Well, instead of 900 smelly soccer and basketball boys invading campus, its instead approximately 2,800 college students, and boy does it feel good... to have everyone back, that is. The whole concept of being a junior, being more than halfway done with my college career is far beyond daunting. And Im not even a senior. After this theres no more asking "what grade are you in, sweetie?". Instead it's "what are you doing with your life?" I know for a fact that Im far too immature to answer this question because I'm not even fully aware of who 'me' is yet. This time in life is, to many, the biggest highlight they'll ever achieve or experience. Here I am, and theres so much potential to go downhill. In many ways, it makes me sad, so I'm not going to think about it.
I'm involved in ResLife again which was a huge highlight of last year, and is again a major priority of life at this time. To say that I absolutely love it would be an understatement. Just to put things into prospective. I have wonderful residents, these girls are so fun and energetic and I love just getting to know them all day by day. I'm excited for what the year has in store, all the activities we'll get to do, living together (in community...thank you, Messiah), conversations to be held, etc. I love this stuff.
So first impressions of this semester. We're about 3 1/2 weeks in. And quite frankly, it's been weird. I was discussing with a dear friend, Sarah Timlin, about what the heck has been going on, and together we came to the scholarly agreement that this semester has just been weird. And it seems as though that is how it's going to progress. There have been so many unexpected twists and turns, scenarios, conversations, and happenings that I was totally not expecting. Not that they're bad things. At least not for me. It's come to my attention that there are a lot of hurting hearts here on Messiah's campus, and quite frankly, thats not ok with me. Lots of people struggling internally, and externally with major life issues and trust me, not just the health care debate. I'm really glad that God has granted me these opportunities to intervene in so many peoples lives, and that He's provided some legit people for me to begin building the relationships with that I've been craving for 2 years now.
I mentioned earlier about my 'major crisis'. It crossed my mind just yesterday again. Music Education. WHAT is THAT? I ask that as dramatically as I possibly can. I mean, I love music, I really and truely do. It is a passion of mine that I will carry with me for the remainder of my life. However, it by no means is a natural ability for me. I have to work really hard for... well, prettymuch everything. But, people come naturally. I like people. I find them fascinating. Watching, listening, observing, and interacting with them is something that I find a lot of enjoyment in. Oh-- one small detail, I'm an introvert. Is it possible for your natural ability to wear you out?
Academically, this semester is awesome. As far as favorite class, Choral Conducting takes the crown. I've always loved conducting. I'm really thankful for Mrs Merkel always forcing us to conduct with her along with any piece we were singing. I mean, it was the basics, but she was always so fun to watch, and I wanted to be like her in every way, hence the music education. But fond memories of senior year Jae and I taking over womens choir while Mrs. Merkel was out for weeks, leading rehearsals, conducting, and working at new music. THATS what I loved. Ok, maybe music ed. is where I'm supposed to be. I'm really good at picking debates with myself, if you havent noticed.
What's also awesome about this semester is that I have credits to spare, meaning that I'm taking 6 credits worth of HDFS courses, Foundations of Marriage and Family, as well as Families in America. Both forcing me to do a lot of thinking about my own family background and experiences, which honestly I dont have the time to even begin unpacking that box. But it's been quite the experience.
Life is full of experiences. These past 3 1/2 weeks have been full of many for me; unexpected and memorable to say the least. "Me" is a work in progress and I think that it's safe to say that perhaps small (and i mean very small) pieces are beginning to fall into place, 'break out of the ground' if you will. Like a plant. I'm terrible with metaphors. (Technically, I think it would be a similie because I used 'like or as'. Why does high school English feel like so long ago...?)
Theres a new love in my life. It's my Nikon D40 (Yea, some of you just got really excited and were thinking 'its about time'. Patience). Pictures are fantastic. So here's some beauties to share. Just giving you some 'snapshots' of my life these past two months, so you can see all the excitement you've been missing. A picture is worth 1,000 words, so I'll let them do the talking.
