Done.

Well, it all starts tomorrow.  The break is over and the craziness is about to begin.  To be honest, I am a little overwhelmed.  Between three classes that will no doubt be challenging, TA work, sometimes stressful and frustrating nanny duties, a dialogue group, mediation training, figuring out what to do this summer, and starting to think about internships, I just feel like it's a bit of a mountain ahead of me and it's a little scary.  But then I remember that God's grace is sufficient for me, and that we will tackle this and come out on the other side.  I take a deep breath and remind myself not to get stressed before the stress has started.  One step, one day at a time.  Work hard, not without mistakes, do my best, give my all, trust God to carry me through.  Ok, let's do this.

-From my journal, January 13, 2009

The floods have lifted up, O Lord,

The floods have lifted up their voice,

The floods lift up their pounding waves.

More than the sounds of many waters,

Than the mighty breakers of the sea,

The Lord on high is mighty.

-Psalm 93:3-4

It's been a crazy ride, but now here I am on the other side!  This semester has been demanding and I can safely say that I've worked my a** off, but now I'm DONE with my first year of grad school.  It's hard to believe.  On one hand, it seems like it's gone by so fast, that I can't really be halfway to my masters; on the other hand, when I look back and remember just how much I've done in the last 4 months, I'm really proud.  From readings on peace processes in Uganda and Northern Ireland through group presentations on Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka to papers on culture & conflict resolution and platforms for relationship change, the work definitely didn't let up from Day 1 to the end.  But I have loved my classes and after a very intense last 3 weeks, on April 29 I turned in 50 pages of term papers and finals and I was finished!  It feels amazing to be free for four whole months!

Even though I'm thrilled to have completed my first year, I really did have a great semester. My classes and professors were excellent.  Conflict Analysis & Resolution gave me a great framework for understanding conflict dynamics and the range of available interventions. Comparative Peace Processes enriched my knowledge of specific conflicts going on in the world and all the important elements a peace process needs to address.  Though Dialogue itself wasn't my favorite class, I had a great experience in my Religion & Spirituality Dialogue group with other students on campus.  I come to the end of the year feeling more equipped--though with a healthy degree of pessimism--for the hard work of peace.  

Not only am I done with school, but I've also reached another milestone this week: completion of my nanny job!  In 20 minutes, I will put the kids to bed for the last time and my babysitting duties will be complete.  I'm so glad I decided to finish this job when the semester ended, because it brings everything to a close at the same time.  Tomorrow is moving day!  I'm moving into my friend's apartment for a month, which I will have all to myself.  What a blessing after 8 1/2 months of sharing space with a family!  Yes, it's time to move on into the next great adventure God has set up for me... Summer!  And that is another story in itself, which I will save for another post (coming soon!).

I'm happy.  I'm healthy.  I'm thankful.  I'm satisfied.  I'm proud.  I'm in the right place.  I love my life.  I'm done. :-)