So last week (this week?), I turned twenty-two. Which is just weird. In many ways, it was a normal day for me – internship, class and procrastinating. (Thanks for a great dinner though, Juliane, Nancy and Alyssa!)

Still, birthdays naturally lead to reflection. As a I celebrated my last birthday as a Fordham student, I couldn’t help but reflect on my first birthday here. There was more fanfare then, and some of the faces are no longer important part of my life. I couldn’t tell you much also about that point in my life though.

Which brings me to my next point: reflection in general. Fordham is a Jesuit (Catholic) university, and while spirituality isn’t a big part of my life, reflections have turned out to be a large part of my education here – especially outside of the classroom. When I participated in a Global Outreach service trip, reflections were an integral part of our weekly meetings. And while these reflections were important, they were new to me and a bit unsettling because of that. Those reflections though are a recurring theme in my life here.

Still, reflecting isn’t a part of my personal, daily life. I don’t pause and think about what I do and why I do it – I just go through the motions. Intern, class, procrastinate, newspaper, repeat. And that’s the problem, isn’t it? I’m too busy running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ~ Ferris Bueller

And so that’s a promise I’m going to make to myself now that I’m in my 23rd year. Pause. Reflect. Breathe. As for my birthday wish? All I can hope is that in the future, I’ll be spending more time and more birthdays with the people I love who are all over the world.

~ Sarah