Life in all its Brilliance

 Truth: We're indecisive. 
Greg and I have never known exactly what we have wanted to do with our lives.  We both have had a general idea of the direction that we wanted to go, but never a sure path we wanted to follow.  Its so annoying.. 

At 16 I had the opportunity to go to Peru and serve the people there for several weeks, at 19 I moved to China and taught school children.  These experiences helped shape my dream.  My dream of traveling the world and being a humanitarianist.  Sounds kinda corny but it's true, I want to explore the world and discover the beauty it has to offer, through both it's landscapes and it's people.  I thought the best way to do this was to be a doctor or to go into public health, but that's because I wanted a degree first.  Before anything, I wanted an education.  I don't know why I have been so driven to get one, I've never even been sure of what I wanted to do with it, but its never been an option for myself to not finish college.  When I married Greg, I knew his dreams.  He wanted to be a lawyer.  He wanted a family.  Travelling the world helping people would pose difficult with a family.  I wanted to be with Greg more, and leaving him behind for weeks or months at a time to go abroad didn't sound so appealing to me.  But he still encouraged me, that we could make it work.  Even with his encouragement, I still felt lost.  I changed my mind about my career path a dozen times.  It was an internal struggle, being so confused about what to do in life is exhausting.  And then I settled.  Settled sounds sad and dismal, but it's really not. I settled into reality.  My major is Health Science with an emphasis in biology.  Mostly its a biology degree, I call it an everything degree because it opens the door for everything I have ever thought about being.  Since I had changed my mind so many times I had taken quite a few classes in everything related to the health care field, and my advisor has designed my degree so that when I finish in May I can apply (if I so choose) to med school, PA school, accelerated nursing programs, and MIL programs because I have the pre-reqs for all of them. (Sad!) But, I think, I have officially decided.  I want to be a medical laboratory scientist.  Nerdy and sciencey and right up my alley.  I still have two semesters left and Greg's career could take us to my dream job before I even have the chance to start my masters. 

Greg has been a lot like me, never quite sure exactly what he wants to be.  We always talk how we are envious of those who just know what they are going to be when they grow up.  Greg wanted to be a lawyer for most of his college career, until the last year and a half.  Then he wasn't sure anymore.  He still signed up for and took the LSAT and without doing any studying for it did well.  But he didn't feel right about applying for any schools. (mostly because I really want to finish my degree before we move away.. I know, selfish.)  He graduates next month and just when we both thought we were completely lost we now know what we are doing.  And it feels amazing!!

When Greg was a kid there was a show he used to watch, I never heard of it so I can't tell you what it was called but it was about a lady (i think) who was in the foreign service.  It was only one or two seasons long and it was one of his favorite shows.  It has stuck with him and has been something that he has always been interested in, but not something he ever really considered pursuing.  Then last month it just happened, we decided*.  He is taking the FSOT in October.  It is an extremely difficult test with a very small acceptance rate for those who do pass, only like 3% of those who apply actually get hired on.  The whole acceptance process takes at least 6 months and it can take up to 18 months before ever getting an invite, if at all!  It's nuts! and its long.  But it is all very exciting.  And although the chances are slim of getting in and there is no guarantee, it is a start.  We have direction in our lives and it feels fantastic!!

Of course, just like the LSAT, Greg wants no one to know.  But here I am telling the internet world, because I am excited about our future whether we get in or not.  So... Hi Internet World!  We are Greg and Whitney and we are FSO wannabes! 

**How did we finally decide?  Prayer.  Lots and lots of prayer.  Just saying... its amazing. :)**