"This is where the healing begins..."

The last time I posted something, I was back at school. This time... I'm back home... on medical leave... for at least the rest of this semester. It was really hard to make the decision to leave school and focus on getting healthy, but with the help of some wonderful friends, coaches, and my parents... I'm home. Where I need to be. I had to go back to Roberts yesterday (I was home for another colonoscopy earlier in the week) to move all of my stuff out and hand in my key... it was very, very sad. They even took my name tag out of my mailbox... sigh. Thankfully, all of the stressful school/medical leave things are coming to an end, and I can finally relax and focus on getting healthy. It'll probably be a long road... but it's one I can't avoid.

At first, I was VERY scared to leave Roberts. It was more because I didn't want to leave the people than anything else. I LOVE people. I love my friends, I love my coaches, I love the Garlock people, I love my professors... and I really couldn't see myself leaving any of them. Then, I realized that relationships don't just fall apart because you leave for awhile. Some of them even get stronger. What helps me out a lot is realizing that I still have friends at home. Besides being home with pneumonia, I hadn't been home for more than a couple of days since last Christmas, because I worked at Roberts all summer. Despite the fact that I've been nonexistent in Chittenango for a long, long time... things really haven't changed. In fact, a few of my friends that I grew up with and haven't seen in a LONG time came and visited me tonight, and it was WONDERFUL. Yeah, we've grown up (a little), but things are pretty much the same. Honestly, it wasn't very different from when I used to hang out with them ALL of the time back in high school. I love friends, and it reassured me that just because I leave somewhere, doesn't mean I'm leaving people for good. God keeps together what he wants to keep together.

One song that I've been listening to when I freak out about everything is Tenth Avenue North's "Healing Begins" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFUHrXfuNU4). It helps me get back on track when I get depressed and anxious about everything, because home is really where I need to be in order to heal... physically, mentally, and spiritually.