A lot has happened since I last posted, my desire to write decreased significantly after the first few rejections I got during my job hunt. Stupid Decision #2, the first one will be addressed later. After wallowing in discouragement for a good 5 weeks, I have decided to pick myself back up again and carry on :)
Finals week was exhausting, though the thought of being finished with exams pushed me to finish as best I could. Unfortunately, in the stress of finishing the semester, I decided to ignore the sore throat that I came down with about halfway through the last week of classes. This would be Stupid Decision Numero Uno. The sore throat persisted for a week and continued to get worse so I dragged myself to the on campus doctors office. Those of you who know me well will understand what a drastic move this was on my part. Visiting a doctors office is about the equivalent of walking up to the gates of Mordor with a pocket knife on the courage scale for me. I was told that I had strep, given some sort of medication and told to come back in 3 days if I did not get better.
Three unfortunate days later, the over cheerful doctor announced that not only did I have a bad case of strep, but I had mono on top of it.
"Mononucleosis: an abnormal increase of mononuclear white blood cells in the blood." Merriam-Webster DictionaryI'd prefer to describe it as the "can't walk up a flight of stairs without having to take a four hour nap when you reach the top" sickness.
Graduation dawned bright and early, dragging the exhausted participants out of bed at the unearthly hour of 4:30 a.m. Mr. Romney's presence at the ceremony required us to waltz our black robed selves through metal detectors and into the soccer field behind the new Welcome Center. I am convinced that we were put in that field for the sole purpose of saving the groundskeepers from having to aerate it. It was a very good plan as the high heels worn by the female graduates were probably more effective than the actual tools used for aeration.
Because I was feeling the effects of the sleepy medicine that the doctor put me on for mono, I do not remember much of the ceremony. I do, however, remember that the best part was when the founder of Chick-fil-a spoke. He is my hero and I am convinced that he is the sweetest person on the planet. Sadly for Mr. Romney, the only thing that I remember from his speech is that I won a bet with a friend regarding whether he would make a political statement during his speech or remain on topic. I am now $10 richer than I was on May 11th :)
I spent the rest of May and June sleeping. When people tell you that mono makes you tired, they aren't joking or exaggerating. I honestly slept about 20 hours in a row every couple days. I broke all of my previous "sleeping in" records.
July was spent on a three week missions trip to the Bahamas with the most incredible team I could ever ask for. The experiences ranged from roofing to washing hundreds of dishes. Our team became a close knit family and is a group of people that I will keep in touch with for the rest of my life :) I was able to set up a blog for the trip, it was really fun to be able keep the parents updated on what we were doing. Plus it was encouraging to hear parents asking which one was "the writer" when they picked their kids up. Apparently one doesn't need a job to be a writer :)
August was spent recovering from the missions trip, I wound up in the emergency room the day I came home. Let me tell you, there is nothing more interesting than sleeping three hours a night for three weeks in a row and then coming home to sleep, only to spend the time you were meaning to sleep hanging out in the ER. I have a new understanding of the words "mood swings." My poor family watched, with some amusement, me float around between struggling not to bawl my eyes out and roaring with laughter at something that really wasn't all that funny. There really is nothing more entertaining than absolutely nothing when you're over exhausted :)
Now I find myself in September already, still with no job but fully determined to enjoy where I am in life. Beck is at school in Lynchburg, Steph is at school in Barbados and Noah and I will be selling Boy Scout popcorn for the next few weeks. Nothing makes you feel like more of a creeper than sitting in your car and slowly following a 13 year old boy scout walking around a neighborhood. But the caramel popcorn makes it worth it :)
I'm reminded once again how wonderful life is, even when you're a college graduate who can't get an interview. Life is short and I really shouldn't be wasting the chance that I have to experience all that I can right now.
My goal for the next few months is to find a full time job, to learn how to cook without needing a fire extinguisher close by and to complete my Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving. If you hear a loud explosion and see a mushroom cloud in the distance, please alert every cute fireman in the county and bring some marshmallows for s'mores. If I am unable to cook dinner, I can at least roast marshmallows over the ashes of my failure :)
Life is good :)
