Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, followers and readers.  I hope your holiday is wonderful!

Thankful

Tonight, I sat in two of my classes, as I do every Tuesday night.  Foundations of School Counseling, from 4-6:45, and Developmental Group Counseling, from 7-9:45.

During the first half of my Developmental Group class, my professor and a counselor from the university's counseling center gave a presentation that they had presented at an ACCA (American College Counseling Association) conference.  The topic was Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).  (Yay acronyms!)  As I sat, listening to how they had helped a student from the university some years ago with DID, I realized how truly fortunate I am.

I am healthy.  I have some semblance of a sanity (let's be real, no graduate student is truly of sound mind, even if they do happen to be studying counseling).  I have an incredible family.

My parents are the best.  There's a reason the majority of my friends call them Dad and Mom.  They're the funniest, cutest couple I know.  My dad has been known to sign his emails to my mom "Love, your friend on the other side of the bed."  They're goofy, loving, and have taught me so much.

My not-so-little brother is one of the funniest people I know as well.  His imitation of Will Ferrell as James Lipton is spot-on.

I have an awesome job at the university I attend.

My friends are the most amazing people I know.

And, last, but certainly not least... There's that guy who makes me smile, laugh, and it's because of him that I'm the happiest girl in the world.  I don't know what I'd do without him.  He's the best.

Staples, glue, and the final project

An obscene amount of staples litters the floor.  Somehow, my fingers aren't stuck together because of copious amounts of glue stick glue.  My hand cramps from cutting out letter after letter.  And, yet, it's all part of the job that's paying for my graduate school education.

I've been a CA (Community Assistant), same thing as an RA (Resident Assistant) since my junior year of college.  I'm now a graduate-level CA, but have many of the same responsibilities as an undergrad one.  Checking people in and key distribution at move in, room inspections, floor meetings, on-call nights, office hours, etc.  However, one of my favorite things about the job is making bulletin boards every month.  I've previously shared some boards here and here.

This year, I have a board that's 5" wide and 4" tall.  The normal boards are 4" and 3" high, so figuring out how to cover the larger board is always an interesting task, but I try to make it work (even if I do have to stand on a chair to do so.  My boss doesn't care, so long as it gets the job done).  So, I present to you, my bulletin boards.  This is what I do during office hours when I'm not writing out hundreds of flash cards.

The first large bulletin board of the year.

I also make door tags every month for my residents.

120+ Pokemon hand-cut out for a border. Sometimes I have issues.
And sometimes it scars childhood memories of Pokemon.

Probably one of my favorite boards that I've ever done. It took forever,
but so worth it. Each clue has a dollar value, answer, question, and
extra details about the answer/question.

Moving On

Sometimes, we all
need a little love and
repairing.

Throughout my twenty-two years, I've had friends, acquaintances, best friends, and other such people in my life.  Some who I've been close with and would trust the world, others...not so much.  Friendships have been forgotten, some repaired, some just hanging by a string waiting for a bully to snip it and render it lost.  Others have been rediscovered, strengthened, and still others sewn back together again, similar to a mother sewing a teddy bear back together for their child.

As of late, I've felt like Corduroy.  You know, the bear in the children's book by Don Freeman, found in a department store by a young girl who takes him home to repair him?

Losing friendships that you thought were once strong and would last forever can be devastating when they're lost.  When that string gets cut.  It's not just the string that was holding the friendship together, but also the heartstrings of the person who gets hurt the most.  And when it hurts...it's terrible.  (I honestly don't know where all of these sewing metaphors are coming from.)

No, but seriously, who wants the 18 year old?

Despite this heartbreak, some of my friends are like the siblings I never had.  Yes, I have a younger brother in actuality, and I love him to death (even if he drives me insane...that's what siblings are for.  Seriously.  Anybody want to borrow an 18 year old for the day?  He's yours.) and would go to great lengths for him. I'm trying to help him figure out the college thing again.  Long story there.  Anywho.

Some of my younger friends are like a little sister or brother to me, and the older ones are like the awesome older sister and funny, wise elder brother who I can look up to (then again, when you're 5'2", you look up to almost everyone).  They're incredible, beautiful, endearing people and I wouldn't be the same person I am today without their friendship.

I have an incredible, funny, loving, sweet boyfriend.  He is my rock, and keeps me sane throughout all of this craziness of life, grad school, working on campus, and finding a balance among them and still keeping a sense of humor that is beyond amazing.  His genuine sense of caring and being is humbling and refreshing.  There's no way I could do this without him.  Vic, I adore you and you make me the happiest girl in the world.  Thank you for being there for me through all of this.  You are the best.

In DC with one of my favorite people...
No, not you, Mr. Lincoln.

My family...where do I even start?  They're crazy in large groups, hilarious, and the best family in the world.  I'm one of fifteen grandkids on my mom's side of the family alone.  She's one of 8 kids, and I think my grandfather is one of 8 or 9.  Needless to say, it's a huge group at the annual Christmas party.  Sure, it's overwhelming at times, but I know that there is no way I would be the person I am today without them.

From my aunts, uncles, and cousins in California to Virginia to Pennsylvania and even a second cousin in Switzerland, I know I can pick up the phone and call or text them, and they'll be happy to chat or just say hi.  The art of communication is sometimes called lost with the generation of iPad, iPhone, iThis, and iThat, but sometimes, simple communication with a phone call is what you really need and having that is amazing.  (And, admittedly, getting mail at school is awesome.  Anybody want to be pen pals?  Seriously.)

So I guess what I'm saying is that although friendships sometimes get severed and might be irreplaceable, knowing that you do have those connections with those few close friends (because that's all the introvert in me can stand some most of the time) means more than anything else.  Making new connections can often be difficult for me, but having those close friends is a step in the right direction.  It gives me hope to see those friendships being strengthened.