things that maybe don’t all relate…

Today at 10:30 am I turned in my last final exam. School’s out, kids! Woohoo!
I’ve been thinking a lot about my time in Ecuador and all that I’ve learned, all that I’ve experienced, all that I’ve grown. It’s too much to comprehend, to be honest…too much to put into words. Whatever I say on this little online journal doesn’t even come close to sharing what is in my heart, what fills my days, and what has changed me.
I will say, though, that my time here has been beautiful, inspiring, and challenging. Every day is something new to live, overcome, and discover.
Tonight two of my closest friends from home will be arriving on a jet from the US to visit me during my last two weeks here. Two worlds colliding as I prepare to begin an entirely new part of my life come Dec. 24th. I can’t wait to see them, but I am also a bit marked by a sadness that their arrival brings…the knowledge that this part of my life is ending.
Something I’ve been thinking about a lot is the dreams that we have, the steps that we take, and the places they lead us. I have many dreams…anyone who knows me would say that is obvious…and sometimes I have wondered why I dream so much and if those dreams will ever come true. But I was in Mass the other day and the priest said that God gives us dreams for a reason, and if we trust and give all that we are…there is no reason they cannot come true. That’s what I like to believe…that if we keep fighting and working and loving and hoping and sticking true to what we believe in, then our dreams don’t just have to be dreams. And we have dreams for a reason, I believe…they are a vision of the way that God really wants us to live if we are just willing to fight for it and be faithful to ourselves.
“The universe is wider than our views of it.” -Henry David Thoreau