What? A blog post only slightly over a month since my last one?
Don't get too excited. I don't really have anything specific to talk about. Perhaps I have a lot on my mind, or perhaps I just really don't want to work on homework, but I just felt like blogging. So bear with me, this post will probably prove that the "external processing" part of my blog name is fitting.
Today, the day after Thanksgiving, marks the beginning of the Christmas season. I'm on duty this break, so I had to stay in Wheaton for Thanksgiving break. And so here I am, sitting in the Starbucks on the corner of Geneva and Main (it's much bigger than the one downtown... and right next to the dollar store so I was able get cheap Christmas decorations. Yay!) listening to a Christmas playlist on Spotify that one of my dear friends sent to me (Thanks Emilea!), writing this blog post, draining my laptop battery, giving me a valid excuse to head back to campus and decorate the floor since I forgot to bring along my charger. And yet I am so excited that it's finally Christmas season, it feels a little surreal. I'm quite torn... On the one hand, the start of the Christmas season means that it's almost Christmas break. Only 2 more weeks of class and then finals and I'll be back in Washington for the first time in 4 1/2 months, the longest I've ever gone without being home. I'll get to see my friends back home, I'll get to go to Woods and enjoy some *real* coffee (sorry Starbucks... as much as I love you, my heart will always be with Woods), I'll get to ride my pony, I'll get to cuddle up by the fireplace with my kitty... I'll get to fly to Tokyo to watch my brother get married and finally have a sister after almost 21 years of waiting. But yet, the beginning of the Christmas season means that the stress of finishing up classes and finals is creeping up, that my family will have our first Christmas apart (my parents and I will be flying out of Seattle, one brother will be in Tokyo, the other will be flying out of Denver, and we will all be reunited late on the 26th. Pretty much, I'll be time traveling on Christmas). Though the approach of these things feels oddly surreal, I'm prepared for them. Flying home for Christmas is routine. End of classes and finals feel like second nature to me now after 4 semesters of college. Even my brother getting married doesn't feel too weird... I've been looking forward to it for several months now. What really feels surreal is the fact that in just a few weeks, I will be half way done with my career as an RA. It's hard to believe that almost a year has already gone by since I found out I would be serving as an RA this year. The past 3 1/2 months since freshmen moved have been such a whirlwind. So much has happened, so many relationships have been built, and so much has been learned. I wish I had time to write about all the things I've learned so far this semester as an RA, but I only have a few minutes of battery left on my laptop... I guess that will have to wait until the next blog post.
But all this rambling does have a point. In the midst of all the craziness of the end of the semester and Christmas, it's hard to remember, as so many people say, "the reason for the season". Jesus, the Son of God, came down to earth as a baby to save us from our sins. How awesome is that? How can I complain about finals or not getting to celebrate Christmas with my whole family, or that I'm half way done with my RA year, when I have already received the greatest gift of all? This is something I've been working on the past couple weeks: Gratitude. Gratitude for everything God has blessed me with and watching how much I complain. And what a better time to do that than Thanksgiving and Christmas? Okay. My laptop is literally about to die, so I better wrap this up. Thanks to all of you for putting up with my rambling, and I hope that all of you are having a wonderful and restful break!
