In my last blog post, I wrote about my goal of making an effort to notice, appreciate, and celebrate the small things during my day and in my life. I began work on my thesis this weekend, a project that is due in its entirety on April 29th. My nonchalant first thought when I heard this was, “Cool, it’s not due until April”. However, that very quickly became a panicked, “OH MY GOSH IT’S DUE IN APRIL.”
One of my assignments for this week was to make a week by week plan with everything I need to do for my project leading up to Spring Break. As I was filling it out, I realized there are now only five full weeks until break. While I would usually be ecstatic about that, I am hoping for once that the weeks don’t go by too quickly. There are two reasons for this. First, because that means I will need to have all of my data collected for my thesis and be ready to begin the writing process, and two, because I will have that much less time with my friends and mentors who have become an integral part of my life.
So, in the spirit of my new goal, one of my best friends and I went out Saturday night to celebrate both each other and my small accomplishment: taking the first of many steps towards completing my thesis. We finally made it to a restaurant we have been dying to try since the first week of classes last semester. We had dinner at Xolo Tacos, and after being spoiled with authentic food from home over break, I had really high hopes for our meal. It was beyond my expectations! We sat next to the kitchen and had a front row view to all of the delicious food coming out sizzling and steaming away. It certainly made our mouths water and stomachs growl waiting for our own yummy dinners.
We had a fantastic night, and we made a promise to have more nights like it with our friends. While we were only away for a couple of hours, we got to break the Bryn Mawr bubble, get off campus, enjoy some truly incredible food, and make another night of memories. While the prospect of my thesis still feels rather daunting, it felt good to celebrate friendship and the first (however small) step towards finishing my project. I am reminded of a quote by Lao Tzu which has gotten me through many big projects, decisions, and of course journeys, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
No matter how small.