#74 Graduate with MSW

I'll be honest, I made my "99 in 999" list a couple of weeks before graduation, so really this was an easy check-off. However, I will not minimize the experience of finishing #74 on my list, which is graduating with my master's in social work.

I was excited that my grandparents and uncle (yup he's my uncle) came up for my graduation. Luke was a sweetheart and readily accepted the role as my "plus-one" as well as designated photographer and purse holder.

After getting my hands stuck in the dangly sleeves of the master's gown and choking myself with the hood, I was able to pull it together enough to look like I went to college. Despite the interesting get-up, I do think it is cool how universities maintain their traditions. It is neat to think that I am participating in something that people have done for generations and that maybe my kids will be part of it one day too.

My bachelor graduation was in the Wilk so this was my first grad experience in the Marriott center--and with  front row seats!

I'm glad I was able to have one last time to be with all of the really wonderful people I have come to know these past two years.

I hate goodbyes and I am frankly in denial about this being the end so I was kind of a coward and didn't really say goodbye (how is that for vulnerability?).

For it to be a proper goodbye, these people would have to know how grateful I am for them. I have learned so much from them about how to live and love and meet life's challenges head-on. I am grateful for the efforts of everyone to make our cohort a community. I will miss the laughter, the inside jokes, the Arrested Development references, the quotable quotes, the two-part questions, the Hawaiian ringtone going off in class, the endless Google docs, the crowded lab where you went to not do homework, the FB page, the palm tree poster in the windowless dungeon,the impromptu potlucks, the friendships, the encouragement, and that feeling of awe at being surrounded by people who you know are destined for great things. I am a witness to future leaders and world changers, I am certain. I hope you all know how amazing and inspiring you truly are:)


I also want to say thank you to all of my other friends and family who gave me endless support and encouragement and believed in me even when I had a hard time believing in myself. You have been my angels. And finally I am grateful to my Heavenly Father because he knows me better than anyone and loves me enough to give me what I need, even if it is not what I always want:) And it is because of him and my Savior, Jesus Christ, that I have been able to do more than I ever could have on my own.

First Post: Daring Greatly

As I am reaching the end of two years of graduate school, I am amazed at not only how quickly the time has passed but how much I have grown. I don't think that I ever could have anticipated just how much of a refiner's fire it would be. Truly, it's been one of the most difficult periods of my life. Just over a year ago, a friend shared with me a TED talk by Brene Brown entitled "The Power of Vulnerability." I don't know if any secular material has ever resonated with me as much as this did. In fact, I would describe the past two years as a knock-down-drag-out-war with vulnerability.

I'll be honest, I don't like vulnerability. I don't like uncertainty and not having the answers. I don't like risking embarrassment. I don't like failing. Unfortunately, life includes all of these things and my attempts at resistance have been rather exhausting.

Instead of resisting, I am learning the hard way that the answer to vulnerability is to let myself be seen, to face the things that scare me instead of numbing or running or blaming, to stop avoiding life or taking risks because I might not excel at something, to make  peace with failure, and to have the courage to be imperfect. Brene Brown calls this kind of living "daring greatly," a phrase spoken first by Teddy Roosevelt:

This blog is dedicated to figuring out how to live a life of vulnerability. I want to live with intention, embracing things that are scary and out of my comfort zone. Vulnerability is hard but it is the the only way to really experience creativity, love, belonging, and peace. I may not do or be anything especially spectacular by the world's standards, but in my own way I can live my life in the arena, trying my best to dare greatly.