Bridge Year Bananagrams

I am sitting here writing my first blog, a little confused, and a little lost. I figured that a week at Global Launch would give me the proper motivation to write this. I had no idea how to write my blog before launch, and it seems that I have little idea how to write it after launch.

But after playing a game of Bananagrams with my fellow fellows just hours before I leave, I was hit with some inspiration. As we were frantically flipping, sliding, and snatching tiles, I realized just how much this simple game was like my upcoming gap year. It was an ever-evolving puzzle in which I was given new and random letters forcing me to rearrange the entirety of my board. Sometimes I was given a J, and my board seemingly had no place for a J. And worse yet, sometimes I was given a Q, only to discover there was no U insight.
But I tried my best to fit in each letter where I could, and sometimes I couldn’t. I realized that when I couldn’t, my best option was to bite the bullet and collect even more letters, and although this initially added stress, it was the best course of action.
And now that I am spending my final hours in the familiarity of the U.S., I have realized that these letters are much like the challenges I will face in my upcoming gap year. I don't get to control which ones I come my way, but I can control how I deal with them, and how I fit them into my life. Some of the challenges might cause chaos and some might be a dreaded Q with no U, but much like Bananagrams, I need to trust that I can work it out in the end.