All Good Things Come to an End...

Over the past 6 weeks I have had some of the greatest experiences of my life. I hiked a mountain, swam w sharks, pet a cheetah, jumped the HIGHEST bridge bungee and rode an elephant and so much more!  I came to know and love a beautiful family immersing myself in a new culture. I realized the value of education, I learned more from my students then I thought possible and I learned a lot about myself. So for that, I am incredibly thankful! Goodbyes are never easy... Africa for life!  Ill be back!

So im sitting here now at Deo patiently waiting for Corvell to tell us its time to go to the airport.  I just spent 20 minutes trying to make a facebook status that wasn’t too long, also trying to finish all my blog updates and ALSO trying to do some overdue work WHILE trying not to cry..becuase I suck at good byes.  So I have decided that for now, I will just jump a head in my blog once again, to tell you what is happening right now.  Right now I am reflecting on..THE most amazing 6 weeks of my life.  I had the opportunity to do so many cool things that many can only dream of and I have realized how grateful I am for the life I have been given.  All the while I am also making this experience more then just a ‘holiday’ but through this opportunity I am also furthering my education, not only literally in university terms but also about myself.  Before I came here, I was lost.  I didn’t know where I was in life, or what to make of my future.  I had just graduated from MSU and felt off course without EL, the safe and easy road had come to a dead end.  So then, I decided to go to South Africa, to continue my ‘unsure’ path in education of becoming a teacher.  I came here still not knowing if I wanted to be a teacher, I just wanted to go to Africa, I was nervous that this experience was just an ‘excuse’ to travel – and maybe I didn’t deserve it, I hadn’t worked hard enough, or shown enough passion to be embarking on an experience as fantastic as thins.  And now…its funny how things change, and how things can change you... I am sitting here now telling you that I can honestly see this in my future.  On my last day of school, I sat there and laughed at myself, why, because I was suddenly sure of one thing.  I was not just content, doing what I was doing but I was happy and enjoying it.  I felt powerful in the classroom, in the sense that I was doing something that was appreciated, I didn’t need to be acknowledged for it, because I could feel and see that what I was doing felt right.  I saw hard work; I saw motivation I saw attitudes change.  I want to inspire people by teaching (I think) but I like working with others.  Teaching; what exactly, I do not know, where exactly, I also don’t know but it’s a start.  I don’t feel so lost anymore, I am not as scared of the future but now I am excited. I have a life to live and adventures to come.  I want to see the world, I want to learn about other cultures and I want to become part of people’s lives, and leave a mark.  I will never forget my students I had here in South Africa, and I will forever admire their desire to learn.  While for some, the drive is not as strong as others, if you positively motivate and can prove the power of education, there is no way, and you can avoid success.  Its not necessarily the 'classroom' education that has the power but the ability to focus and set your mind to something.  It’s about finding passion, and interest a hobby and expanding on that.  If you can find something that brings your joy, something that inspires you to wake up every (or almost every) morning - you have realized the power of education.  Its commitment that’s important.  Respect, for yourself and for others that’s important - and in turn that can take you to the moon.  I did a lesson on proverbs, and finding the meaning and message behind what is being said, and that day in the classroom I learned a lot.  As we sorted out the proverbs I asked the students to tell me what they 'meant' what is the proverb actually telling us.  Then I asked them to put it in a real life context.  That day I think I learned the most.  It’s interesting to see what others think, how we all interpret things differently and how we then relate things to real life.  What the students had to say was powerful and deeper then I would have expected.  I realized that all my worries I had, about graduating and what I wanted to do with my life, were silly, I have to take each step as it comes, "don’t cross the bridge until you get to it" - they told me not to worry, and not to "cry over the spilled milk” clean it up and move on.  Life is life and we can’t worry about the little tings, yet sometimes the little things are what make life worthwhile, like this lesson.  "Make hay while the sun shines" - take advantage of your opportunities and don’t let life pass you by.  This is what they taught me, and I realized that, that was exactly what I was doing here in South Africa.  Living life to the fullest and taking advantages of all the opportunities that life has to give to you.  If you don’t like something, change it.  I know that’s easier said then done, but it is possible, anything is possible if you set your mind to it.  "Rome wasn’t built in a day" ya know- success isn’t instant, but you cant win if ya don’t play!  So play hard, work hard and love hard and life is worth every minute.

Africa for life!!  Its not good bye, its see ya later!!

Ill work on the updates now!!


Love you all see you state side soon!