Four days and Counting

That's right folks, I leave for England in just under 4 days and arrive in England in 5. How very exciting! I have not been in 1 1/3 years. Which is far too long! I fly out of CR and and keeping my fingers crossed that I have no delays in route. I fly out at 5:30 pm, transfer in Detroit with a 1.5 hr layover, and then transfer again in Amsterdam (5 hr layover!) before reaching Birmingham. From there Alex and his dad will pick me up and we shall drive to Willenhall and the Kubara Household. I am there for 2.5 weeks before returning to CR for a few days and then back to WI for school to start back up.

The weather for my flight looks good so far, with partially cloudy skies, low change of precipitation, and warm weather. Hopefully that will keep me on track so I can arrive on time. 

Not quite sure what in the heck I will do in Amsterdam for 5 hours. I believe that may be where I have to go through some form of customs and possibly transfer my luggage over, altho last time I did not have to touch my luggage when flying through Amsterdam. Luckily, I have 2 small book which I intend on bringing over to read on the flights and then when Alex is working on the little bit of homework he may have during my visit. My guess is that I will finish my first one while in Amsterdam. 

I don't even know what else to say at this point. I am just so excited and about 5 seconds from carrying on and on about how anxious and excited I am for the trip.....I am going to refrain because I feel like I do far too much blabbering about Alex and surrounding excitement for various reasons. I am going to try and update a bit while I am there, we will see how it goes. It depends on how much free time I have when I am in England. I will for sure write something quick when I arrive and then when I return to the states....no promises of anything else can be made.

Hello break, it is nice to meet you.

So. I am finally on my break from school. After 1 year in gradschool I think I have earned it! School has been great and all, but I was starting to get burnt out on class, class, class. I have been back home for a few days now and have done practically nothing. It has been wonderful for sure. I head back to Menomonie in the AM so that I can work the 4pm - midnight shift both tomorrow and Thursday. Then back here on Friday morning. And to and from Indiana Saturday and Sunday. SO MUCH DRIVING AHEAD! ick ick ick. But I will deal. I figure that I cannot complain too much since I am getting such a nice break. 

I have to say that also, since being on break, my amazing boyfriend has told me so many wonderfully happy things. Firstly, he has told me that he is making me something for my birthday. I am very surprised that he is taking the time to make me something. He has not made me anything in a very long time. When we met we used to make things for one another all the time during art at camp. After camp we would write letters back and forth and occasionally send homemade gifts. More me than him on the gifts, but that is just because I am crafty. Case in point - last Christmas I hand stitched him a star wars stuffed animal. He will not tell me what it is, but I do know that he has spent a lot of time constructing and painting it....and also that it required parts that were shipped to his house. I will keep everyone posted on what it is :)

Secondly, he has told me that he is taking me somewhere for my birthday to do something. He has said that I need to bring something warm to wear, so I assume that it is partially outside. It will be the first time that we are together on my birthday and the fact that he has taken to time to arrange something for just the two of us to do means a lot to me. I am sure it will be perfect. Probably one of my top birthdays ever. I look forward to it.

Thirdly, Alex has told me that he is prepared and intent on moving here after he graduates! This is HUGE news! We have chatted about it for a long time, but he has finally stated it on his own that he is intent on moving here when he's done with school....This means it is only a year and a half until he is here with me for good!!!! Of course we have not worked out all the details yet, but I am not going to plan it out....we have been apart for so long and clearly have never gotten it worked out in the past the way we planned, so I am not about to mess it up this time.

Fourthly, Alex informed me tonight that he is not going back to camp, but is instead planning on spending 3 weeks over the summer with me in Menomonie!!! AND while he is here, he said that he intends on looking into jobs! I am going to scope out where we might move and perhaps we will take a short trip or something. At the very least we will have some in depth discussions on where we want to move so we can start weighing all of our options for the beginning of our life together.

Oh my, what wonderful news, right?! I am just so happy. He pleases me with all of this news so very very much! I am going to have to bring him something nice with me to England to thank him for all of this wonderful news. It will most likely be in the form of an old school emo ridden letter. He will be pleased I am sure. 

**sigh** I am so content, happy, lucky, and in love. How exciting.

Well I guess that got way off track. oops!

What else fun is on the list for my break, you ask? Well.....I have lunch/dinner/something with Troy, a get together with Chris, a few get togethers with Brynn and Sara, HSM marathon with Sam, our family Christmas stuff, seeing grandma, more Creepy Christmas Photos, and perhaps some going out.......AND ENGLAND!

Tattoo Talk

So, typically I get tattoos when something major happens in my life. That being said, I intend on getting one when I graduate. It will be a big accomplishment that I am proud of, the end of a chapter in my life, the start of new beginnings.....and I have a spot thats annoyingly blank on my back. I can honestly say for the first time that this next tattoo will be my last. I am 90% sure of that. Seeing as though I have a year left of graduate school, I need to start putting together ideas for what I want to get. Yes, I need to start planning a year in advance! It is something that will be on my body forever - it needs to be good!

A few ideas have swirled around in my head. I definitely want something that reflects mental health and what I have learned during the course of my graduate school experience. I do not like anything that I can find as far a symbols I could incorporate that are mental health related.

At the moment, what I am considaring is something related to To Write Love On Her Arms. I am not wanting to just get TWLOHA or a quote. I am wanting a picture, not that a quote couldn't be a part of it....if it was one that sticks with me.

The best related idea so far is to have the words "Stop the Bleeding. Rescue is Possible" written on a razor blade. The cut out part of the blade would be the abbreviation TWLOHA.

I know it sounds....emo. But thats me, right? And it would not be graphic, but I think it would get a point across. It would be supporting the cause, something I have become very involved with particularly since moving to Wisconsin. Also, I am very passionate about my crisis work and want to make a career out of counseling individuals whom self harm.

I am considering sketching something up to see how it would actually look.

Who knows. The idea will probably change before the time roles around anyways. This is why I start the process now.

England Bound...Again!

So for those of you that have not heard of my excitement yet, I am on my way to England in exactly one month! I am relieved to have a flight booked and have something to look forward to in the near future. It is not that I am not enjoying my program, I just need a break. I have been at this for a year now with no breaks and taking 15-16 credits plus working at the call center. I think I have earned one! lol. It will be so very nice to get away from everything completely and spend time with everyone that I miss so much over in England.

I am pleased that I will still get to see the family over break as well as see my 6-pack girls. It will be wonderful to be back in Iowa to hangout and relax a bit and just catch up with sooooo many people I haven't seen in so very long.

And then I will get to spend my birthday in England as well! Alex and I have never been together on by birthday so I am most pleased about that. I am curious as to what he has planned because he will not tell me. It will be nice to have a surprise cuz I usually end up getting things out of him. Its awful of me, I know. But in my defense, he knows that I will want to know and then tells me theres a surprise coming or asks me some odd questions but wont tell me why. They are big tip offs.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that everyone won't make a huge deal of my birthday. I know it won't happen since I have know these people for several years and haven't shared a real holiday with them ever (cet for 4th of July, which doesn't count to them). So celebrating my birthday will be fun with everyone. I am going to be a good sport about it, even tho I don't wish to be fussed over.

Ideally, just Alex and I would do something on my actual birthday. Then on another night we would go out and celebrate with everyone else. BUT that prlly won't happen. We shall see. I believe the surprise bit only involves the two of us. I can accept that :)

The only possible setback in this whole thing is if the weather us bad and things get delayed. I do not want that happening, eww! My fingers will remain crossed that this does not happen. It's also be nice if the plane wasn't broken....that happened to me on the way back last time. It was kinda a mess, but we didn't leave the ground til it was fixed.

What Lies Ahead

This is the conclusion to the paper I am writing about my personal and professional growth since starting the program. Even tho I have excluded the 12 or so pages in between, you get the point as to what its about.....I think this ending makes up enough for the beginning, yes? I guess we shall see. Enjoy!

Since moving to Wisconsin I have continued down my path of self-discovery and self-improvement, pushing myself in the areas of personal, professional, and spiritual growth. The program has helped enhance and reassure my ability to become a more complete and centered individual. I am confident that I will be able to continue this in a healthy way post graduation.

With my graduate school experience nearly half completed, I can feel myself begin to get anxious over what my future holds. I know that because of the education I am getting at Stout, I will graduate a competent and professional mental health counselor. It is because of this educational experience that I have realized my calling in life and been able to access the means in which to explore that calling. I try to frame every day as an opportunity to learn more about myself and the ways in which I am personally capable of helping others achieve their own meaningful life.

I acknowledge the vast amount of knowledge I have to acquire before I will be fully prepared to set foot in the professional world of counseling. I know that the remainder of my coursework and internship experience will provide me with this knowledge. I intend on absorbing as much as possible so that I can continue to develop my sense of professionalism and personal counseling style.

Overall, I believe that my future is bright and will lead to fulfilling opportunities in which I help others make a difference within their lives. I see myself pursuing a career in crisis intervention and counseling for individuals whom engage in self-injurious behavior and those with suicidal ideation. I see myself doing this in a residential setting for adolescents and young adults. Before I make it to that point in my career, I have no doubt that I will continue to have amazing opportunities because of the education and experiences I have acquired during my time at Stout. I feel extremely blessed and appreciative to have this rich opportunity.