Fear is not the King of Me.

I have found a new love. And they are called Cables. I have been knitting for years now, and have put off trying to make cables for fear that they were just too hard. I finally made myself learn by deciding to knit one of my favorite profs a goodbye gift from our lab group. [He will be leaving at the end of this semester and moving to Toronto. From St. Kitts to Toronto. Seriously.] How stupid do I feel now that I know how simple they are?! And how happy am I to have finally decided to try?! I seriously think everything I knit from now on will have cables.

My first Cables. Just a learning swatch. Not the real deal for Dr. Danny. His head is way bigger.

My nest of knitting madness on Jen's bed. Where I have AC and lights. Note Jen's Physio notebook to the bottom right corner. Good girl, Jen.

It's funny how people allow fear to control their lives. Most of us do not like to admit that simple fact, or pretend it's not the case. And for the most part, the things we fear often become something wonderful in the end - if/when we are able to take that first step. For example, moving out to a foreign country where electricity is an intermittant luxery, there is no McDonalds, and mosquitoes are more than just an annoyance (they are a serious vector for disease - 3 students now have The Dengue...but I digress) was a HUGE step in my life. Many people in my life will never know how much fear I had to quash in order to take that step. You can't even understand how many times I turned around and looked back towards home; had to force myself to turn back and look forward.

But here I am, in a beautiful country surrounded by amazing people who (for the most part, previous blog entry notwithstanding) have the same goals and aspirations as I do, who make me feel like this is my home away from home. Despite the fear and anxiety I am pursuing my goals, experiencing successes each day (no matter how large or small, they are still successes!), and am learning new and more exciting things all the time (Cables!).

I am blessed. Fear 0, Saskia 1. Actually, 2. Cables are awesome.