Emma For Everyone

Now I know we still have Christmas to go (and my birthday!) but we are quickly heading into the New Year. The ending of a year always brings with it a sense of reflection. I think this is true for everyone, most definitely including me. Except as many people know, I'm always reflecting about my life and the going-ons of it. But the end of the year marks something special: we survived (this statement is best followed with a nice deep breath in, and out.) 2019 so far has been my favorite year of growth. I can confidently say that every conscious year of mine has always been a year of growth, but the work that I did this last year was significant. I don't know how many of you have ever confronted yourselves about your mental, physical, and emotional health, but being raw and downright truthful with yourself is hard. Not just hard...exhausting. I have never checked in, regrouped, or pep-talked myself so consistently until this year. This of course usually comes with unfortunate b...

Picture this: It’s a warm summer day while my family gets ready for Sunday service at our old (old as in prior to my parents divorce) church. I’m 12 years old, decide on a pair of ripped Hollister jeans, and a sweater that’s WAY too hot for the weather. A fitting description as to where I was developmentally. Three of my brothers, my stepmom and dad all pile into the van per my request to go see what church is all about. I couldn’t tell you what sparked in my mind during that time to ask to go back to church, but once it did I immediately asked if that was something we could do. Of course my dad said yes so the rest of the family decided to tag along. On the ride there, I felt a sense of excitement. Our church had stain glass windows, pews, kneeling stands for praying...the whole sha-bang. This place held fond memories for me, I was a kid the last time I was there but I remember Sunday school with positive thoughts, with it also being the place I was baptized. My curiosity was throu...

So clearly it's been a while since I've blogged. I feel equally disappointed and okay with this though. Disappointed in myself, yes, for not staying on top of my writing, but okay because sometimes life gets in the way of what you wish you could be doing to take care of some other pressing matters. Anyway, hey! I've officially finished my sophomore year of college and started my summer. This summer, I decided to change it up a little and stay on Adrian's campus and work. It's a pretty cool situation, student workers are housed in the dorms for free and you just wake up and walk to work every day. So far, I've really enjoyed the departments I'm working in, and the people I am working for. By staying at school, it also meant this was my first summer away from home, which admittedly, has been another transition into my adult life. It's been a good thing. But, recently I ran into some unfortunate health issues, and that's what I'll be writing about t...

Today I'm pondering the idea of adulthood. Actually, I've been rolling this idea around in my head for a while, trying to see if there is a way for me to clearly and concisely define it. In the simplest terms, I believe adulthood to be complete independence and reliance on oneself. That makes sense to me. Where it gets a little fuzzy, is when that truly begins. When and who decides when adulthood should begin for each person? The law says 18, but we all know that not all of our parents made us pack up our things, and leave their homes on the day of our 18th birthdays. We (as a collective term for my peers) were just graduating high school at this time. I know I still relied heavily on the help and guidance of my parents. Now I'm 20. And I still require those same things from them. Even though I do not need my parents in the same way I did when I was in high school, or really any time before that, their support is still present within my life. What I'm thinking about i...

I write a lot about college. I think I do this to help process through the experience that it is because somedays I cannot grasp any words to describe what going to college is even really about. So bare with me, as I once again work through the current stress ball that is my life.  When I was in high school, I took pride in being a part of a diverse selection of activities that were offered. I played sports, joined our theatre, held positions in our National Honor Society, and in student government. All of this gave me a sense of community. Coming from such a small place, community becomes not just a word, but a lifestyle that many students, faculty, and citizens take seriously. There is something very fulfilling about contributing to the place that you love. Ever since I started college, I knew that that sense of community I gained from Gobles High School, I wanted to bring that same feeling with me to Adrian. Eager to be a part of things on campus, I got a job in our little th...

So, I hate not being on time for things. A helpful but stressful quality, but when I got to the airport at 5:30 this morning there was nothing to be done about missing my 6am flight. There were an ungodly amount of people on the early morning flights, and these things happen. I was moved to the next flight, nothing too big to fuss about. Once I got settled again, I read until it was time to board the 8am flight leaving to Atlanta. Boarding the plane, I get placed in a window seat (my favorite) and an elderly lady sits next to me in the aisle seat. We share pleasant, welcoming smiles and get comfortable. As we're waiting for the plane to take off, the woman turns to me and says "I haven't flown in 20 years. I'm a little nervous." I respond with something comforting, and ask where she's heading, hoping to help get her mind off the take off. She tells me she's headed to a conference for writers, where one of her pieces was just chosen for an award. Clearly ...

Every new semester at college the professor normally has every person in their class go around and introduce themselves. "What's your name? Your major? What's something we wouldn't know about you?" My answers sound like this: "My name is Emma Harbaugh, I am an English major, and something you wouldn't know about me is that I have four brothers." This is always the fact I give my fellow classmates. Why? Probably because I wouldn't be who I am today without my siblings. This is something I know within my heart as a fact, that will always be true. After taking my first women's and gender studies course, I realized that I too wanted to be someone in my brothers lives that has helped shaped them into who they are as well. Identifying as a feminist today has morphed into a term that many have adopted, but many on the other hand, have considered offensive. It's clear that there are so many definitions of what being a feminist can mean, and the...

Entering college, like many others, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to be true for my professional career. Growing up I heard time and time again: "You're such a great listener, and offer a wisdom beyond your years." Pretty encouraging stuff, if you ask me. So in result of that I thought I would make for the perfect therapist. Helping people, as I have stated in my previous blog, is intertwined within who I am as a human being. What's a better way than channeling that sense of the "savior" within me than being a psychologist? Well, after taking my first psych class my freshman year of college, I switched my major to English about as fast as one could. This was an interesting time for me, because obviously as you're heading off to school, those who have attended college warn you, with a glint of knowledge in their eye that they are holding, something you have yet to find out: "your interests and career choice will change. It just happens....

As a college student, one of the perks that I have gotten used to, are the extended break periods. I am just now finishing up my winter break, an entire month off in between fall and spring semester. Coming home, I am of course ecstatic about the break from academics, excited to let my mind rest and let go of the stress of almost drowning in homework everyday for the past four months. But there is always a little drizzle of anxiety on top of the relief of the end of the semester. I come from two loving homes, four very caring parents and four brothers that I love with all of my heart. The holidays are consistently filled with family, euchre, presents and quality time. But, having split parents is a hard thing to manage during the holiday season, and ANY child of divorce can tell you that. In the realm of divorce, I do have it about as good as one could. My parents respect each other, and have always put my oldest brother and I first. But with having four parents, there are four famil...

When I think about who I am today, and who I am meant to be, one specific memory from my childhood stands out. Ten years ago, I was in fourth grade. The prime time of my life, really. It was the year President Obama was elected into office. To be involved in the historic event, my fourth grade class participated in our own presidential election. I was elated. Going home, I expressed my excitement to both sets of my parents, and we began brainstorming about my campaign strategies. Part of this project required a poster board including your picture, some key issues you wanted to address within the fourth grade, and your plan of action. My campaign slogan was "Emma For Everyone" expressing my genuine interest in the good of my fourth grade class. I knew I needed to be all accepting, that every single person should know they have a voice, and that I could be the one they could come to. What I brought to this project, and what I continue to bring to almost all that I am involved...