oh, the places you'll go

(posted originally from jvc blog... http://insidejvc.blogspot.com/2010/06/reflections-from-incoming-jv.html#more)
I recently turned twenty-two and am a proud college graduate with my Bachelor of Science in biology from Boston College. Yet, one of my graduations presents was a children’s book?

The wise words of Dr. Seuss still suite me well beyond my times of rhyming with green eggs and ham. Our dear friend starts out...

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!



I certainly feel this way. The world appears at my fingertips and I don’t think I could have made a better choice than the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. I will be off and away headed to Houston, TX - a great place that I have never been but have high hopes for in the coming year. I will be volunteering at Cristo Rey Jesuit of Houston helping out with the Corporate Work Study Program, which helps fund the education of high school students!

The year will most certainly be filled with hopes and challenges. I hope that this is a year of discernment into what direction my life will head. I also hope to be stimulated in my placement and to absorb as much as I can from the world around me. I have high hopes for building lasting relationships with my housemates and while I know this will not always be easy, I expect it to be a very rewarding part of the program. Other challenges I anticipate include… transitioning to the weather (being from Milwaukee, WI and going to school in Boston, MA doesn’t really warrant humid preparedness), living in the south (what can I say, I am a Midwestern girl) and working in a totally new environment (I am a biology major working and learning about high-school work study placements).

In thinking about this position, Seuss inspires and challenges me…

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

Boston College has prepared me as much as it can and now I must start the next journey in my life. I am confident that with a positive attitude, zest for life, an appreciation for this experience, and an open mind that this will be a wonderful next place.

It’s a funny thing being young and college educated. I really feel as though this next direction was one of the first major choices that I made totally on my own. This was a choice made through discernment and, most importantly, through reflection on my faith.

In anticipation of what will most certainly be a beautifully challenging year, I think Dr. Seuss is speaking directly to the JVs of 2010-2011…

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.