All She Wrote

Well, I was going to use the Skylar Grey song "Coming Home" for my blog title, but thanks to Jeff, he used it first. So, instead, I decided to steal another phrase that all the cool people seem to be using now.

This seems to be all she wrote for my first year of real university. I don't count my year at the UofA being a  real year because I really didn't gain or learn anything from my time there other than the fact that it was a mistake to apply. And of course, the year that I took off to work, there was no school at all. I digress.

I guess tonight is my last night here in this spot that I seem to have been stapled in over the last school year. It's definitely been unique, regarding my living situation. For next year, it looks like I've been challenged to go live on residence at the school. So, I'm going to hold my breath and hope for the best because I'm terrified of being around people 24/7. But anyways, I think it will be good and I'll be glad I made the choice because it's what I said from the beginning. So it just means that everything is unfolding now, with everything playing out, and it should be fun.

With school, it was fun. I have to say that if I'm talking just specifically about school and the learning experience, it was great. It was so refreshing to be learning the things that I am most passionate about. To me, it didn't always feel like school - and it shouldn't. It was more like church everyday. And I was absolutely amazed at how I responded to what I learned. I can really understand now why people say that it's most important to get a solid theology base before I want to specify in a specific ministry. It's pretty cool how a lot of our beliefs can be articulated the way that they are. Our beliefs are our beliefs; many of us aren't "advanced" enough to really think about our beliefs and materialize them. Fortunately, I've been "materializing" my faith this past year, and I had a blast doing it.

As for the "life-in-school" experience, I'll admit, was rather forgettable. A large reason for the part is because I just was never at school due to the commute. I never even started attending chapel until the second semester. Another part of it is just because I'm lousy at initiating conversations and making friends. Don't get me wrong, I have made friends; but even then, it was frustrating to be in the situation that I was one (part of the reason I'm moving into res). So I think it is fair to say that my experience with the whole "life on campus" thing was nowhere near what I expected or hoped for. Definitely looking to improve on this next year though.

I think overall speaking, the year was quite legendary. Looking at it now, I don't regret anything because everything that happened did so for a reason, and has led me to being at this particular point that I'm at. I said that I would visit CCBC one last time tonight, and I stuck to my word. I'll admit that I didn't REALLY want to go because I wanted to wind down a bit; but I'm always amazed at the experience whenever I walk out of the church. I probably should've saw it coming, but there was a surprise for me at the end of the night. I decided to join in with the youth for gym night, and when I went downstairs after, there it was: a cake. I honestly did not see it coming, because I really didn't think it was necessary. But regardless of what I think, it happened and I'm grateful.

This CCBC group is really special. I never got a chance to tell them that, but I think anyone in my position would see it. I hope the leaders in the church can see it too. In terms of the closeness of their relationships, it is off the charts. The first step, in my opinion, in building a solid church is by having great relationships within the church. Usually, it starts with great leaders. Even if a large portion of the congregation doesn't have much knowledge about this Christian life or the Bible, it's a starting point to have that deep connection with people in the church where things really start to take off. I see CCBC being at that stage now. And at the end of the day, I'm incredibly grateful that I was included in this church over the last year. Unfortunately, paths lead me to a point where I have to go a different way; but I will be coming back to what I've learned from this church time and time again when I am possibly pastoring my own congregation in the future.

I don't want to go on too much longer because I'm getting sleepy and my shoulder is sore. But as for everything else, my parents will be coming down tomorrow morning. We'll have a brunch together and then after some last bits of packing, will be driving back up to Edmonton.

Looking forward, I desperately need to get a job (hopefully a decent paying one) if I even want to consider coming back down for school in September. Given what I know about myself with regards to job hunting, this will definitely be interesting.

This was all she wrote for year one; but for the rest of my career and life? Not even close.