I have always wanted to keep a blog. I’ve always wanted to, but never had time. Hey wait a minute… It seems like say that an awful lot. There are a huge number of things that I “want to do”, but I just don’t seem to “have time for”. As I sit here on flight KL692 en route to Amsterdam, I find myself thinking that I do, in fact, have time to make the blog that I have always wanted to make, but “never had time”. Actually, the more I think, the more I realize that I am my own biggest obstacle to “making time” for all of the things I want to do and I think that’s got to change. It’s a matter-of-fact, this is going to be the official personal goal of my summer: work hard at work, be efficient with my time, but reserve enough time every week to do some of those things that I “want to do but never have time for”. Keeping a blog seems like a great place to start:
Today was a bittersweet day. Today begins my 4-month adventure in a new world. Today marks the start of what is sure to be a huge amount of cultural and scientific learning, sure to both overwhelm and thrill me. I love learning! Today also marks the day that I am leaving behind my friends and family in London (again). If being in France taught me anything, it’s that just because I’ve been in London for 22 years, doesn’t mean that it’s boring and that I need to look elsewhere for excitement in my life. I am so, fantastically lucky to have the family and friends that I have – everyone. Warren has never once (in 7 years!) been unsupportive of my dreams – any of them. I can’t tell you how much I love you. My mom loves me so much that she showed up at Robert Q to see me off right after she got out of surgery today. My dad is always there to tell me how proud I make him, even when I’m crying and frustrated (which seems to happen more often than I’d care to admit). My little brother is always a wonderful source of both deep, analytical conversation and wildly inappropriate (but hilarious) jokes. He also calls me day in and day out, regardless of how many times I “don’t have time to call him back” – thank you Jeff. My grandparents, all 5 of them, have always made me feel loved and supported. I also have an amazing extended family, who have taught me that there as many different ways to be a family as there are families in the world. All of my in-laws are hands-down the best I could ask for. My friends are always there to make me laugh (perhaps over a competitive game of ‘You Don’t Say’ or pictionary) and to remind me that there always needs to be “enough time” in life to laugh a little. So, while I am excited for the growth and learning that will come out of this summer, I’m also going to miss the friendship and support of everyone at home. So, it’s with this bittersweet feeling that I’ve started my adventure. Blessed to have the opportunity to become a better scientist and a more aware global citizen, but painfully aware of how much I will be leaving behind in Canada (I guess it’s true that nothing in life is free – everything is a tradeoff!). With that, I dedicate my first blog entry to everyone who means the most to me. Thank you for everything you give me.
I guess I’ll leave it there for today. I can assure you that there are a million more things running through my head, but if I try to get them all down on paper tonight, I may scare you away from reading my future blogs.
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