A friend bought me a HUMONGOUS bag of Tootsie rolls for my graduation. Enchanting, I know. I took them to college with me, and they made it through the whole first semester, right until like the second day of Finals week during which I conveniently received a Finals care package from home at that present time. Alas, the time and the tootsies have escaped from me. I truly don’t know where they went. It really seems like yesterday that I was fighting back tears in Wendy’s, eating my last lunch with my family for a good long time. That was Move-in day. And now look at me… well, figuratively… I’m buying new books. I’m taking upper level courses. I’m starting work study with a new supervisor. I’m joining an on-campus Church. 2013 is going to have many beginnings – not just the seasons, but the meanings. The circumstances. The people.
I made quite a few friends my first semester, and I owe that (to the charm I inherited from my Dad, and the wit I inherited from my Mom) to the dedication to sleep, the discipline to not go home every weekend, and the discernment to know who to befriend. Life has handed me very suspicious lemons, and mostly I’m finding that I enjoy each struggle, because it brings me closer to the ones I love and serve, and closer to the point of my existence. I’m here to make a difference… hopefully a good one. And I’m not going to reach the entire 9 billion universe. I don’t need to. I just need to reach a few. And they’ll reach a few. And those few will reach a few. There’s no need for me to save the world, but there is a deep need for me to be saved and to save those I can.
I am so grateful for the life I’ve been given, and I know this is beyond the sappy ranting you wanted to read – you wanted to see if I slipped on the ice this week or met a guy or got cross with teacher. I assure you, none of those will happen… well, maybe the first one. What I write has got to be sappy sometimes, because I’m just so darn blessed. Please cherish every moment of your life. Even the ugly ones, where the vacuum sucks more than the carpet or the Starbucks line is treacherously long. Just be thankful, my friends, my acquaintances, you strangers. Just be thankful, that 760 tootsie rolls later, you still have the power to change, grow, and learn in this whole wide world.
New Beginnings always call for a goodbye.
