Carpe Annum?

Well, I'm sitting here at the end of my first year of graduate school.

...I think.

Where is the delineation to call it a year?  Is it an academic year, August through May? Or is it a calendar year, August through August?  I think having class through the summer makes it more confusing, because the separation is not as clear-cut.  So can I say that it's been a year, or do I have to wait until August?

Better idea: let's work backwards. ONE YEAR left until graduation!  That sounds sooooo nice :)

The past year (academic and calendar) has been one full of all kinds of changes - graduation, summer job, moving, starting school, school, school, school, and now ending the first academic year.  But looking back and reviewing, it was all pretty good stuff.  Yeah, it was difficult moving 700 miles away. Yeah, it was difficult starting at a new school and having to make all new friends.  Yeah, it was difficult getting to feel comfortable in my apartment with just me and the spiders hanging out (eek! I killed a HUGE spider yesterday!). But overall, I still feel confident that I made the right choice and that I'm in the right place.  The past year, however you decide to classify it, is significant proof that although it may be hard to do, trusting God to get you where you need to be is always the right decision.

Between now and the real start of the next academic year (I've just decided the summer is a limbo area, it doesn't have a classification.  It's just a hot, awkward time of year. Poor thing.) there are some more decisions to be made and probably more unforeseen challenges to face.  But I know that it all worked out this past year, and that makes me feel good about the next year.  I'm still where I need to be, and hopefully I will continue to be where I need to be if I approach it with faith and a prayerful attitude.  Woo!  One more year!  I'm excited!

So what's a year, exactly?  I don't know - sometimes it feels like I've been here forever!