Lower Willamette 2022, in brief.

Golly. I can't believe it was one month ago today that I was in the Willamette for 13 hours and 45 minutes. Whenever I reflect back on that day I am humbled and filled with joy for all the love and support I had on my 25 mile journey down the lower Willamette River. 
This morning I went for a swim at Broughton Beach. The conditions were perfect and I smiled the whole time. It reminded me so much of that Saturday a month ago where, at one point I looked around at my friends who were providing paddle support, giggled and shouted, "I feel so loved!" 
And the past month, I have completed my first MSF swim (soon to be ratified), presented My capstone research and project, graduated from a 3-year occupational therapy doctorate program, and completed (well...nearly completed, my last day is tomorrow) my final clinical rotation. Needless to say it's been a bit of a hectic month, but I'm still looking towards the future. I'm struggling with big questions like what is my professional identity? When do I want to take boards? What clinical setting do I want to focus my job search on? And perhaps the most relevant question for this blog: What's my next big swim?

While I work my way through a pivotal time in my life I think having a waypoint, a swim goal, will be grounding and motivating to remain active while becoming the most effective occupational therapy practitioner I can be.
Don't worry! I will do an in-depth write-up of my swim sometime, I promise. But for today I just wanted to take a moment and reflect on the past month whose accomplishments were all years in the making. I feel satisfied and proud in a way I was not expecting.

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