The last few weeks have been quite the whirlwind - I have come to the end of my classes of my undergraduate degree in International Development, the work of INDEVOURS has wrapped up for the term, and we have all moved out of St. Paul's to spend the last few weeks we have left with our friends and family and finally putting effort into placement preparations that we have been too busy to focus on all term.
While my academic classes have finished, my learning has not stopped. I'm sure I will learn more in the next 8 months than I have over the past 3 years, but the realization that I have taken all the classes that will supposedly prepare me for my placement has sunk in. I wonder if everything I have learned up to this point is enough or actually tangible to help me help others in the field. I guess time will tell, but at the same time I know that some of the most important things I have learned the past few years are practical life skills and discoveries about myself, which are more valuable than anything I can learn from a book or a lecture, and I will only continue to learn.
In terms of how I am feeling at this point…
Despite finally moving out of residence at the end of term and saying goodbye to some people I know I won't see again for over 8 months, despite coming home and making a packing list, despite scheduling out my remaining 3 ish weeks before I leave, despite doing a ton of organizing and research and shopping, despite finally getting my plane tickets, and no matter how many times I try to picture myself in Botswana…it still does not seem real.
I catch glimpses of it but I can't completely wrap my head around it and don't feel like this is all really happening.
When will it feel real?
Maybe not until I'm all packed or at the airport or on the plane or when I arrive in Botswana or even a week later once the novelty wears off and my reality for the next 8 months sets in.
Perhaps for this reason the nervousness hasn't set in, and the excitement I'm feeling about placement, especially when I talk with other people, has almost become second nature, like a crafted excitement or an automatic response because I ought to (and rightfully so) be excited. I am now so used to this artificial excitement that the reality hasn't been able to set in.
The term definitely flew by, but it was an exciting one and I can't wait to see where we will all end up in the next few months. It will no doubt be, and already has been, a mix of emotions as we go through the placement preparations, the goodbyes, the new adventures and friends, and of course, not forgetting the old ones and all the great times we've had. I have had a blast with all my fellow INDEVOURS these past three years and this last term in particular. I have learned, shared and grown lots. The time has flown but it certainly hasn't been wasted, and I can't wait to see where our journeys will take us.
While my academic classes have finished, my learning has not stopped. I'm sure I will learn more in the next 8 months than I have over the past 3 years, but the realization that I have taken all the classes that will supposedly prepare me for my placement has sunk in. I wonder if everything I have learned up to this point is enough or actually tangible to help me help others in the field. I guess time will tell, but at the same time I know that some of the most important things I have learned the past few years are practical life skills and discoveries about myself, which are more valuable than anything I can learn from a book or a lecture, and I will only continue to learn.
In terms of how I am feeling at this point…
Despite finally moving out of residence at the end of term and saying goodbye to some people I know I won't see again for over 8 months, despite coming home and making a packing list, despite scheduling out my remaining 3 ish weeks before I leave, despite doing a ton of organizing and research and shopping, despite finally getting my plane tickets, and no matter how many times I try to picture myself in Botswana…it still does not seem real.
I catch glimpses of it but I can't completely wrap my head around it and don't feel like this is all really happening.
When will it feel real?
Maybe not until I'm all packed or at the airport or on the plane or when I arrive in Botswana or even a week later once the novelty wears off and my reality for the next 8 months sets in.
Perhaps for this reason the nervousness hasn't set in, and the excitement I'm feeling about placement, especially when I talk with other people, has almost become second nature, like a crafted excitement or an automatic response because I ought to (and rightfully so) be excited. I am now so used to this artificial excitement that the reality hasn't been able to set in.
The term definitely flew by, but it was an exciting one and I can't wait to see where we will all end up in the next few months. It will no doubt be, and already has been, a mix of emotions as we go through the placement preparations, the goodbyes, the new adventures and friends, and of course, not forgetting the old ones and all the great times we've had. I have had a blast with all my fellow INDEVOURS these past three years and this last term in particular. I have learned, shared and grown lots. The time has flown but it certainly hasn't been wasted, and I can't wait to see where our journeys will take us.