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She Does Seminary: Almost Done Year One

I am one exam and zero classes from the end of my first year at seminary. One little teeny tiny totally cumulative Greek exam.

No big deal.
(ha)

But seriously. The last eight eight months have flown by. The last year has been just as fast. To think that this time last year, I was training my replacement at my job, counting down the days to unemployment, travel, summer freedom, and SCHOOL.

And now here I am. A whole year smarter, and a whole year more aware of how little I know.

Many people have asked how I feel at the end of this year, whether it's been a good one and whether I like being in school... my answer to all of it is YES.

Yes. I like school.
Yes. It's been a good year.
Yes. I feel like it has been a year of Yeses.

Last weekend, I went to a retreat/workshop led by my spiritual director. It was called "Pray Through Play" and talked about the principles of improvisation and how they relate to our daily lives and relationships with Jesus. One of the foundational things that makes improv work is the choice to say "Yes, and..." to what another person contributes or offers.

That's what I've been learning this past year. To say an enthusiastic, "Yes, and..." to the opportunities, feelings, people, and ideas that come across my plate. (Of course, one can't say yes to everything, but saying 'No' well is also an important tool - especially learning to say it when you mean it, instead of saying, "Yes, but..." as a way to avoid saying no. But I digress.)

This is the point: I am happy with my life. Maybe the most content I've ever been. Is it perfect? No. Am I perfect? Aitch-to-the-Ell, no.

When I think back two years, to the spring of great anxiety, and another two years before that, to quitting my job and moving across the country, I'm amazed at the internal changes that have happened. I'm excited about the direction of my life, and, quite frankly, I (mostly) like being me.

So let's all high-five. Celebratory high-fives for all of y'all who've been around for this whole time, and high-fives for those of you who've joined my life more recently, and high-fives for those I don't even know are reading.

It's just a good day for high-fives.
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