.  There are of course the pieces that have been with me for years, but I am thankful that the Lord allowed me to reflect, and see this part of who she was through this process.

Since my last post I also had the opportunity to meet with my learning group.  We meet once between practicums and the picture is our group hiking Mt. Rubidoux in Riverside.  With the year 2 students leading the way, the hike signified the beginning of our journey.  I am thankful for this group and look forward to the many meetings ahead!

So today, as I fight off a sickness that has kept me down for the past few days, I celebrate.  I am doing it! Half was through my first semester!!! :)