Dream Realized!

Saturday I graduated!  Well, really, I feel like my whole family graduated.  They've put up with a lot while I've juggled work, school, and them.

QUICK FLASHBACK--
Two and a half years ago, I came home from a day of working at Vacation Bible School and told Jason that I was going to go back to school.

Two weeks later I took my GRE and started looking at degree plans. 

Remember when I thought I wanted to get my Master's in Library Sciences??  hahahaha-- Can you imagine me as a librarian?!

See, my dream has always been the Master's degree. I never gave any real thought to what I would do with it.  I just wanted to go back to school.

I took the GRE, and THEN looked at degree plans.

In hindsight, I can't imagine choosing anything other than School Counseling. My fingers would cramp if I tried to type all of the reasons that I have no doubt that I've gotten the degree I was meant to get.

I'm so appreciative of my family's support of my going back to school.  I'm sure they are relieved this ride is over!

Also...

It didn't go unnoticed that I graduated on 12-13-14 (I love when the numbers of the date work out like that.)... and of course, the 13th of the month is ALWAYS when something life-changing happens in our family. I think that God worked that out just for me because He knew it'd make me smile! 

There are few things greater than realizing a dream.  For me, this weekend marked an incredible milestone. 

Taken through the railing where my family was sitting, this is one of my favorite pics of the weekend.  That is the look of joy.... :)

Getting my money's worth

Wearing it while I pack for Tyler.

Graduation tomorrow 😄

It mocks me

One stupid B.

Coincidences? Nope.

I met with my supervising counselor yesterday for the very first time.  I think we'll get along really well.  I want to do well.  I hope I'm not a disappointment.  I never walk into situations pretending I have nothing to learn.  There is A LOT I don't know, and I'm sure I'll make a ton of mistakes.

Having said that... Listen to these uncanny "coincidences"

~  My supervising counselor grew up in Beaumont and went to Lamar. 

My dad grew up in Beaumont and went to Lamar.

That may not seem like a big deal, but Lamar is a school where graduates talk about it in a tone that says [You've probably never heard of this school], "I went to Lamar." 

Lamar is actually growing every year, but there's a certain camaraderie amongst grads.  And when you add that to the fact that they both grew up in Beaumont, my counselor was pretty astounded.

~ The assistant principal at my internship school is someone that I went to A&M with.  He was class of '99.  I was class of '01.  But I'm a dork and graduated in '00.  We were in a lot of the same classes.

~ My kids go to Barksdale.  Barksdale got a new counselor this year.  The old counselor was promoted to "Elementary School Counselor Coordinator" for the district.  She is a TOP DOG.  And she knows me and my kids.  When I interview, she will likely be on the panel of people who interview me.

I ran into her a couple of weeks ago, not realizing she had been promoted, and she was so friendly with me.

**As an aside, I can not thank my kids enough for being the kids Jason and I know they can be when they're at school.  They make me look good.  And for that, I am VERY grateful.

McGlamery is not a common name.  And if they were the kind of kids that teachers dreaded finding on their class lists, I would be dead in the water! 

Thank you, kids, for making a good name for us!!**

~ My internship school is a pilot school for a program called "Lovepacs".  I'm friends with the heads of the Plano division of Lovepacs.  In fact, my church will be directly involved with my internship school.  I have that connection to them.

...................

Coincidences? 

I don't believe in that.

I think it's confirmation that I'm on the right track in my degree plan.  I think it's God giving me signs along the way that say, "Yeah.  You didn't misunderstand.  I've got plans for you.  I've been setting the groundwork for you to be in counseling for a while now."


Too many things are falling into place for this to be random.

I'm excited about this semester.  And I'm REALLY excited that it's my last semester! :)

Getting real...

Almost done!!

Eek!! :)

Graduation fee =paid

One step closer to graduating!!

Next step is filling out the application!

Woo hoo!! Winding down.....

Homework on a holiday weekend? What nerve!

Pulled away from the pool and my dinner to do a lab.

Sheesh!

(Waiting on my lab partner)

Making friends

This summer, one of the classes I'm taking involves labs where I have to practice being a counselor. 

How do you practice counseling in an online course??  Via webcams and Zoom, a program for video conferencing.

My lab partner is Melissa.  She teaches first grade in Tyler.  She has older kids than me, but I'm guessing she got married young because I doubt she's 40 yet.

Anyway, we've been in a small group before.  She gets her work done on time.  She's very easy to work with.  Her answers are thorough.  Her contributions to the group are solid.

I've always liked her, but we had never met or seen each other until a few weeks ago.

Meeting her was like a nerdy online dating session or something.   

I wanted to make sure I had make-up on and looked my best before seeing someone I'd been talking to online for the past year. :) It's pretty ridiculous to put that in print, but that's how I felt.

And she's just as fun to talk to as I knew she would be. :) haha

Seriously, we laugh and catch up and talk about all kinds of things before we ever hit "record" and start our official session that we're graded on.

She even said tonight, "Dang, we're so much alike."  And it's true. We were raised similarly.  Our views on faith are similar.  Our hang-ups are the same. We hate to disappoint.  We're easy to guilt into doing anything.  And because our time together is spent delving into issues, I feel like I've known her for forever.

Building relationships is EXACTLY why I went into counseling.  I love getting to know people and finding out why they are the way they are.  Even people who are impossible to get along with usually have a story and reasons why they are that way.  It's FASCINATING.

So... now I want to move to Tyler and live next door to Melissa and counsel at the school beside hers. 

Have I gone too far?

Or maybe I'll just add her to my Christmas card list and e-mail her every now and then. 

Less creepy? 
The Christmas card list is still too much, huh?

My internship

Everything keeps falling into place.  Praise the Lord!


But it didn't feel that way on Wednesday...


Wednesday we had Splash Day at preschool.  I didn't see the thermometer but I'm estimating the temp to be right around 1,000,000* and the humidity to be at 7,000%. 


Give or take a few degrees and percentage points.  I've never been that great at math.


Splash Day is exactly what it sounds like.... A day for the kids to splash around in wading pools, on splash pads, on inflatable slides..  It's a blast!


Until clean up.


Clean up involves deflating, drying, packing up, putting away in the heat and humidity. 
Did I mention that it was hot?


This would've been fine if I could've put my hair in a ponytail and really gotten after it and sweat.  But I had an interview  at 3:00 on Wednesday with the head of the counseling department for the school district. 


No time to shower. And I smelled like a wet dog.


Around 2:25, I changed into a dress in my office, reapplied deodorant, tried to fix my sweaty makeup, and frantically looked for body spray that I knew I had packed. 


But no. I had forgotten it.


Great.  I still smelled like a wet dog.


I needed a tag to wear across my forehead that read "Hi, my name is Julie.  I don't always smell like this."


The meeting went well.
(But I seriously did apologize to him for smelling bad.  I had to.  I'd have been thinking, "Does he think I don't know I stink?" the whole time we were talking if I didn't just come out and say it!)


I'll be doing my internship near Frankford/Campbell so the commute should only be about 15 minutes for me.


I'm not going to start until the second week of preschool, which would be the third week of public school.  That gives the school time to get the year up and running, and it gives me the same chance at preschool.


I looked at my calendar, and-- even though I'm starting the second week of September and only interning on Mondays and Fridays (because I'll work Tues - Thurs), I will have 192 hours by the end of the first week of December.


I need 200 hours, but the other 8 won't be hard to get.


The semester will be busy, but I'm really looking forward to the opportunity and graduating in December!! :)  Woo hoo!!


Afterword:  When I got home from the interview, I sat down on the couch next to Caroline, and she said, "Ew, Mom, take a shower.  You stink."

Wanted: A Counseling Mentor

I've gone back and forth about whether or not to blog about this.  I've decided to blog about it for 2 reasons:

1. I don't want to upload pics from Sarah's birthday and blog about that just yet.  That sounds like a hassle at the moment.

2.  I'll use no names in this post.  Although for a couple of you, it won't be hard to figure out the person involved.

...................

A year from now I'll need to do an internship for grad school.  It's kinda like a student teaching semester, except I'll learn how to do counseling things-- meet with groups, teach in classrooms, administrative work, etc etc.

I need to get 200 hours completed under the guidance of a school counselor.

Immediately a certain counselor came to mind.  I never thought I'd learn much from her, but I knew she'd keep me laughing.  She's a little nutty.  Harmless but nutty.

She's also pretty scatterbrained.  So scatterbrained that I know I could just tell her how many hours I've done.  She wouldn't argue with me; she would just sign some piece of paper saying that I did the work.  I wouldn't do that, of course, but I know that the question of ethics and honesty in that situation wouldn't bother her.  She has that way about her.  I can't really explain it.

Last week I got a text from my friend telling me that I'll have to find a new mentor.

This counselor has been fired from the school following her fourth arrest for theft.


Three things--

1.  I'm such a good judge of character.  She would have totally lied for me.  ;)

2.  I'm so glad she got busted before I wrote her down as a reference.  Yikes!  Can you imagine a prospective employer calling for her, only to find out that she can't come to the phone right now because she's incarcerated?

3.  While I know I'll get a much better education from someone else, I can't help but wonder all of the things I could've learned from her.  However, considering this was her FOURTH arrest, I can only assume "How to Be Sneaky" would not be on the list.

Gambit?

Dang, this was clearer on my phone. 

Read the third line down if you can... "In an effort to teach them ways of safely expressing the full gambit of their feelings..."

I don't want to get bent out of shape here, people... So somebody please reassure me that you express "the full gambit" of your feelings  not "the full gamut".

I looked up "gambit" and I saw that it's a chess term.  I also saw that the phrase "full gambit" is in the urban dictionary.  Is my textbook quoting the urban dictionary?

But this is the stuff that distracts me from finishing my reading in a timely fashion.  I get hung up on editing.

This blog is a mess of errors... but this blog is neither published nor a textbook.  Ack!

I'm going to trust that this word is correctly used so that I can move on with the reading.  Just blogging about it has been therapeutic.  I'm sure the editors and textbook writers are correct.  I've just never seen the word. 

REALLY?!

Chapter 8 of my Cultural Diversity book--- This class is gonna be the DEATH of me....

The section is on nonverbal communication and how it sometimes contradicts verbal communication.

The example Dr. Sue uses is a man who pounds his fists on the table while shouting, "G--damn it, I'm not angry!!"

Except he spelled out that word.

REALLY??!!!!! You've made me read page after page of your culturally sensitive nonsense-- ("Don't help someone on a bus."  "Don't use words like 'mankind'.")-- and then you're going to turn around and use such a blasphemous word??!!!!!!

What about the people THAT offends?

He could have used "Damn" or even the F word to make his point and that wouldn't have been nearly as offensive to me.  You don't say GD.  Especially not in print.

What a hypocrite!!! And he had editors read his book and say, "Yep, let's put that in there." 

He expects us to be so culturally sensitive that we monitor the unedited words that come out of our mouths in a therapy session, but he can write profanity like that, have it edited by multiple people, and leave it in his textbook.

Well, this hypocrisy is going in my journal...

Have I mentioned I don't like this class?? :)

Who wants to read my textbook on "Counseling the Culturally Diverse Client" for me?  I can't stomach it anymore.

Anyone, anyone????

Most recently I read that offering to help someone with a disability board a bus is seen as a micro-invalidation.  Basically it sends the message that I feel like a person with a disability needs my help and is not capable of getting on a bus by himself, which is apparently highly offensive.

Look-- if you're offended by my offer to help you-- that's your issue, not mine. I'm being polite; you're being ridiculous.

I have to keep a journal of my opinions on the things I read in each chapter; I'll submit it at the end of the summer session as part of my final grade.  The things I wrote about this chapter should probably be edited before I submit them.  ;)

Oh---

Also it's sexist to refer to humans as "mankind". 

I'm going to poke my eyeballs out.

It was like an uncomfortable episode of "Seinfeld"

Monday night I went to a Cancer Encouragement Group meeting at Stonebriar Community Church.

The plan was to attend as an observer... but I got lost on the way there.  I couldn't quite remember where Stonebriar was.  I knew it was one of two exits off the Tollway.  I guessed wrong and ended up being 3 minutes late to the meeting.

Three minutes late wouldn't ordinarily be a big deal, but since I was trying to OBSERVE, I wanted a chance to tell the leader why I was there and get permission to sit quietly in the back.

 I missed that opportunity because I was late.  The meeting had already begun.

So the leader said we would go around the room and tell about our experiences with cancer.  I should've said right then, "I'm just here to observe!" But I thought-- "Ya know, I can share my perspective on Jim's battle with cancer.  I'm much further removed from the situation than the other people in the room, but I can share something."

................................

Important side note--- I've felt the need to cry... I mean, really sob... for the past week or so.  I've teared up every now and then for the past several days.  But something's been up with me lately where I've been on the verge of breaking down for a little while now.

.................................

As I listened to the cancer patients and their caregivers share their stories, I was fighting back tears.  They weren't.  They were strong, but I was weepy.

Then it was my turn to talk.

I simply said, "Well, my name is Julie.  I'm feeling a little ridiculous because I'm much further removed from cancer than any of you are.  My father-in-law had cancer.  My story would just be that I struggled with knowing my role in all of that.  I didn't know how to be supportive of my husband, Jason.  He would come home and be very disengaged and quiet.  It was a really hard time... blah blah blah."

That would have been fine, I guess, but that's not how I said it.

It was more like--
Me: Well, my name is Julie.  I'm feeling a little ridiculous because I'm much further removed from cancer than any of you are.  My father-in-law had cancer.  My story would just be that I struggled with knowing my role in all of that.

[tears started to roll down my face]

Me:   Oh my gosh, I don't know why I'm crying.

[And I meant that!! I really didn't know why I was crying. But like every good therapy group does.. the response from my group was--]

Group:  Because you're human, Julie.  It's ok.  Let it out.

Me:   I didn't know how to be supportive of my husband, Jason. [cry, cry, cry]  He would come home and be very disengaged and quiet.  It was a really hard time... [cry some more]

.......................

Y'all... this was the WORST possible time for me to melt down....  At a cancer support group where cancer patients weren't even crying. But I couldn't stop myself. And I tried hard to take a deep breath and stop the tears.  I don't know if I'm hormonally imbalanced.  I'm not sure what was up!! But it was ridiculously awful!!!

I spoke in the past tense about all of this, but I never said that Jim has passed away because this was a cancer ENCOURAGEMENT group, and I didn't know if I should say that.  In my head, it was very clear that this situation was no longer my CURRENT situation, but my tears said that I was obviously having a very hard time with all of this.

What happened next? 

They hugged me.  THEY hugged ME.

I said, "Y'all are so sweet."  [I meant that too!!  They were super sweet to me.] But I'm really ok!"

Which they, of course, saw as denial.

Then-- to make matters worse-- they asked if they could pray for me. 

Ugh, the guilt.  They're ministering to me... and I'm just there to observe (which they don't know because I was late)... and I'm bawling for no reason.

I wasn't putting on an act.  The things I shared were the truth.  I shared my perspective of Jim's battle with cancer.  The tears were not for dramatic effect.  They just came out for some who-knows-why reason.

But everything just snowballed.

Then sweet Anita, sitting to my left, shared.  She lost her husband at Christmastime and had apparently just visited his graveside for the first time the day before our meeting. 

Anita said, "You know-- now that my husband's gone, I didn't know if there was any reason for me to keep coming to this group.  But, Julie, I don't think it's any accident that we're sitting beside each other.  I think God put me here tonight so I could encourage you."

This is such a big misunderstanding!!  What you have witnessed is a meltdown that is likely a result of the stress of school and work. I've been crying watching commercials lately.

Two other women told me how much they could relate to my story of not knowing their role in their loved one's battle with cancer.  Somehow my meltdown made me the most relatable girl in the room, and people kept referencing me and encouraging me as they shared their own stories.

But then-- as if it couldn't be any more guilt-inducing-- at the end of the session, this sweet old man who is dying of cancer of the esophagus shuffled his little frail body over to my chair and handed me an AMC gift card.

He said, "People have blessed me throughout my illness, and I never feel like I have a chance to bless others.  You take this card and go to the movies and recharge your batteries."

Oh. My. Gosh.  Could this get any worse???

Seriously.  I'm there to observe a session so I can write a paper.  But because I missed my opportunity to communicate that to the leader-- I end up having to share.  Which then made me cry for some reason.  Which then resulted in a prayer time over me.  And then a sweet man WHO HAS CANCER gave ME a gift card to recharge MY batteries.

What was I supposed to do at that point??? I couldn't think of the best reaction.  I refused his gift, but he insisted.  So I thanked him and hugged him.

But, y'all, I'm NOT using that card.  Don't you worry!! I will find someone who really needs it and pay it forward.

And... The group wants me to come back next month.... and I'm now on their e-mail list. :/

I've learned many lessons but mainly I've learned... Don't crash a therapy session!!!!!!!  Especially if you're in an emotional state of mind.

And if your class requires you to crash a therapy session, BE ON TIME so that you can sit down and shut up!!! 

Quick Update

So I'm up to my eyeballs in school work... hence the lame blog posts... I mean, not that they're usually great... but I know they've been sparse and pretty short.

I'm trying to work ahead in the classes that allow that sort of thing while Jack and Sarah are still in school.

On top of all the reading and tests, I have 4 papers I need to write.

One is a ten-page paper written in APA format (I don't know what that means) about group therapy.  As a therapist, what would my approach be? How would I screen clients? How would I conduct the group?  Since I'm not going into career counseling and will never be a therapist, I'm hoping that wide margins, double spaced, and 15 pt font is acceptable.

Another paper is a four-page paper for which I'm supposed to watch 2 episodes of a sitcom and write about the minority character(s).  Were they stereotyped? Was the humor found in the fact that they were a minority?  I think I'm going to do "Modern Family" for this one.  With Mitchell, Cam, and Gloria, I'm hoping to have enough material to fill four pages.

For my third paper-- also a ten-pager, I believe-- I have to attend a multicultural event and write about what I learned.  According to the syllabus, I should choose a minority group towards which I feel the most prejudice.  I have so many things I could say about this one... [deep breath]...But I'm not going to. 

For my last paper, I have to attend 10 hours of group therapy and discuss what I learned about the ways different groups are conducted. 

Ok--- Part of me (and it's a BIG part of me) wants to scream, "I did Celebrate Recovery for EIGHTEEN MONTHS! Doesn't that count???"  The answer quite simply is: Sure... as an example of the way ONE group session is conducted. But I need at least THREE group sessions. 

So today I'm making time to go to an Al-Anon meeting.  Then Saturday I'm going to try to make a recovery group meeting for those who struggle with Codependency.  I wish there was a support group for stressed out moms or for students who have to write papers on ridiculous topics, like sitcoms.  THOSE are groups I could sink my teeth into... because-- I gotta be honest-- I don't feel I have time for therapy that I don't actually need.

On the upside, although the readings are long, they're not terrible.  I do enjoy the fact that all of the studying I'm doing is applicable to counseling.  No "Business Math" or some required subject that is irrelevant to my degree.

And it's that small silver lining that I'm clinging to as I power through this summer term.

FINISHED

Ya know what THIS is??

It's my textbook in its box with a return label on it because I no longer need it. :)

My final exam was Thursday... and although it still needs to be graded... I feel good about it!

I've checked with the Office of Graduate Studies and my file has been on hold this semester while I was taking this necessary undergraduate course. Once my grade posts, I need to fill out a form and they will enroll me into my graduate program. Coursework will begin this summer.

Get comfy...

because it's gonna be a long Thanksgiving post with picture overload.

Or maybe I should get comfy because it doesn't take nearly as long for you to look at the pics as it does for me to upload them.  I'm sloooowww.

It's my long weekend recap.  Here we go.

I didn't work this past week--  HOORAY!-- and was able to help out with the Thanksgiving celebration in Kindergarten on Tuesday.  I had a really good time.  And Jack is still young enough that he thought it was fun that I was there.

Wednesday:

I worked on my note cards to study for my final.  After I finished each chapter I laid them out and thought, "No wonder my hand is cramping." 

Scary how many disorders there are, and we only scratched the surface.

Then I put them on book rings so I can study somewhere other than back here at my table.

Thursday:

We headed to the farm to see the McGlamerys and have our Thanksgiving feast.

Somehow we only managed to get a pic of the desserts. (?) Trust me when I say there was a lot of food and it was really good!

The kids love the farm and played outside most of the day. 

Aunt Kim took them to feed the horses and the catfish.

When I said they played outside all day, I meant it.  See?  It's getting dark.

Then the kids took turns driving Jason's truck.  Why?  Because as Sarah said, "Everything's legal in the country."  :)   She was serious, and I laughed out loud. 

When they rode in the bed of Jason's truck, when they drove his truck, when they drove their Jeep onto the dirt road... everything they did was something they couldn't do in Plano... so Sarah decided that "everything's legal in the country".

It was a great day and a half in Meridian.  We headed home Friday afternoon.


Friday:

We pulled out all of our Christmas stuff and got as much up and decorated as we could. 

I didn't take pics of our fully decorated house. But here are our trees. 

The kids' tree...

Our tree...

No, these aren't good pictures, but it's my visual representation of Friday evening and Saturday morning.



Saturday:

We took Christmas card pictures with the Fishero family. My brother and sister-in-law were in from VA.  My mom and Dad wanted a big family photo.  I'll share one because I think they're using a different pose for their Christmas card. 

If this is the shot they use, then I apologize now if you're on their Christmas card list.  I didn't mean to ruin it for anyone.

From left to right: My brother-in-law, Al, holding my niece, Kate.  My sister, Hilary.  My sister-in-law, Abby. My brother, Brian.  Me. Jason. Mom. Dad.
Front row: My nephew, Alex, kneeling.  My niece, Rachel in the Santa hat.  Sarah, Jack, Caroline.

A few other pics of the afternoon. I have a ton. I'm trying to spare you from another 45 pictures.  You're welcome.

After the pictures, we went home and our sitter came to keep the kids.  I changed into maroon because then we headed over to my parents' house for dinner and to watch the Aggie game.  Adult evening only.

Me and Hilary.  Fightin' Texas Aggie classes of '01 and '99. WHOOP!

 Our traditional Fishero kids shot.

And then the 5 of us at the end of the night. :)



Sunday:

I have things like "study, grocery store, and blog" on my to-do list.  At least I can check "blog" off the list. :)

Hard to believe tomorrow is Monday and it's back to business as usual.  *sigh*  But as a friend said, we only have 4 sprints until we get another break from school. 

Thank goodness!!!
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your weekend was great too! 

If you try to study for a final exam with a 3 year old in the house....

.... she'll ask for a piece of paper because she's bored.

If you give her a piece of paper, she'll want some crayons so she can draw.

If you give her crayons, she'll draw a picture of her dad and then decide that pom poms from the craft closet will make it look better.

If you go upstairs to the craft closet and find the pom poms, she'll need some glue to make them stick.

If you're desperate for study time (and foolish enough to hand your 3 year old a glue bottle), the top will pop off the bottle and she'll make a mess all over the tile.

As you clean up the tile, you'll tell her that her paper is covered in glue and needs to be thrown away.

If you throw away her paper, she'll cry.

If she cries, you can't study.

Because you need to study, you'll ask your 3 year old, "What will make you happy so Mommy can get work done?"

And chances are.... she'll ask for a piece of paper because she's bored.

Test #3 Done

All that's left is my cumulative final on December 13th, and I'm finished with Abnormal Psychology.  WOO HOO! Then I can officially be a graduate student, since Abnormal Psych is only a prerequisite for my graduate studies that start this summer.

I need a 72 or higher on the final to make an A in the class.

I'm so ready to be done with this course, focus on getting my GT certification next semester, and NOTHING ELSE.
 

Making a plan and moving on

When I started my job, I was a little surprised that the people I worked with seemed to have no plans of moving on any time soon.  I work with college degreed, currently certified, smart teachers in their mid-30s.  And they seemed content with a preschool job making $9/hr.

I felt, at first, that I had to defend my choice to get my Master's and get some additional certifications.  I've been told that I don't want to go back to the classroom.  To which I said, "That's why I'm getting my Master's.  It gives me the option of NOT going back to the classroom." 

I said that, although I would LOVE to stay home for the rest of my life, I need to be supportive of my husband who has admitted that he would appreciate the financial help of an additional income.  We would like to pay off our house and be debt free.  That will take a lot longer if we only have one income. 

I also said that I can't wake up in 10 years and say, "Oh, I wish I had chosen to utilize my full earning potential when I was 35. Maybe I'll go back to work now."  In 10 years, Sarah will be a senior in high school.  The time to get busy is now.  The time to work hard and save money (in a coffee can buried in my back yard) ;) is now. I'm working towards that.

Well, flash forward 3 months and guess what.  Two of the four women I work with are seriously looking at adding certifications to their name, and one is applying to sub in Frisco so that she can hopefully make her move towards full time employment in the next 18 months.

:)  It's awesome to feel like I've got people around me who are working hard and looking ahead. It's like running.  It's the most fun to run with someone who runs as fast as you... or a little bit faster.  It pushes you to go faster and work harder. 

But it was lonely and made me sad and question whether I was doing the right thing when everyone else seemed content to work part time with crappy pay.

There's a fresh energy at work, I feel, now that the other girls are on board with moving forward.  It makes it exciting to go to work and talk about our plans.