Well, I only have 46 more days in Casper. I’m below the 50 mark! Oh, and did I mention that I have accepted my
DREAM job (I NEVER dreamed my first job would be in academia and ambulatory
care… my two favorite worlds). Oh, and
did I also mention that my dream job is back in UTAH. The clinic I’ll be working in is in Murray
and the University I’ll be teaching for is in South Jordan so I really am going
home. This is a dream come true!!!
So, with all of
this anticipation of going back to my favorite place on earth to have the most amazing
job I could possibly imagine; I’ve been in the process of packing up my
apartment and reflecting on my time in Why-Oming.
Since the day I
matched with the residency program here, I’ve been asking why. Why Casper?
Why Wyoming? Why this
program? Why? Why? Why?
And while I don’t know all of the reasons, there are some beautiful
lessons I have learned the past several months.
Lesson #1: I love my family. A lot.
I was always near family and took advantage of having them around. Being further away, where I can’t see them
all the time, has made me really appreciate them. I look forward to every opportunity I’ve had
to go visit Utah. I’ve learned that the
time I get to spend with my parents, my best friends (aka my siblings), and my
amazing extended family (whom I’m really close with) really is a treasure. I’ve
learned that I love nothing more than sitting around the kitchen table laughing
with my family as we play “The Stupid Game”, or make “thumb grips” on the milk
or talk about who would play our character in the sitcom about us (which, would
be HILARIOUS BTW). I’ve also learned
that my family is always willing to talk, text, or Skype and I’m so thankful
for their continued support, even when I’m not quite so close by. I am incredibly thankful that I matched with
this residency program as it is the closest to SLC, and crazy coincidence, the
flight from Casper to Salt Lake is pretty darn cheap… allowing for me to go
home and visit more often that I would have if I had matched with, say, the
program in Florida.
Lesson #2: I’m tougher than I thought. For the entire month before I moved to
Wyoming, I prayed for a very mild winter because I DO NOT like the snow and
cold and there was absolutely no way on earth I could survive a bad Wyoming
winter. I realized though, things weren’t
going to work out how I wanted, when a blizzard the first week of October
knocked out the power. So far, we’ve had
SEVEN months of snow and we’ve had an incredibly COLD winter. (The coldest night I saw, with the windchilll
was only -55°F). Even though I still
HATE driving in the snow and I am not a fan of cold, I learned I could handle
things better than anticipated. Turns
out I’m capable of more than I expected.
Lesson #3: I can be friends with people who aren’t
exactly like me. I was spoiled in
Utah. Yes, very spoiled. I hung out with lots of other people who were
very similar to me. You know: grad
students, Mormons, singles, people over the age of 23. When I moved out to Casper I was very lost
for the first month or so. It seemed
like everyone in my singles ward was WAY younger than I, everyone was only in
their first or second year of school, and we had almost NOTHING in common to
talk about. But, as time went on, I
learned that there is still so much we share and CAN bond about. Some of my closest friends in Casper are
significantly younger than I, and they don’t care about school nearly as much
as I do. But, we share similar beliefs
and values and we still can have a good time together.
Lesson #4: It’s okay not to plan EVERYTHING. I’m a planner. It’s what I do. I’ve planned about every detail of my life
for as long as I can remember. And it’s
served me well. I’ve accomplished A LOT
for my 25 years of life. Before moving
here, I had three google calendars, e-mail alerts, and phone alerts keeping me
up to speed on everything I needed to get done to keep my life in perfect
order. I scheduled my entire day in
15-minute intervals, a week in advance (please try not to mock). It’s who I
am. But, once I moved here, I realized
this wasn’t quite going to work any more.
The Casper culture is much more relaxed and people don’t have deadlines
and calendars quite like I’m used to. At
first it drove me NUTS when my boss would say things like, “Just get this to me
when you can” and I was receiving only a days notice before I needed to give my
next lecture. But,
this way of thinking has grown on me and has helped me from being the same
stressed-out nut job I once was. In
fact, a couple months ago when I was interviewing for a job, I had to do a
couple of powerpoint presentations.
Well, technology isn’t perfect, and mid-way through both of my
presentations; the slides stopped working.
I just rolled with the punches and fiddled with the cords and computer
as I continued talking. After my
presentation, I was complimented on how calm I seemed, and how well I worked
under pressure. The big catch was I WAS
calm and it hadn’t even dawned on me that I should be upset or flustered. Now, part of this has to do with the prayers
and fasting of my family and friends, and priesthood blessing I’d received from
my dad, I’m sure. But, part of it had to
do with the new mindset I’ve achieved.
Learning this lesson alone has been invaluable and has made my move to
Casper so worth it!
Lesson #5: I am never alone. This is my first time
living by myself and my first few nights my apartment freaked me out. I wasn’t used to the silence, and I hated
walking in to a big empty apartment. But,
I was reminded pretty quickly that I wasn’t alone. There have been so many people that have been
answers to my prayers: friends calling to check on me after storms, home
teachers that come to help at the drop of a hat, friends dropping by with
burgers after a stressful day, the list goes on and on and on. I have realized more than ever God is so
aware of me, of my fears and dreams, and He will send me the things and people
I need so I can accomplish what He needs me to.
The past ten
months have been some of the hardest, yet sweetest months of my life and I am
so grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to move here and learn and grow. I still don’t know all of the reasons
Why-Oming was the place for me, but I do know that I needed to come here. The Father’s blessing I received right before
I moved here was right; my time in Casper will be a treasured time in my life,
and a period I will always be grateful I experienced.