mind the gap
Today marked my last ‘official’ grad school class. Today and plenty of moments leading up to have brought all the feels—final assignments, capstone projects, wrapping up an internship, staring down a future to figure, and friendships treasured.
One of our exercises today was to think about the ‘self’ who started this program compared to the ‘self’ finishing this program. For me, that means three years of knowing, figuring, and exploring. I felt most struck by some parts that were there then and remain today. It was a great reminder that life is life and nothing can definitively eliminate or change what is, what’s been, what’s to be. The meaning lies in how we fold knowings into our being, how we show up for one another, how we leave a place, life, situation better than we found it.
Another exercise today focused on ’termination’—how we migrate from being a point person of care while ushering clients into life beyond a therapeutic relationship. As someone years into this schooling, I feel like this knowing would have been great to employ from the start as so many classmates that I got to learn alongside and cherish would then graduate as I headed into a new cohort of faces, talents, and insights. Every chapter was both a gain and a longing… and a great exercise in adapting.
At the last minute of a break today, I dashed down the hall before hustling back to class. En route, a door opened just shy of my classroom & out walked one of my first friends made in grad school. They were guest speaking for another class and I about fell over in the serendipity of it all. Here stood one of the first faces I knew, the first someone I ever partnered with on a project, the always there early and ready for class seat mate who welcomed me with a smile week after week.
Timing is everything.
In when we pursue a path.
In how we cross over with others also seeking.
In the openness we bring to what’s next.
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