Back to School Hope

When my kids were worried about moving up a grade to a new school I always told them that high school was better than middle school, and that college was better than high school and now I'm discovering that graduate school is better than college! Yes I have taken the long and winding road to get here. Late bloomer? Slow start? Irrelevant! Ultimately I continue to feel the guiding hand of a loving Father in Heaven in this whole opportunity. 

Radcliff Yard as seen from Larsen Hall 6th floor

As I soak it all in and learn of the experiences and motivations and pathways of the other students I meet I am so amazed and grateful for the dynamic, thoughtful, passionate and caring people that I have the blessing to get to know at Harvard. Their stories and lives are already inspiring, and I can only imagine the good they will do after this year!

I think about the world our children are growing up in and my heart aches for the hate and violence, confusion and conflict they are exposed to now. But when I see and talk with these now and future educators, leaders, and change makers, and witness the efforts this university makes to bring people together to learn from and with each other, I feel hope. Hope that every effort to be kind will have positive ripple effects. Hope that people can learn to love rather than hate. Hope that civil dialog and cooperation will replace division and malice. Hope that together we can create a world where everyone has an opportunity to learn and grow and feel that they belong!

The Fogg Art Museum has amazing works to view.

My new favorite view of Boston from the Mt. Auburn Cemetery Tower.

The George Washington Memorial Tower in Mt. Auburn Cemetery 

Mary Baker Eddy Memorial at Mt. Auburn Cemetery

This has been an exhausting and invigorating week as we have participated in a variety of orientation activities and previewed classes to figure out our schedule for this semester. Some classes require submitting a petition to enroll, some classes have a lottery, some classes are required, and figuring it all out has been a huge puzzle. So many interesting classes and not enough time! How to best use this opportunity? What are the best classes to develop the skills I will need moving forward? How can I predict the future? After prayerful consideration and counseling with my advisor, professors and friends it has all come together. Ready or not my classes start on September 5 and I am grateful that I will have the opportunity to study...

- Leadership in Social-Change Organizations with Karen Mapp

- Risk & Resilience in Social Contexts/Birth to Young Adulthood:Strategies of Prevention & Intervention with Stephanie Jones

- Preventative and Developmental Group Counseling with Josephine Kim

- Adolescent Pre-Practicum: Developmental Interventions for Adolescents in School & Community Settings with Gretchen Brion-Meisels

- Designing for Learning by Creating with Karen Brennan

and 

- Supporting Adolescents in Schools: Integrated Academic and Social-Emotional Supports for Students with Mandy Savitz-Romer

When the weather gets ugly or if I get sick or I'm feeling overwhelmed or discouraged with everything that needs to be done I will have to look back and re-read this post and remember. There is always hope according to God and Gandalf and Harvard and me. I hope you feel it too.