Comsamneda: is 'thank you' in Kangarooian

Kangaroo Point: 

Brisbane. 

So, its 12:38 AM on a glorious Thursday night in Australia. My beer is cold, my bare feet rest on my beach chair, my computer is charged, and...my life is on fire. 

I'm a student again. Graduate School, quitting smoking, and...living in a foreign country. Bring it on.

Class this week good. I go Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. My class on Friday is 9-5, unlike my other three-classes which are 3 hours each from 5 to 8.


School is going to a grind. 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, me thinks. Its just like the hospital - minus the fecal filled bathtubs, the code browns, or the urine samples. The codes, the ER trips, the charts, the stress, or the insanity (literally).


Personal life will be fun too, I've met a bunch of great people. Mostly American-undergrads from Syracuse which is weird, but, whatever. 

The other night I was talking to some friends and we were kicking around the idea of why we came to Australia. Some for travel, some for school, some for both. We were at South Bank when we were talking about this

...downtown, at the river, on a beach.

 

I started thinking about why I took this risk. I thought about why I left Korea ages ago, left the hospital weeks ago, and why I chose to move to Australia. I really got into it and realised that I’m not here for the Sunshine Coast, or South Bank. I'm not here to buy a motorcycle and ride it cross country. I'm not here for skydiving New Zealand, or going to the opera house in Sydney. I'm not here to travel, I'm here to go to school - South Bank is a glorious place to study though.

I'm not ruling out the idea of skydiving and motorcycles - I'm just ruling out the cigarette after the fact.


I went home after southbank to this:

I started thinking about Austin, the time i was downtown with Friends of Lizzy. I thought about the experience at the hospital. How bat-shit crazy it was. How much I learned and how many amazing people I met. I realized that everyone I worked with praised my efforts to get into UQ, and didn’t question my goals.  I remember what we went through, the codes, the craziness, the fecal filled bathtubs or the urine...the damn urine. 


I raise my beer to those amazing people…

Katie, Kent, Joesph, Kari, Rachel, Alex, Lou, Connie, Ann, Joan, Alfredo, Liz, Carol, Mallori, Chris D, Bobby, Blake, Stephanie, Sandy, Kimberly, Michelle, Rey, Catie, Tony, Sue, Kim, Leo, Cecilia, Deb, Jim, Roberta, Sherry, Bethany, Lindsay, Troy,  Meya, Cris Bukalew, Gloria, Flor, Security John, Ashley, Amy in Admissions, Glen, Elizabeth, Nola…

I raised my beer to…Mike Moore.

Over these beers I’m having tonight with this glorious Australian night and BB King, I thought about all those names above and how I was able to pull it off...how all of you helped me get through it all.

I couldn’t have done it without Jodi Reeseman at AustraLearn. I couldn’t have done it with Texas State (et., al) sending an acceptance letter about 2 years ago. I couldn't have done it without Korea (et., al). I couldn't have done it without Roberta, she gave me a job...

...the 'baby-blues-crew-from-two' pushed me to be more than I thought I was capable of being able to do. Here's to you guys.

My family reminded me why I work so hard, my friends got me through it, and SSC pushed me to become better than i was before. All of those people; from patients, to staff, to family, to the friends got me here. All of you taught me something along the way, challenged me every chance they had, and put me in uncomfortable situations where I had to choose to be tested. You guys are a big part of why I am here. 

I worked a bit harder on school today because of what the 2nd floor taught me. I worked a bit harder today on school today because of what you guys told me I could do - and what Texas State (et., al) said I couldn't do.

Cheers to you guys…I thank all of you.

Live high, ya’ll.