Lofty Goals

A few things have happened over the past few weeks which have really caused me to shift focus on several aspects of my life. First of all, my best friend passed away in a riding accident, competing and doing what she loved. She was an amazing athlete, and such an inspiration to so many people. She began competing at the Olympic equestrian level at 17 years old and had gotten to that level through her own hard work and dedication. Her death made me rethink some of the things I considered important. Life is precious and we never know when we won't see tomorrow. Rather than worrying about all the little things, I've realized it's much more imporant to focus your attention on things you are passionate about. The petty things in life will never go away, so there's no need putting all your energy into trying to change that fact. Eleanor, I love you so much! You continue to live on in so many people!

My final medical school rejection letter, which came about a week later, was followed by a sense of relief. It's not that I wasn't disappointed, because I was BIG TIME, but I realized it had been something I'd just worried too much about the past two years. I feel like I can finally breathe and relax a little bit. I'm not giving up on my medical school dreams, just looking forward to a little bit of "me-time" while I gain experience in the medical field and try again for school in a few years.

This "me-time" includes pursuing another dream of mine - completing a marathon. My training program is 20 weeks until the Charlottesville Marathon. If something comes up or I start having knee issues again, I'll shoot for the Half in April and try for the full again in November 2008 at Richmond. Eleanor is an inspiration to me to make it all the way through this program and I know she'll be running with me on April 19th.

I've also decided to head to Paramedic school this fall and I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to things slowing down a little bit and finally heading back HOME, which I've missed so much! Life might not always go as you planned, but sometimes the back-up plan isn't so bad after all.