One Year Done

Hey Family and Friends, Guys and Gals

Well....I am done with my first year of college. It was one that flew past by much faster than I would have liked and there's so much that happened this past two semesters that I wish I could have embraced each individual moment at the time it occured. So much for wishing. Anyway....quick recap of this year.

Highlights of my year

1. International and First-Year Orientation

- These events were the bomb. I had so much fun during the first two weeks of college and wish I could do it all over again Those were the times where I could hang out with newly-made friends and not care about school. I met people who are now my best friends and there were a ton of memories to be kept from the events (although I did not enjoy sitting in Hitchcock listening to dumb talks, but even fun times were created from those moments)

2. Classes

- I know, I know...this is the nerdy (the dominant) part of me talking but I really enjoyed being challenged this year. From taking 18 credits in the fall to taking Animal Form and Function (the nightmarish but fun (paradoxical) J-term class), I was constantly being pushed to learn more each day. Like a wise man once said, learning is a lifetime journey, so has my first academic year. I am grateful to be blessed with excellent professors, who are both wonderful instructors and friends. My science classes were a lot of fun, especially Animal Form and Function, and I believe that I have found what I want to do for the rest of my life. Like another wise man said, "you don't succeed completely until you love what you do".

3. Friends

- This year has been a great time of fellowship and developement of relationships with members of both sexes. With the guys on my floor, I have become close to some of them and I know the rest more or less as acquaintances (not as if that is a bad thing.) I have become especially close to one of my roommate (Johnny boy) and although he has been a bum many a time and had many uncertainties over his future, he has been a great encouragment and a blessing. I hope he goes where God leads him to, but I would love to have him stay at Messiah as my roomie. I have also become really close to Ha Ram, an International Missionary Kid from Korea but residing in Indonesia. I have been really blessed by his presence in my life and I appreciate every moment I get to spend with him. He has become a brother to me and I would like to see what God has in store for his life. Joel Love has also become a good friend, more recent than earlier and mainly because of calculus class. Although he is living in Miller next year (noobsauce), I know we can hang out just as much as we have when on the same floor. Finally, but not the lease, the Family has become a dear part of my experience at Messiah. I appreciate the friendship of the guys and gals in the group and I wish I could have spent more time with them sometimes, but I guess studies have to become a priority. However, I hope next year I will have more time to spend with them as they are the most magnificent group of people ever (other than my real family that is).

4. Maturity

- It wouldn't be a proper note if I did not end with this topic. I believe God has placed me in different siutations and environments this year so as to teach me to grow in Him. Some days I will feel as if I have no strength or willpower to move on, but when I sit in quiet reflection of His presence, I have been renewed daily. Furthermore, I appreciate the discussion about faith that I have had with my friends. These are the moments where we can have heart-to-heart talks concerning things that truly matter. There are a ton of more things I could talk about, but they all have culminated in a single thing - growth. I entered college as a brash, arrogant, and ignorant high school graduate, and after a year, I return more mellow and tolerant, desiring to grow and become more like Christ each day.

To sum it all up, my first year of college has been a great experience and I can't wait to see what God has in plan for me for the next three years and the years beyond Messiah.