In it for the long haul (and FINALLY- that good news!!)
Wow, it's already June!! Where in the world has this year gone? It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in a classroom-type room with ten of my peers, learning about what the next year of our lives was going to look like, and here we are, roughly 10ish weeks away from THE END of that year! Been pretty wild, I've learned a lot, and I'm ready to finish strong!
Yesterday, I had an encounter with a friend of mine. This friend was once merely an acquaintance, and he has now become not just a friend, but a mentor to me and an advocate for VISTA and national service in general (We'll actually be practically neighbors soon, if I ever get out of my bloody apartment). Anyway, this encounter got me thinking about something I've learned just within the last two years of my life or so, but it's really taken hold for me just within the last year. And that lesson is this: Good friends are really, really difficult to come by. But when you look up from running this race called life, and the ones that are either still with you after so many years, or the ones that have just joined you and are still going to be with you, both of those types- they're in it for the long haul.
I have maybe a dozen of what I would call "close" friends, and most of them I met in college. Often times we go months without seeing each other; in fact, we count ourselves lucky if we see each other twice a year. Some of my close friends I haven't seen in about two, three, even four years. But we Skype, and of course there's Facebook. Out of those close friends, only one still lives in my hometown, and again, we're lucky to see each other twice a year. All of these friends of mine, though; I've been friends with them anywhere from seven to ten years (yes, ten!), and when we are fortunate enough to talk or see each other, it's like we just saw each other a week ago. We've all "grown up" and are building lives for ourselves: One of my friends is about to welcome her first daughter in a few weeks. One is about to graduate with her MA in Communications. One just got her dream job- working in a library! Two have been married for almost six years, and recently moved to Louisville. One is raising an almost four-year-old son, working full-time, is in a good relationship, and is doing the best she can in giving her son the absolute best. One is getting married in September- and I'll be joining her up front as one of her bridesmaids! One is 2400 miles away, in Oregon, and she has a great job, and she just adopted a puppy! One's at Harvard, working on an architecture degree. One's in Japan getting her PhD! One is building a life for himself in theater, and is a very successful costume designer. And I could go on all day...I'm proud of all of them. Yeah, it does stink that we don't see each other much. But we're all bonded by this common thread of friendship, and there's no resentment towards one another. We celebrate our successes and our joys, grieve during their hard times, and we do our best to stay in touch with each other. I think that's about all anyone could ever ask for.
Now back to yesterday. We've known of each other for a few years, having had a class together at Berea, but it's just during this past year or so that we've actually gotten to know each other. We've shared a lot of stories about our lives and the work we're doing. I've shared things with him that I haven't shared with anyone else. We look out for each other, and we build each other up. Maybe it's because that's his job (he's my VISTA leader, which is how we met in the first place), but I think it's more than that, for sure. Anyway, we were parting ways for the day and out of nowhere, he said: "You know, we've been Facebook friends for a while, but I'm glad that we've become face-to-face friends, and I want to thank you for that." To say that I'm humbled, and also grateful, is an understatement. I think if every VISTA had a VISTA leader, and a friend, much like the one I and many others in Berea have had, no VISTA would ever walk away from his or her service year. So that's my way of saying thanks! And I'm looking forward to a few more moments of hell-raising, shenanigans, event planning, and that eventual dinner party whenever I do get the bleep out of my apartment.
And finally, I have reached the point in this blog where I share the good news! Remember waaaayyyyy back in November when I was reflecting on how thankful I was? (Are you sensing a theme here??) Well, I think the time has finally come to let the cat out of the bag: Effective at the end of my VISTA year, which, on paper, is August 28, I will be remaining with Grow Appalachia as a full-time staff member of Berea College! Some of my responsibilities will change, but for the most part, I will be doing what I do now. I am very, VERY excited for this opportunity and I'm ready to start now!!!!! And I thank God, because it's all I can do. I'm really, really blessed to have been asked to stay, especially so early on in my service. It's a pretty special thing, being a part of a team that is so invested in me. They want me to be successful, which in turn, makes me want to perform well and do the best that I can! Again, I'm humbled (Some days I still have to pinch myself). I really am blessed, and definitely in more ways than one.
As I always say, I do believe the best is (still!!) yet to come!
Yesterday, I had an encounter with a friend of mine. This friend was once merely an acquaintance, and he has now become not just a friend, but a mentor to me and an advocate for VISTA and national service in general (We'll actually be practically neighbors soon, if I ever get out of my bloody apartment). Anyway, this encounter got me thinking about something I've learned just within the last two years of my life or so, but it's really taken hold for me just within the last year. And that lesson is this: Good friends are really, really difficult to come by. But when you look up from running this race called life, and the ones that are either still with you after so many years, or the ones that have just joined you and are still going to be with you, both of those types- they're in it for the long haul.
I have maybe a dozen of what I would call "close" friends, and most of them I met in college. Often times we go months without seeing each other; in fact, we count ourselves lucky if we see each other twice a year. Some of my close friends I haven't seen in about two, three, even four years. But we Skype, and of course there's Facebook. Out of those close friends, only one still lives in my hometown, and again, we're lucky to see each other twice a year. All of these friends of mine, though; I've been friends with them anywhere from seven to ten years (yes, ten!), and when we are fortunate enough to talk or see each other, it's like we just saw each other a week ago. We've all "grown up" and are building lives for ourselves: One of my friends is about to welcome her first daughter in a few weeks. One is about to graduate with her MA in Communications. One just got her dream job- working in a library! Two have been married for almost six years, and recently moved to Louisville. One is raising an almost four-year-old son, working full-time, is in a good relationship, and is doing the best she can in giving her son the absolute best. One is getting married in September- and I'll be joining her up front as one of her bridesmaids! One is 2400 miles away, in Oregon, and she has a great job, and she just adopted a puppy! One's at Harvard, working on an architecture degree. One's in Japan getting her PhD! One is building a life for himself in theater, and is a very successful costume designer. And I could go on all day...I'm proud of all of them. Yeah, it does stink that we don't see each other much. But we're all bonded by this common thread of friendship, and there's no resentment towards one another. We celebrate our successes and our joys, grieve during their hard times, and we do our best to stay in touch with each other. I think that's about all anyone could ever ask for.
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| It's not all of us, but it's most of us, and this is one of my favorite pictures :) (2010) |
And finally, I have reached the point in this blog where I share the good news! Remember waaaayyyyy back in November when I was reflecting on how thankful I was? (Are you sensing a theme here??) Well, I think the time has finally come to let the cat out of the bag: Effective at the end of my VISTA year, which, on paper, is August 28, I will be remaining with Grow Appalachia as a full-time staff member of Berea College! Some of my responsibilities will change, but for the most part, I will be doing what I do now. I am very, VERY excited for this opportunity and I'm ready to start now!!!!! And I thank God, because it's all I can do. I'm really, really blessed to have been asked to stay, especially so early on in my service. It's a pretty special thing, being a part of a team that is so invested in me. They want me to be successful, which in turn, makes me want to perform well and do the best that I can! Again, I'm humbled (Some days I still have to pinch myself). I really am blessed, and definitely in more ways than one.
As I always say, I do believe the best is (still!!) yet to come!
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