I can't help but think about where I will be in those 2 years. I start to think about where I was two years ago and what has happened in those two years. The past two years have been quite the mix of heaven and hell. I think about the relationships, the injuries, the breakups, the broken friendships, the new friendships, the different music phases, the change in tastes (like food), becoming gluten free, getting a triathlon bike, living with my best friend, being half a world apart from my best friend, living in an apartment, having three different jobs in totally different fields, changing my major four different times. I could name so many more things, but I think that would be a little excessive (as if this list isn't already).
Just thinking about where I have been in the past makes me wonder about where I will go in the next two years. I am looking forward to it though. Anyway, that wasn't the point of this post. I wanted to do a bit of a recap of this semester.
Where to begin?
Starting this semester was pretty rough. I hadn't run in a month and a half thanks to the mono and hip flexor strain that was actually a stress fracture. I thought I would be healed pretty soon and I thought I would be fine to go to Collegiate Nationals. Nope. We were so wrong. Another month and a half later, I was getting a giant shot jabbed into my hip and in the MRI machine again. Only to find out that my stress fracture was barely healed. I think this was about the lowest I had felt. I worked so hard to get healed. I listened to the doctors, I rested, I really tried to keep the stress off that hip, I did my physical therapy, I flew through milk (record was a gallon in 4 days), took my calcium supplement. It just wasn't enough for the stubborn fracture. It sort of felt like failing a test I actually studied for.
I also dropped the sorority that I was so happy to be a sister of only 2 months prior. I realized that being the best student, triathlete, friend, sister (biologically), and daughter was not enhanced by the sorority. I dreaded Chapter on Sunday because I just wanted to be out on my bike or doing something else. Nothing wrong with sorority, I think it is really awesome, but it was not an organization for me. And that is A-OKAY.
I got obsessed with One Tree Hill. Like what else am I supposed to do if I can't workout? I got all my homework done, all my studying in. So what else was there? Watch Netflix and sleep. It worked out well. Thank goodness I got that Netflix account.
I helped out in a middle school with the math classes. OHMYGOSH. I want every.single.person to find something that makes them as happy as being in the school makes me. I have walked out of the middle school after helping out in tears on more than one occasion. There was one specific day when I talked to a student and helped him with scientific notation for the entire class period. I learned so much about him and learned about how much he had been through. I walked out of the school in tears, but I also got the feeling I got after a race. Any of my athlete friends KNOW that feeling. I can't describe it in words, its just a feeling. An incredible one at that.
After tutoring in Harrisonburg, I decided that this is where I want to be for a while. I really love it here. Yeah, I hate not having a Clinique makeup counter, or an Ulta, or J. Crew, or my family. I am going to stay in Harrisonburg this summer and see how it feels. I just love the downtown scene. I love riding and running here too. My friends are here. I have met some pretty incredible people here. We'll see what happens, but I love me some Harrisonburg. I think I can do big things here. But, I will definitely miss my third floor suite, free rent, and free food.
And since this is a blog I tailor to triathlon stuff, I have gotten a lot stronger this spring. Since I was off running and had scaled back my cycling, I was able to focus more on my swim stroke and lifting. I can't believe the gains I have made in the weight room. It is actually pretty incredible how much stronger I have gotten. I am proud of myself for sticking with it and not getting myself into too much of a slump. Always look for the positive when things start getting crappy.
Despite the beginning of this semester being pretty bad, I am pretty happy with how it is ending. I had an awesome weekend healing friendships and enhancing others. Though I am a little sad the semester is wrapping up and I won't see some of my friends all summer, I am glad to see this semester behind me and look forward to starting up again in the fall. I have a good feeling about it.
