As Slowly as Possible by Tiffany Kidder

I cannot believe how quickly my Fellows experience has passed by and I now have to focus on cherishing the last few months we have together. As I think back to where I was when I started this program, I can see so much growth in my personal, professional, and spiritual life. Life as a Fellow can be extremely stressful with work, class, community service, ministry, etc. and the first couple months were extremely overwhelming.

I remember sitting down with my host mom and talking about all of my responsibilities. She reassured me everything would be fine and worth it but what I really remember from that conversation was her telling me about an experience of a previous Fellow she knew. This Fellow shared with her that he did not feel in the groove of things and completely content in the program until about February. I thought, “FEBRUARY? Are you kidding me?” He was right. This month has been the greatest month of them all because of the feeling of content in my life.

This month so many incredible things have happened but the two items that really stick out to me are the Vocational Calling Retreat and my job. The Vocational Calling Retreat was such a great time to spend together learning about why and how God created us as individuals and as a group. Every single one of us brings something different to the table and that is what makes our group so special! We each had a one-on-one session with a vocational coach where we learned what floats and sinks our “happy boat” in the workplace. He assured us that our first job will definitely hold more responsibilities that sink our happy boat than float it but then told us what to do when those situations occur.

Speaking of the workplace, this month has been amazing at work. I work as the Marketing Coordinator at PharmMD and I absolutely love it. We teamed up with a Marketing firm for the rebranding of PharmMD and this learning experience has helped my professional life drastically and has opened my eyes to a world of opportunity. I could not have asked for a better internship placement and I am so thankful for all of the opportunities PharmMD has given me this month alone.

I cannot even begin to fathom how quickly the rest of this program will go, but I wouldn’t change my experience for anything. It’s been incredibly difficult, stressful, and challenging at times but the growth I see in myself proves it has all been worth it. I am so blessed to have grown in such a great community of believers and friends and I hope the last couple months pass as slowly as possible.