Growth Spurt, 2K11

So here comes another crazy growing up metaphor from yours truly:

When you’re young, you go through growth spurts. Some days you think you’re going to stay 4’1” for forever, then during the night your shins hurt, and a week later you’re 6 feet tall. Okay, maybe not that quickly, but you get the point, right?

Well, as I’ve discovered over the past (oh, how long has it been since I last posted…) four months, becoming an adult (mentally. emotionally. whatever.) is the same way. You may go a few months, thinking you’ve hit your learning limit for a while, and BOOM… it’s growth time. Unfortunately, these “growth spurts” don’t always happen when you want them to. So not only do you have to deal with the discomfort of growing, you have to deal with the growth at a time that is (usually) unexpected and (often) inconvenient.

So far, Spring 2011 has been a constant growth spurt. The hardest part about growing now is the nature of this semester: classes, coursework, my job, EVERYTHING is enjoyable, but it is also extraordinarily challenging. I am learning yet another lesson of growing up: just because something is fun doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. (I’m sure there’s a corollary to that…just because something is easy doesn’t mean it’s going to be fun?) Additionally, balancing those two aspects—learning and enjoying myself—is more difficult than I anticipated.

This is another one of those times when my mentors and advisors in student affairs were proven correct. I recall them saying…

“You know, one of the hardest semesters in graduate school is your second one. You’re getting the swing of things at work, so they’ll challenge you more and expect more from you as a professional, and as for classes, it’s the same thing—they truly challenge you so that they can broaden your horizons and ensure that you’re really doing your work at the graduate level.”

Of course, we all know what my response is to “stories from the trenches.” (I think I’m going to start referring to all student affairs anecdotes as “stories from the trenches.” Be prepared to hear some before this growing up thing is all said and done.) I think, “Oh, okay, so my advisors were challenged. But, you know, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be as hard as they say, right?”

WRONG. Wrong, wrong, wrong. (Dearest advisors, how could I ever doubt you?)

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining (surprisingly). I actually relish the challenge; I look forward to the prospect of coming out on the other side of this semester as a better person and professional. I’m excited about my classes—Diversity, Student Development Theories (I’m geeking out about that one), and Outcomes of Undergraduate Education (an assessment class). I’m enjoying taking a more hands-on advisory role with the students I advise, and I have already learned a lot from the projects I’m undertaking at work. Even more so, I’m expanding my horizons and interning with the Office of Greek Life here at Florida State, which is a student affairs dream come true for me (once again, geeking out).

Also, I have the confidence and reassurance of my faith to help me through the tough times. It’s hard times like this where the cliches actually do come to have meaning, and I have enough hindsight and perspective on my life so far to see that they really are true. Three of these “cliches”—ehh, I don’t like that; let’s call them maxims—really do resonate with me and are bolstering my spirits for the challenges ahead:

1. Where God closes a door, some way He opens a window.

2. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

3. Everything happens for a reason.

Knowing these things, and knowing I have the support (and extreme empathy) of my family, fellow graduate students, advisors, mentors, and professionals, makes this growth spurt a little easier, and gives me the extra confidence I need to power through this semester.

This is cassidy, signing off to go grow some more.