Right Places

I call this blog a "new write place" with the hopes of acknowledging that prior to this new stage of life, there was another place that I felt was truly right. The four years I spent at a small liberal arts college were some of the very happiest of my entire life. I was not only having fun, enjoying the people I was with, studying what I love, and feeling like I was making a difference, but I was also overwhelmed with this deep rooted sense that I was in the right place. I had an unwavering peace and contentment that I was in the absolute right place at the right time, being exactly who I wanted to be, and doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing. I never had this kind of contentment before, and truth be told, it was somewhat intoxicating.

One of my main fears then about graduating was that I would lose that peace and never again be able to find it. (This may sound dramatic to some, but keep in mind that this was in fact a fear and most fears are not rational.) In response to this, I have really tried to reflect on the importance of appreciating the stage of your life that you are in rather than pining for the better one behind you (or the supposed better one ahead of you). In Yoga class, we are asked to quietly reflect on a particular word and I will often dwell on "contentment"; that is, contentment to be here, in this place, at this moment, whatever that place and that moment happens to be.

But, that's really easy to utter in Yoga class and a hell of a lot harder to actually live out. I must admit that yesterday at my new university's orientation it was difficult for me not to compare this academic community to my old one. Often times I will find criticisms and negative comparisons floating across my mind. I was telling a friend about this and she encouraged me to do what I constantly long for others to do politically and ideologically: embrace difference. What this means is that I don't expect my new institution, new home, new friendships to be the same as what I had before; rather, I embrace that one is not necessarily better or worse than the other, they are just different.

This is profound advice. When those sneaky and unfair comparisons rage, I have to consciously remind myself although this place certainly isn't the same, it can still be right and good.  Besides excelling in my studies, that is my number one goal; to make right and feel right in the place that I am in. Like embracing and celebrating any kind of difference, this will have moments of discomfort, but it will also reap great personal expansion. I know that the key to real contentment is willingness to grow and be stretched as I embrace different experiences even while I continue to cherish the ones that are behind me.