You know "you've arrived" when...

After an inexcusable absence I return today because I hope that someone I know will stumble across this and enjoy the read. I'm a journaler at heart, and if I had the time I think I'd probably do this or a paper version every day. But I don't, and so I get behind.

Nevertheless, when I come to points in my life when significance or just the sheer weight of processable occurances surface, I feel compelled here out of some sort of obligation. Today is one of those days.

I'm officially here. I've been waiting for this week for about 6 years, and today I'm on the cusp of my PA education. Orientation is behind me, I have a dorm room for the first time in my life, I live in the suburbs, and I'm starting classes on Monday. So much has happened in the last 72 hours that I can't imagine getting all the details, but I'll bullet point the events that make me sure that I have, indeed, arrived, along with a few things that have occurred that I never expected.

~ I'm scared
The first 2 days I was on campus were filled with orientation...an event that I thought would be low key and boring. In fact, it was boring and completely overwhelming. We received no less than 50 sheets of paper each detailing rules, regulations, policies, "to do's", and etc, and with each new lecturer came another set of details to check, another warning about how much study strategies from undergrad simply wouldn't work. Each lecture should be read 3-4 times. Flashcards won't work. Note copying is a waste of time. Plan on at least 4 extra hours in the lab (on top of 6 that are scheduled weeky) if you want to pass the first practical. Our list of exams is extremely long, with many weeks in July and August hosting 3 tests a week.

~ I'm inspired
Probably the best part of orientation was getting to hear our faculty for the PA program talk about themselves, the program, and the next year. Each one, from the program director to the secretary, got to stand up and give us some words of advise after telling us something about themselves. My impression of the faculty is that they are amazing. Each told some great personal stories that had us laughing, and all seem to have a lively yet professional relationship with fellow teachers. They expressed to us how much they LOVED to practice medicines, some of the reasons that they are still excited about it, and some of the reasons they were driven to teach. In addition, they shared what their own clinical practices look like. While most only work part time now, they all have some incredibly inspirational practices. Our medical director has two kids, is a deacon in the catholic church, works 3/4 time at Midwestern, and still manages to work at least 1/2 time at the Cook County jail (the largest single-site jail in the country) alongside his wife. The program director volunteers at a cardiac pediatric clinic in the city on her "off" weekends. My adviser is an MD from India, who volunteers in an underserved medical clinic on the south side of Chicago. Another of our facutly is a PhD and MD who has worked at a city clinic for 25 years. It is almost 60% latino, and while he knows plenty of vocabulary to get through the day, this 55+ year old grandfather has decided that this summer he will become fluent in Spanish (he asked all of us to "hold his feet to the fire"). This man also leads the underserved populations club on the campus. One of our other full time professors has worked at an exclusively latino speaking clinic in downtown Chicago and is very involved in the medical spanish club and classes here. I'm telling you, sitting there in those seats that afternoon I felt like you needed a rope to keep me from floating away. I'm so thrilled not only to be so affirmed and encouraged by these people, but to be under their influence over the next three years. I'm so hoping that I can be like these people when i get older: involved in service, always doing and pursuing new things, investing in the next generation. At this point, I'm far more excited about this influence than i am about the classes.

~ I'm very certain
I've been praying about this decision for the last 2 years, and as it approached it seemed like the tangle of possibilities would never unravel into a clear path. But they did, and I recieved answers just at the right moment, with no more or less clarity than I needed. Walking in to orient that first morning, I felt a little bit like I was challenging God. "This is where I'm supposed to be?? Hope you can prove it." He did. I'm absolutely serious when I tell you that within 4 minutes of walking through the front door I got drawn into a conversation with 4 girls I'd never seen before. We walked in and sat down together durning the first lecture, and for the rest of the day we were a bit inseparable. By lunch time, one of the girls had affectionately dubbed us "The Posse" and we were acting like we'd known each other for weeks. Erin, Emily, Ally, and Danielle have been a blessing to me as I adjusted to the campus. In addition to this great blessing, I found that most of the people I met were obviously intellegent, but incredibly approachable, open, and friendly. True, it's orientation week, so everyone is going to be kind, but there is nothing like walking into a room and feeling accepted, even sought out immediately by people who are anything but competative and intellectually aloof. The final faucet to the "social affirmations" of the week was last night at the "Big/little picnic". Everyone was invited to come and eat and then find their mentor from the class above them. For some reason, my mentor didn't show up, so I ended up sitting with Erin, her new husband, and a random assortment of others. After small talk about studies and etc, one of the mentors asked if there was anything else we wanted to know. Erin's husband, Brian, piped up and mentioned that the two of them would be looking for a church. Suddenly, everyone at my table was offering advise on churches they went to, where they were, whether they were sound in teaching, and etc. I met two more Christian students, one of whom went to Taylor and knows several of my friends! This was such an incredibly affirming experience, and so exciting to consider those who can keep me on track and encouraged over the next year of "marathon". Praise the Lord!

I've been clinging to Isaiah 30:21 the past few weeks, and it has proved to me over and over again that God really does care about each little element of our lives.
"Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind them saying, 'This is the way, walk in it'"

As much fun and affirmation as I've had in the past 3 days, there are a few things that I didn't expect that have been interesting and/or comical to manage:

1) it IS possible too over pack for moving in to your dorm, even when it's a 180 sq foot single.

2) timing doesn't always work well. We get $$ for tuition from our loans on Monday, but the disembursment for food, books, supplies, and other essentials doesn't get dished out until 10 days from now. Also, our ID badges don't come in till Tuesday, but every building on campus is locked and you can't eat meals without them. hmmm....the weekend could be fun.

3) Rolls of toilet paper go a LOT slower when there is one girl in the "house" rather than 6.

4) An extra 6 inches underneath an adjustable bed can make a world of difference.

5) Dorms don't come with shower curtains.

6) I absolutely couldn't have survived the move in without my parents manual and financial assistance. Independant is definitely a false term.

7) I have a rediculous abundance of post it notes. Seriously. I don't know where they all came from. Like, I probably have 30 extra pads besides the ones on my desk. Hehhe.

8) The little 3m nail-free hooks are probably the most precious un-tapped resource in the world. Blessings on whoever invented them. :)


Well, I'm off to keep unpacking and hopefully finish decorating the room! Thanks for reading.