Wow. Where has the time gone? Only 24 days until I graduate from college. Twenty-four days!!!!! All year the thought of no longer being a student at Gonzaga has brought up a wide range of emotions, but the closer graduation becomes, the stronger the emotions become and the tears come more and more often. I try to remind myself that life will go on after May 12th; in my head, I know this is true. But my heart is having a bit more trouble coping.
Today in my 400 philosophy class, Hermeneutics, we were discussing the test that we took this past Tuesday. To give you a little frame of reference, my professor for this class told us on the first day "I hope I inspire you to a life of continually watching TED Talks and subscribing to National Geographic. And having parties where you read poetry. Together." How awesome is that?! He is one of the best professors I've had in the past four years.
Anyways...one of the questions on the test quoted a recent newspaper advice column. A man had written in expressing the pressure he felt in making his proposal to his girlfriend "good enough." He felt pressure from the man in New York City who spent $45,000 and the man from Portland who's creative choreography made his video go viral (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_v7QrIW0zY&noredirect=1). What could he do to measure up?
The subsequent class discussion about what these proposals mean in terms of our society was fantastic. To date, one of my favorite class periods at Gonzaga. I left the classroom this morning wanting to continue the discussion with my classmates over a cup of coffee. What did it say about the future of our social society or my future husband if he felt the need to spend thousands of dollars or countless man hours to make the proposal "special?" Shouldn't it be special because it's
our proposal and engagement? But I also left the classroom wondering where I would find discussions like these after graduation. When I no longer go to class five days a week, when I am no longer surrounded by peers and mentors constantly sharing their vast amounts of knowledge, when all of this is gone, where will I have these stimulating conversations?
I believe the answer is to seek them out. I will need to find them. But I am also going to challenge myself to blog twice a month (at least) reflecting on a current event or recent TED Talk. Hopefully, in some small way, this will force me to continue thinking in new and intellectual ways.
But first, I'll catch you up on my life since January in pictures.
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| Reuniting with Micah, Laura and Ashlee at home. |
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| Myself and Julie on Christmas Eve. |
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| Julie and I attended a Gopher men's basketball game (thank you aunt Ginny!) and the seats happened to be right next to Wilson and his wife. Wilson was mom's cross country coach in college. Crazy! |
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| I was able to spend New Year's Eve with my dear friend Jen. It had been almost four years since we'd last been together, but once we were together it was like no time had passed at all. The sign of a true friend. |
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| Micah and Ashlee came back to Spokane and Gonzaga with me for a few days at the end of Christmas break. I will never be able to articulate the joy they brought me in being able to share with them a place that I love so much. |
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| It's not a trip to Gonzaga without a picture by the bulldog! |
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| Gonzaga is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. A halftime speech from our president and a giant thank you card were necessary. |
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| And of course it wouldn't be a celebration without fireworks! |
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| Amanda, myself, Katie S., and Emma. |
If you hadn't heard, Gonzaga was ranked #1 in the nation for three weeks this basketball season. It was a first for the university and definitely a huge milestone. Ashley and I decided that we wanted to capture a bit of our love for Gonzaga basketball with a small photo shoot. Although it seemed a little juvenile at first, we had a blast taking pictures of each other and asking each random passerby to get one of both of us.
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| Where all the magic happens... |
For spring break, I organized a trip of 11 students and two faculty advisors to East Los Angeles. Organizing the trip was my Senior Legacy Project for the Comprehensive Leadership Program, an organization I've been involved with since freshman year. It was an amazing week with even more amazing people. I have been so blessed to be at an institution that values these experiences that foster such growth and to be surrounded by friends and family that support my desire to be a part of such experiences.
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| Arriving at LAX. This group is ready to GO! |
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| Myself and Brady in front of the famous Homeboy mural outside the original Homeboy Industries site. |
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| We were able to attend the premiere of "G-Dog," a movie about Father Greg Boyle and Homeboy Industries. It was at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences theater (aka the Oscars!!! see him there in the background?) in Beverly Hills. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience! |
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| Ruben playing his ukulele while students at Delores Mission School sing along. |
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| Hikaru, myself, Brady. |
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| The amazing John August Swanson. I swear he is a living saint. This man's love of people, social justice and the world is nearly overwhelming. At dinner when he found out I was a senior he got a smile on his face and looked into my eyes. I don't know if I've ever truly experienced the saying "You see into a person's soul when you look into their eyes," until John looked me in the eye and saw straight to my soul. It was as if he knew exactly how I was feeling about graduation. He looked at me and said, "Don't be afraid. Have courage." He continued to go on by saying that it will all be ok in the end and everything always does work out. The rest of the night, whenever he saw me, he would point his finger and say, "Have courage. Have courage." It brought tears to my eyes every time. |
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| Imparting valuable life wisdom. |
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| Amazing love. |
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| A couple group shots... |
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| With Father Greg (middle), Jacob (far left; his dad is a professor at Gonzaga and Jacob works at Homeboy) and Orsey (back row, third from right; he was our tour guide at Homeboy). |
A few random shots...
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| Myself and Katherine at a dueling piano bar; great night! |
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| St. Al's on Easter. This is the church on campus and its spires are a true symbol of Gonzaga. |
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| Erinleigh and I on Easter Sunday; a bunch of friends got together and had a bbq. The weather was great and it was lots of fun! |
