Takin’ on the big one.

Relationships.

School.

Applications.

It’s started.

I had a break up just as the semester began, when I needed to really knuckle down on my graduate school applications.  Becoming an adult is stressful.

However, I have to say that I am handling things much, much better than I thought I would.  I have a lovely binder separating all of my information, a colorful planning board which breaks up my tasks into doable bits, and a lot of help from my advisor/thesis mentor, friends, and family.

Besides all of that, though, I’m starting to realize how lucky I am.

I get to join the ranks of women who have braved new cities, new lives, new possibilities.  If I get into a good graduate school, I will get to study literature with some of the finest minds in the country.  I’ll be challenged more than I ever have, facing myself and my abilities in my most vulnerable state of mind.

I’ll be completely out of my comfort zone, but I will be able to face those challenges and come out of it a much stronger person.  This is really what I’ve been waiting for, what I’ve spent my whole life working hard in school for, the reason I have built good habits to get good grades, the reason I did a lot of activities and put in the extra time and effort.  This is the moment I have been building towards for a long time.

This has been a really challenging year for me, and next year will be even more difficult…  But I am ready for it.

I am ready to face my fears and move forward in spite of them.

Michelangelo depicted David at the moment he decides to fight Goliath. Can you see the determination in his eyes? The power in his body, ready to take on the giant? Just brilliant.

If you ever feel like you are facing an insurmountable obstacle, if you ever feel overwhelmed, do what I do and watch this video.

It always makes me feel like I can take on the world…

…because honestly, that’s what I’m going to do.