Even though I've had an incredibly rewarding and amazing job, whose mission I fully and wholeheartedly support, while working with so many amazing mentors and board members, and among all, children, it was overshadowed by negativity. A one-sided conflict; I forced myself to overlook the harshness and simply focus on improving the program, for almost 2 years. But in the long run, a force finally led me to re-evaluate my self worth. It's exactly what we try to pass on to the kids in our program; to be kind and treat one another with respect and dignity. What kind of ship would I be steering if I continued to let the negativity sabotage my, or worse, the program's potential? I am incredibly sad to bid farewell to so many kind and positive people with whom I worked, however, I am eternally grateful to be shedding myself of the unnecessarily large amount of time spent on the negativity, over which I have no control. And I've already experienced some great things as a result of this removal.

Suddenly, I am glancing in the direction of a birch tree-line path along a river, instead of diving head first into a brick wall. Who knows where this path will lead, but I am grateful to where the past two years have led, and the two before that, and the two before that, so I am certain that this will be just as well.

Today I enrolled in two beginning art classes at the community college. This time around, I get in state tuition, thank you baby jesus. It is one of the first steps I will take in order to gain experience in the field of art therapy. The road will be long, if I continue along this path, but I feel that it is as close to a calling that I'll ever recognize, so I'm willing to hit the ground running. In the mean time, I'm still looking for a part time job in a clinical social work setting, so I can begin supervision towards becoming an LCSW.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw the most amazing and vibrant path of light move across the night sky. Fortunately, I was able to share it with someone else. Then, two days later, I saw another light streak, same brightness in a slightly different hue. I shared this sight with the exact same person. Two days ago, I saw a slight beam of light move across the night sky. I still wonder if they saw it, too. This time I made a wish.

So many changes and so many lions. What are they all roaring about? Right now, my roar is relief. It's also time for new roommates and I wonder whom they will be. My current ones are amazing and I'll miss them immensely. I continue to be grateful for all the wonderful people I know and remain in my life throughout the years. I've been spending my time working on and constructing fictional stories. Maybe someday they will come to life on someone elses pages...