Wasn't sure what to expect when I enrolled in Counseling Psychology last quarter, but it is nothing like what I have experienced in any other class before. Today in class we had an Art Show and had the opportunity to talk and share about the art we had created. Walking to my car after class today I just felt an overwhelmed feeling of emotions for others. It was amazing/crazy to hear what some people have gone through or are going through right now. And even more amazing to feel comfortable enough to share with the class.

I think Alli put it a good way, she said, (along the lines of) "we all go through hard experiences in life and it just depends on what you are going through in the moment that shapes what can come out of this type of assignment." (she put it so much more elegantly) After letting that sink in my brain I realized that's very true. If I would have completed this assignment after fall quarter of Junior year I would have been balling my eyes out while presenting.

When walking to my car, a flood of tears came to me and I just "felt" all the emotions that were in that room today. And all I wanted to do was go back to class and hug every single classmate and tell them they are so loved. Then my mind went to the fact of how many students I have come across in the last four years and how many stories were in all those different classrooms. It's an overwhelming thing to think about. I just really realized that I want to live my life loving others -- I'd like to think that this is one of my gift areas which makes me want to embrace it even more so. Wherever life takes me, I want to continue to meet more people and be an ear to listen and to show them that I truly care about their story.

If more teachers taught their classes the way my psych professor has conducted her class this quarter, I think we might be even a little more in tuned with each other. I think sometimes we never go deeper than a certain line with each other and we don't because we do not think we know each other well enough to share these secrets of pain, frustration, and uncertainty. Those are the hard questions to ask.

I know those are not the first questions I think to ask, but with time and friendships that are created we can get to that deeper level. And if anything else, at least what we can say is, "My heart feels for you - and I am hear if you need an extra ear." Sometimes people just need an extra ear -- I know I need a couple ears at times.

And I have realized more and more lately that we're all just human. And we need each other. Life is too hard to do alone. But it's important to realize too that the sun rises and sets EVERY SINGLE DAY in every part of the world. So, no matter how hard one day was, the sun's going to set and the next morning it's going to come back up and we have a new day to make it "work." God loves you so much reader. He really does.

xo,
Whit