Do any of you remember playing that online game Neopets when we were kids? You’d not go online for a while and then your online pet would say that you’re neglecting it, well I kind of feel like I’ve been totally neglecting my blog. I’m sorry if you all have been in the dark about what’s been going on. If you follow me on instagram or snapchat you may have an idea about what the big news is. It’ll almost be a month since I’ve written here so let me share a little bit about what’s going on. There’s a little bit of news and there’s also something incredible happening! I’m so excited to share what’s been going on with you all.
Alright so I’m going to start out with the little happenings that have been going on while I’ve been gone and then tell you the big surprise at the end. I mean if you really want to you can jump and see the surprise at the bottom.
Second Semester
I finished my first semester at my Masters program and I finished with an A average! I’m so excited that I did so well because in this program you start out with a really difficult course which is really technical (SPSS) and heavy in writing. So I’m very proud of myself. I had a two-week break and then I started my second semester. It’s more work than I’m used to since I took on an extra course and I unfortunately had to choose upper level courses due to registration closures. I got blocked out of so many of my intro courses but that’s alright, I did it in undergrad and I can do it now. I have really interesting classes, one will give me certifications in necessary skills in my field, one I actually sat in on so I’m just loving it and then finally the last class is a topic I’m interested in but struggle a little. It’s week five so we’re already a third of the way through the semester!
Mass with the Pope
As many of you know, there was a really important to the US that the Pope took. He went to DC, NYC and finally Philadelphia. The Monday before he arrived we noticed that the National Guard began bringing military vehicles in and businesses began shutting down. Sunday morning we woke up so early and began our long long walk from City Ave. along Kelly Drive and into Center City. This walk isn’t typically too bad but most of Kelly Drive was shut down and we were rerouted through the hills and it easily tripled our walk. We waited on line for security from 10am until 10 minutes just before the mass but we made it in unlike many many other people. When I went to Rome the Pope wasn’t there, he took his trip to Haiti and the Vatican Gardens were closed due to security concerns; so as you can figure I was disappointed. The fact that I finally got to attend his mass, I felt so blessed. I loved that so many languages were included and we even received communion that was blessed by the pope. I was exhausted and my feet were killing me but it was incredibly worth all of it. After mass was over we walked to our friends place to grab some food and then begin our long walk home.
At 11:30 with only about an hour left of our walk an accident unfortunately happened. We heard a horn and we walked up to an accident on Kelly Drive. The people who were in the accident were already out of their cars, the one man had left the scene and the other young man was sitting in the grass. The cars were wrecked so badly and the one man who I saw,I was very surprised that outwardly he wasn’t hurt more. Conor who is an EMT and an emergency room technician quickly started asking the young man questions getting whatever information he could about him (name, age, surgeries, his heart rate, etc) while I held him still and kept his head and neck stable. The ambulance showed up but the one EMT went to help the one man that he found that had left the scene so the other EMT needed help getting the man we were with into the ambulance. We helped to backboard him and put all the straps on and Conor finally helped to get him into the truck. I went over to the officers on the scene to finally give my statement and Conor jumped into the ambulance (as requested by the EMT) to just keep an eye on the man while he moved the truck to pickup the other patient. Â We don’t know what happened to the people from the accident but we prayed for a quick recovery for them. We ended getting home close to 2am and spent the whole next day just relaxing. We walked a total of 30 miles and countless hours of just standing so we absolutely wanted to rest and spend time with each other. It was a great mental health day.
NEDA Walk
This October, Conor and I attended the NYC NEDA Walk which is a fundraiser walk for the National Eating Disorder Association. We have been going to NEDA Walks since 2009, so we’ve gone to about 30 walks, probably more? Ever since they began we have been traveling around Pennsylvaniaand New York to attend them. This year my Halloween costume tutu was perfect to wear to the walk and everyone seemed to get a kick out of it. This year was wonderful because I’ve come so far in my journey (I struggled with restrictive eating disorders throughout high school and through my entire college career). This year I’ve worked so hard to maintain my recovery and I have done so well. No breakdowns while shopping, not too many missed or skipped meals and I’ve been able to enjoy everyday rather than worry about food and how I look. I also got to see friends that I haven’t seen or spoke to in ages so it was fantastic to catch up with them surrounded by support and love.
SURPRISE! We’re getting married… in less than 10 Days!
Yeah so unless you’re new here, you probably already know that Conor and I have been engaged for over 2 years now. You also probably knew that we weren’t really planning on getting married just yet. Well surprise we are getting married and it’s happening this month and in less than 10 days. It will be a small immediate family only ceremony in Egner Chapel at Muhlenberg College. We decided on the chapel because this school is where our relationship really flourished and we attended services at the chapel during school. After the ceremony we will be having dinner at my favorite restaurant.
So I’m sure you’re all wondering  the why now? Well we are in cycle two of medschool applications and we are moving forward with the HPSP scholarship program so we had to make the decision to do it now but it’s a great thing because what’s better than being committed to your partner in one of the most tough times of your life. I’m very excited and my family is so happy for us. My family is very big and I still have great grandparents that are very healthy so I’m very upset that they cannot be included so we decided on having a real wedding for all our friends and family a year later.
Here are the details… we got our wedding license this week. I couldn’t believe how fast and easy it was! So check that off the list. Even though it’ll be just a short ceremony and just a small part of our family attending, I will be wearing a wedding dress and my mom and sister did decide to buy dresses as well. This isn’t “the” wedding dress but one that I was able to get fast for such short notice. I also have fair trade artisan made earrings that I’m very excited to wear and I’m not wearing heels(gasp!). I don’t plan on having any flowers because I’m saving our money for the following wedding. This is my wedding and I’m going to celebrate but I didn’t want to spend too much or have too much since my whole family and friends won’t be there. It’s going to be so special but I need the one next year to be even more special since everyone will be attending. Â There’s still so much to finish and do so please pray for us!
Now you know the craziness that has been going on a little bit. I still have so much work to do for school and so much to plan for the impromptu wedding (guys I’m like officially a bride) but I’m back and you can expect all those posts to be coming out!
