WOW

The other morning I woke up at 4:30 AM to embark on a journey to Knoxville, TN. I tried to open my eyes, but I fell back asleep and decided that 5:00 AM would still leave sufficient time for a shower and breakfast. I got ready, and at 6:00 (I had to wait until 6:00 to legally be allowed to drive. I believe the law was made so I wouldn't ever have to wake up any earlier) I met my friend Chris when we proceeded to get on the highway for a nice 192 mile drive. It was so much fun...well as fun as the highway can be. We (mostly just me though) jammed out to some mixed cds  and talked and talked and ate some trail mix and talked and drank some water and talked and...I think you get the point. After three hours, we arrived in Knoxville to be greeted by our wonderful friends from St. John's Lutheran Church, the church where we will be working for the summer. 

The last few days in Knoxville, I took part in the training session for WOW (win our world urban ministries) mission camp. This organization works to serve the homeless neighbors in the immediate Knoxville area. From baling clothes to picking up cigarette butts on the streets to playing basketball with kids at daycare centers, we help to care for the community in these little ways. I always talk about how I will never be the one to cure cancer or save the whales, but I will be able to make little differences. WOW serves in exactly these kinds of ways. Some days our goal is just to share a cup of water with someone or even a simple smile.

I can't say I am always completely comfortable walking down the streets of Knoxville or under the giant bridge where the homeless neighbors gather, but my goal for this summer is to learn to see the people through different eyes. My goal is to see them as I would see any person simply walking down the street. My goal is not to become less cautious or less alert, but my goal is to see people for their beauty and their talents. 

I got a piece of paper the other day confirming my survival of 13 years of school. I have sat in classrooms for approximately 16,380 hours, not including all of the thousands of hours of homework, studying, and stressing I did over these years. This piece of paper, and I suppose, a brain full of knowledge are my rewards. I guess they will have to do.

Of course I am excited for the social and extracurricular life Furman has to offer next year, but academically, I am more excited to go back to school than I have been in a long time. I get to take classes of my own choice! This year I sat in an economics class. Let's just say that was not my subject. My teacher expressed that to me as well. She smiled and nodded when I told her I would not be pursuing economics and would be pursuing a career of some sort in a creative/writing/artsy kind of field. And next year, I can choose to not take economics and to take an art class instead! Also, I don't have to take for ex., physics if I don't want to. I can take geology or astronomy. Those sound more entertaining than physics, but maybe that's just me. Maybe I will find that I like different kinds of sciences! Maybe I will find a teacher that inspires me to study subjects I never thought I would have liked.

Now I know I just said I was excited, but I have an older brother (who attends Furman) who likes to stress me out. As I was deciding that Furman was the place for me, he clearly made it sound perfect. He decided to not mention the extreme academic rigor involved. Of course I have known that Furman is an excellent school with excellent academics. Of course I had done my research to realize that Furman is always on the top of the "rigorous academics" lists. Of course that didn't really sink in until now...so, on top of my excitement, yes, I am a little nervous about new class loads. I know I am going to have to work hard (I have a piece of paper documenting my understanding and execution of hard work), and I think I am ready for the challenge.