why hello there week 12.

This semester is flying by. Part of me is excited to get it behind me, but another part of me is sad to see it coming to a close. This has been an intense semester, both inside and outside the classroom. Classes have stretched me more this semester than ever before; they have challenged me academically, but more than that they have challenged the way I understand and relate to the world. I can confidently say that I have learned and grown more this semester than I ever could have imagined, but it definitely hasn’t been easy! And I know that I’ve learned far more than I realize at this point, still in the middle of the hectic push toward the finish line. Outside of classes, life has been quite the rollercoaster this semester. I have hardly had the chance to have a “normal” few weeks without a crisis of some sort, which has made it difficult to concentrate at times. But in spite of it all, on this Monday night of week 12, I am still alive and pressing on. Next week is Thanksgiving Break, followed by weeks 14, 15, and finals. It’s hard to believe we only have two more weeks of classes after this week!

So, besides classes (which are in and of themselves great opportunities), this semester I’ve had some pretty incredible opportunities and experiences. First, I went to a conference called Israel/Palestine: Pathways to Peace, which was a great opportunity to learn more about peacemaking efforts in the Middle East. Then, I went on a silence & solitude retreat for my Spiritual Disciplines class, which turned out to be a lot more enjoyable than I had anticipated! And my last two weekends have been filled with training: first, I went through Module II Hispanic ministry training, so now I am a certified lay missioner for Hispanic ministry in the UMC! And this past weekend I finished my mediation training at Bluffton, which means I can start co-mediating cases for my mediation certification. All of these things have been awesome, but they’ve made for busy weekends (aka no weekends at all)! And this weekend I am headed to GA with PEACE Club for a nonviolent demonstration. Then…home for Thanksgiving!

So, here’s to peace and protests and turkeys and theology and huge papers and friends and everything else that will fill the pages of my life for the next few weeks!



Peace.

Katie :)