There’s nothing particularly magical about flipping the calendar
to the next month. However, the start of a new calendar year causes me to stop,
reflect on the past 12 months, and make some specific goals for the next 12
months. The last week or so I’ve spent some significant time evaluating what I’ve
done and learned and how I’ve grown as well as what I hope to have accomplished
and where I hope to be when I’m thinking about turning the calendar to 2014. Check
out some of the highlights from this year.
Physical – At the
beginning of this past year, I used some of my Christmas money to invest in a
gym membership at Ozark Fitness. I remember the rep I was talking to at that
time ask me what my fitness level was. He asked, “if I said let’s go for a mile
run, would you have to walk, make it easily, or run 3 miles instead?” Haha!
Now, I’ve always been somewhat active, but never would classify myself as an
athlete. So, the one-mile category definitely described me best.
Fast forward 12 months. Since then, I’ve gotten involved
with several group classes including a sports/endurance-inspired class as well
as a step-aerobics class. In addition to the group classes, I try to make it in
2-3 times a week for my personal running/weight time. In August, I ran a 5K for
our church’s local adoption/foster care ministry, Cherish Kids. And then in
October, I ran/walked a 10K for my hospital’s outreach. (At that point, I had
been sick for two straight weeks, therefore the walking part. It’s hard to run
if you can’t breathe well. Hehe.)
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| Cherish Kids, 5K |
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| Mercy Sunshine Run, 10K |
My only other goal in this category was to drink more water.
Yeah, yeah. I know. That one’s on everyone’s list…every year. At least it was
on all the lists I recently Googled to get ideas for 2013. Anyway, I started
recognizing I drank more water when I did so with a straw. So, step numero uno…buy a water bottle with a straw instead of using the one I currently did with a
screw top. Now, that bottle doesn’t leave my side. And I actually can recognize
when I’m thirsty. I’ve never been good at doing so before…only drinking
with meals or when exercising…never having a dry mouth to trigger thirstiness.
But since I’ve increased my water intake, I’ve learned to notice other signs
from my body that I’m not riding high on my H2O intake. That’s certainly a
success in my book.
It’s amazing how far one can come – makes me excited to set
my goals for the next year.
Mental – In this category, I included anything that involved thinking, reading, learning, or
investing in academics. So, with that in mind, the top highlight was preparing
all necessary components and applying to physician assistant programs via
CASPA. The preparation process took several months (not including my undergrad
prep), but I was determined to have my application in the first mailing so I
could make it into the first rounds of interviews. (For all the details, check
out the
blog post I wrote previously.) Let’s suffice it to say, it took a lot of
time to get everything ready including 32 hours of shadowing at urgent care and
8 hours in general surgery, having three people write letters of
recommendations, participating in a mock med school interview, writing and
re-writing my personal narrative, researching schools, and preparing for questions.
By the first week of June, my application was submitted. The last week of June
the first mailing went out. The middle of July I was contacted about my first
interview. On August 15, I had my first interview followed by three more in
September. My first notification of acceptance was August 21, then the other
three notified me throughout September into the first week of October. I
officially accepted the University of Iowa on September 20, 2012.
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| Working as a technician in the ER |
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| Acceptance Letter from University of Iowa |
In addition to the PA application process, I have an annual
goal of reading a certain number of books. My usual default is one/week or
52/year. I never make this goal…I guess that’s why I always recycle it.
However, I did read
30 books this year, which is a decent amount in anyone’s
book. Haha, get it?
Anyone’s book.
(That’s my joke font.
Hehe.) I also
finished a Great Courses dvd course on architecture. Never thought I’d pick
that subject first, but it was
fascinating. I’ve learned so much about towers, bridges, and buildings this
year. In fact, I even purchased a 2013 calendar displaying some of the most
recognizable man-made structures on the planet such as the Great Wall of China
and the Eiffel Tower.
Spiritual – My goal
was to read the Old Testament through this year….which lasted until about
April, when I decided I needed to incorporate some of the New Testament for
variety. So, four months into the year, my goal quickly changed to reading
through the entire Bible in two years. It seems like it gets more difficult to
be diligent in this area as I get older. When younger, it was all so new and I
felt so important finishing each book. All through homeschooling, we made it a
habit of reading the Bible through yearly, which I did for about six years. Then
college hit and the massive amount of reading of everything else….then life
after college with no daily structure. Anyway, this particular goal will take
another year to complete, but I have a good start.
Besides my personal reading, I’ve “adopted” a couple of
missionaries this year. Although I continue to give monthly support through my
local church for general missions, I have picked a couple people I know
personally to pray for, follow their work, and support. I love missions, and
this part of my life is one of my favorites. I’ve continued volunteering
off-and-on all year for Healthcare Ministries as well. In addition, I volunteered
with International Ministries (through MSU’s Chi Alpha) for the spring semester
where I met students from all over Asia and Africa, and where we ate meals together,
worshiped, and learned.
In September, my mom, sister, and I all attended the
much-anticipated Designed for Life (DFL) women’s conference through James River. I
loved hearing the inspirational speakers and having fun with other women.
Speaking of James River, I love my home church. Although it has an overwhelmingly large feeling at times, their heart for the things of God and
their unrelenting desire for truth is what keeps me going back. I hope when I
move to Iowa I will find a church as equally spirit-driven and
people-outreaching.
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| Mother and daughters, JRA DFL |
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| A Love Story, theme for DFL 2012 |
Personal – This is
my catch-all category. Anything that doesn’t fit in the others goes here. Like
finishing my scrapbooking through events occurring in 2011. (I don’t like to be
more than one year behind.) Or like attending the Hunger Games and The Hobbit
midnight showings at the theater. Another instance would be the spontaneous decision to donate 12" of my hair to Wigs for Kids. Also included in this area would be trying new foods – this year I tried Lebanese and Korean and learned how to peel a pomegranate.
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Hunger Games premiere.
May the odds be ever in your favor. |
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| The "after" pic of my haircut/donation |
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| Korean food, hot rice bowl. So yummy! |
And who could forget the travels from this year? Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico; Dallas/Houston, TX; Bloomington, IL; Columbus, OH; Buffalo,
NY; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Louisville, KY; Philadelphia, PA; Bear, DE;
Kansas City, KS; Jefferson City, MO; Chicago, IL; Wauwatosa, WI; and Iowa City,
IA. If I could travel all the time, I probably would…at least for a while. Such
wonderful memories from all of these places. Some were for weddings, others for
PA interviews, and some just for fun or family.
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Beautiful airline ticket. Love traveling.
Even early morning departures on 3 hours of sleep. |
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| Mexico. Sporting classy plastic rain ponchos. |
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| 4-D Movie at the Museum for Health Sciences, Houston, TX |
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| Niagara Falls - American and Bridal Falls. Sister trip. |
With all the amazing, wonderful things that have occurred these
12 months, it’s hard to imagine what the next few months here in Sgf will hold. And
although I have some idea of what the PA program holds for the next 25 months
(after it starts in May), it’s hard to know what new experiences are in store.
I guess it will just have to remain a surprise. Here’s to the New Year. May you
embrace what’s important, disregard that which is not, learn to love Jesus even
more, and be blessed.
Happy New Year!
