My thoughts are pretty fragmented, so please, bear with me.
I spent the weekend away from here because my brother graduated. Yup. He made it. And I am an extremely proud sister. I'm really happy that he made it.
Sometimes I feel it's odd because I seem to be a little bit ahead of him. I don't mean that in a bad way - let me try to clarify a little. I left home for LL to join the rat race and pursue further studies and all that. I remember walking in to the finance office of his uni one day because he needed to make a payment prior to his being physically there. The finance officer was nice, and he ended up asking me if I was the elder sister. I smiled and responded with a negative. At that time, I was just a younger sister, proud of her brother.
Kor has always been closer to my heart than my other siblings. Maybe it's because we are but a year apart, perhaps it's because mum and dad used to put him in charge of me. Whatever it was, I love him. And I'm proud of him.
As I sat in the auditorium, getting misty eyed one too many times, I was filled with this overwhelming sense of pride that my brother made it. The others in his cohort were just names. But my brother? He made it. It was difficult, it was stressful. There were hiccups along the way, but he made it. Then the thought that he'd step into the working world hit.
The transition from student to working person wasn't that big a jolt for me, perhaps because I was already doing part time work that was essentially what I ended up doing after my 'studies'. I realise that the work environment for most fields of study is quite different and it takes some getting used to. I'm blessed with what I do - I've been anticipating the same for as long as I can remember. I wonder at how Kor will adjust to such a different work environment from what he has been used to all these years of study.
My brother made it. All of a sudden, these 'adult' decisions start to become more real. I don't know what is out there but I'm thankful that he gets to move to the next stage. As he prepares for his interviews and (hopefully) moves into a new place by the end of the week, I start to reflect on and appreciate the relationships that I built while I was there in LL.
My brother has got friends, don't get me wrong. Me? This oddball made friends. This oddball found a family. This oddball also got found. This oddball grew to love LL.
My time in LL certainly made me grow and mature. I'm starting to get restless where I am now. I believe that there are times when we have to step away to heal and to regroup and restrategise. That time came, and is, but I find myself straining forward.
Perhaps September will bring new things?
