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I am taking this blog in a different direction than the ones before. This week I worked along side a friend and future collaborator in Higher Education as we discuss the importance of reflecting on life and using the support of our community to ease into the transitions we face throughout life. Brooke and I both studied Psychology in our undergraduate careers and both find ourselves pursuing Master's Degrees in Higher Education. I find myself constantly working and collaborating with her while we attend different schools and work towards our next chapter in life. Our process of thinking often goes hand in hand and while Brooke found herself articulating on her actual experiences that have led her to where we are today- I chose to look at why we reflect back on life and the importance of using those details in moving forward. As always, we make a great team. Enjoy!
Dylan: I think our generation is often times consumed by this idea of what it means to be successful. As we enter the young professional chapter of our life, we tend to get consumed with this idea of what others around us are doing and how that compares with our experience instead of enjoying the task placed in front of us. As that chapter is written, it becomes important to reflect and utilize what experiences we have encountered to guide us into those next steps we face. I am an advocate of creating your own path opposed to following the one we have watched others walk before us. While this is important to be guided by those around us that we trust, it is us that understands what makes life fulfilling for us and no one should make us think differently. After all, life is all about being innovative and taking risks.
I like to look back and reflect on life's journey as a way to help me understand what a gift this life has been for me thus far. The people, the experiences, the traveling, and the education have all been components to where I stand right now. I was talking with Brooke about what it means to have that community especially as we are faced with difficult experiences and how this becomes a chance to influence our life in a positive way. So often we can judge a situation without giving it a full opportunity to learn and grasp what is this experience, in front of us, trying to teach us. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that you are never presented with something in life that you are not capable of handling. Its about taking the moment in, reflecting on it, and utilizing it to making you a stronger person. That knowledge then becomes a guiding tool to the other individuals in your life who may face a similar situation later on in life.
Brooke: The last day of classes of my undergraduate career left me empowered but also in shock. October I became engaged to the man I thought I was going to marry, but when things started piling up and red flags started raising I made the difficult choice to end my engagement. In light of the decision, however, I was left with a plan to attend graduate school in Brookings, SD, and no place to live. Thankfully, the summer before graduate school, a friend of mine from Augustana, and a Brookings native, connected me with a landlord who was looking for someone to rent out their basement complex for the year. Having no where else to go, I jump at the chance to rent the space and made the big move (on my own) to a town where I knew 1 person.
To say the transition was difficult would be a gross understatement. I spent most of the first few weeks organizing my life into the tiny 1 bedroom basement apartment, as well as reading and calling whoever I could think of in Sioux Falls to go hang out. I hated not knowing anyone, and having no idea where to go to meet new people wasn't easy either.
It's sort of funny though. As soon as I started working, and attending class, I began to invest myself in the people I met. Grabbing coffee, talking about our field of work, finding new places to study, it all just seemed to fall into place here, and I fully credit that to living in a town where people are supportive and want to see you do well.
As I've told Dylan many times, and will tell him many more, I have fallen in love with this little town. People go out of their way to say hello, or to ask you about yourself. If you're a new face, people in town recognize that and give off the sense that they want to help you get acquainted with Brookings.
In higher education, we sometimes become so wrapped up in the academic side of things. What are you doing to better your grades? Are you studying? But sometimes we need to understand how our environment is affecting us as well. Asking things like: where do you go for fun? Where are you studying, and do you like it there? What clubs are you a part of? These are all equally important to a students life as the way in which they are studying or what their grades are.
Finding an environment where you feel supported, loved, and cared for can make all the difference in your educational, career-focused, or personal life. Challenge yourself to look at the things that make you love a town, and if you hate it? challenge yourself to find new things that you haven't tried in the town.
Dylan: The challenge becomes the opportunity to create meaning but finding the environment to be fully challenged in life is where the difficulty is. As my family always says, Life is an Adventure. Let's make the most of it.
Dylan: I think our generation is often times consumed by this idea of what it means to be successful. As we enter the young professional chapter of our life, we tend to get consumed with this idea of what others around us are doing and how that compares with our experience instead of enjoying the task placed in front of us. As that chapter is written, it becomes important to reflect and utilize what experiences we have encountered to guide us into those next steps we face. I am an advocate of creating your own path opposed to following the one we have watched others walk before us. While this is important to be guided by those around us that we trust, it is us that understands what makes life fulfilling for us and no one should make us think differently. After all, life is all about being innovative and taking risks.
I like to look back and reflect on life's journey as a way to help me understand what a gift this life has been for me thus far. The people, the experiences, the traveling, and the education have all been components to where I stand right now. I was talking with Brooke about what it means to have that community especially as we are faced with difficult experiences and how this becomes a chance to influence our life in a positive way. So often we can judge a situation without giving it a full opportunity to learn and grasp what is this experience, in front of us, trying to teach us. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that you are never presented with something in life that you are not capable of handling. Its about taking the moment in, reflecting on it, and utilizing it to making you a stronger person. That knowledge then becomes a guiding tool to the other individuals in your life who may face a similar situation later on in life.
Brooke: The last day of classes of my undergraduate career left me empowered but also in shock. October I became engaged to the man I thought I was going to marry, but when things started piling up and red flags started raising I made the difficult choice to end my engagement. In light of the decision, however, I was left with a plan to attend graduate school in Brookings, SD, and no place to live. Thankfully, the summer before graduate school, a friend of mine from Augustana, and a Brookings native, connected me with a landlord who was looking for someone to rent out their basement complex for the year. Having no where else to go, I jump at the chance to rent the space and made the big move (on my own) to a town where I knew 1 person.
To say the transition was difficult would be a gross understatement. I spent most of the first few weeks organizing my life into the tiny 1 bedroom basement apartment, as well as reading and calling whoever I could think of in Sioux Falls to go hang out. I hated not knowing anyone, and having no idea where to go to meet new people wasn't easy either.
It's sort of funny though. As soon as I started working, and attending class, I began to invest myself in the people I met. Grabbing coffee, talking about our field of work, finding new places to study, it all just seemed to fall into place here, and I fully credit that to living in a town where people are supportive and want to see you do well.
As I've told Dylan many times, and will tell him many more, I have fallen in love with this little town. People go out of their way to say hello, or to ask you about yourself. If you're a new face, people in town recognize that and give off the sense that they want to help you get acquainted with Brookings.
In higher education, we sometimes become so wrapped up in the academic side of things. What are you doing to better your grades? Are you studying? But sometimes we need to understand how our environment is affecting us as well. Asking things like: where do you go for fun? Where are you studying, and do you like it there? What clubs are you a part of? These are all equally important to a students life as the way in which they are studying or what their grades are.
Finding an environment where you feel supported, loved, and cared for can make all the difference in your educational, career-focused, or personal life. Challenge yourself to look at the things that make you love a town, and if you hate it? challenge yourself to find new things that you haven't tried in the town.
Dylan: The challenge becomes the opportunity to create meaning but finding the environment to be fully challenged in life is where the difficulty is. As my family always says, Life is an Adventure. Let's make the most of it.