"When You First Started..."

I've had a little bit of time to think today since I've spent a great deal of time in bed started getting the sniffles on Wednesday. I just realized how terrible it is that I had to get sick to finally have time to think to myself hahaha. Well, there's about a month left of the semester, so everything is starting to wind down and everything's starting to get a little crazy.

Anyways, an e-mail came out today for the Dean of Students Awards and I'm going to apply. I started thinking about my Junior year and all the ways I've learned and grown from the experiences I've had this year. Although it's gone by pretty quickly (too quickly, in fact), a lot has changed.

Currently being sick immediately reminded me of last semester when I was already sick by the second week of the semester. I had taken on way too much, too fast and exhausted myself literally within days. This semester, I've held up for about three months (Personal Best). I guess I am at that point again. Way too many things are on my mind: my internship, my papers, course selection, exams, my jobs, and there's probably some stuff I forgot! One of the good things is that I think I've gotten a little bit better at this whole balancing work thing. Okay, okay, okay, I know you just scoffed at my last sentence, but I've gotten better, I have!

I've also learned a lot about working in a team at work. To be honest, I always took the term teamwork pretty lightly, even when I was a PL. Being a PA was different in that we actually had to create and develop new things and work on projects and we weren't always together to work on it. It's been a challenge, but I've learned a lot and that's what matters. I'll be bringing what I've learned into PL this year in our teamwork, so I'm excited!

Being PLC is more challenging than I thought it would be, so I know I'm in for a really good learning experience. It's really hard to lead a team, but I know Yosayra chose me because I can do it. I kind of have some experience since I've been a PL for the past two years, so I kind of know what to expect, but at the same time, I can't expect the same thing. It's weird. We're all working on developing our team, but we're going to be a good team. It's only been a few weeks and everyone's really open to learning about everyone and I think that's what's going to make us understand each other more and develop ourselves as a team. I'm excited. =]

Reflecting on my experiences as a Junior, I kind of started to think about my experience at MSU as a whole. Lindsay said something to me today that made me laugh because of how true it is: "When you first started, we couldn't get you to talk. Now, we can't get you to shut up." Hahahahaha It made me realize how much I've grown since I've been at MSU. I'm so glad I've had so many opportunities and awesome people throughout my time at MSU. It's made me into someone I've always strived to be.