Celebrating Happy Days

Music!

It wafted up from the cafeteria, and my feet followed its strains out the door of art history and down the zigzag steps to the side of the hall, where I joined the crowd of a couple hundred students smiling while peering over the railing.

Down there in our own beloved cafeteria, bereft of the typical tables and chairs with laughing groups of students huddled over laptops, textbooks, and TV dinners - down there a ring of people surrounded the spacious, spontaneous dance floor where a score of individuals flowed danced to the Cupid Shuffle!

I looked around quickly - was there anyone I knew well enough to talk into joining the dance? I couldn't go by myself, not in front of all those people, but maybe if there was one person . . . but there wasn't, so I shrugged and immersed myself in the watching. Aahh, the joys of dance parties! =)

An international student from Africa joined us at the railing. "What?" Her face expressed confusion as she gestured toward the dancers.

"They're dancing, just for fun." I smiled.

"For fun," she nodded as she turned back to gaze at them. A few moments later, "What are they celebrating? They are just having a happy day?"

I laughed and nodded, full of the jubilance of the moment.
"A happy day, yes."

What further reason do we need in order to celebrate?
It's a happy day!
Let's dance.

Old Bertha's Death (among others)

It's sad, but true - Bertha died yesterday. The good news is that she may come back to life shortly. Bertha is my car, lovingly named by a middle school volunteer at camp this summer. If you had the privilege of watching my car try to climb a little hill, you'd understand. =)

So anyhow, yesterday I was on my way to a 9:00 appointment when all of a sudden a "bird" started "chirping." Then lights came on; smoke began ascending; and just as I pulled into an available driveway, the steering wheel locked up. Isn't it great that the driveway was right there?

I got out and lifted the hood, but of course had very little idea what I was looking at. It turns out my cell phone was dead, too; and the owners of the driveway were away from home. Well! So, after leaving a note, I walked the remaining thirty minutes to my appointment through the invigorating morning air, arriving in time to have a five-minute discussion - that's all the time it needed to take, and it was a very satisfactory chat.

A friend's cell phone connected me to my parents, and soon my dad picked me up and we took a look at my car. He noticed the serpentine belt was missing, so we spent the next few hours fixing it. (I would have taken pictures, but my camera batteries were dead.) Finally we got it fixed, only to find out that there was a bigger problem. Lol.

So there Old Bertha sits . . . idle . . . dead. Come back soon!

 

Update: she's back! I'm so thankful. 

On Judging People by Their Emails

A click of the mouse opened an email from a stranger, and my eyes followed the paragraphs full of large words, many in ALL CAPS and accompanied by a plethora of exclamation points!!! The words were crisp and stern, offering commands like "You must" as well as severe warnings like "Make sure . . ." and "I will make no exceptions." There were at least three separate emails on the same subject and containing basically the same message.

Dutifully setting up the necessary appointment and leaving in plenty of time to arrive punctually, I couldn't help but wonder what I was getting myself into. What kind of person was this? Obviously someone very stern and strict. Perhaps even mean. I expected a little old lady with those typical "teacher" spectacles and a shrill voice. Or maybe a large middle-aged professional with a condescending manner.

After parking my car, I took a sip of water and smoothed my hair. All the doors said, "Please use main entrance," so I kept walking around the building until I opened the glass door and entered an empty lobby. Passing through, I found empty hallways with doors and numbers. Finally, tucked away in a little corner - there it was.


The door was open, so I walked inside and peeked around to find an elderly woman at a desk. "Hi! I'm here for an appointment?"

What followed was a very helpful session with the sweetest, most peaceful and well-mannered woman I've ever met, which just goes to show that you should never judge a woman by her emails.

Yay for Feedback!

Today is a very special day - a first - a day I've been eagerly awaiting for some time. What happened? 

My art history essay came back full of notes. 

That's right - the teacher critiqued my paper!

This has never, ever happened before, and it feels like I waited forever while teachers glanced briefly over my papers for good grammar and decent points and arbitrarily passed out A's. This world of rigorous college I've entered is a world full of so much potential for learning, and I'm super excited! 

A heartfelt "thank you" to the teacher who took the time to really read my paper and give constructive criticism so future papers can be better.

World Day of Bullying Prevention

"There is a social hierarchy in all schools we all know the rules to even though they go largely unspoken. It is a stupid, broken system, but one that persists none the less. The only time anyone dares to say the rules out loud is when some well-meaning friend intervenes to either caution someone on their choice for a date request by saying, “dude, she’s outta your league” or to remind someone that to be seen talking to someone beneath his own current level is to be committing social suicide. Without ever being formally told how these circles work, everyone just automatically knows. ...When someone successfully jumps social circles it is worthy of observation, and I have had the chance to watch one person do it very well. 

"I knew this kid for three years, but I didn’t know how special he was until I encountered him in the cafeteria near the beginning of his senior year. That is when I realized that he made it his mission to make sure no one ever sat at a table and ate alone. It didn’t matter who it was, what their social status was, or how weird the rest of the student body perceived the loner to be, this young man sat down and talked to the student through the lunch period. Of course, he had a normal group that he ate with most of the time, but he left to branch out several times each week. Sometimes he joined the “cool” group. Sometimes he joined the athletes, sometimes the musicians, sometimes the academics, sometimes the drama kids…it was a revolving door." ~ Mary Kramer

To read the rest of this inspiring article, visit the Blue Shirt Day Facebook page.

Heartbroken Excitement

That's how I feel. Yesterday was my first day volunteering for an organization that helps foster children, which is something I've wanted to get involved with for a very long time, so I'm so thankful for the opportunity! This organization is making a positive difference in the lives of many children of all ages, right here in my little corner of the world; and now I get to witness it first-hand, which is why I'm super-excited.

And yet . . . the first thing I had to do was sit at a desk and read page after page of information that filled me with deep, heartbroken sadness. I've read stuff like that before, but only in a book or newspaper, and those were written by strangers far away. This was here. Now. 

What can I do to help? I know how to be a friend, to love children, to give them attention and guidance. If a child's biggest problems were failure to thrive or neglect, I think by the grace of God I could help them with my current skill set. But what about the other, more difficult issues? What can I do? 

Then I stop and remember - I'm only a freshman - four more years of training stretch out into the horizon. And God will equip the called, and He loves these children and has a purpose for everything He allows. And He loves me, as I sit here unable, heartbroken, and so very excited. 

Speak out on behalf of the voiceless,  
and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.

Speak out in order to judge with righteousness  
and to defend the needy and the poor.

Proverbs 31:8-9

Caffeine and the Brain

This semester landed me back in school, pursuing a degree for the first time. Which makes me one of those "non-traditional" students. It's fun! Reading, writing, and . . . well, thankfully no arithmetic yet.

This week, psychology required finding a scientific journal article about a psychoactive drug, and then writing a review of said article. After being introduced to coffee this summer (and surprisingly loving it!), its effects on the brain provided a natural topic for the research. A couple of words in the search engine on the school library's website, and wa-la!

"Coffee, tea, chocolate, and the brain."

Two Spanish authors used a method called meta-analysis, looking at at least four studies done over the course of five years and integrating the results.

And here's what they found:

In low to moderate doses, caffeine improves moods, increases alertness and physical activity, and enhances cognitive capacities. Of course, in excess it causes irritability and disturbs sleep. So as long as we keep this thing in moderation, we'll be good. Right? =)