Goodbyes and New Beginnings

_When we look up, it widens our horizons. In the sky, there are no boundaries; it is a vast sea of beauty. The sky, in that way, lets us dream without limits_

That time of the semester has again arrived: finals. Only this time, they have managed to stretch them out over two weeks instead of one. Only this time, the end of finals means a diploma and a new beginning. Only this time, the end of finals means a new state, a new town, a new home, a first clinical, and a multitude of unknowns.

Maybe it is the unknowns, maybe it is the end of a significant life experience, maybe its the promise of new beginnings. Maybe its just a normal restlessness combined with a sea of growth that has changed within me. Maybe its just being burned out. Whatever it is, it has my heart is restless, desiring a change of location, a change of pace, a change of experience.

While I have made some incredible friends over these past four years and have memories that I will forever hold close to my heart, along with experiences that have led me to growth and a stronger faith, I am ready to move on. While I will be back here after clinic come August, I am so thankful that I will be gone for a few months. When I return, I know it will not be the same. God willing, a best friend will have moved on to bigger and better things several hours away. Another friend will have just started her graduate PT journey...and while I am ecstatic for the changes and growth she will encounter, they are changes. Other friends will have moved on to other forms of educations, jobs, and or married life.

These are all wonderful things, and I am so happy for each and every one of my friends and the incredible changes that life is bringing for them. But, again, the Lo is changing and it is time to move on. I have become very independent this past year, and while I cannot see the future, I have a feeling there is still much growth to be had. God has worked tirelessly to force me to trust in Him fully and to rely fully on Him. In that, I am doing my best. I know that these coming weeks will only strengthen that, as I moved 4 and 5 hours away from the people I love and care about most. This is a season of transition in my life, a season of laughter, tears, lessons, memories, and new beginnings. This season of life has been crying out to me to see the beauty of the world, the color of spring. To appreciate the day to day and absorb it all in. To help me stop, accept whatever prospective God is trying to share with me, and to listen to the silence and messages He is sending with it. As I finish finals, head into graduation festivities, say many goodbyes and then some new hellos, I hope that I can keep the prospective I have been working to gain. I pray that I find whatever it is my heart seems to be searching for, and that, no matter what, I am continually growing into the person God has designed me to become.