Junior Year Reflections

What a whirlwind this year has been. If at the beginning of this year someone would have told me what this year was going to be like there's no way I would have believed them.
New living situation: theme house. That was a lot of fun. Putting on a different activity each month merely added to the things I had to do but it was fun. It kept us connected to the campus community and gave people even more of a reason to come have fun at the Decades house. I'm still amazed that the NY times somehow latched onto the theme house program. On July 25th there will be an article featuring theme houses at Whitworth. My housemates and I were interviewed and photos were taken and the article is set to run July 25th in the Life and Education section. Go figure. Yes in the end there was some shuffle with the actual occupants of the house but what group is without conflict. Next year. Pirate Clubhouse (I still think Pirate Playhouse would have been fun however ;)
Same major: While I did not change to communication like I thought I might I have enjoyed everything about the Journalism major and the Visual Communication minor. I think I'm even done with all the class for my Vis Comm minor. Wow. Journalism is still on track with only a minor set back with the unexpected need for me to drop one of my classes. But I'll make it up so no harm done really.
Medical issues: Probably the most unexpected turn of events for the year I'd say that threw a wrench into life. What if you woke up one morning and couldn't see out of one eye? What is you blew it off and attributed it to exhaustion and the same thing happened the next day? Well that's what happened to me. Optic Neuritis. Not what I was expecting. Swollen optic nerve to be specific. For two and a half months now I have had anywhere from no vision to incredibly foggy vision. After a series of doctors, optometrists, neurologists, MRI's, spinal tap(which by the way royally suck) and countless blood tests they still can't really figure out what happened to me. Admittedly most of the nasty diseases they tested for came back negative, however a conclusion still has not been reached as to the cause. They are sending me to more doctors over on the west side but most everyone has estimated an almost complete recovery of my vision which is quite relieving. The recovery process is slow, one step forward and two steps back but it's going. I can see far more than I could before and I am used to it quite frankly. It's getting better and better. My personal goal is to have it all the way better by the time I go back to school which would be about 5 months from the start of all this.
Throughout all this I have seen the expanse of how many people love and care about me. Friends, family, peers, peers I haven't met, my church family, my work family, friends of friends, friends of friends of friends, professors, people I will never ever meet. That's how many people have been praying for me. It has been hard to deal with all the doctors appointments and school while away from home. It was hard to find ways to get to and from doctor appointments and hard to get all my work done. However more people than I know are praying for me and I cannot help but feel uplifted by their love and care. In the times when I have felt lest hopeful and most scared, there has always been someone looking out for me. God has mad it explicitly clear to me that he will not let me go through troubles alone. He is always there for me and that is shown by the love he has surrounded me with. To everyone who has cared for me or prayed for me throughout all of this. Thank you. You all show God's love through your thoughts and prayers and it has been such an encouragement. Being home is so reassuring for this process and will help me in the coming months as I continue to deal with the recovery of my sight.
While this sudden overnight loss of vision did make my grades suffer, cause me to drop a class and become emotionally overwhelmed, within the first week of this God was teaching me so much. What an unfortunate way to have your stubbornness attacked and broken down. BUT I could not have asked for more loving and caring arms to be met with by my peers when that wall of stubbornness was broken down.
Friends new and old: I have met so many new friends, and retained so many older friends. I met new freshmen, sophomores, juniors and even seniors. To everyone of you that I met, thank you for enriching my life. I could not have made it through this year without you in my life. Each one of you is special in their own way. Some of you have driven me to the doctor, others of you have greeted me with a hug and a smile whenever I see you. Others of you have put up with my antics. I honestly don't know how you do it sometime ;)
I met friends ust beginning their college journey and watched them grow, I had friends who were ending their collegeiate journey and got to help them plan and cry as the whole process occured. I watched friends struggle and reach out for help. For anyone in that boat I hope I was there to catch you when you fell and lend an ear to listen. Some of you, you know who you are, helped me out so much this year. Listened to me, laughed with me, cried with me, pulled pranks with me. I cannot describe how thankful I am for you.
Breaks: My breaks were filled with short excursions home to see friends and family and remember where I came from. Insanely enough I came home one time to discover that my family had finally moved(who would have thought that day would happen). I even got to spend one break going home with a a particular close friend and got to see where he comes from. You can learn a lot about a person by learning where they come from. I got to meet his family and friends and see all the places I had only heard about, see where he grew up, went to school, and became the person he was. I am so greatful for that experience.
Choir: Yes it gets it's own special section because more than the newspaper or any other thing I have been a part of choir has enriched my life in the way that only music can. The lovely ladies in women's choir brighten my mood on the darkest of days and choir was my time during the week when I would regain the sanity lost earlier in the day. Debbie is one of the sweetest directors to work with and her love and comitment to the choir makes us all want to succeed. To the ladies in choir, thank you for all your laughter, jokes, and hugs. You enriched my life so much.
Nothing however will compare to the bonding experience of the Christmas choir concert tour. All three ensembles gathered together for one purpose. There's really nothing like it. I'm already looking forward to next year's tour. I bonded with the women's choir, whitworth choir and even the men's chorus(who will always have a special place in my hear ;). It was by far the highlight of my year. There is a way that choral music changes people and binds them together that I will never fully understand but maybe it's because I can see God acting through each person involved.
Graduation: This marks the hardest end of the year for me yet. It only took this long, but Whitworth has become more of a home for me than it ever was before. I was not in a rush to leave this time. I knew a lot of people graduating that I will miss dearly in the coming year. Good luck to everyone who I know that graduated, you will all go on to do great things in your lives and I hope you visit and stay in touch. You will be dearly missed.
Alas there was so much that happened this year that I know I cannot even begin to exhaust it all in one measely blog post but my goodness does it feel good to try. I'm sure in a matter of minutes I will remember even more of the year that was significant but for now this shall suffice. This year was nothing short if insanity and I wouldn't have traded it for anything!
Now a new chapter begins. Interning for the Sammamish Review. I begin that adventure in a few short days in addition to the search for a paying job. This summer could shape up to be quite an adventure. My oh my I can't wait to see where it leads. My sister is graduating HS and starting a college journey of her own. I am continuing in my own endeavours. I wonder what God has in store for me next? Whatever it is, I know it's going to be exciting!