2015: Year in Review

I don't usually write a year end letter over the holidays, nor do I make resolutions for the New Year. This year, however, feels a little different because I have lived in Michigan now for over a year, and a lot of changes, growth, and introspection has taken place. So, for better or worse (is that the way all postings about the year in review begin?) here are my thoughts about my year in Lansing. The 2015 Edition.

Academic Life, #phdlife
I completed all of my core coursework for my HALE program. This is significant because it means that I get to take only the classes I want! Yippee! And it also means that I get to take my comprehensive exams! Yip.... (I'll write more about that in about two months. Seriously, it's gonna be a while). Since I began this program I have been asked a lot about what I am studying. I also still have acquaintances in Washington state who are confused about what I am doing here, and think that I'm just getting a master's degree. Then I have to break the news that I'm gonna be here a while. "Sorry, not one more year, three." Now, having completed a lot of coursework, I know what I am focusing on and I can talk about it mostly intelligently. For now, I'll say Faculty and Organizational Change. I do, ever so often, have a deep and uncomfortable feeling of doubt, however. I think this will probably linger for a while but I have learned to live with it and joke that if the PhD doesn't pan out I'll become a craft blogger. Or house remodeler.

Home Is Where the Bathroom Remodel Is
We bought a house! I never thought this would ever happen in my life, considering I lived in a city where the median home price was 1/2 a million dollars. But let's hear it for Lansing! We bought a house and now I get to write blog posts about the bathroom remodel. Maybe this summer we'll tackle the kitchen.

Home Is Where Lansing Is
Last Spring I made a quick trip to Seattle to visit my girlfriends. I needed to just be with my people. But a funny thing happened on the way home. The plane was landing, and I felt a warm fuzzy feeling in my ears (not because of the air pressure) because I was really excited to get home. After a long winter and 6 months of living in Lansing, I went to Seattle for a short visit and I couldn't wait to get back home to Lansing. I felt for the first time that Lansing was home. It was weird and, yes, sometimes I still get confused about Lansing being my home. But I know I had that moment of knowing Lansing is home so I hold on to that.

The Half
Indeed, I ran a half marathon. My first, and I can almost promise it will be my last. I have never made such a huge goal, especially for running, and achieved it. The good news is I am still running. And I think my running routine is gonna stick around a while, especially if I can make it through the winter on a treadmill.

So with that, bring on 2016.