names, succulents + learning

I have taken note of three reminders this week...

My name:
My name, Laura Eve, comes from my great great grandmother who was the first white child born in the Dakotas. My mother's side of the family is a group of pioneers. And Eve, well, Biblicaly she was also the first woman on the scene. It's a daily reminder to keep moving forward, even when things are challenging, scary, intimidating, or confusing.

Succulents:
After emailing future roommates about what we're all bringing to Baltimore, I mentioned I have a row of succulents and herbs currently on my window sill and I'm trying to figure out how to move them with me. Succulents are just about the only plant I can't kill (knock on wood). My future roommate reminded me that they are resilient. So here's a shout out to my good friend Resilience! And a reminder to myself that my resilience has proven itself in the past, and it will in the future.

Kivu:
Sometimes I go back and read the blog of a professor at Hopkins I want to work with. Nancy Glass writes about her work in Africa, which I'm particulary drawn to because she goes to the same areas I went to. But more importantly, she works with women around issues of intimate partner violence, rape, socio-economic conditions, and building foreign policy by creating healthier people. The people of Rwanda gave me a big metaphorical shove to go into nursing. The emotions that I felt there were so strong. I can't begin to describe the horrendous stories of women who were taken advantage of, raped, pregnant women who lost babies and their own lives... there are stories I heard that I never thought I'd hear with my own ears, wasn't sure humans could do these things to their neighbors. Today I read her post about working in Bukavu, a town in DRC close to Lake Kivu. While I never went across the border, I went to Lake Kivu twice. I named the puppy I found within the 1st week there, Kivu. I remember my last weekend in Rwanda. We traveled to Lake Kivu and I sat, one morning, staring out at the water. Nancy Glass reminded me that Lake Kivu is one of the deepest lakes in the world. Looking at that water was about the only time I was able to write there. I couldn't put anything into words for two months until that point. There was so much deepth. So much misunderstanding, history, so many deaths during the genocide, but there are so many possiblities. There is a great determination and resilience there. Within all this, I know my reason of going into nursing.

So after a long week (it's only Wednesday) of feeling beaten down from misunderstandings and people not speaking up with their own voice, including myself, I rest on these ideas: resilience, potential, digging deep within yourself to see where you can grow and where to stand tall and dig your roots in, and when to keep moving forward and challenging yourself with new places, people, experiences.

(In addition to Nancy Glass' blog, you may also listen to this podcast from last year.)