Warning: Clip Art Ahead

I don't really know of an eloquent way to present what has amounted to an unceremonious end to my academic career (ergo, pictures instead of words!). Oh, I'm not totally finished...there's still that final exam on Thursday, along with a brief presentation before the final, and my dissertation to write this summer, and my internship to do before I graduate.

But all that aside: Never again will I sit through another lecture for the purpose of gaining knowledge toward earning credit-hours for a degree. Ever. Classes are d-u-n, DUN! You know how that makes me feel?

[the actual caption for this photo was "cracked-out happy cat". yes, yes i am.]

But you know what else will never happen again? I'll never be in the same room with these amazing people all together ever again. (Unless you count the inevitable pre-graduation sweatfest in which we bathe in the wetness of our own stench beneath those hard-earned doctoral robes and hoods. But I'm not counting that.)

(not pictured: Joni Lynn and Aaron)

And that? Makes me feel more like this.



This group of people has been my family during a most formative time in my life. Nobody else understands our experience of graduate school, from clinical interviewing class to navigating the internship process. In more ways than I can count, I have become who I am now through four years of intense work, manic schedules, shared laughter, and myriad growing pains as we've built relationships and learned what it means to become a clinical psychologist. When I sit down and think about it...well....I don't want to sit down and think about it.

What I'm trying to say is, even this final transition (second-to-final if you count graduation next year) is fraught with a complex roller coaster of emotions. It is difficult be truly joyful, but neither can I be completely downcast. The Lord has brought us thus far, and now is the time to ACT: "acknowledge, consolidate, and transition" (thank you, Dr. Jackson, for that final pearl). While the goodbye is bitter, it is sweet to move forward in the Lord's perfect will and timing than to cling to a season that is past. Such is life. But my heart is heavy, even while it is light.

Goodbye. I love you all, truly and deeply (in the least possible creepy way). I am better for having known you, and I pray that in some tiny way you might say the same of me.

One thing's for sure though. In the words of that most sagacious swine...

It Wouldn't Be a Christian Goodbye Without Michael W. Smith

My heart is aching over all the goodbyes we've said recently, with more still to go. Last Thursday we enjoyed our last evening with John, Christine, and Brody boy, and tonight we said goodbye to Jess, Natali, and baby Eve. We're mindful as we spend time with other friends that our opportunities for fellowship with them are numbered. It's like watching significant chunks of our life just fade to black, piece by piece...soon we will be on our own in a truck headed for PA. We're eager to see what the Lord has in store for us there, but it is so difficult to leave this chapter of our lives behind. More difficult than I expected.

It's like I have a fever. And the only prescription is Michael W. Smith.

Because Friends Are Friends Forever, when the Lord's the Lord of them. Come on, it just wouldn't be a Christian farewell without Smitty on the soundtrack. Feast your eyes and ears, and may your heart be comforted as we're all packing up the dreams God planted, in the fertile soil of you...




The tears are flowing (along with the early 90's cheese), just like church camp...in all seriousness, this is a painful season for the Va Beach Pearces. We're so grateful for the time God has given us here with our friends and church family, and are thankful that Smitty's words are true - we never really say goodbye when we're united in Christ. A lifetime's not too long to live as friends.