Well, as of yesterday, I have officially finished my first year of seminary! Yay! This was a really rough, really exhausting and really difficult semester so I am very glad to be done with it. It's also weird as now I have to find ways to fill my time. This weekend is Baccalaureate and Graduation so it probably won't really hit me until Monday morning that school is officially over with. With it being such a tiny school, I know quite a few of the seniors so seeing them graduate tomorrow is going to be tough. I've gotten really close with several of them so it will be hard to say goodbye to them and watch them walk across that stage. Life goes on, though, or so they say, and as the song says, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
As for what my summer looks like, nothing too exciting will be happening in my world. A few months ago, I got a part time job on campus and so during the summer I will be doing that full time. My job consists of development work and database management which is what I did for four years in college so nothing too strenuous or new. I actually really enjoy fundraising and just in the short time that I have been doing it, both our alumni participation rate and the amount of money we have raised has gone up so I must be doing something right. Other than that, my summer shall be pretty easy going and not too stressful. Quite a few of my classmates are going to be here over the summer so we have already started planning different activities we want to do while we are here. Should be quite an adventure. I've also got several non-seminary friends that live in the area that I am hoping to spend more time with over the summer plus I've got my extended family nearby that I would like to see at least a few days this summer. So, yeah, I don't think I will get too bored but if I do, there is always a new book to read or a new TV show to discover, right?!
I will also be traveling a good bit this summer as well. I am spending a week in Connecticut attending an International Conference. I received a scholarship to attend it and I am really looking forward to it. I go straight from that conference to attend the General Assembly of the PC(USA) in Pittsburgh, PA for a week. I will be serving as one of their Student Assistants for the week which is basically their pages. I'm really excited as GA is such a huge deal in the denomination and I haven't been to it in six years so I am really looking forward to being back at it. I will leave straight from there to head down to Texas. I'm on the planning team for the Junior High Conference at MO-Ranch so will be there for the second week of the conference. MO-Ranch is one of my absolute favorite places on Earth so I am beyond excited to get to return to it after a two year absence. I won't have a chance to make a trip home while I am in Texas so D-town residents will just have to wait until later in the year to see me. Sorry folks but I have to leave as soon as the conference ends and head back to California as I start my intensive Greek class the next Monday. For six weeks, I will be in Berkeley 3 hours a day five days a week learning Greek. After six weeks, I will have completed two entire semesters of Greek and then it shall be almost time to start fall semester.
So yeah, needless to say it is going to be a very busy but very good summer. I am so looking forward to it. Lots of traveling scheduled but also lots of relaxation time. I've also got a long weekend trip planned to Georgia for a retreat. Good thing I love to travel so much as I will certainly be racking up the miles this summer!! For now, though, I'm content to sit in front of my computer and watch some TV. I'm so glad I get to spend the summer here in California. Texas summer is just too hot and miserable and I really wasn't looking forward to it at all. I think this summer has the potential to be the best summer ever. That would be just what I need after the long, long, tiring semester that I just finished. After what I just endured, I deserve a vacation (or a nap!!)
