Oh yeah… graduation!

It’s almost time

FINAL EXAM

All of College

May 21, 2011

 

Question 1. What are your feelings leading up to graduation?

A. Flabbergasted

B. Dazed

C. Excited

 

Question 2. What has your mental soundtrack consisted of these last few days?

A. Simon & Garfunkel, because it is melancholy

B. Spanish pop songs, because you’ve been working a lot with Spanish students’ final projects

C. “Yo Te Extrañaré” by Tercer Cielo

D. All of the above

 

Question 3. True or false: I am helping my friend launch a blog specifically for an English literature project, a blog which will be written about the story Oedipus Rex from the viewpoint of the blind prophet.

 

Question 4. Explain in two to four sentences what MVNU has meant for you. Include the lifelong friends you’ve made and the important discoveries you’ve been able to make about yourself and your chosen field of study.

 

Question 5. Fill in the blank: “Todo lo puedo en ______ que me fortalece.”

Coming to a close

This past Sunday afternoon, my Sunday school teachers invited all the seniors in our class to their house for a last fellowship dinner. Since it was Mother’s Day, one of the seniors couldn’t make it, but the rest of us went—and we treated our wonderful teachers to our cooking, for a change!

Yeah—that’s my great seven-layer salad (recipe courtesy of my mother). My friend made something called jalapeño chicken:

There were Doritos chips in it! But it tasted really good. So we ate our meal (complete with appetizer, salad, that main dish, a side dish, and dessert), then we simply sat a while talking and reminiscing a little.

I still can’t believe we’re graduating… but it’ll be good. We’ll be closing a chapter of our lives, but at the same time—the close of one chapter means the opening of another.

I find it eminently appropriate…

…that I am currently playing a small role in the musical from whence the title of my blog is drawn.

There we are, us Royal Wives with our new schoolteacher Anna Leon-Owens. That was from our performance last Thursday—the opening performance—but you can still come see “The King and I” put on by MVNU’s drama and music departments this weekend: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm sharp!

And let me tell you, it’s really weird being a blonde but having black hair for this show… but thanks to the magical black hair paint that the drama department bought for this production, two or three shampoos after a show return my hair to its normal color.

…and now I’m a senior

I read a blog post the other day questioning the common sociological definition of adulthood. Instead of relying on the prevailing standard that says a true adult has finished school, left home and become financially independent, gotten married and had a kid, this blogger relayed a Willow Creek church leader’s suggestion that an adult is one who has come to understand five truths…

Rohr’s list of five promises that define true adulthood is what he says gives a person the ability to live in the world as a grown up.

The promises include:

1. Life is hard.
2. You are not that important.
3. Your life is not about you.
4. You’re not in control.
5. You’re going to die.

Funny thing: My parents have been telling me for years that “life isn’t fair, get used to it.” And they’ve been right, as far as I can tell. Life doesn’t come easy, nor does it always shake out the way it “ought” to.

(Not fair! The puppy likes her better than me!)

As for the other four truths, well, of course I’m going to say I think I’ve come to understand them too. But I’m sure that come, say, thirty years from now, I’ll look back and shake my head in amusement at how young I really was… am.

My career at MVNU is drawing to a close in just a few weeks. I’ll be a *gasp* college graduate. I think I’ve grown in many ways since I was that freshman with so much time on her hands—not the least being passing my 18th and 21st birthdays while in college. And after commencement on May 21st, I’ll have passed yet another milestone of adulthood.

But growing up, becoming an adult, isn’t just about celebrating a birthday or marking a milestone. It’s about maturity—it’s about understanding life’s universal truths. And I think I’m headed in the right direction.

When I was a freshman…

Today, in order to avoid starting a book I should read and finishing a creative writing assignment, I decided to look at my personal blog entries from my freshman year at MVNU and see what I wrote back then.

These are the observations I’ve made:

1. Freshmen have a LOT of time on their hands. Considering I spent hours playing card games, watching movies, and solving 3-D puzzle toys.
2. My most vivid memories involved things I did with friends—including going to the SGA Speed Dating event, or simply putting on a lot of absolutely ridiculous (and horrendous) makeup at midnight and taking pictures around campus.
3. The fact that the library’s downstairs women’s restroom was decorated in blue freaked me out inordinately.
4. I spent an inordinate amount of time writing blog posts. Probably as a result of point #1. I was up to about 10 a month, or more!
5. That freshman history course yielded some blog posts of its own, amazingly. Mostly about the crazy historical characters… have Dr. Mayle tell you about Napoleon someday.

Spring is on its way (and so is the musical!)

Guess what?? My favorite flowers are blooming all over campus!!!!!!

Yep, I’m excited for spring weather to arrive. Even though we’re getting our standard bit of Ohio craziness, the grass is getting very green, the trees are all sprouting leaves and blooms, and the daffydowndillies (daffodils for the uninitiated) are popping up near every campus building, much to my delight.

And with the spring comes Easter. Though my church near campus is doing an Easter cantata this Sunday, I’ll be going home to visit with my family, including lots of extended family time on Easter Sunday itself. Cousin time awaits me.

But when I get back, it’ll be just a few days before opening night of MVNU’s production of The King and I and I’m looking forward to it. (If you’ll be there, look for the gal who’s playing the gong!) I’ve been quite fond of this musical for years, and it’s exhilarating to finally be able to play a part in it, albeit a small one.

So, come next week, I’ll be spending every night in the MVNU chapel building practicing for opening night, but after that I’ll be home free and three weeks from graduating. (eep!)

Costa Rica reunion

It’s been a bit quiet around here lately—but I can explain. I’m just five weeks away from my college graduation ceremony, and I can hardly believe it.

And since it’s coming up so quickly, I’ve been haphazardly finishing projects or maintaining a social life—and visiting with the woman who became our adopted mother/aunt while we Spanish majors went to Costa Rica!

There we are, all twelve of us who returned from Costa Rica about a year and a half ago. Four have already moved on from MNVU, and two are student teaching this semester, so I see only half the group regularly. And then there’s Grettel! Whom I had not seen for a year and a half, so not only did I get to spend a few hours chatting (in Spanish!) with her, but I also helped to surprise her at the airport when she flew in.

That was last weekend. The reunión gave me a renewed passion for Spanish, and for how I could use it in tandem with my passion for communication. And then the day after, I had an unexpected treat of gallo pinto—the fantastic rice-and-beans staple of the Costa Rican diet—courtesy of Rob, who had some left over from a potluck he’d helped cook. Like icing on the cake, ¿verdad?

I talked to a prospective student this week who asked me what has been the most important or valuable experience that I’ve had as a Spanish major. I had to pause before I answered that question because I’ve had so many wonderful opportunities—besides going to Costa Rica, I’ve been able to lead a Spanish small group/Bible study, and my job working in the Spanish department has been a blast. Plus I can help out with the ESL classes for about an hour each week.

But I still have to say that being in Costa Rica, taking the classes, volunteering at the children’s center, was the period in which I grew the most, spiritually and academically. God changed how I viewed the Latin culture and how I understood myself through that trip.

One month!

A month ago, I was eating quesadillas in the MVNU cafeteria, apparently.

Today, I am rejoicing that spring break is coming up!

But first, I have a lot of homework to accomplish. Including:

• writing an article or two for the Lakeholm Viewer (new issue just out Friday! Check out the website at www.lakeholmviewer.net!)
• finishing a novel for my novel-writing class (I’m only 80 pages from the end…)
• writing a sort of reading report for said novel (not due until Friday though)
• reading a chapter on Christian thought in the history of rhetoric
• looking over some linguistics homework in preparation for class tomorrow

Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? But I probably won’t finish it all in the next hour, at which point I will venture off campus to my Sunday school teachers’ house for a curry-chicken supper and some good fellowship.

Speaking of good fellowship, I went with a friend of mine to the Extended Melody Project last night—it’s annual benefit concert, three years running now, that sends all the funds raised each year to a specific children’s ministry in some underprivileged part of the world. This year, donations went to an orphanage in Uganda—all $1700 worth!

The bands all donated their time to the fundraiser. Pretty awesome.

Quick One: Quesadillas

The cafeteria made quesadillas at the demo bar one day this week.

I ❤ quesadillas. Very much.

(P.S. This is really just a test of a blogging fix so I can do captions.)