I really wanted to share some non-crafty things with you that are going on in my life right now.  I hope that’s OK — I’ll be back to crafting in my next post, I promise.

Firstly, I graduate with my masters in clinical counseling this May!  Hooray!  I’m excited to finally be done with school, since I’ve been at it for 5/6 of my life, and I’m excited about “being a grown-up.”  Of course on the flip side, I’m terrified — I don’t feel prepared to counsel anybody, I’m worried about passing my exit and licence exams, I’m worried about finding a job ASAP so that there’s no break between school and a job (I can’t afford to sit around doing nothing when I’ll have loans to start paying off), and I’m worried about going into more debt.  Once I graduate, to get licensed I still have to be supervised for 15oo hours, I believe, and I’ll have to pay someone to supervise me.  So even though I’ll have a job, I’ll be paying off loans and paying whoever is my supervisor.  Can you tell I’m worried?  It runs in the family.

I’ve got some good things going on, too: I’m making a journal for my “loss, grief, and crisis counseling” class!

We have to really reflect on our experiences with loss/grief/crisis, and I’m enjoying it so far.  I’m making it a sort of art journal (hence the markers in the picture) and really putting thought and time into what I write, and it’s helping me realize a lot about myself and how I deal (or haven’t dealt) with grief/loss/crisis.  Of course we’re using what we’re learning in class to help us look at our experiences, so it puts a new light on things.  Have you ever had such a journal, or have you had a similar experience?

And surprise surprise, I’m exercising!  It’s totally unexpected for me — I’ve traditionally been the soft, unfit, unmotivated, and unhealthy type, but Chris and our friend Jamie have convinced me to give it a try.  Jamie studied wing chun (a close-range Chinese martial art) in China for about 2 years, and he’s teaching Chris and me.  He’s a good teacher and is very patient, which is good because Chris and I aren’t very coordinated or athletic.  I want to get to the point where I can easily defend myself against a larger and stronger opponent (our school parking lots are creepy and lots of bad things happen there).  I’m also doing it for the physical benefits of losing a little weight, gaining some muscle, and strengthening my heart.  We have equipment for practicing kicks and punches, and Jamie got us these:

We need wrist wraps for repeated punching while our wrists are pretty weak.  So yeah, it’s pretty complicated and difficult and painful (my whole body is sore today and I’ve got bruises on my arms), but it’s really fun too, and I think it will definitely be worth all the time, effort, and physical discomfort.  If you have ever tried wing chun or martial arts in general, feel free to let the advice/stories flow!

As far as yarncrafts go, my socks are still in the works and the needles for my sweater haven’t arrived yet, so there’s nothing to really post about at this time.  Hopefully soon!

Thanks for stopping by, and I appreciate you taking the time to read about what’s going on for me.  I’ll be back to crocheting/knitting next time!