A recap of the last 6 months

I’m almost certain this post will be full of rambling, but I realized a lot happened in the past 6-8 months and I have done a bad job at updating. I’ll place a list of highlights at the top, but if you’ve wondered about how my life is going, this is the very long post for you!

Highlights:

Started having seizures

Broke off an engagement (but stayed with my partner)

Spent 6 days in the hospital because of bad seizures

Got a job offer and accepted it

Graduated with 2 Bachelor’s degrees

Moved to Washington State to start my new job

It has been a whirlwind, and I still can’t believe that so much has happened in so short a time. Let’s start going down the list. Shortly before the start of the Fall 2025 semester, I started getting seizures. There was little to no explanation of why and it was terrifying. Not only was I scared, my friends and family were scared and there wasn’t really an explanation. It got to the point where I was having multiple per day and I didn’t really know why. I saw a doctor who referred me to a Neurologist but the Neurologist couldn’t see me until March 2026 so that didn’t work. In early December, I wound up having a 50 minute seizure that got me an ambulance ride to a hospital, where I stayed for a short bit before being transported to another hospital. I stayed in hospitals for 6 days, only to be told “it’s not epilepsy” before being released. As of today, we’re pretty sure the seizures are psychological/stress-based, but I don’t have exact confirmation just yet.

The other “bad news update” (if you want to call it that) is that I am no longer engaged. My partner and I are still together but we hit a rough patch where we almost broke up. Doing long distance is not for the faint of heart, and we reached a point where communication was becoming tense and we both had things we needed to work on. After some time to cool off, we decided to take a step back from wedding planning and I suggested we break off the engagement so that we didn’t have any looming pressure. We are still together and we are in a healthier place because of it. We know we will eventually get engaged again, and eventually get married, but we removed the pressure from ourselves and we’re taking our time. After all, my new job has made the distance further, so there’s no need to make anything harder than it already is.

Now to the “good news”: I have graduated from TLU! I have 2 Bachelor’s degree to add alongside my Associate’s from Blinn: A Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology with a Pre-Counseling Concentration. I had a hard time believing I actually did it. Since leaving Luther, part of me always doubted my ability to finish higher education. I am my own worst enemy at times, and my educational career was no exception. But I pulled through with hard work and with an insane amount of grace from the professors I had the honor of studying with. And now I have my degrees and I have a new job!

Speaking of my new job, and the distance from my partner, I have some excellent news: I am the Children, Youth, & Family Coordinator at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Renton, Washington! I accepted the job shortly before graduation, and moved up to Washington 3 weeks after graduation! It has been an exciting whirlwind, and this job has been more than I ever dreamed! It has been a privilege to work with my amazing pastors, coworkers, and the congregation here at St. Matthew’s! There has been an outpouring of grace, love, patience, and genuine connection that has been such a lifesaver in these first few months of acclimating to a new job and new place of residence! I would be lying if I said it wasn’t overwhelming at times, but I have all the support I could ever wish for.

When I started my time at TLU, I never thought I would be working at a church, and I never thought I would be able to make it living so far from my family, but I have thankfully proved myself wrong time and time again. I am proving to myself that I am strong and capable, and that I am able to achieve everything I want in life and more. But more importantly, I am learning the important lessons I have been trying to learn for a while: that I am stronger when I accept help, and that I am not weak for needing to take care of my mind and body. I am learning to take time for myself to rest. I am learning to ask for help when I need it. I am learning that being independent never meant doing it alone. I am learning to do this life thing, one step at a time.