As a few of you may recall me mentioning, I spent today with 100+ students and faculty experiencing something called Challenge Day, the objective of which is to break down barriers that exist between people, create empathy, and in doing these things hopefully create a more positive, supportive learning environment. I didn't realize it until today, but Challenge Day is something of a phenomena, existing in nearly 50 states, several other countries, and earning praise from Oprah (for whatever that means to you). You may also recall me mentioning my high levels of apprehension over this event, since I had heard that it would be a very difficult, emotional experience, and I try to avoid these if at all possible. See, contrary to popular belief it's not that I'm devoid of emotion, but that I'm actually incredibly sensitive with an unfortunate tendency to deal with my emotions by closing them up. Wanting to be better about this is the primary reason why I volunteered to participate this year.

As for the day, I have no intentions of sharing the fine details, but I will share that I left feeling overwhelmingly sad, debilitated by exhaustion, and nursing a headache borne from over two hours of crying (perhaps a personal record). However, I also left feeling incredibly proud of so many people, grateful for my childhood knowing that not everyone truly gets to experience one, incredibly thankful for the opportunity to do the job that I do, and so in love with my family and friends. I don't care how corny this all sounds, only that it's true.

And even if I don't know you very well or even at all, thank you for caring enough to regularly check in on me and my crappy excuse for a blog. To show my appreciation, I promise to write something very soon that will make you smile. Just maybe not today.