Ok it’s official. I’ve been converted into a dog lover.
First of all, welcome back. We are now one week into the new semester and it’s way too cold and way too windy but keeping busy and having something to do has always been good for me and so this is a welcome new beginning – so welcome back all!! The new and the old, the returning and the newly transferred.
I thought that this blog could be a good reflection on all that has happened in 2019 as well as a way to celebrate all that is to come in 2020. Hence the appropriately named title ‘Looking Back and Ahead.’ To be honest, I was having a bit of trouble thinking of what to write about for my first blog back maybe because its been a while and I got out of the habit or maybe I’ve just been too focused on my new classes so when it came time for me to write I was drawing a blank. I sat down, opened a blank word document and just started to type and hoped for the best. Now what does this have to do with the dogs? Well…
Over the winter break, I spent a week and a half in New Bedford, Massachusetts visiting my sister. This was a very last minute trip that completely threw me off track and messed with my schedule but it was also the most memorable part of the winter break. One of my concerns with staying with my sister came from the fact that she has two dogs. Now growing up my parents did not allow my sibling and I to have pets and so I have always had an irrational fear of large dogs mainly due to the fact that I have not had enough exposure to them. Another part of my apprehension came from my previous experience with said dogs. The first time I ‘met’ the older of the two, he (being only 30 pounds lighter than me) decided to sit on me and refuse to move. The second time I met both dogs, the new puppy got so excited at the sight of a new face, she peed herself. So I was walking into this ‘completely not excited about having to interact with these mildly terrifying and slightly annoying creatures.’
Throughout the week and a half, i realized that I treat dogs a little like how I treat humans. I’m ‘completely not excited about having to interact with these mildly terrifying and slightly annoying creatures’ but if you give me enough time I might just come to enjoy their company. As time went by the two friendly little doggies soon became my new best friends. By the time I got back to Baltimore the first thing I asked my sister was how my children (my new term of endearment for them) were because I was missing them.
Now what can we learn from my experience? Well, for one, dogs have become a new favorite. Also as we welcome in the beginning of not only a new year but a new decade, let us be open to the different possibilities around us even those that are new and a little scary. This is all to say welcome back. I’ve missed you all. I hope you enjoyed your break and I wish you all the best as we navigate through this new semester.
