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This is My Now

Posted by Dominique D. | Posted on January 2, 2012

“This is my now, and I am breathing in the moment

As I look around, I can’t believe the love I see

My fear’s behind me, gone are the shadows and doubt

That was then, this is my now!”

These are lyrics from a Jordin Sparks song–in fact, the one she sang when she won American Idol. I thought it was a fitting title, and yes, you are correct if you are currently thinking that this is going to be one of those “a new year is a’comin’” blogs :) I love Twitter so what I’ll do is take the current trending topics and write my thoughts about each, as I listen to my little brother play Call of Duty in the background…

#2011Lessons:

• Your best is your best. 2011 was the year I received my worst grade to date at Hopkins, despite my hardest efforts. I was really upset until I was reassured that it really doesn’t matter in the long run. (wha?!? yes I said that…let it simmer and then let me know if you still don’t agree.)
• Keep in touch with people from your past. See, I am a communicator. I always need to know how people are doing and what’s going on in their lives. And because of that, I’ve built friendships and relationships that I know will benefit me for a lifetime.
• I can’t change what’s happened. I don’t know about you all, but something I really struggle with is regret and the “what ifs?” As I near the end of my time here at Hopkins,my head is filled with “what if I did this or didn’t do this? Why didn’t I join x or do more of y? Have I really missed out on fun? ARE THESE REALLY THE BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE?” Stuff like that. Well, I hope these aren’t the best years of my whole life but they’ve certainly been the best so far despite my what ifs…and I definitely have Hopkins to thank for a huge chunk of that.
• I think I am gonna love grad school.  Ok, so not really a lesson, but taking classes at Bloomberg School of Public Health has shown me that grad school will be fun…easier but more meaningful classes and meeting adult professionals in the field you love.

#2011Memories

• Getting my first community based internship. At Martha’s Place. One of the absolute best, meaningful experiences of my life. And it was thru Hopkins! Another reason to love this school.
• Becoming an RA. I’ve gained so much real world experience and have met so many wonderful people. And a lot of crazy stories…haha
• Spiritual Awakening. If you’ve been following my  blog over the years,  you know that  my Christian faith is an integral part of me–and 2011 was very special in that regard.
• My first apartment. I’ll just say that I’ll be lucky if I have another living experience close to being as good as that one was. :)

#Heresto2012

• Graduation. I’m still kinda feeling blah about this but hopefully in a few weeks or so I’ll accept reality and embrace the fact that life moves on after Hopkins!
• Ghana! I’ll be going to Ghana in one week for an Intersession trip;  I am so excited! My first time out of the country!
• No classes on Friday!  Ok so this is a bit late, as manyyyyyyy people have schedules where they have no classes Fridays. Well as a science major with MWF classes every single semester, I didn’t have that luxury so this is a big deal for me (I have a few friends who only have classes Tuesday and Thursday!). I’m gonna dub them “Carefree Fridays” and designate each week an exploration…going to new non Charles Village restaurants and going to D.C. more often.
• New experiences.  Although I am on my way out, I still have a semester to go. Time to experience a lot of things I wished I could have done before but just wasn’t able to.
• Life… At this moment, I have no idea what’s next for me. I am applying to 2 grad schools (yes 2 only…I hope I don’t regret that). I started the job search a few months ago but then I stopped to do this grad school thing. If I do get into either grad school, I’m still not convinced that I’d go this fall–I’m seriously thinking about deferring for a year. And if I do, I have no clue as to what I’ll be doing with that time. We’ll see!

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