The Eternal Butterfly

Here we are at the end of another year. This is the time of year when we reflect on the last 365 days and set intentions for the next 366 days (yay, a leap year!) As I look back on this year I think of all that I've been challenged with and overcome. As with any year there comes clarity, conflict, new adventures, blessings and lessons. Bear with me as I take a stroll down the memory lane of 2019. I know change all too well and this year was full of many. At the beginning of this year I was finalizing my personal statement for graduate school and submitting applications. I received several rejections before finally receiving an acceptance into my top graduate school program. The only acceptance that mattered (side note: a supervisor of mine once told me "You only need to get into one school/program."). I also started the year off traveling with students and colleagues to Washington D.C. What a historic time to be in the nation's capital during the longest governm...

Holiday - a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done "It's the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year...". That may be true for some people, but for others not so much. I love the fall and winter holidays, but since I've become an adult, I've struggled with them. And this this year, it won't be any different. I won't be going home for the holidays this year. I'm pretty sure this is the first Christmas since coming into this world that I won't be with my family. And I am SICK about it! Since losing family members to death, the only thing that is comforting about their absence during the holiday season is the presence of other family members that love and miss them as much as I do. And I won't be able to experience that this year. With holidays come traditions, that include food, activities, movies, jokes, etc. I'll be missing that this year. Yes we have phones and I can call and chat with whomever, but it's not the same as bein...