K's impact on me...

Yesterday I posted about a mother and child having a rough go of it. I am sitting here thinking about her, and what she has done for me since I met her.

She saved my scholastic career, and she did it without even knowing it.

I was 4 weeks into my first semester of my master's program. And I was miserable. I think it was homesickness combined with feeling old. Homesick, because I'd never been that far from my home state before for an extended period of time. And it's amazing how different our attitudes are from one place to another in this great country of ours. Feeling old, well, let's just say there wasn't another student in my program that was over the age of 23, and here I was about to hit that 30 mark. I just didn't feel I fit in quite right. I was about a week away from packing it in and heading for home.

So what did she do, you ask, that was so special? She decorated my desk (I was a TA) with all of the black balloon, black confetti, etc that our society hits us with at the landmark birthdays.

It gave me one of those "I have to go to the bathroom" moments (i.e. I need to compose myself, splash some water to wash the tears, etc). Here was this person who barely even knew me spending her time, energy and money decorating my desk. Seems like a small thing, but I was so touched...I instantly knew if I threw more of my effort into it, I was going to fit in nicely here. So I stayed, finished school, and I am better off for it. Made a couple of those lifelong friends like her, and a bunch of those lifelong acquaintances that are so important for balance.

I used to laugh at people who said the small things can make a huge impact...