Wow. Where in the world did the last eight and a half months go? It feels like I only just started my freshman year of college, and now I'm suddenly done with my junior year. I'm certainly starting to understand the whole phenomenon of time going faster as you get older. Soon enough, next May in fact, I'm actually going to have to be ready to, as the saying goes, "enter the real world." Holy wow. I have certainly known that the day would come, but I cannot quite say I envisioned it approaching like a thief in the night.
While, at times, time may go a little faster than I would like it to, I can honestly say that, in retrospect, this year has probably been my best year of college so far. That is a fairly large statement, especially since my freshmen year was simply awesome. However, this year was definitely a winner in many respects. I had some pretty decent classes, made several new friends, deepened relationships with current friends, and was able to further cultivate my relationship with God. Concerning the latter, I am definitely a long way from home, but since He refuses to give up on me, I have every reason to keep on chugging along. God is great. Amen.
So college... Yes, apparently I finished my junior year of college. But wow, what a year. I could not have asked for better bonding times with my friends or for better educational experiences. I had a lot of fun and learned a ton. I would have to say that my work on the Intelligent Water Management System project, which I mentioned in Possible, Not Easy, was by far the most applicable learning experience of my academic career. I was able to apply and further learn major-related concepts on a real world problem and also picked up some intrinsic lessons along the way, particularly that of project management. I am privileged to be able to work on it again in the upcoming year as well. Though at times the work could be discouraging, it was and will continue to be completely worth it in the end.
I also joined my school's 'Student Senate' in February, which later evolved into a run for one of the cabinet positions of our student government association for the upcoming year: Vice President of Finance. As a Business Information Systems major, what on earth possessed me to do that? Well, I think the desire to be further involved in my school coupled with the desire to gain some practical business-y experience with which to widen my horizons drove a good portion of that decision. I ended up running uncontested; ergo, I got the job without a problem (which can probably be both a blessing and a curse...I'll be optimistic and lean more towards blessing). While I know it will definitely be a lot of work, I look forward to serving my school in the various ways that this position will provide. I am also eager to see how I can apply my major to this position. The nature of VP of Finance is not necessarily that of technology, hence the name; however, I strongly believe that there is a huge opportunity to bring my knowledge, abilities, and previous experiences to the table in order to enhance the duties of the position as well as contribute to the overall improvement of the student experience at my school. Needless to say, I am definitely looking forward to taking on this role in late August.
This past school year was definitely a great one, but I am also quite content with it being summer now. I started work again last Wednesday, so I did not really give myself much time off. But that is okay, because it was fully my choice to do so. And, before I forget to mention it, I GET TO ATTEND MY HOME CHURCH FOR MORE THAN ONE OR TWO CONSECUTIVE SUNDAYS AT A TIME!!!! Yes, if you could not tell, that does rather excite me. I love, love, love my church family, and look forward to seeing where God takes us in the coming months. Also, I hope to maintain some kind of regularity in writing posts. So keep checking, and please feel free to share or leave comments! I certainly would not mind a little bit of healthy conversation.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
American Noise
My apologies for making those of you who read my blog (thanks, by the way!) wait almost an entire month for another post. I hate to make excuses, but with the second half of April turning into crunch time for my classes, I needed to set some priorities. But, now that I'm practically done with finals (I only have one left), I can begin to write again. And it's definitely good to be back.
About a month ago, Skillet released another single, entitled American Noise, from its upcoming album, Rise, set to be released on June 25th. I had purchased Sick Of It, the first single from the album that was released the week before American Noise, in a heartbeat. When I saw (to my surprise) that a second single was released, I could not help myself: I bought it without question. Skillet is such a great band; definitely check them out if you have never heard any of their music. And, of course, I was not disappointed with both of these singles.
Compared to the driving rock of Sick Of It, American Noise has more of a ballad-esque type of feel (well, kind of... feel free to disagree or perhaps offer a better description). However, Skillet has done some songs like this before (e.g. Yours to Hold, Lucy, etc.) and has always done them well in my humble opinion. After listening to the song for the first time (in which I generally am listening for overall musicality), I caught just enough of the words to say, "hey, wait a second, I need to listen to that again." After listening to it that second time, I discovered that which caused me to immediately play it again: the message of the song more than adequately describes our lives as Americans.
There is so much noise that goes on in and around our lives. Sometimes, it overpowers that which matters most. I am sure that if you are reading this, the “normal” everyday hustle and bustle of life is more than enough to distract us from more important things. Whether we find ourselves in busy hallways or on gridlocked highways, talking to clients on the phone all day, fighting a disease, writing multiple papers with little time to spare, trying to stay on top of the bills, or buying into the many advertisements around us that say we need this or that, we are constantly surrounded by noise that can keep us from spending extremely valuable time with those we love. Obviously this list is not exhaustive, but let’s face it: our American culture is full of a myriad of distractions that can cause us to forget what really matters and become lost in an ocean of all kinds of noise.
In the busyness of everyday life, it is absolutely necessary to sometimes just take a step back and breathe. Rather than just living in the noise and attempting to barely survive, we need to refuse to be caught up in the craziness. In the midst of all the noise, there is a desperate need for love. We need to be the people that lift up our voices, radiate love, and cut through the American noise. We cannot afford to simply exist in the cacophonous hurricane of life. It's time to step out of the confusion and make a difference. Just think: what can you do to show love to those around you in the chaos of everyday life? It does not have to be radical. It can be as simple as having a conversation with someone and genuinely listening to them. Just be there for someone. Do not let the American noise shut you up; there is more to this life than simply living hidden in the shadow of everyday life.
About a month ago, Skillet released another single, entitled American Noise, from its upcoming album, Rise, set to be released on June 25th. I had purchased Sick Of It, the first single from the album that was released the week before American Noise, in a heartbeat. When I saw (to my surprise) that a second single was released, I could not help myself: I bought it without question. Skillet is such a great band; definitely check them out if you have never heard any of their music. And, of course, I was not disappointed with both of these singles.
Compared to the driving rock of Sick Of It, American Noise has more of a ballad-esque type of feel (well, kind of... feel free to disagree or perhaps offer a better description). However, Skillet has done some songs like this before (e.g. Yours to Hold, Lucy, etc.) and has always done them well in my humble opinion. After listening to the song for the first time (in which I generally am listening for overall musicality), I caught just enough of the words to say, "hey, wait a second, I need to listen to that again." After listening to it that second time, I discovered that which caused me to immediately play it again: the message of the song more than adequately describes our lives as Americans.
There is so much noise that goes on in and around our lives. Sometimes, it overpowers that which matters most. I am sure that if you are reading this, the “normal” everyday hustle and bustle of life is more than enough to distract us from more important things. Whether we find ourselves in busy hallways or on gridlocked highways, talking to clients on the phone all day, fighting a disease, writing multiple papers with little time to spare, trying to stay on top of the bills, or buying into the many advertisements around us that say we need this or that, we are constantly surrounded by noise that can keep us from spending extremely valuable time with those we love. Obviously this list is not exhaustive, but let’s face it: our American culture is full of a myriad of distractions that can cause us to forget what really matters and become lost in an ocean of all kinds of noise.
In the busyness of everyday life, it is absolutely necessary to sometimes just take a step back and breathe. Rather than just living in the noise and attempting to barely survive, we need to refuse to be caught up in the craziness. In the midst of all the noise, there is a desperate need for love. We need to be the people that lift up our voices, radiate love, and cut through the American noise. We cannot afford to simply exist in the cacophonous hurricane of life. It's time to step out of the confusion and make a difference. Just think: what can you do to show love to those around you in the chaos of everyday life? It does not have to be radical. It can be as simple as having a conversation with someone and genuinely listening to them. Just be there for someone. Do not let the American noise shut you up; there is more to this life than simply living hidden in the shadow of everyday life.
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