11 days and counting...

Over the past few weeks I have been finalizing forms, booking my flights, starting to say goodbyes and trying to keep life under control. It's been a bit hectic, but hey - that's been the norm lately.

Also, two of my closest friends from school (my roommate of 3 year and our other roommate from senior year) came to visit for a long weekend and it was wonderful. We had a great time both relaxing and being silly - I've certainly missed living with them since graduating!

Christmas was also in there somewhere. With this brought lots of get-togethers with friends and family. We were able to get all of my high school friends and our families together at our house, which is a feat with 6 of us plus working and traveling parents, but it was wonderful to have everyone together. Then that night us girls had our annual Christmas party with caroling and gingerbread house building. Then came Christmas Eve when we got together with another family, as per tradition. Christmas was great and relaxing - church, gifts, family, and across-the-street neighbors/practical family spontaneously coming over. Then my uncle and his family came over on the 26th. Phew! But it has been wonderful to see everyone before I leave.

Like I said, I've booked my flight - evening flight to Miami on the 9th, and flight to Panama on the 11th with my group! I'm finally getting everything together - bought a big backpack yesterday, a lightweight sleeping bag, some quick-dry pants and some lighter cotton shirts, among other things. It's a whole (somewhat stressful) process. With more to come after I studying for the GRE over the next few days.

I also had coffee with a Panama RPCV on the 24th, which was wonderful because she gave me some great tips and made me so excited to meet all of the PC/Panama staff and explore everything! Things seem to be coming together, somehow - but the 9th is coming up here quickly!

My schedule from here on out:
     Pack and get my things here in order
     GRE - Jan 3rd
     Miami - 9th (Staging)
     Panama (!!!!!) - 11th (Training)

We will be in Santa Rita for the majority of training, with several trips offsite to visit current PCVs in their communities. Training will be 10 weeks of intense language, culture, health, safety, and job training. I'll be living with a host family for the majority of this time, but if you want to send me mail over the next 10 weeks, send it to:
     Savannah Hicks - Peace Corps
     Edificio 240, 3er Piso
     Calle Víctor Iglesias
     Ciudad del Saber, Clayton (Corregimiento Ancón)
     Panamá
     Republica De Panamá

I'm not positive about phone or internet access yet, but I'll be in a decently sized city, so I should have at least occasional access, and might get a cell phone when I get there. As for my permanent site, about halfway through training I'll find out where that will be. While this is somewhat difficult for packing purposes, PC does it this way so that the in-country staff can get to know us and place us where they think we will fit best.

So... 11 days to go. Till then, I'm trying to see everyone here in Charlotte once or twice more, and figure out packing! I'm getting super excited though - with some nerves mixed in. But since connecting with my group on Facebook, it's been a comfort starting to get to know people in my group. Yay Group 70!

P.S. I got a Nook for Christmas and would love any book recommendations before I head out!

Details, Friends, and BusyBusyBusy

So the days are quickly flying by now.... tomorrow marks one month until I get on a plane to head to Miami, then one day later to Panama. I am getting so excited. But simultaneously trying to hold on to things here, like I always do. But I've been too caught up in everything going on day-to-day that I haven't had much time to sit and mull things over. But let's start with first things first.

Details.

I have gotten several emails from different parts of PC recently with more details and forms to fill out (surprise surprise). But these are better kinds of forms - they're much more real and I can see how they are going to directly translate into my experience in Panama. They've included language assessments, host family questions, KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes - who knew something I learned in my core HOD classes would pop up here...), and our first PCT (PC Trainee) interview. That email was quickly followed by another email from the media relations people asking for me to give the ok to use my name in press releases.

Lastly, and most recently, I got the Staging email! With this came the hotel where I will be staying in Miami, directions on how to book my flight, specifics on luggage requirements, and other miscellaneous reporting instructions. This is starting to feel all too real, which brings on a flood of emotions.

Second topic: Friends.

Two WONDERFUL friends came to visit me last weekend. My big and my little in my sorority drove 14 hours (roundtrip) to see me for 20. Don't I have great friends? It made me so happy and feel so loved. They are amazing people and I am so glad I got to show them my hometown!

Third topic: BusyBusyBusy

Typical. Still working full-time, and this week was crazy busy and a bit stressful. But next Friday (a week from today) is my last day. It has been a wonderful job - I enjoy the people I work with, appreciate the cause, and have learned a ton - I will be sad to go, but I will certainly enjoy the extra time after I'm not working 40 hours a week. Though I think my relaxing time will be short-lived. The day after I stop working, I take the GMAT - so this week will be full to the max with studying for that. Then that afternoon two of my other best friends from college - my roommate of 4 years and our other roommate from senior year - are coming to visit for 5 days! I have been counting down the days to see them, and I cannot wait to laugh and be silly and just chill with them. But then it's basically Christmas, with people to see and things to do (oh yea.... and I have to find a time to get gifts somewhere in there...). Then AH it's almost January! Yikes!

So I've seriously starting thinking about packing - thanks to everyone who has given me input - shout-out to Karen here for all of your comments on my last post :) Still haven't made some of my decisions, but I'm getting closer. I'm 99% sure I'm getting a hiking backpack - I just haven't decided what size and which one. The teva/chaco jury is still out, as is the nook/kindle (though I will DEFINITELY be taking one of these).

Just trying to keep my feet under me. Though that seems to be the norm in my life. If that's not the case, I tend to get bored. What do I do to myself?

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I get one more fun frisbee tourney in - Holiday Hat Tournament :) Should be fun. Plus decorating the house with the parents. Always a good/holiday cheer-y time of year.

I leave you with two things today:
Photos worth the time. 

and

Soldiers and Mariah. - Kinda gets you in the happy, holiday mood!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a good and relaxing Thanksgiving! While mine was not so relaxing, was wonderful because I got to go to my oldest friend’s wedding. Known her since pre-school, and she was a beautiful bride! I was crying half the night haha but I am incredibly happy for her.  Then on the weekend I got to hang out with my wonderful friends from home. Almost all of us were home!

Let's see if I can figure out how to put in a picture....

                                              The Bride and me! Congrats Kaitlyn :)

                    A bit shambly at the end of the night. But loved being out with great friends!

Now it’s back to work, studying, and packing for Panama. And let me say, thinking about packing is kind of overwhelming! But what’s making it a little easier are the connections I’ve been making, namely with the other members of my group! It has made me super excited to meet them all and start our adventure! Facebook has been a wonderful resource, connecting all of us heading down in January as well as with the Volunteers that are already there who can give us the real scoop on what we should bring.

As of now, my debates are whether or not I should get a hiking backpack (I think yes, my parents are still on the fence), chacos (vs. the tevas I already have), whether or not I should get a new laptop (mine is about to die), what e-reader to get (kindle vs. nook) and what kinds of clothing I should bring (cotton vs. synthetic). I think I’m gradually gathering answers to these questions… slowly but surely. The trick is just finding the time to shop for it all… between studying for the GMAT and GRE, Christmas shopping and working… Just under 3 weeks till GMAT is off of my plate! Yikes!

Back to the books for me tonight…

Kindle vs. Nook: Opinions?

Random Updates

So it's been a while since I've posted, but I feel much more like a real person these days! I'm working at the fundraising arm of a hospital, which as been great non-profit experience. I'm really enjoying it and the people I work with are great, and a wonderful learning opportunity (for the non-profit sector, fundraising as well as the healthcare industry) but it's certainly tiring. Plus, I've started studying more intensely for the GRE and GMAT, both of which I'm going to take in December before I leave in January - I'm planning on going back to graduate school after my PC service, and I'd like to have options. But it certainly makes for a busy schedule with a full-time job, studying on my own for the GRE, taking a course for the GMAT, thinking about preparing for PC in Panama, and trying to hang out with friends and family.

But I did have a great weekend at Vandy's homecoming a few weeks ago (got to see a lot of friends, enjoy tailgating and the game, went to church, as well as spent 14 hours in the car), and I've had some fun weekends in Charlotte. Hopefully this weekend will be a little more relaxing and productive than the past couple have been. Though dad and friends are all home.... so we'll see how that goes. In other news - my fall league frisbee team got 2nd in the league!! Go Kenan & Kel! Yes - that was our team name lol.

In PC news, I finally got my last required immunization (Yellow Fever) before staging. I immediately faxed my info to PC, but then later that night I realized I didn't put all of the information on the cover sheet that I needed to... My one actually stupid mistake in this whole process - which, in considering the amount of paperwork I've done, is saying something I think. Either that or I'm just lucky (a much more likely possibility). Also, I'm starting to make contacts with other people going in my group to Panama! And it's making me so excited!!!! I started squealing when I got an email a couple of days ago from a fellow PC Panama Invitee. Which also made me realize that I really need to start actively packing/preparing. Of course I'm behind - what else is new? I'll get it done somehow/someway.

My to-do list for the weekend:
- Do GMAT homework/review
- Study GRE quantitative section
- start actively thinking about packing for Panama
- get some sleep and get my lymph nodes un-swollen

We'll see how much this actually gets done...

Links for the week:
I've been taking the papers from work to recycle them at the end of the week, and in the process reading them, and I found a couple of interesting articles today.
One was about how a patient's faith really influenced a doctor and how it's significant in his life today. Click here.
The other was gave a short biography about a woman who was sterilized by the state of North Carolina because they argued that she wouldn't be fit to raise a child because her IQ is so low. Sad article, unbelievable that this actually happened, but also wonderful about her faithful and supportive life-long friend. Article here.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Other PC Panama Volunteers?

Along with visiting family and getting a job for the fall (yay!), throughout this past week, I have also been making progress on PC paperwork and information. I've finally read pretty much all of the info they sent me with my invitation, found blogs of many current PCV's in Panama, thinking about leaving/packing and thinking about options after PC service. It's been busy!

In addition to all of this, I've been thinking about connecting to the other invitees in the January/Panama group. I'd love to meet some of them/you before we go - I'm sure I could use some counsel on packing! So, if you're leaving for PC/Panama in January! Let me know!

My fun tidbit for the day:
List of companies/stores that give discounts to PCVs!

Also, since I missed my fun tidbit last time:
Inspiration

Have a good week everyone!

Panama Connections

So yesterday, I got REALLY excited about going to Panama.... I met a teacher who lives near Panama City!!

I was working at International House where I've been helping teach some adult English classes, and stayed afterwards to listen to a group of English teachers from Central and South America (all different countries) ask questions to International House staff, teachers, and some of our students. It was really interesting, and one of the women even said she was from Panama! So I decided to talk to her after the group discussion. I ended up speaking for a minute about my role as an assistant teacher, and my co-teacher mentioned I was going to the Peace Corps and after a little more explanation, I found out that the Panamanian teacher is actually working with a current PCV and has requested 2 to come in March, which is when my group will probably be sent to our sites. Crazy! I could be working with her! But certainly someone from my group will be... Such a small world!

But it was wonderful to talk to her and have a connection in Panama! She was so nice and made me feel like I was going to be welcomed and offered me some help and to visit if I wanted once I get to Panama. It was so nice to know I have a connection down there, and to be able to put a face with a community partner that I could be working with.

My friend Christine, had a great insight: This is God's way of saying that this is the right decision. I hope so! Because it made me so excited :)

Official Acceptance and.... Paperwork

So, after much thought, self-debate, and considerations, I officially accepted my invitation on Wednesday night! I was dwelling on the things that are going to be difficult about my PC service before I accepted, which was making it kind of difficult, but since then I've gotten a lot more excited. I'm sure there will be many difficulties, but there are going to be the other parts of service that will make them worth it. Meeting amazing people, having once-in-a-lifetime experiences, offering my (limited) knowledge and resources to people who otherwise might not have access to them, hopefully impacting at least a few people for the better, and learning things that I never would have discovered otherwise. It'll be an adventure, to be sure. But it's official! I'm leaving in January for 2+ years. Still seems kind of crazy, but there it is. Until then I'm going to be finishing the governmental paperwork, learning as much as I can about the life I'm about to jump into, and trying to make the most of my last few months in the States!

One of the ways I'm trying to learn about things is reading blogs from PCV's (term I will use frequently: Peace Corps Volunteers). The one I just finished was certainly enlightening. One of the posts that I think will be the most helpful are ones like what he wrote about coping on the rough days. Here's his approach. I'm sure I'll be sharing other blog links or fun tidbits about Panama as I come across them.

What I've learned so far is that Panama has a rich and interesting culture, history, and peoples. It's a beautiful country and has a lot of potential, but a lot of disparities as well. As a PCV, I hope to be able to help (in some minute way) those communities that haven't been able to pull themselves out of poverty that consumes too much of the population. I hope to use some of my anthropological interests during these two years as well to discover interesting things/differences about the people around me.

For now I'm working on my new passport application, and some other paperwork that the PC needs from me. In between all of that, I'm spending the weekend with my friend, Kelsey, at the beach, and trying to figure out a job for the next few months, both for a little bit of money and to keep gaining experience with teaching. Hopefully things will pan out soon!

NEWSNEWSNEWS

FINALLY GOT MY PEACE CORPS INVITATION!!!

To Panama! Leaving in January. (what?!?) haha it's definitely surreal, but also really exciting! I'll be co-teaching with a local teacher and staying with a host family both during training and the first three months of my placement.

Took a lot of patience to get this far... I'm sure I'll need even more over the next couple of years! But I'm so excited to see what this adventure holds...

As for the next few months at home, I'm going to try to teach as much as I can, but hopefully also find some sort of job to make some money before I go. Additionally, I'm thinking about maybe grad school after PC, so looking into that... do I need to take the GRE/GMAT?? Gotta figure all that out... Then hopefully brushing up on my Spanish too! So I'm not a total dunce when I get there.

SO! For today... here are a few related links:

Awesome article on a woman who is doing something similar to what I'll be doing over the next couple of years: CNN Article and the website to her organization

Also - Lonely Planet's guide to Panama!

Long-overdue Post

So I know it’s been a while since I updated this… sorry about that. Life got kind of crazy and has been a rollercoaster ride. Since February, I’ve graduated from college (where did those 4 years go?...), turned 22, moved back home, spent a week in London with 3 amazing friends, worked at a law firm for a couple of weeks, worked for 3 weeks with a non-profit in Charlotte as a teacher for both adults and 2nd graders in their English tutoring program, gotten my wisdom teeth out, and driven across the country to San Francisco with a great guy. To be sure, I’ve been all over the place. It has been an adjustment since graduating, and all of my younger friends recently having returned to Vanderbilt for the new school year, it has been weird not going back myself, especially because my friends who are my age have all either gone back to school themselves (grad school, med school etc) or started their new jobs, leaving me home alone in a sense. But now I have some new things going on:

As for my future plans, plans for PC have been in limbo, changed, halted, changed again haha it’s been up and down. BUT the real deal is: I finally got medical, dental, and legal clearance completed in early July (after having my wisdom teem out in June and jumping through a few insurance hoops). Since then I have been waiting to hear something from them since I knew I was not going to be leaving on my original July departure date. After doing a little more paperwork a few weeks ago, I received an email from my placement officer and talked with her on the phone early last week. After a bit of a difficult conversation with her, she said that she was going to forward my application into the next stage and was going to find a placement for me! The only catch: I’m no longer going to Africa. Apparently the next time they are sending volunteers to French-speaking Africa is next summer. SO that means that I am now headed to Central or South America in January!

Another great thing that came of my conversation with my placement officer is that she said she would send me a formal invitation within the next couple of weeks. Yikes! Hopefully soon I will have all of the information I need to make that final decision. As for now, I’m on the search for job options for the fall – hopefully I can continue to get some teaching experience, but making some money would be nice as well… who knows what shenanigans I’ll get myself into.

And as I wanted to keep up my sharing fun tidbits… here is the link to my friend’s blog to just left for PC service in Namibia!! I’m fascinated to read all about her experiences in anticipation of my own.

Things I'm Thankful For

Today has been a wonderful day (aside from the somewhat frustrating econ test this morning) filled with friends, laughter and God :) Gotta love those days! Having lunch with some wonderful friends from my semester abroad and planning for our sunday soirée this weekend! First one we've had since we've been back from France (over a year ago...). A wonderful bible study and then a great chat with one of the girls who I've recently gotten to know. It really amazes me what you don't know about people, how similar your thoughts, fears, and dreams can be even when you are incredibly different people. Sharing these kinds of things always makes me happy. These past few days have also been fun with my suite-mates, just chatting late at night. I can definitely feel myself hanging on to every minute left here... it's coming to a close way too quickly.

A couple of other things to be thankful for in the life of a hopeful PCV:
- encouragement from friends and promises of many letters
- blogs that reveal the real-life day-to-day events and emotions of current PCV volunteers (good and bad)

So, off to do the rest of my homework...

Fun tidbit:
One of the many reasons I love Vanderbilt; inspiration everywhere!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sav

Fun weekend :)

So this weekend brought a lot of fun and relaxation, starting with a visit from my cousin and aunt from Memphis! They came to visit Vandy, so I accompanied them on a tour, which happened to be lead by a friend of mine, which was a lot of fun to do. I haven't been on a tour since I was a senior in high school, so it was a nice full-circle feeling. Then we had dinner at a great Nashville restaurant then went ice skating, followed by relaxing. Saturday brought frsibee practice (sprints... oy), yummy Calypso (fresh veggies & chicken) and going inside the Parthenon (replica, of course, though full-scale - unfortunately it is not within my budget to fly to Greece for a day to see the real Parthenon). Then that afternoon was filled with watching our guys ultimate team play in their tournament. Then some awesome ASB friends came over and just hung out till 4 am (whoops haha). Sunday brought sleeping later than I meant to (kinda good - got sleep, kinda bad - missed church :/ ) and Pancake Pantry with my great-grandbig in my sorority! A few of her friends, her boyfriend, and my big also came - it was wonderful. The entire weekend was much nicer weather than Nashville has been experiencing of late, so that was nice - took full advantage by watching the guys again in their last game of the tournament, playing some pick-up and going on a run. More ASB fun tonight with pancake-making (yes... many pancakes in one day). Now I, unfortunately, have to get down to the real business of schoolwork... blech.

Clip that got me into Glee. Just watch: here.

Finding a peace about Peace Corps

So this week has brought a lot more peace and confidence in my decision to continue down this road for the Peace Corps. I really do feel like this is what I want to do, and that this is where God is leading me to make an impact. Especially when I get multiple messages from different sources (from friends to speakers to news reports) basically saying the same thing.

And on a happy note - I am finished going to all of the doctors! So as soon as I get some more tests and paperwork back, I will send everything in and will just have to wait on them to see if/when I get a formal invitation!

But life at school has also been wonderful lately. I can really feel myself clinging onto the people here who I love, especially those who I wish I am closer to. Lunch date after coffee date with classes wedged somewhere in between is about what my life is at the moment haha. Just one example: Monday night (Valentine's day) Amy and I were both returning from out of town, and Christine and Emily picked us up, and we had a suitemates outing at Urban Flats with wine, appetizers, and desert. It was so much fun just to get out of the Vanderbubble and relax with some great friends. Here's to many more nights like that until graduation (which is approaching too fast!).

Fun tidbit:
Live like a PCV (Peace Corps volunteer) Challenge!:
Follow this link to get info about how to imitate the life of a PCV in certain counties while still here in the US.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sav

The emotional rollercoaster

Even though the Peace Corps has been what I have thought about doing for several years now, having that nomination makes it much more real than I would have realized and with that reality comes more fears and hesitations in trying to really think through what I will be jumping into. The possible living situations, safety, emotional support (through the long-distance communication), making new relationships at training and in my community, and the teaching position to which I may be assigned - all of these are unknowns, at least to an extent, which makes it scary. However, through these considerations and really thinking through what I may want and how I can handle these things, I have come to several realizations about myself.

One is something that I already knew, but now just realize to a deeper level, and that is how much I rely on my friends for emotional support and validation. This became much more obvious to me this past weekend when several of my closest friends expressed more concerns and hesitations than I had previously heard or expected. Receiving those reactions when I was expecting, or at least hoping for more positive support, was difficult and gave me a lot to think about. And in recognizing my reaction to that input made me realize that I really need to think about what I want and don't need to rely on the validation and confidence from everyone else. And, don't get me wrong, I don't believe at all that these opinions should be disregarded in the least, but I also don't believe that they should completely direct my decisions.

Also, in addition to realizing how much I depend on others for confirmation, I also am realizing how much more I need to learn to turn to God and trust in Him to get me through everything and lead me down the right path. If I do end up in a small town in Africa, I need to trust him to either provide those relationships that will help get me through the tough times, or the strength to get through it otherwise. Overall, it's still a lot to think about, but I'm feeling better about things now that I'm trying to think through things on my own.

In other news, life at school as been plugging along as usual. ADPi party was a lot of fun last night, though BB King's made us stand outside for 20-30 minutes in the cold before they let us in the venue... that wasn't so great. But the Rep your state costumes were a lot of fun. Then scrimmaging with the Western Kentucky and Nashville/USN ladies was great! Lots of good practice for tournaments later in the semester.

Fun tidbit for the day:
In honor of Jessica Jackley, founder of Kiva who came and spoke at Vanderbilt earlier this week.
http://vimeo.com/16991128

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!
Sav

Doctors, Here I come!

So since receiving my nomination, I have slowly scheduled doctor's appointments, and had my first few today. Though I did have to drive home for it, it is rather nice to have a few days off of school/class.

This path so far has been a bunch of ups and downs, with many more to come, I am sure. Some days I am excited about all of this, and other days I seem to be terrified - whether of the possible housing, dangers, distance from home & friends, spiders & bugs (yes... this is a serious concern of mine), or just of the thought of me in front of a classroom. But I also have moments like today, where I remember how much I enjoy giving back to people and trying to make a difference in someone's life. Hopefully I will continue to have more of the latter as I continue through this process.

In other news, my wonderful ladies of VUDU (Vanderbilt's Women's Ultimate Frisbee team) had an awesome time at the T-Town Throwdown tournament in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We played wonderfully, even though we had some really tough games - physically and psychologically. And I think we can all feel the conditioning we've been doing, which is great! Thanks Coach Abby :) Also on the bright side, I got to stay with my Dad both nights in Birmingham, thereby spending time with him as well as getting a warm bath and my own comfy bed to spread out in haha (normally there are 3 girls to a bed in a hotel room on tournament trips, and while I love my fellow VUDU players, it's nice to be able to spread out).

That's about all for now. Being home also has it's ups and downs. Ups: baths (with bathbombs from Jen, DVR, running into people around town, lunch w Mom). Downs: struggling to find time with God, missing a lot of fun activities on campus (including a roommate's birthday).

But overall, things are going well! Progressing slowly, and trying to hold on to the less than 100 days left before graduation...

Fun song for the day.

Look at that. I finally figured out how to insert a link.

'Till next time!
Sav 

Support

Coming back to the realization of how wonderful and supportive a group or person is is always a wonderful feeling. Having that with my Navs bible study group tonight was great. Knowing that these ladies are there to support me in my journey to follow the Lord is such a reassurance. They help keep me on track and focused on the right things when so many distractions get in the way, especially here at Vanderbilt where it seems like everywhere you look there is something else to do. So this is really just a post to say that I am so thankful for this group, and so many other people in my life, and it is painfully obvious how lucky I am to have found this community when I am away from it during school breaks. They bring my thoughts back to God and the fact that he will take care of me, no matter where life takes me - so why worry?

Isaiah 55:12 - "For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

Can you imagine how wonderful that would be?

Movement on the Peace Corps front!

So since returning to school after a whirlwind break (Garth Brooks concert - 4th row and amazing!, Christmas, friends and family, a week-long trip to Colombia - also wonderful, one day at home, then a Peace Corps interview in Atlanta) I am finally able to relax a little bit now that sorority recruitment is over and ADPi has a new pledge class! Yesterday was bid day and our whole sorority had a ton of fun at Cadillac Ranch in downtown Nashville with our newest members.

Then today was meant to be a day to catch up on all of my work and other things that I need to get on top of... but of course, I have relaxed in bed on my computer almost all day. Whoops. Oh well. One more day of relaxation, then I can get back to this school business.

I did, however, go check my mail and pick up a package - both of which were from the Peace Corps! So now I can get on the road to fulfilling my medical checks - hopefully everything checks out ok and nothing random pops up!

Fun tidbit:
I found this post on a friend's blog and thought it was awesome.
Speed fly - a combination between skiing and parachuting:
http://vimeo.com/17909042


Happy MLK Jr. Day!
Sav

Every end is a new beginning

Hello all!

I am starting this blog in order for people to keep up with happenings in my life during the last semester of college, and into the abyss beyond. Hopefully this will lead me to community development and service work abroad for a few years. The title of this blog is a quote from Confucius that I love and hope to follow. And the title of this post is kind of what this last semester represents to me, and something I am trying to hold on to as graduation creeps closer.

Currently, I am on track to be a Peace Corps Volunteer!! If all goes well from here on out (meaning, I graduate and make it through all of the other health/background checks etc), I may be teaching English in a French-speaking African country and leaving in July! Yikes! While this is so exciting, it is kind of terrifying at the same time. But it is what I have wanted for a long time, so I'm trying to trust that God will work everything out and that I will end up where I should be.

As for now, I am living it up as a second-semester senior at Vanderbilt and trying to make the most of my last few days as a college student - where did the time go?... More updates will be posted as things happen, but for now, things may be a bit slow. However, I am going to try to include something funny, sweet, or interesting - just some little tidbit or link - in each post. For today, here is an inspirational story: http://vimeo.com/15991500

Sav