The Curve in the Path

“I don’t think I’d have been in such a hurry to reach adulthood if I’d known the whole thing was going to be ad-libbed”.

-Bill Watterson, author of Calvin and Hobbes

The luscious view from Perseverance Trail.

Sophia entitled her blog post this week “The Beginning of the End”, which I think is a proper way to frame my post as well. I’m not quite sure how it happened, but I’m looking at my calendar and seeing that I have five weeks left of my student teaching. Five weeks! How did that happen? It’s a weird feeling- I feel accomplished, excited, and nervous. I think I mostly feel nervous because I don’t feel ready for this stage of my education to be over! I still have so much to learn.

Thank you so much for all you do, Dick!

And yet, I had my final teaching observation with Dick last week, and he, Lorrie, and I sat down for my final evaluation on Thursday. I walked away feeling encouraged, seeing how much I have learned and knowing what I can still work on. To hear these two veteran teachers say, “You can do this”, and better yet, “You’re a good teacher”, means a lot to me. Sophia and I were sad to say goodbye to Dick, who has been one of our many wonderful cheerleaders this year. We ended up doing a gift exchange, with neither party expecting to receive something in return! The beautiful bowl he made me is sitting right in front of me on my desk, fitting nicely with the collection of other things I hold dearest.

UAS classes also finished last week, and my final class meeting with the other MAT students was wrapped up with kind words and touching videos (check out the amazing one Scott, my professor, made about our class! I am mentioned at 4:08). It’s neat to think about the journey we all went through together. Even though I haven’t met most of my colleagues in person, we all bonded over the fears and joys of being pre-service teachers. I loved that online community!

Sophia, Heidi, and I had a little photoshoot in front of this
exciting poster on campus the other day! 

With finals happening this week, I am now just one assignment away (my Teacher Work Sample, which I can finish as soon as my jazz unit finishes this week!) from finishing my semester! Sophia and I met together last Monday and cranked out our research project, which studied non-cognitive traits in our JAMM students. We worked really hard on our project and feel very proud of it! It was also very touching to record all the quotes we collected from our students to find out their views on growth mindset, belonging, and self-efficacy. When asked what they liked about playing music with others, my older JAMM students said things like, “Playing with others pushes me to play better because I receive feedback from my peers”, “The music sounds better with all the parts together”, and “We are all working toward a common goal: to make music”. Such wisdom and joy! These kids embody the success of El Sistema. It has been proven through research that making music with others develops essential social and intellectual skills in adolescents. And I have the honor of seeing it happen before my very eyes every day. #STEAMAdvocate #MusicEducationisWhereItisAt

Me and my cello student, Finn!
He played so well today!

Although some things are ending, it feels as if others are just beginning! Many, many performances will come and go in this next month. There were two fun ones this past week: a JAMM barn dance fundraiser, where JAMM violinists and violists from all three schools came together and played folk music. A fantastic local band (which Sophia was in!) also provided music for parents to dance before and after the JAMM student performance. It was awesome! And how neat to see all three schools come together. The kids did a great job! Speaking of kids doing a great job, one of my high school private students performed the Prelude to Bach’s Suite No. 1 at our annual studio recital today! He closed the recital of 26 students from around Juneau, and he did an incredible job. It’s been so fun to come alongside my students and watch them grow as musicians. It’s also so weird to be on the other end- I was a student for so long, and now it’s my turn to pass it on (although I wouldn’t mind being a student once again someday :)). It’s an amazing feeling.

On top of the everyday things, there are plenty of big, future-related things that are constantly on my mind. I checked out a great church last night that really filled me up spiritually and let me relax and “just be”. With so much going on and 100 emails sitting in my inbox, it is incredibly hard for me to be in the moment. For pete’s sake, I just registered for my five summer classes and ordered the books for them, even though four of them don’t start until June! My mind is constantly running at 60mph. Because of that, I decided to take myself on a long hike this morning. It’s funny because this past week, there were two days that were the prettiest I had ever seen in Juneau. But when the weekend came and I actually had time to be outside, it was, of course, pouring rain. Oh well. I was dressed properly for the weather and thoroughly enjoyed my 8-mile hike from my house through Perseverance Trail, via the Flume Trail. I got all the way up to a basin called Silverbow Basin and basked in its wet beauty before turning around. No one was around (including no bears, sadly! I have yet to see one!!!), so I prayed out loud, sang, or just plain talked to myself. I really never knew I could keep myself so entertained until I went on so many solitary hikes this year! I found it hard even then, surrounded by nature and away from cell service, to slow down and take in the moment. I have to intensely train my mind and body to stop for a moment. I took hold of a few still moments, as I was standing in the pouring rain, eating my trail mix and listening to the ten different kinds of birds singing around me, and it was glorious. Times like those make me never want to leave Juneau.

As final concerts happen (like the giant cello ensemble concert this Saturday and my final Thunder Mountain orchestra concert, which Sophia and I are completely in charge of), I daily face the questions I am also daily asked (and guesses as to what it is? Anyone who is graduating from a program knows exactly what it is). That is why I have to take even more moments to still myself. Similar to my path I hiked this morning, I have no idea what is around the corner. But if I keep walking up the winding path where the mountains meet, stopping to take a breath of fresh air along the way, the view will become clear before I know it.

Trails of Water

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."

-C.S. Lewis

A raven, flying over the Gastineau Channel.

I was talking to one of my six cello students (yay Juneau- thank you for bringing me students!!) the other day as we were packing up our instruments after her lesson, and she was telling me all about her job training and how busy life gets (she’s an adult, and I am greatly enjoying working with my students, who now range from age 8 to 50+). While talking about maintaining a consistent schedule, she named one of the biggest obstacles I have faced and often overcome this year: leading a balanced life. She couldn’t have known how much her statement, “It’s just really important to set boundaries and keep things balanced in your life”, meant to me. And I feel like since the beginning of the new year, I have developed a much healthier outlook on my needs and have been able to keep them fulfilled most of the time. And it just makes for a happier, more stable teacher! So although it is Sunday evening and I feel like there are potentially hours of work to do tonight, I am taking the time to write out my thoughts about the last incredible week I had...and then I’ll see how I feel about doing work. ;)

MusicFest was one of my highlights of the year in so many ways. First of all, taking the ferry was a whole new experience for me, and I loved it! It reminded me of the train with its open, spacious areas. It was obviously even more open and spacious, which was nice- especially since we were crammed in the ferry with our 160 students, PLUS students from at least 4 other schools in Southeast Alaska! Picture large, carpeted rooms lined with chairs facing the windows overlooking the ocean. Then, picture sleeping bags and high schoolers sprinkled all over the floor- in between the chairs, all over the aisles, in the middle of the room. Oh, and don’t forget the two completely overloaded powerstrips students who have obviously done this before brought. Fire hazard much? But yeah, that was pretty much it.

Aboard the Malaspina!

I enjoyed the ride because the ferry was so smooth and quiet, and there were beautiful sights. What wasn’t as thrilling was trying to get over my sickness on that 36-hour ride. Did I succeed? No. Just hours after I wrote my last post, I was casually blowing my nose, as one does when one is sick, and all of a sudden, the world became a lot quieter (too graphic with the nose-blowing scene?! Oh well!). So for the next two days I could hear almost nothing out of my right ear. That got really frustrating, really quickly because it took so much effort to focus on each person to hear them, and it was just not working in the packed ferry. The plus side is, it did help me sleep better the second night when a bunch of the students in our large room decided to keep talking loudly into all hours of the night, even after Sophia and I pulled the “chaperone card” and asked them to be quiet. After that remained ineffective, you know what I did? I snuggled into my sleeping bag in between two rows of chairs, laid my head on my pillow, and promptly turned onto my left side so that I could milk my half-deafness for all it was worth. The ignorant, muffled bliss was glorious. Being a chaperone for a high school trip was a new experience for me, and I really wish I hadn’t been sick for it because it took a lot of energy out of me, and I didn’t feel like I was very good at it! But I helped keep the kids safe, and we all got there in one piece, so it’s okay if I couldn’t hear every little thing they said or I couldn’t get them all to be quiet at exactly 11pm!

I had some great bonding moments with students on the ferry and throughout the week, though, and that were some of my favorite times. I love talking to my students and getting to know them better! And my orchestra students are so respectful and kind. It’s wonderful. :) One of our students ran to find me and Sophia late on that second night (before our supposed 11pm “quiet time” curfew), excitedly exclaiming that the Northern Lights were out! You’d better BELIEVE I booked it out of my seat and ran outside! And there they were. A phenomenon that many people only dream of seeing was spread across the sky in green ribbons. Seeing these magical streaks nestled in the clouds that hung low above the dark water was an unforgettable moment.

The view of the ferry when we first boarded it at 2:30 am on Tuesday...!

We arrived in Ketchikan the next afternoon, and it was miraculously sunny! It actually continued to be for the next 43 hours that Lindsay, Sophia, and I were there. Ketchikan is a beautiful place. It’s smaller than Juneau and much rainier, as it is farther south, so it was really amazing that it didn’t rain the days I was there. We all arrived at the local high school to find that the students had welcomed all of the other Southeast Alaska schools with posters using our school colors, and we were directed to the gym to our “school stations”. After announcements were made and instruments were unloaded from the U-Haul we took on the ferry with us, the kids (and chaperones!) were set free to explore the town before our lovely spaghetti welcome dinner. Our wonderful new chaperone friend/Thunder Mountain colleague, Phil, drove us around town, and we stopped by the grocery store to pick up some snacks. I walked down the aisle, looking for something caffeinated, only to see some of our high school band students hugging a large pile of tea and taking Snapchat photos of themselves with said pile. One of them gleefully said, “Things are so much cheaper here!!”. It’s the little things. :)

Me, conducting the Thunder Mountain Intermediate Orchestra
in our performance at MusicFest!

After we all ate dinner, my orchestra and I went to the band room to run through our four pieces we would perform the next morning in the Library, bright and early. Let me say that running through a program just hours after being on a ferry for a day and a half while also being sick is not a good plan. I started off the rehearsal by conducting the first piece in the wrong meter...twice...and after I looked up to see my students’ faces displaying severe looks of confusion, I realized what I was doing. I just got more nervous and hot from there, and all of a sudden I was dehydrated and beet red, and everything was blurry. And HOT. How did it get so hot in there?! We somehow made it through, but both I and my students seemed stressed, and we all pretty much felt like musical failures- haha! We all laughed about it afterwards, agreeing the rehearsal was for the best. But we also accepted that all of us just stunk. It’s okay, because our performance the next day ROCKED! A good night’s sleep does a lot! But seriously, it couldn’t have gone smoother. I am incredibly proud of my students. We were a true team, and I couldn’t stop smiling when I was in front of them. Our adjudicator was pleased with our sound and energy and had some helpful tips for us; we all greatly appreciated that feedback.

It was not only special to work with my adjudicator, an esteemed music educator in the teaching world, to get her feedback, but also for more personal reasons. Before our performance, I read her biography in the festival program and noticed that she taught in Wooster, Ohio, where some of my family members have lived and gone to school. I mentioned the woman’s name to my parents, and it turns out she is a good friend of my dad’s side of the family because she taught my uncle when he was studying to be a band teacher in college. It was really important for me to make that connection with her because my uncle passed away when I was 4, and I have no memories involving him except a few overheard conversations about how funny, kind, and caring he was, and a couple photographs. I was able to spend a meal talking with my adjudicator about my uncle, learning about how funny, calm, sure, and respectable he was. That meant a great deal to me. I know that he was a fantastic teacher who really invested in his students, which I have come to decide is the most important thing a teacher must do. It feels like an honor to be following in his footsteps and meet this woman who met my uncle when he was just about my age, when he was also beginning his exciting journey of teaching music to kids.

Me and my cello/bass clinic students! They ended up all being
our Juneau kids from the two high schools: TMHS and JDHS,
and they all happened to be friends..they were a lot chattier
than I expected!! Haha!

After teaching a clinic on lower strings technique and another on performance anxiety and stage presence, I soaked in the glorious moments of watching Sophia conduct her two ensembles: the advanced string orchestra from Thunder Mountain and the wind ensemble. Not only was it impressive because the wind ensemble was the strongest group of the night, but also...Sophia had zero wind ensemble experience before this year! I jumped into teaching Spanish to get more teaching hours, and she chose band. It’s pretty cool to see how we have grown by taking those risks. Lindsay, Sophia, and I returned to our Super 8 motel room afterwards and celebrated a great day with McDonald’s milkshakes and long conversations about how we have conquered so many battles this year and where the fight of life will take us next. They “conveniently” (haha just kidding!) drifted off to sleep as I talked myself into a voiceless oblivion (oh yeah- I started losing my voice that morning). At that point, I just received responses of grunts, so I decided it was time for me to turn off my Energizer Bunny brain and go to bed as well. It’s pretty entertaining how much energy I have when I am around people I care about.

I woke up to discover my voice had progressed into “toad mode” (i.e. I sound like a toad when I talk; especially when I laugh! Don’t even ask me to sing...) and also noticed that the rain was starting to sprinkle the land just as we prepared to leave it and return to Juneau. Phil kindly dropped us off at the ferry terminal, where we boarded the tiny ferry that took us to the airport on the island on the other side of the water. Our plane did the “milk run” trip, which involved stopping in the cities of Wrangell and Petersburg before Juneau. We just sat on the plane for a little bit each time we stopped. I liked it because now I can say I’ve been to more places! We also stopped in Sitka and those two cities on the way down, so there you go! I’ve “been” to a lot of different cities in Alaska now. :P

The three of us flew home early from MusicFest to be there for the final rehearsals for our Juneau Symphony concerts this weekend. We performed gorgeous, haunting repertoire, including Elgar’s Nimrod from Enigma Variations and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem. It was a program of beautiful, glorious music. I can’t even express what it means to me to be part of a group of people who work together to make something truly stunning and moving. Playing in an orchestra is definitely part of who I am; without it, I feel hollow and dim.

The concerts are over, but the playing is not- thank goodness! We have our giant cello ensemble concert that will showcase the Symphony cellists and over 50 JAMM and high school cellists in Juneau in a couple weeks (April 30th at 2pm at Egan, for my Juneau friends!). I also have some gigs (including some lovely weddings- my favorite gigs to play!) coming up.

I also have a feeling I should be feeling really stressed about my final UAS class assignments, and yet I know it will all get done. Sophia and I spent a few hours on the ferry working on our classroom research assignment, which is shaping up to be an interesting project, as we attempt to quantitatively measure the character strengths of growth mindset, belonging, and self-efficacy in our JAMM students. We are furthering the El Sistema movement by using a national El Sistema survey and providing the survey authors with our results- all while creating a stellar class project. Besides that, I have to complete my teacher work sample, which outlines the details of how my unit plan went (which is still going on this week and next! So I can’t finish it until it has actually “went”). Those are the two assignments standing between me and graduation. Oh, and four summer classes haha. But I will graduate FIRST and cross that summer school bridge when I get to it!!

I don’t know how this happened, but I feel more grounded these days- in who I am, and in what I want and need. To me, being grounded doesn’t mean finally knowing who I am or what I want; it is actually the embrace of the never fully knowing. Granted, these are “life lessons” from a 22 year-old. Let’s see how I feel a decade or four from now! No matter what, I am content in the chaos of the unknowns, knowing that God is good, and He has a plan.

Revelations from a Snot-Filled Mind

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.”

I am currently sitting in bed with a bag full of tissues on the floor beside me, and a heating pad warming my very sore back. Three guesses for why I’m not at school? Ahh, the tradition prevails- I am sick once again! This may be the seventh time this school year, but I still have such faith that I will have the immune system of...well, someone who has a strong immune system, after this! There are some silver linings: this has given me the chance to prepare for my trip to Ketchikan that begins tomorrow morning at 1am (I’ll talk more about this later!) and to catch up on missed sleep over a fantastic folky weekend. And to write a long blog post (prepare yourselves, people!)!

This post has a central theme to it: the growth mindset. I mentioned this concept long ago, so let me give you a little refresher. The “growth mindset” is a term coined by psychological researcher, Carol Dweck, and it embraces this idea of “not yet”- you don’t understand it yet. You don’t know how to do it yet. She believes that people do not have a fixed intelligence; we become smarter each time we apply some grit and push ourselves to learn something new. As I see the days just fly by in the final months of this program, I can clearly see the bright colors of the growth mindset shading my entire experience this year.

Me and the quartet performing at Folk Fest. Thanks so much for the screenshot, Rachel!!

First, let’s talk about me being a teacher. To some of my friends and family members, they felt this career choice was inevitable. Both of my parents are teachers in varying settings, as are or were many of my extended family members (shout-out to Grandaddy and Aunt Nancy!). In addition to that, people clearly see my love for children of all ages when I am around them. I enjoy getting to know them and playing tag with them. Most days, I’d actually rather do all that than get up and teach them! And yet, becoming a teacher is the way in which I get to spend time with these lovely little and big ones. It has also allowed me to use my maternal instincts, along with my expertise of music and the other skills I possess. I didn’t see it coming, but I am really enjoying being a teacher. It took me a while, though, and a lot of that growth had to do with overcoming my fixed mindset. Teaching when you’re new to it is terrifying! I had a lot of insecurities and fears to overcome before I could feel confident implementing a fluid lesson in front of a large group of kids. I had so many “what if” questions: “What if this really bad thing happens in the classroom, and I don’t know how to handle it? What if I hurt a student’s feelings or somehow emotionally scar them for life?!”. I also had visions of kids chasing me, crying, out of the classroom. I had no idea what to expect. As I have settled into this new view of myself, I have become more comfortable with my students and have discovered some of my strengths and strong interests. It took going to Unalakleet and coming back to work with my Juneau kids to realize that I really love working with high school orchestras. Orchestra has been my life for almost 15 years. I know what it looks like to play in an orchestra in the real world, and I know what it takes to get there. And I enjoy working with high schoolers because they are able to understand advanced musical concepts, and I can also have deeper conversations and connections with them. I have watched my small orchestra of 20 students transform from a very reserved (well, let’s just be honest- they were dead-quiet) group to a lively, smiling ensemble full of musicians who can pinpoint the spots we need to work on in our pieces and can even explain how to fix what we are doing. I can’t take all the credit because it is a mutual effort, but I know that my lively, humorous, and caring personality, as well as my modeling of how to be a participating orchestra member has brought a lot of that out. It excites me so much! It also excites me to see how I have grown into my shell and have discovered my teaching personality. Both my parents and my university observer were able to witness me teach my orchestra, and they all commented on my level of comfort and engagement with my students. It’s a natural fit!

And that is why, although I sort of still feel like death, I am excited to board a 36-hour ferry with my high school students to participate in MusicFest. MusicFest is an annual Region V music festival that will give our students a chance to interact with other musicians in Southeast Alaska and perform for adjudicators. My orchestra and I are signed up to perform our four pieces from our concert a few weeks ago, and I am also signed up to teach a lower strings technique class and a performance class (the performance class will be a collaboration between me, Lindsay, and Sophia, so I am excited about that!). I will be in Ketchikan from Wednesday until Friday and am then flying out Friday to make it back for Symphony rehearsal Friday night because our concerts are next Saturday and Sunday! It will be an exhausting but awesome week of music.

Now, all of this isn’t to say that I haven’t enjoyed working with elementary schoolers!! Elementary schoolers bring a different spice to life. They are curious, energetic, adorable, and loving. I still stand by my resolution that kinder hugs can heal any wound (and maybe cure sickness?! Although, I’m sad to say that I think sometimes they cause the sickness…). And there is something very special about guiding young children along in the beginning of their musical journey. What a special time! I have particularly enjoyed working with the violists, cellists, and bassists in JAMM because I feel a deep connection to all of those instruments. And here is another example of a growth mindset: last Friday, Sophia had to stay home sick (I’m pretty sure I gave her the cold I had earlier last week, and once she felt better, it was my turn to get it again, except this time it’s been much worse!). Well, we had all our JAMM kids in classes throughout the day, which included two groups of violists: a trio of third graders, and a larger group of fourth and fifth graders. And Sophia is our viola teacher. So I volunteered to not only work with the violists in a sectional on a new piece they just got, but I also took a stab at sight-reading the viola part so we could perform the new piece as a quartet!! Would I have ever volunteered to do something that could potentially be that embarrassing before this year?! Probably not. But it wasn’t about me- it was about providing a quality example of flexibility and determination to my students. And I’m not going to lie, it was a pretty impressive read-through for me!!! And it definitely made my viola-playing sisters proud. :)

I definitely realized why my parents wanted me to choose
cello over the bass in third grade! MAN, it's heavy!!

Speaking of being adaptable enough to pick up new instruments, I carried on the theme this weekend by giving the upright bass a try in the quartet’s performance at Folk Fest! Folk Fest is a long-standing Juneau tradition (this was its 42nd year) where musicians from all over Alaska and the Lower 48 come together to jam, dance, perform, and hang out together for a week. The entire festival is free, and anyone can apply to perform for 15 minutes on the main stage. The festival also brings in top-notch folk bands from around the country as guest artists. So, the quartet signed up and performed our set yesterday afternoon! It had been a busy week, so we put it all together the day before. And we pulled it off! It was an absolute blast. I played the bass and the violin, and the other girls also played multiple instruments that were not their primary ones (although I have to say, all three of the girls are absolute fiddle beasts!!). We also jammed in the hallway of the main building the night before and got to meet some super cool musicians. I got to hear so many amazing acts (live and on the online webcast!), and I danced until I was dead-tired. I am incredibly impressed by the vibrant music scene Juneau has. This event was unlike any other I had ever seen- everywhere you walked downtown, there were bands performing and people dancing. There were free workshops and instrument swaps during the day. It was just amazing. And again, I just have to think, would I ever have been comfortable with getting up and playing these two instruments I just learned this year on a stage? No! Check out the video of our dress rehearsal below. :)

So, those are just a few of the exciting moments and reflections I’ve experienced this week. I picked up my cap and gown the other day, and as I’ve let them hang in my closet, I’ve had dreams of putting on that Master’s hood and walking on the stage to receive my diploma (or maybe it’ll just be an empty cover, since I’m not actually done until August!). It just all feels so surreal. This program has been the best thing I have done with my life so far. I have seen myself grow and change in many professional and personal ways. Although I still don’t have a clear sense of my next step, I feel more confident that it will be the next adventurous step in the right direction because of the gifts and passions I’ve discovered within myself. And that never could have happened without me first making that big leap of faith, and especially without the incredible support of my friends and family and the mentorship of Lorrie, Tyree, and my fellow quartet members. You have all been with me in this journey and have helped me see the shining excitement in taking scary steps. I can’t wait to see how I will grow another year from now!

A beautiful Juneau evening. :)

Cherishing the Moments

My, what a great week it was last week! It was so nice to have my parents here- they followed me around at school and saw me teach many of my classes, and they were even able to attend the JAMM Informance on Wednesday (which went super well)!

Visiting the Mendenhall Glacier together!

The sun even came out in Juneau for a few days, so I was able to take my parents to see the best sights of the city, including the Mendenhall Glacier and the Shrine of St. Therese. My mom returned to Detroit on Friday so she could be back for work today, and my dad returned this morning (bright and early!!). My dad and I spent time with some Symphony friends with whom he has been working this past week, and we also got some good quality time together. We even hiked Mt. Roberts to the tram yesterday as the sun was setting! There's not much to say about that experience except that it was hard, but definitely worth it...the most common phrases shared between us in conversation during that hike involved my dad asking if we were almost there, and me continuously saying, “We are SO close!!” (I may have used that phrase a little prematurely when we were still twenty minutes away from the top…!).

The view of Gastineau Channel from Mt. Roberts. :)

April has finally begun, which means we are in the final push to the end of our UAS classes (graduation is May 1st)! Lots of final projects and papers and write-ups will be due in the next few weeks, but I’d say I am keeping on top of things fairly well!! My dad even helped me pack up the beautiful house I house-sat this month, and I am all moved back in downtown. :)

The final JAMM session begins today, and we are breaking out into sectionals for each instrument amongst the other awesome classes they will take. Our cellos and basses will be working on the cello ensemble music they will be performing on the 30th! It's going to rock. We have a lot of final concerts to prepare for with JAMM, which will all be in April and May, and the Juneau Symphony also has its performance two weeks from now. Sophia, Lindsay, and I will be flying in the night before the Saturday concert from Ketchikan, where we will be almost all week with our orchestras at MusicFest!

My parents were fascinated with Tlingit culture and form line design!

Speaking of the high school orchestras, I have begun a new round of lessons to prepare my orchestra for our festival performance that involves having my students choose the spots we need to work on in our four pieces. It has been great to pass more of the leadership onto them, and I can see a difference in the levels of engagement and learning. It's so exciting! I've really enjoyed working with my high schoolers, and I'm excited to travel with them by ferry for 36 HOURS a week from Tuesday!! I'm tired just thinking about it. ;)

Having my parents here meant so much to me. It brought me such joy to show them my life and seek guidance from them about my next steps, and we shared a lot of great moments! I am sad to see them go but am ready to work hard to the end! I unfortunately caught a cold over the weekend and have lost my voice for the third time this year, so it will be an interesting balance of trying to catch up on work and rest at the same time! Was it all worth it, though?! OH YEAH!

It is a busy, exciting month, and I am soaking in every minute of it. :)

The view from The Shrine of St. Therese!