It's a PaRtY at my house!!!!!!

well....
I mean....
I AM the ONLY one here...
and I'm studying...
and I'm in my PJ's....

BUT - I'm having my own little party right here in my PJ's on my couch!

TODAY was my VERY last day of clinicals!!!
whooooooo hoooooooooo

I am DONE.... D.  O.  N.  E. ... DONE with school!!
No more tests (that I know of)
No more homework
No more 3 AM commutes to random clinical sites...
No more grades
No more check offs

I'm DONE!

(before you get TOO excited - I do still have to take my Boards... which determine my certification... and I'm studying my BUTT off for those...)
BUT
I am no longer a student!

Guess what I am.......

A FULL TIME Diagnostic Medical Sonographer.

I got my offer letter yesterday and as soon as I can get this first Board test out of the way, I will begin full time employment in a facility doing exactly what I went to school to do.
And you have to understand..... jobs are not plentiful in this field right now.  And the jobs that ARE there, are typically of the PRN nature and taking call.
I however, have the holy grail of ultrasound jobs.  A full time daytime position.  No nights, no holidays, no call... you get the idea  :)
YAY!
I'm soooooo excited!

And I would like to say a big huge THANK YOU to my almighty God who has set this path in motion LONG before I even knew that the path existed at all!  I look back and see the stepping stones that have been being laid for years!!!!!!

Also a big THANK you to all my family and friends who have supported me and prayed for me, along with my teachers and my fellow classmates!

This has been one AMAZING roller coaster of a year....
lots of changes; lots of new friends; lots of new places; and my brain might just explode.....
But this ride is about to pull into the station and begin a whole new journey.
And I thank God above for it ALL!

Keep praying... still have Boards to pass!  :)

I'm confused.... no wait.... maybe I'm not?

So I work hard.
I do.
I try to make wise decisions.
I try to plan for a future.
I'm not malicious.
I don't like to hurt people.
It's not in my nature.
{Wait, I'm also NOT a doormat; tread lightly!}

So why is it that I am now in a position where I can look back at choices I have made, steps I have taken to lead me down the current path I'm on...
I look back and see how one decision led to another decision that led to another decision....
making one opportunity turn into another opportunity and then yet another opportunity.
And it EXCITES me.  It AMAZES me.  It brings me to my knees what God has done in my life.  I look at these things and I am in AWE.

YET......

No matter how hard I try.... and no matter how thankful I am.... I look around and I see people around me getting hurt.  I look around and I see people back-stabbing and talking behind backs.  I hear people putting ME down.  I get word back that so-and-so said THIS, and so-and-so said THAT....  that just because something good happened to me, everyone assumes that I did something wrong and everyone automatically puts me down.  People question MY character.
At no point have I maliciously done anything to anyone.... I'm simply trusting in God to take me where I need to be.... but because of decisions I have made and paths I have taken, people get hurt, people turn evil, people turn ugly.

So at what point do I get to be thankful without hurting someone's feelings?!
At what point am I treated like a person and not like someone who set out to hurt YOU?

Human nature is just UGLY.

I guess all I can do is thank MY GOD for what he has done in my life and the opportunity he has provided and the people he has put in my life to love and protect me.  And pray for those who choose to let life make them ugly and bitter

I am NOT confused about what to be thankful for. 

I AM confused as to why people act the way they act?!