And So It Ends.

Yesterday was my last day of classes at St. Thomas University…ever. Where has the time gone?

Let me paint a picture for you. 5 years ago in September I was 18 about to embark on my university years. Prom and graduation had come and gone, and time and time again I was being asked by friendly face after friendly face: "What are you doing in the fall?" You see, ever since the days of travelling to Fredericton and passing the steeple atop George Martin Hall on our way to the Aitken Centre had I dreamt of coming to STU. I remember when I took my tour in the summer before coming to STU and saying to my mother "This is definitely where I want to go to school!" What I quickly learned when left alone in Holy Cross House is that maybe university life wasn't for me. I was soooo homesick. 

I'm a small town girl, from a place where everyone knows your name (or at least your family name). And in what seemed like a matter of minutes, I was ripped from my comfort zone and forced into this new world of different personalities, backgrounds, and beliefs. I remember the first thing I did after Mom and Dad said bye to me - I went onto my computer and searched the dates of Thanksgiving weekend so I could start the countdown to when I could come home without an excuse. 

Now, hopefully as your reading this you are beginning to realize that this story doesn't end in tears and feeling bad for myself. After the (extended) Christmas holiday (due to the faculty strike) in my first year, and upon returning to residence at STU, I pulled myself out of my "self-pity coma" and put myself out there and made some friends. And here begins the best experience of my life. 

The people I've befriended in my five years at STU and shared my numerous university memories with are some of the most inspiring, unique, and beautiful people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

From Holy Cross House traditions

To parties at 860

And the many classy winter formals

From nights at the Pub (whether it be Snooty or the Cellar)

To birthdays in Sussex

 Pubcrawl, after pubcrawl

And buckets too!

From 2nd dirt side

To four memorable Welcome Weeks

And winning a cheer off, too!

 Graduation #1 

To the first day of a new program

 And meeting some fantastic new friends along the way

This one small blog post hardly does any justice to the emotions and memories I hold inside. I can only scratch the surface and try to relay to you how much this university means to me. STU and the people I associate with it took this insecure, quiet, reserved girl and turned her into an independent, strong, and lighthearted woman. 

Five years have come and gone with the blink of an eye. Through the laughter, tears, heartache, and love, I am in disbelief that another chapter of my life has come to a close. But with that, opens a new and exciting one. 

To my family and friends, thank you for making this university experience the most life changing and rewarding experience of my life. As cliche as it sounds, I honestly wouldn't be who I am today without the impact you've had on my life. 

Love, 

Melissa 

Update.

I had to remind myself again this weekend that I started this blog for me, as a means for journaling and recording down the moments in my life that I don't want to forget. If you're reading this, you being dedicated to reading my blog and taking an interest in the goings on in my life is just the cherry on top that puts a smile on my face day to day. Like I said to my mom this weekend, "It's good to feel loved." 

On April 29th, almost 2 months ago, I moved in to my very own first apartment. It's a small bachelor apartment in an apartment complex that (if you cut down the trees in front of my window) looks over the St. John River. Prior to moving into this apartment, I lived in a university owned house with four other girls. I thoroughly enjoyed living with them, and we certainly had some good times. However, I felt that I was at a point in my life wherein I needed to see how well I could live on my own and discover what it felt like to really be independent. In addition, with ideas floating around in my head of moving away to another province possibly on my own, I wanted to see if I was capable of really being alone and if it would cause me to be lonely. I am a firm believer in there being a strong difference between being alone and being lonely. I am happy to report 2 months in that there has yet to be a day living in this glorious apartment wherein I have felt lonely. Considering that I am rarely ever home due to the fact that I am in school 6-10 hours a day Monday - Friday and work every weekend, it's nice to come home after a long day and go about at my pace not worrying about disrupting anyone else. Might I add that it's nice getting to decorate and set up your living place however you want. Here's some pictures of my new digs: 

Alberta plans are moving along nicely. Still no luck on the job front, but I see those prospects looking up when I finally arrive in Calgary. Pretty sure that my soon-to-be roommate and I have secured a place to live, which is comforting to know. Once school is finished and I've graduated, packing will begin and farewells will be in order. Speaking of which…

HOLD THE PHONE! This is my last week of school. Where did the time go? Remember back in August when my gut was dragging on the floor because I was so nervous about starting and the butterflies in my stomach were sickening - Literally - Was sick as a dog during the first week of school. And now, with only a week left of classes, two small assignments left to write, and four group presentations, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter. Really, my reflection on the last five years of university needs its own blog post (or two, or three) but let me just say right now that the Melissa of five years ago is very different from the Melissa today. These changes for the better have much to do with the amazing people I have met and befriended over these years. You know who you are, and I'm sending you all hugs of thanks and love.

So, to the Melissa reading this down the road - you're doing just fine :) 

Happy Father's Day

After a full day of work, driving home, and spending a fabulous and relaxing evening with my family, it's time to take a minute and wish a special man a Happy Father's Day! To my rock, my source of joy and comic relief. Not a day goes by where I don't thank the stars for the father I am so blessed to have. Thank you for always supporting me in my endeavours and reminding me that a life without a smile isn't worth living. 

"Father's be good to your daughters. You are the god and the weight of her world." 

- John Mayer

2000

This weekend I hit 2000 views (today's count = 2010)! I want to just take a minute to thank all of my family, friends, and friends of friends for viewing my blog and taking an interest in the things I write about. 

With new prospects arising, I promise there'll be more frequent posts so that I can always remember the adventures that were part of my life. 

Speaking of adventures, anyone wanna do this with me sometime? 

Just Jump.

I had a wonderful Skype date with my dear friend Cara last night. She's from Vermont - Amanda and I went to visit her a few weeks ago during our week off of school (blogpost to come). 

During our conversation, Cara told me a story about an interaction she had with her mother wherein her  mom gave some wise words of wisdom without intentionally meaning to. Here is what she said to her: 

"You can't always be so cautious, sometimes you have to jump." 

I was speechless. All I could say to Cara in the moment was that I really needed to hear that. You see, I've made a pretty big decision in my life recently concerning my future. At the end of July, I'll be packing up my things and saying "So long" to New Brunswick and "Hello!" to Alberta. I've been yearning for a new adventure, and wanted to think of myself as someone who could just pack up and leave on my own. However, the more I thought to myself about it and the more I tried to convince others around me that I could do it, the more I realized and felt like it's just not for me. It's too much out of my comfort zone. I beat myself up about this, and often compared myself to my close friends who have experienced adventure after adventure. I thought myself a coward and immature. I was being cautious.

Then, I woke up and saw the bigger picture. Many of my close friends who have been on these adventures have different circumstances in their life. They went away with loved ones, are more experienced in travelling, and have a different relationship with their family. Thought I've travelled outside of New Brunswick, I've never lived anywhere else…and New Brunswick is a small province. On top of that, I hail from a small town of 1500 where (almost) everybody knows your name (or your family). Moving to a larger province and to a HUGE city compared to my small town life is going to be a big step. And no one is expecting me to do it alone except for…me! I was being to hard on myself. I still at times think that I should have sucked it up and just done it alone, but when a friend expressed her interest in moving out west, I jumped at the opportunity to partner up with her and presented her the idea of becoming roommates and taking this adventure together. Here lies the jumping. 

Which leads us to today. Plans are rolling along and this small town country girl is about to become a big time city girl. 

Excited? Yes! 

Happy? Yes! 

Anxious? OH YES! 

Nervous? You bet! 

All part of the adventure? Most definitely!