My Newsletter

On Thursday I published the first issue of my quarterly newsletter. I felt really nostalgic while putting it all together. It was like being in high school again, working to pull together the newspaper. It seems like a lot of what I am doing here is similar to what I did in high school. My last two weeks with the delegation from Oklahoma was like stage managing again. Pulling together the newsletter was like being the editor in chief of the school paper.

Anyone who is interested can download a PDF of my newsletter from this link
http://www.mediafire.com/?gtonmznoyiw

I guess some people might think that going back to similiar things I was doing when I was 18 might be a step backward. But I actually feel more like myself again, like I took a detour during college and have finally gotten back to where I feel most comfortable. I loved college. I had great friends, great classes, and I absolutely loved Wash U. But I felt like something was missing during those 4 years. I worked myself so hard during high school, with my long nights of studying and average of 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night, that when I got to college I was determined to avoid over doing it. I had burned myself out. But I also held myself back. I became complacent and comfortable and stopped pushing myself.

Well, every day I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I'm challenged at work and I love what I do. I have deadlines, and several different bosses and a lot of responsibility. But that is what I love to do. I love to organize projects and carry them out. I love doing newspaper layouts. I love writing and editing and even though it drives me crazy I love translating too. It isn't easy. Adjusting to real work, and in a different culture, is difficult and there are some days I want to scream because I am so tired of being unable to completely express myself at work. I sometimes miss how easy things were in college but then remember that freshman year I felt very similar to how I feel here. I have not really connected with my coworkers yet and I expected us to be friendly and close right away. I forget that they are adults with their own lives and their own work so they aren't just going to sit and chat. Same with the other JETs in the town. We are all good friends, but not like I had in college. But that stuff takes time. I think that as I settle in more and more I will grow to love it here more than I already do.