the week that ends it all

It all boils down to this folks. the last week of my school days. I have class on Monday, class on Wednesday....then i'm off on my own.

After being with my class homies for two years, sometimes spending more time with them than with my own family, they have become family to me. i have an emotional attachment to these guys, needless to say.

Especially since i am the baby of the class, my older classmates have taken me under their wing. i was the young grasshopper for some, the techno-savvy powerpoint adviser for others, the i'll-try-your-strange-filipino-food person, the observant listener for all, the one with crazy socks, the comment-contributor in conversations, the mediator [it's true], the encourager, the one to email random catch phrases and inside jokes to....I played my part well.

There were so many times that i just wanted to rip my hair out because of my annoyance towards some of my classmate's tendencies [i.e. complaining]. it's the sisterly, child-parent relationship i have with them. i could talk about every one of my classmates on such a personal level though. for great and bad. and i've gotten to know myself more. that's what happens when you get put through the wringer for various reasons over the course of two years.

Like i said, we've gotten close from experiences we'e had together. from teacher's being fired for being unethical, to teachers taking vengeance out on students, insane classmates that literally had some mental disease, field trips to Touro and other places, hoarding wheelchairs against our will, contracting for fieldwork placements, mystery classes, financial aid, teacher's stepping up and taking responsibility just when we need them, confession sessions, not accepting a 2nd year class for probationary accreditation reasons (there was an article recently in the Las Vegas Sun that did a great job describing that situation)....all this? REALLY!!
Great career! needy program. it's had some definite improvements throughout the past year and is on the path to recovery (thanks to some amazing instructors and to us! the students).

This picture is old, we need a more updated group photo.


This is cheesy, but i don't realize how much people mean to me until i see my relationship coming to an 'end.' sure, we'll keep in touch. we'll see each other in the real world. but we'll never be together in a class setting like this ever again. the L-building where we've laughed, yelled, studied, ate, played [seriously, the OTA program owns toys and a swing set], chatted on multiple emotional levels, and even bawled our eyes out/teared up a little at the appropriate times [the happy, the frustrated, the stressed...all of it]. i love these guys! i'll get over it, but i'm going to miss them. i see a lot of nostalgia in my future coming up after this week.

Sue, Tia, Lucy, Amer, Maria, Jeremy, Dave, Carmen, Erika, Kate, Jessica, Kristin, Wendy, Thom, Leanne, Michelle....

WE DID IT!

It's the end of the road. this is our last week together. we have clinicals now and will go our separate ways. but we will need to get together to study for the board exams later this year. so we'll still be there for each other....won't we? i have small moments of fear that we'll all move on and never "need" each other again. that must be the Manasseh in me.

But. we're here. here at the end of all things (ahem, what movie is that from?)
This is what we've been waiting for!
Let's DO THIS!!

end of GC challenge

Feb 7th marked the end of a seven-day experiment, or challenge. everything i read, watched, or listened to was supposed to be related to general conference. well, like i said, day one was just getting my feet wet, but i'll give you a briefing of the rest of the week:

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2/2/12, Day 2

On this morning, i woke up with resolution to download the entire oct 2011 general conference onto my mp3 player. i downloaded in three parts: sunday morning, sun afternoon, sat morning, sat afternoon, priesthood session, relief society session. that's pretty much one session a day for the rest of the week (even though i didn't finish them afterall). i listened to it as i washed dishes or sat with my feet folded up onto the couch. i can't tell you how relaxing it was on the first day to fill my mind with the deep, composed, reassuring voices of the apostles of God. it was like listening to zen music. i listened intentenly on this day to every word that was spoken, and i realized that the time has gone by so fast since the oct general conference! i could still picture the speakers in my head as i they spoke, and i realized this is the first time i've really truly listened to general conference since the time the talks were delivered 4 months ago. on day 2, i noted that the more i listened to the talks, the more i wanted to keep listening.

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2/3, Day 3

I continued to tune out television and music that didn't relate to general conference. when i started the sunday afternoon session, though, i tryed multitasking and checking my email or something while listening. i suppose the talks need my full attention - or my multitasking stinks - because i don't remember much that was said. gc isn't meant to be a subconscious learning tool. it needs active attention. that's how the Spirit will point specific lines out that pertain to me specifically. i went to work later in the day at LooCG Spa Party...so even though i made an exception to the challenge for work and school, listening to girl spa party music the rest of the night was sort of a 'break' from conference talks i guess you could say. i felt like it was cheating. escpecially compared to this awesome friend who did the challenge with me.

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2/4, Day 4

I look forward to every time the tabernacle choir sings in between talks. it's important to include music as much as possible in your review of gc. i remember a story that an investigator was given a recording of gc, but all the music was cut out of it. when the investigator finally heard the music of gc later on, it was the music that touched her heart and convinced her to become a member of the church. especially in gc, music may sometimes speak louder than words. i'm sure you've all heard that before. the tabernacle choir music brings the Spirit so quickly. from this week, one that i liked the most was Consider the Lilies. it's even sweeter knowing that it was President Gordon B Hinkley's favorite.

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Click here! http://youtu.be/nh8Hp1fzFek (you might have to right click then open in new tab)

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I included the video because i am a very visual person, but i strongly recommend that you relax your mind, close your eyes, and just soak in the music for one moment. the feeling you get - peace, joy, gratitude - that's what i felt as i listening to the gc music. that alone change my spirits for the week.

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2/5, Day 5

I actually didn't listen to much gc on sunday. it was one of my busiest days to be honest. but i did bare my testimony (which i haven't done in months), and i went to two different ward blocks. does it matter that i did it to make the fast sunday go by just a little faster?

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2/6, Day 6

My birthday. a day spent entirely in school. there's actually a funny story that goes to that though. like i said, i have some drafts saved up, but i'll have to post about this day. it was the most amazing day ever. when i came home in the evening, i spent the night with my family. so not much gc went on this day. i seriously picked a challenging week to do this experiment fordalovapete. but before bed i managed to turn on the talk i left off at. i don't remember which one it was because i fell asleep in the middle of it.

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2/7, Day 7

The last day! i was excited to make it this far. it wasn't a perfect experiment on my end. especially when riding in someone else's car and they have the radio blasted up. or when sitting down to eat dinner and lapsing into a tv show that catches your attention for 5 minutes before reminding myself to get up and rip away. i'm not big on tv anyways. or at least that's what i say to myself...because in my household it's sometimes hard to really escape from. or those short moments when i tune on 89.7fm [classical music station] because my conference downloads are in my backpack. little things like that.

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But what i realized from this experiment was the overall feeling of confidence in my life. ok, yes. there comes the feelings of peace and love for the prophets and the Savior. i totally expected that and was relieved when i felt it. but from a perspective "looking back," i can see that my week was SO FULL OF OPPORTUNITY many of which i haven't even written about in this post. i also felt more genuine when interacting with people this week, which made me feel really happy that i could just be myself....with a calm mind. that's the confidence component that the prophets must be talking about when they say that if you hear and study the Word, you will become more confident not only in the "presence of God," but also in God, and in yourself. D&C 121:45

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I have so much to be grateful for. general conference helped me to open my heart to myself, God, and the people i interacted with this week. it also helped my to recognize the smallest of blessings in my life and feel joy for having them... that mostly includes wonderful people who do little things that bless my life.

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The General Conference 7-day challenge took discipline and conscious decision-making. but by the end of the week i didn't feel the automatic urge to turn on the radio every chance i got. i even enjoyed the frequent moments of silence around me which usually led to moments of just thinking about my life and loving it. i felt more productive with my time since it was consciously spent.

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What surprised me the most is that i feel increased love/appreciation for myself. it's easy for me to love other people, but loving myself is sometimes another ball game. i felt so whole and complete.

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I've also been involved in an ongoing Heart-to-Heart experiment. no wonder i had such a great week. combining the two experiments is like giving jackie chan a weapon. inconceivable!

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It's by Virginia H Pearce: A Heart Like His

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If you feel so inclined to try the same experiment(s). i say DO IT. you won't regret it and who knows? you might even learn something about yourself in the process.