noun
noun: journey; plural noun: journeys
an act of traveling from one place to another
"he went on a long journey"
- a long and often difficult process of personal change and development
"her spiritual journey towards Roman Catholicism"
The week before last I completed my Masters of Science in Acupuncture and Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago. It's been an amazing journey over the past four years and just as definition above states, it's been "a long and difficult process of personal change and development." One that has challenged me both mentally and physically more than any other endeavor I've encountered prior to this point. For those who don't know, the current MSTOM program requires the completion of over 190 credit hours which translates to over 2500 hours of classroom instruction plus 900 hours of clinic. This past year also required passing four board exams (Acupuncture, Oriental Medicine Theory, Bioscience and Chinese Herbs).
It feels strange to know that come next week I will not be returning to our school campus as I have every term for the past 12 terms. I will miss seeing the amazing people that I have met during that time; from the instructors that have guided me (or tortured as it sometimes felt!), to my many classmates that have supported me throughout this rigorous challenge.
The past two weeks, I've been busy with my last minute preparations for Nepal, visiting family and friends who I have not seen in sometime, and also completing and sending off my application for my state license (fingers crossed that I crossed all my t's and dotted my i's properly and that my license to practice is waiting for me when I return).
My new journey will involve both the act of traveling to a new place and also one of personal change and development. I'll be the first volunteer through Mindful Medicine Worldwide to return to Chanaute since the earthquake hit Nepal last April. As such, I'm heading into a more unknown situation than past volunteers. As someone who likes to plan things out and be very well prepared, that admittedly makes me a bit nervous. However, more than anything I'm excited to get to know the wonderful people of Chanaute and have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills that I have learned over the past four years to help in any way I can.
