reminder: change is good.

I don't even know where to begin...

It's been four months. Four crazy, busy, terrible yet awesome months. So much in my life has changed - I went from undergrad to grad school, having two jobs (and incomes) to being unemployed, living in Allendale with my best friend to living in Mount Pleasant with 3 strangers, knowing all the backroads to knowing one route (at first), being at the top of my classes to working my butt off just to pass... Yes, it has been crazy, busy, terrible and awesome.

I miss my best friends - the girls who know what I'm thinking just by looking at me, who I can lay around and do nothing with yet still have a blast, who know exactly who I'm talking about if I use people's names, who have lived life with me for the past four (or more) years. I miss being a half hour from home and being able to go there to do laundry, eat a good meal and get a good night's sleep in the peace and quiet of country living. I miss living less than 10 minutes from my brother and sister. I miss Allendale sunsets. I miss laughing with girls at work about dumb guests - heck, I miss working. I miss walking around campus and seeing friends every other minute. I miss having multiple friends' apartments that I could walk into without knocking because they felt like my own. I miss having two malls in easy driving distance. I miss the Allendale Biggby. I miss Grand Rapids.

But, even though I miss all of those things, and so much more, there are good things happening here in Mount Pleasant. I am in a program that I love - that challenges me and is teaching me the information and skills I need to know in order to be a successful PT. I am two miles away from my grandparents, who, even though I hate to admit it, are getting older faster than I would like - spending more time with them is such a blessing. I am making new friends - people that make me laugh until my eyes are watering and abs hurt, people that don't think I'm weird when I start talking about cadavers or science-y things, people that keep me sane amidst the insanity that this program brings. I am learning to enjoy Mount Pleasant - even though I will always hate the ridiculous traffic, how busy the Meijer is here and how terrible my 3G coverage is - being in a "college town" after four years of living in Allendale is actually pretty fun. I am learning, like I did after high school, who my real friends are - who is putting forth the effort to keep in touch even though I am two hours away and crazy busy. Calls, texts, Facebook message and cards from friends at home help keep me going. I am (still) learning that change is good. Even though it has made me want to cry on a practically weekly basis, and has totally and completely rocked my world, I constantly remind myself - change is good.

band-aid.

i'm sick of the slow pull. i wish i could rip off the band-aid.

not a real, stick-on-me band-aid ... the "say goodbye to all of the people i love" band-aid.

don't get me wrong, i know that this week isn't really "goodbye" ... it's just "see ya soon" ... but that doesn't make it any easier. saying goodbye to some of the best co-workers ever. saying goodbye to the amazing kids i've watched grow for the past two+ years. in reality, i know i've already said goodbye to quite a few friends ... but i still have four more days, and the most difficult goodbyes still remain. i'm not a sappy, emotional person (thank you, God) ... but, these next few days are going to be tough... which is why i wish i could just rip off the band-aid and be done with it all.

thankfully, i know that it will all be worth it. i'm going into an awesome program... to learn how to do my dream job... and i'm going to make some amazing new friends at cmu. and the best part? i have weekends off to either 1. have visitors come up  or 2. sneak out of the lab for a couple days to come home and visit the friends, family and city that i love.

four more days. four freaking days. hokey petes!

nearing the end.

two weeks from today i will officially be a gvsu alum.

the past week has been filled with thoughts of "this is the last time i will _____."

for example, i attended my last cru on thursday night. the fact that it was the last time i will ever see some of those people hasn't really hit me yet, but i'm sure it will eventually. i'll be out of town for the last meeting of the school year, and i was kind of bummed that i would miss the senior send-off. well, God is pretty cool, and didn't let me miss it - for some reason, the senior send-off was done a week early. standing alongside people i have grown to love over the past four years, seeing the number of people we have impacted on this campus, and being prayed over as we are sent out into the world - such a cool experience.

i'm ready to graduate... to start physical therapy school... to make new friends and new memories. however, being ready for all the good stuff, absolutely does not mean i'm ready for the goodbyes or for the end of the best four years of my (almost) 22 years of life.

people always say that "the best is yet to come." well, i certainly hope that's true - cause if it is - my future is going to have to be pretty freakin' fabulous to top my past. and really, i know it will be fabulous - God has some awesome plans for my future and i cannot wait to see what it holds.

here's to the last two weeks, grand valley. let's do this.

28 days.

28 days. 4 weeks. 1 month.

That is how much time I have left at Grand Valley. Cue freak out. I will officially be a college graduate soon soon soon. And then I will officially be a physical therapy student shortly after that. Cue excitement.

Basically, my mind is torn. I don't know how to feel these days, so I'm just going to soak it all in, and enjoy what the next month of my life holds. Yes, even the days I spend at Target... because I only have five more weeks of that, too!

Here's to April... Let's make it a good month!

wishlist.

On May 13 I will be moving to Mount Pleasant. That means I have 53 days left in Grand Rapids. 53 days of gorgeous West Michigan sunsets. 53 days with my friends and family in comfortable driving distance. 53 days of knowing my way around and being the go-to-girl for directions. 53 days to soak in the goodness that is the city I was born in and raised near. I've been thinking about leaving a lot - don't get me wrong, I'm super excited to start PT school... but I'm going to miss quite a few things about the wonderful West Michigan. So, I am making a little "wishlist" of things to do in the next 53 days (half of them involve food - don't judge me).

1. Go to Grand Haven for sunset and give the good ole Nikon a serious workout. If Pronto Pups & ice cream are involved - even better.
2. Golf at The Meadows at least once before leaving Allendale.
3. Have a late-night adventure downtown with a trip to Yesterdog.
4. Breakfast at Marie Catrib's.
5. Eat at Panera lots. There are none anywhere near CMU. Tragic.
6. Hang out with (babysit) my favorite three (possibly four?!) kids.
7. Say adios to working in retail.
8. Walk across the stage at Van Andel & get my diploma.

There are so many more things - but in reality - I am wrapping up my last semester at GVSU and working ~30 hours per week. With only two weeks of "summer vacation," I don't want to be too ambitious with my list - because I hope to check everything off! Some of these are 100% guaranteed to happen (ie #7 & #8). Everything else - I need friends to do them with - so let's make some plans!

people.

it's spring break here at gvsu, and i am hanging out in allendale. i spent the first 3 days of my break (which began almost a week ago) wishing i was going somewhere cool... a warm beach, a cool city, a foreign country... anywhere but staying at gv. but then, my schedule started to fill up and i realized staying home is exactly what i needed this break... because i needed a break... time to catch up, relax and simply be. and i realized that even though i'm not on a beach getting tan, or experiencing an awesome new place, i am being blessed by the people in my life.

hanging out with my two best friends - catching up on life, hanging out and simply not caring that we aren't doing school work or going to bed at a decent hour. working with the best manager a girl could ask for - laughing at the little things, complaining about dumb people and situations, and reminding ourselves that "it's just target." making plans to spend time with my long-lost former roomie, friends that i haven't spent time with at all this year, and relaxing at home with my parents. these people are wonderful, and even though i would rather be in florida relaxing poolside, spending time with these amazing people is making this allendale spring break completely manageable.

change is good.

well, another month has gone by. seriously, time is going so fast this year! everyone told me when i was a freshman that "the next four years will fly by" but i never believed them. until now.

graduation is in 75 days. grad-u-freakin'-ation. when did i get this old?

looking back on old pictures (something i love to do), it feels like i was living in North B 117 yesterday. but oh, how things have changed. i've grown up. i've changed. my friends have changed. my family has changed. everything has changed. but when? when did all of the changes occur? obviously, i can pinpoint big events that changed my family, friends and self - my brother's wedding, three spring break trips with Cru that stretched me and forced me to grow in so many awesome ways, funerals, friends' boyfriends and breakups, big decisions about the future... these are the events and occurrences that changes are made from. and in the past 3.5 years, even though i didn't notice most of it happening, things changed.

i'm glad. things aren't supposed to stay the same. if they had, i wouldn't have an amazing sister-in-law, i wouldn't have amazing memories from road trips and international travel and i wouldn't have the amazing best friends that i do today. i also wouldn't have a plan for my life in 75 days when i am done walking across that stage at van andel as a graduate of GVSU. i'm 99% committed to attending CMU in May for physical therapy school. that final 1% will likely come this week when i sign a lease with girls i know pretty much nothing about. but they're going to be my classmates starting May 14, and we will be going through the trials and tribulations of PT school together, so i'm excited that i will be living with them.

change is good. change is good. change is good.

i'm trying to remember that, in an effort to not freak out about the fact that i will be leaving everything i know in 3 short months.

yes, change is good.