Blood, sweat, and tears...and laughter

Oh hello. How are you out there in blog-reading land? I've recently tried to take a hiatus from the computer. This past school year, it seems as if I spent more time with my computer than with other living beings. It's understandable, really, given the nature of my choice to participate in a limited residency (meaning mostly online) doctoral program. But the school year is nearly done. I am currently in my final week of residency for the first year.
As I look back at the journey of this year (not reflecting, though), I don't think I ever truly imagined sitting here now, after successfully navigating the coursework and daily life of these intense nine months. What a journey! To consider all I've learned about my passions, about sustainability, about the cohort model and what that means to me, about my capabilities, and about all that I don't know, I am flabbergasted.
The phrase "blood, sweat, and tears" comes to mind to describe this year. I realize learning is in my blood, really a part of who I am and about what I am passionate. And this year brought so much learning, stretching my realm of information and understanding. Plus sweat. This is the human body's natural cooling system. It's also a method of sharing pheromones to create connections between and among humans, and with other animals. While the first is helpful anytime, the second is a bit difficult when cohort members are separated by great distances. These residency weeks are quite valuable in immeasurable ways. Oh, and tears. From the very beginning I've seen the cleansing power of tears, the connecting power, the human-ness of tears. Tears started the connection of my cohort, and today I witnessed tears continuing the connection of other cohorts.
I want to add laughter to this phrase, especially in relation to this first year journey. Laughter is so imperative! Bringing fun and ridiculousness into the mundane enables healthy processing of experiences. I believe not taking oneself too seriously helps to grow and learn in many, if not all, situations. Laughter alleviates stress. Humor, while not universal, lightens the mood when it gets too serious. I also think laughter encourages social bonds, opening the door to deeper inter- and intra-personal connections. Within my cohort, we shared fun comics, viral memes and videos, and wished one another lots of unicorn poop and singing narwhals. Outside of my cohort, I incredibly appreciated my friends and family who sent me ridiculous dinosaur memes, crazy videos, and general humorous messages and posts to remind me that normal life continues. It doesn't matter that the squirrels they shared momentarily distracted, in fact, I welcomed the squirrels, and still do (and will!).
So what do I see in my next three years future? Blood, sweat, tears, and laughter. But it's not limited to the next three years. I see a future of living life to the fullest. Experiencing everything as fully as possible. Appreciating the blood, sweat, tears, and laughter of each moment. Embracing the challenges. Reveling in the successes. And laughing through it all.