life as WE know it: Clarke Hall

Today, as the freshmen of North Park University moved in, I reminisced about moving away to college. As I watched the dads carry endless armfuls of their daughter's clothing, I could picture my dad doing just the same 7 years ago. The number of times he climbed the 4 flights of stairs to the 3rd floor of Clarke Hall was certainly a testament to his love. As I observed the moms making sure all the details were in order, I remembered the way my mom made my XL twin bed with my oh-so-freshman-like turquoise and lime green striped bedding. She didn't hesitate for one moment to buy things for my room that would make it comfortable, fun, and like home.

One family drove their daughter to campus today with their car windows painted:
"Chicago, here I come!"
"North Park class of 2014!"
"HONK, I'm going to college!"

What an exciting time of life, full of transition right when you need it most. It's when you get to learn how to strike the balance between living life to the fullest and buckling down into reality. Lately, I've been yearning for the sense of adventure I had in college...I don't think it has left me, but it has quieted down. My little nose-pierced self stayed up regularly until 3 or 4am when I had class at 8am. Responsible? Maybe not. I figured that out by junior year. BUT, it is that carefree, go-with-the-wind attitude about life that allows us to experience the world outside our front door in a remarkable way.

[Some of you may be wondering what there is to do in Beaver Falls, PA until 4am, so I shall enlighten you: take a walk through college hill, eat dinner or breakfast at Eat 'n Park, have a shopping cart race in Wal-mart, pull sleds behind cars, just regular sledding (not quite as fun), climb the hill across the river and change the "G" into something else, paint your toenails with your roommate...the list ends shortly thereafter.]

There will always be a reason not to do something: it costs too much, it will take too much time, I can't take off work, it will be hard, next year will be a better time. While I realize I can't do it all, and there are times when saying "no" is necessary and wise, I refuse to become a crabby, old, shut-in who never did anything with her life. I refuse to always follow the rules. I refuse to limit myself to that which is safe and known. And I refuse to let student loans control my life!

This March I will spend 4 weeks in Ecuador for one of my clinical rotations. I am mostly excited, but also nervous and unsure of what to expect. I am not looking forward to leaving John for that long, and I am intimidated by the differences in culture and language. I am desperately trying to polish my Spanish so that I can communicate effectively with the people there. I will spend 2 weeks in Quito experiencing the urban side of medicine in South America; the following 2 weeks will be spent in Chone, a remote village of Ecuador, for the purpose of learning rural medicine. This is guaranteed to be an experience that will stretch me; I feel unprepared and inadequate, but ready for the adventure.

A tribute to college: