Kathleen's Blog

We spent the weekend in Lubbock a few weeks ago, taking trips down Memory Lane. I have a great love for my alma mater and the time I spent there definitely holds some of the fondest memories of my life.  It was in Lubbock that I grew more comfortable being me. I now realize Lubbock was the town that Built Me. 

But I was a little nostalgic driving around town, walking campus and revisiting memories. I was a bit sad because the wide-eyed, innocent, young lady wearing rose-colored contacts who left Lubbock over 20 years ago wasn’t going to stay that way for very long.  I wish I could go back and give some advice to that 21-year-old girl venturing out into the world and leaving the safe, warm cocoon  Lubbock had provided for 4.5 years.

I’d caution her life isn’t going to turn out like you planned. At all. You are going to get your heart broken. It’s going to get stomped on and then you are going to be overcome with fear as you watch your life shatter into 1,000,000 pieces.  And then you are going to look around and wonder what does a degree in Public Relations, with a minor in Accounting and Naval Science really get you prepared for as you try to figure out what you want to be when you “grow up.”

But you are going to find the courage and the strength to pick up all those pieces and start putting your life back together again. Fear will hold you back a bit, but you’ll take a few cautious steps forward and start to find the steel that you are made of. You’ll find your voice and you’ll use it, sometimes too loudly.  You’ll realize the immense safety net surrounding you, created by family and friends.  You’ll embrace adventures near and far, sometimes alone.  You’ll see a lot of great places around the world, you’ll make some really great friends, and you’ll build a solid foundation.  You’ll take on some challenges that seem capable of breaking you, you’ll get smarter, you’ll learn lessons that mold you and you’ll be successful in so many facets of your life. 

And the best part,  you’ll look back and realize that while things were crashing down around you, you were always right where you were supposed to be.  And a few cautious steps forward and when the time is right, you’ll open your heart again. And he’ll have been worth the wait (even if he drags you to Colorado, where as I type this it is cold, very cold.)

“When you are frightened, don’t sit still, keep on doing something. The act of doing will give you back your courage.”~ Grace Ogot

Love, me