Dear Kirksville

Dear Kirksville,

Thank you for everything. I may have only lived there for two short years, but those were the two best years of my life. Everywhere I went, I found family. Through the ups and the downs, I learned that I am stronger than I ever thought. I learned that sometimes the things we're most afraid of bring the most growth into your life.

Thank you for providing me with a place to grow. I was terrified to move, knowing almost no one in the entire county. How could I make any friends with my awkward social skill set? Ignoring my anxiety, I trudged into the unknown, found a family, and made for myself a home. When I visit, I am reminded that I have a place to return to again and again, a place I will always belong.

Thank you for helping me learn to let go. All the stress of school was the perfect place for me to learn how to relax, how to go with the flow. I learned that life doesn't always go exactly as planned, and that it's okay when it doesn't. Sometimes the better choice is the unprecedented, the random idea from a conversation that just "stuck." Most times I should just trust myself.

Thank you for teaching me that even through all I have done to bring myself away from God, I am still loved and cherished by Him. He will always be there for me, and He had already paved my way through Uganda before the idea even came to me.

Thank you for turning me into my parents. I cannot make it out of Walmart without running into at least one person I know, let alone across campus, and I love it. I love being the person everyone knows they can turn to in a crisis and the person they come to because they just need some laundry detergent. Becoming my parents has shown me that one cannot truly live without giving one's all.

Thank you for being there for me. Knowing you have support is half the battle when something goes wrong, and at least ten people come to mind every time something bad happens. When I do turn to someone, I have my choice of who would help the best; I can get varying opinions even. This kind of belonging is priceless. It's what we all crave.

Thank you for making me miss you. You have been the source of many of my tears, including the ritual sobs all the way to Macon. You have shown me so much good about the world, about myself, and I will forever be grateful.

Until 2018,

Bethany ♥





*I purposefully have not posted much on Facebook about my trip to Kirksville last week. This is because I wanted to channel all of my sentiment into this blog post. For those who don't know, I graduated from Truman State University in May, which is located in Kirksville, MO. I transferred up there after two years (and an Associate's) at the local community college, so I was only up there for two years. Two years can be a lifetime, though. In fact, two years is the amount of time I will be in Uganda....