Tomorrow is GO time!

Hello Family and Friends!

I have made my way back to Michigan Tech after a fantastic week home!

After Mom and I got home from our trip I spent the next week unpacking and repacking my belongings, which seems to be the case every time I come home. Somehow the family still seems to tolerate me moving home for short periods of time and exploding the life all over the living room floor.....so thanks :)  The week was sprinkled with appointments of all sorts as well as some time to relax, as we went up to the Millers' cabin (family friends) on the Saturday I was home. We had a great day filled with summer fun of tubing, kayaking, and hanging out. I should also mention that I visited the University of Minnesota's graduate school to take a look at their programs in comparison with other programs I am looking at.

On Tuesday August 12th I left home, headed back to Michigan. I spent that evening and the following morning at Tomahawk Scout Reservation with my Boy Scout Troop. It was fun to go camping one more night before heading back to school and great to see some friends.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of last week were then spent unpacking, moving furniture, moving out of my storage unit, and settling in. It took a lot of work and I did most of the rearranging by myself but the layout of my room turned out better than expected, so I'm not complaining.

Then, Saturday came around and Resident Assistant (RA) training began! Training is full of fun, engaging, thoughtful, challenging activities and presentations that most certainly help prepare someone to be an RA. You'd think that this being the third time I've gone through something like this that it would be old hat (and most of it is) but there is always more to learn. Not to mention my fantastic fellow staff members :) Training is a shared experience by all RA's that most certainly helps 60+ people bond in a matter of days. Life-long friendships are at their beginnings and it is a great time of year for everyone. All the things that go into being an RA is something that is hard to explain, as there are so many facades of what an RA does. Spending a week with these friends is they only way I'd ever want to enter a new (and my last!) school year!

So here I am, Friday night of training week. I'm moved in. I've had a week full of presentations, from cleaning up puke to dealing with depression to interacting with International residents to how to plan a fun event and everything in between. It has been a week of creating new friendships and rekindling old ones. A week of hard work, preparing the residence halls for students, both new and returning. A week of getting some of my personal things in order to begin a new school year. And lastly, but certainly not least, a week of FUN!

I am PUMPED to have new first year students arrive on campus and start moving in tomorrow! It has been a transition period in my life these past two weeks since I last blogged. Know that I am settled in and doing well. I am excited to begin my last year of my four year degree, as my next big transition is not far in the future!

UPDATES
Between going to the doctor's office in May and some tests I had done while I was home in August the doctor has determined that I am cleared to increase my physical activity and I am no longer on any medications! This is a big step in what has been a seven year ongoing discussion of the damage my heart obtained after I had Rheumatic Fever in 2007. I have been on meds and had a list of restrictions since then, the biggest being a limit on my physical activity. I am now able to return to "life as normal" and it feels great!

August 21st has past, which means my birthday has past and I'm another year older. It was a big one, as I turned 21, which made it my golden birthday as well! Know that I had a good birthday, filled with RA training and lots of staff bonding time (bonfire, dance party, and people singing happy birthday to me at midnight). Thank you all for your support over the years!

So, from the quaint and cozy 10' x 15' piece of the world I currently call home and with love,
Kyle