Final Freshman Frenzy

So it has come....the end of my freshman year! It sounds great! But the feeling of satisfaction with being done has not come. The feeling of completion, of ending, of finality, none of these are what I feel when I think of this summer break. This summer is just that...a break from college and classes...but not a break from learning and continual growth in what Christ has in store for these next 3 months.

Finals week came and went, quite quickly. Praise the Lord for His help throughout this semester. He helped me with fiances, through my academic learning, as well as experiences and situations.

Graduation week came and is gone. It was a blessing to see graduates and think that in three years I will be up there. It seems like a long time, but yet, looking back on how fast my freshman year went, graduation is not extremely far away. I want to enjoy college as much as possible, for I know it is a crucial time in my life. Though one never stops learning, college is what is getting me ready for what comes after: REAL LIFE.

The Departure:
When: Wednesday
Time: 5:30pm
Where: in front of the Revels building
What: waiting for the shuttle that would take me to LAX

We gathered to say our goodbyes. I hate leaving before everyone else. I like to be the one to see everyone off and make sure they got to their shuttles and the airport and all that, but it was not like that this time. It had finally hit me....I was leaving. Even throughout the seemingly endless packing and cleaning, the fact that I was going to leave had not sunk in yet. But at that moment--standing with the ones who had stood beside me, who cried with and for me, who had corrected me when I was wrong, who pointed me to God, and most importantly, faithfully prayed for me--I realized how much God had blessed me with these wonderful friends. It was a good goodbye. Our usual teasing and sarcasm was not absent, as it is part of all of us, but a sad yet sweet air swirled around us. We waved our goodbye waves (which really are not different than our usual waves) and smiled our goodbye smiles as the bus drove away from the place I had learned to love.

The rest of the story is quite normal and not too eventful. We ended up with 10 people all from West Coast and most of us were on the same flight so we were able to chat at the gate for a couple of hours. This morning (9:34ish Thursday morning) I finally arrived in NC. I was greeted by my awesome family. Endless stories and questions were bombarded at me, and I heard my name "Ate, Ate, Ate..."several times over... and I enjoyed every bit of it. When we got back to the house I crashed for 5 hours. Of course, I got my filipino food and I really don't know much else of what is going on...my brain is out of it and still on California time. All I know is that Tuesday we get to fly home to Spain!!!!!

That is my update. I just thank the Lord for keeping me safe through all this "final freshman frenzy" and just being so faithful. He has put up with a lot from me and still chose to be patient with me and teach me!