Marians Love

I graduated from college in 2008. The shock that accompanied my exit from undergrad led to a year of travel, building friendships, and part time work. All of which functioned, in one way or another, as distractions. I had my preliminary credential which, due to economic downturn, proved to be fairly useless in the job market. Did I want to pursue teaching in the failing educational system? Was I willing to scrap all the tests I took, my student teaching, my entire undergraduate career and start a new?

These were questions I had no time to answer! There were bars to be frequented, friends in foreign countries to visit, and teacher-less classrooms where a sub was needed. Although I would not trade, what my friend Emily calls, "the lost year" there were some dark moments that accompanied all the fun I was having. While I was active socially, I refused to think about my future beyond next Saturday night ("S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night!" - Bay City Rollers) save for those fleeting moments in between sleeping and dreaming when reality would sneak in while my defenses were down. My heart would pound until I distracted myself by turning on the T.V. or replaying last "S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night!" in my head.

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Not to worry, this story has a happy ending and for my devoted followers (Erin) I have every intention of honoring an unlikely super hero - but the hero needs the context and so we forge on.
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At some point I either forced myself to face the reality that haunted my subconscious or was forced by an opportunity to return to school for a long considered career path - speech and language pathology.

I am not sure I can attest to the saying "when one door closes, another door opens" but I can say that in my life, when one door opens several will open shortly thereafter. Once I signed up for the prerequisite courses required for graduate study in speech and language pathology I was offered a long term substitute teaching position. Where before my life was at an intellectual stand still I found myself in the midst of a windfall of opportunities for growth. I jumped at both and have not regretted it since.

This year I have experienced a boost in confidence and renewed anticipation for my entre into adulthood. That being said, this morning I was able to revisit a very unique part of my past (although in many ways it is still a part of my present and will be a part of my future). In college I was a member of an all women service organization called Marians. Our mission: "the betterment of women and children" particularly through domestic violence prevention, breast cancer awareness, and feminism.

I don't think I knew at the time how much I needed a support group of smart, independent, dedicated, crazy (and I mean that in the best sense of the word), and beautiful women. Being a Marian changed my life for the better. Today I attended our alumni reunion and was reminded of how deeply it has influenced my sense of self. Many of my best friends are women I met while I was a Marian. As I sat with some of them today and heard Marians of past and present reflect on their favorite memories I was pleased to hear that they had been equally affected by their involvement in this group. One current Marian said, "I can't choose one favorite memory.. if I were to pick something it would be moments like this, when we come together."

My hero for today is not one, but the growing group of Marians; whom I have every confidence will shake and change this world for the better.

"Remember the past
Change the present
Dream the future"
Marians love