appreciating this semester...and looking ahead

Well, I’ve made it to my last blog. Where did this semester go, anyway?! Time seems to move faster and faster everyday.

It’s been a good semester. I love the indescribable feeling that I get when I can see measureable results. This semester, I was blessed with a teacher that pushed and encouraged me to go deeper in my writing. The most valuable gift that I’ve been given this semester is confidence…in my writing and other areas of life. I’ve learned how to write faster, which is something I’ve struggled with in the past. I learned pretty quickly that in college, there simply isn’t time to agonize over making an essay perfect.

I’ve had the chance to really think about MC. I’ve come to realize what the college is doing well and what they’re failing at. Our last essay gave me the chance to formulate a substantial argument for things that I feel passionately about. I’ve been able to process my thoughts about why God put me here.

The Academic history essay was an emotional look into who I really am as a student. When I started writing for this essay, I didn’t realize that it would be instrumental in helping me process and come to grips with some things.

All in all, I’m happy to say that I’ve grow a lot! I hope and pray that next semester has even better things in store.

the mall...of all places!!

I had a really fun experience yesterday! I'm training in dance part time at Ballet Magnificat in Jackson. It's a Christian ministry that uses dance to reach out to others. The ministry is divided into 5 different divisions or companies. I'm a member of Magnificat Youth Ballet. Our responsibility is to perform in the Jackson area at nursing homes, schools and churches. Yesterday we had a really unique opportunity. We performed at Northpark Mall. It was a challenge to stay focused on our dancing because there was a big crowd there and so much going on around us, but it was so fun!
One thing that made the day extra special was the fact that several Chinese students from MC came to watch. My friend and dance classmate who also goes to the Bible study for the Chinese students and I had been announcing it and inviting friends for a few weeks. We were excited and hoping that the Lord would use the performance to encourage and reach out to them. Well, I found myself on the phone on Friday making some personal invitations (something that they seem to respond the most too). I was disappointed to discover that a large group of them were taking a trip to New Orleans this weekend, so I'm sure you can understand how happy I was when about 6 of my friends did in fact make it!! For several of them it was the first time that they had seen that style of dance. It was so exciting to be a part of that!! I'm hoping that they were as encouraged as I was!

another Homecoming under my belt

Well, I'm finally taking a minute to breath after a long and busy weekend! My husband and I are the host and hostess at the Latimer House. (Just in case you're wondering, the Latimer House is the college guest house. It was built in 1895. When the college bought it, they renovated it to look authentic of that time period. It's full of beautiful antique furniture. The college uses it for special guests and rents it out for all kinds of parties and receptions. Our job is to live in the house and take care of it. We make sure our guests are comfortable and help with the parties. In exchange we get to live in the house free of charge. It's a pretty amazing and unique job!) Homecoming is insanely busy for us because we always have guests and parties...So today is our day for catching up on everything that got pushed aside this weekend.
Another thing on my mind is our next paper. It has the potential to be a really influential paper. At this point, that realization is overwhelming. I'm trying to gather my thoughts and figure out what direction to go in with my writing. This is always the hardest part of the process for me...coming up with ideas and finding my focus for a paper. It always comes together in the end, so I know it will for this paper, too.

thoughts about my community service project

On Friday I completed my community service project. I'm trying to gather my scattered thoughts about it. My husband and I went to the Baptist Children's Village, an orphanage in Jackson. We helped to fold letters for a large mailing that they were getting ready to send out. The letter was a request for money to buy Christmas gifts for the kids. As I read over the letter I realized how spoiled I am!! Every year I make a Christmas list knowing that I'll probably get at least half of the things on it. These kids probably get one gift that they treasure for a long time....long after the excitement of my multiple gifts has worn off.
The women that was in charge was so nice and friendly! She made us feel right at home. She insisted on getting us something to drink and a snack. Have you every met someone and just had a good feeling about them in your spirit? I don't mean to be over dramatic, but I had that sense about this woman. She seemed so content with her work...like she simply loved what she was doing.
Honestly, the work was monotonous. I have to admit that I wasn't really looking forward to it. There were boxes and boxes of letters to fold. I did some rough figuring and decided that there were about 36,000 letters all together! As I sat there folding I couldn't help feeling like I was barely making a dent. I wasn't able to stay as long as I wanted too. As I left, I glanced at my small stack of folded letters and wished that it could be larger. I don't know why I think that I should come away from an experience like this with a "warm and fuzzy" feeling about myself. Why do I need to be able to pat myself on the back for it to feel like a success?
I think one thing I can take away from this experience is the lesson that results are hard to measure. Sometimes "the best that we can do" doesn't always yield great and instant results, but God sees and takes pleasure in any effort that we make to reach out, regardless of how small it may seem to us.

all my random thoughts

Well, I made it to fall break! I have to admit that I was "holding out" and anxiously awaiting the chance to rest from "normal life". I love having a slight lull in the everyday responsibilities and the room that it creates for fun things that I don't normally get to do. I think I might have forgotten what I like to do with free time! That's something that's been in very short supply over the last several weeks. Unfortunately I got loaded up with homework, but I'm determined to manage my time so that I can get it all done and still have time for rest.
I'm happy to say that I turned in my first big English Comp. essay this week! I think that should be considered a milestone. I feel that I've already improved a lot in my writing. I've been pushed to dig deeper and broaden my thinking when I write. This class has been so good for. At times I feel like I've lacked the motivation required, but when I press through and turn in a good paper I gain a real since of accomplishment and confidence.
Another exciting thing happened this week. I finally was able to find a Chinese friend to help me with my Chinese. I've been struggling a lot with that class lately. I hate the feeling of just barely staying afloat. I think I can finally say that there's light at the end of my tunnel! I'll always have to work hard in this area, but at least I don't have to feel alone in my journey anymore.

the football game

Last week my husband and I went to the home football game. We don't get to make very many of the games because life gets busy with "non-MC" things, but we had the night free and decided to go cheer for our team. It was so much fun! It was a beautiful night...the perfect temperature. The band was playing, the cheer leaders were pushing for more noise, and the players on the field were giving it their all. I felt content as I took it all in.
Football...pretty much a staple on most American college campuses....but there was something about being at that MC game that I later realized was unique. Football is so American, but there we were, watching the game and sitting next to me was one of our Chinese friends. Later it hit me that MC is so diverse and that I'm privileged to have the experience of being surrounded by students from other cultures. I thought about the fact that not every college student gets that opportunity. It made me realize that I should take advantage of the atmosphere that exists here and soak up as many meaningful experiences as possible.

feeling a little caught off guard

This week I've been working on my 1st draft of the academic history essay ....and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one!! : ) I don't think I was prepared for all that it would involve! I'm still not even sure what the end result is suppose to look like. As I write, there's this nagging voice in the back of my mind saying, "Are you sure this is right? What if that's not what your professors looking for." I want to tell it to leave me alone and let me write!
This has turned out to be an emotional look inward for me. I've never had to spend this much time analyzing myself before. It's been a new and at times confusing journey. (If you're out there and you're thinking, "Wow, I feel the same way!"....then please let me know so that I can feel relatively normal!)
Well, anyways... While working on this paper, I've discovered a lot of things about myself that I think have always been there, but just escaped my notice somehow. Some of them I'm proud of and some of them are the kinds of things that you want to "sweep under the rug" so to speak. It's taking a lot of bravery to paint a picture of the "real me" in my paper instead of what I wish I was!
The only thing I know to do right now is to trust my instinct and try me best!

Chinese Bible study

Hi, Everyone!! Today I want to write about one of the things that I love the most about MC. There are about 300 Chinese students here at MC. I've always been interested in their culture and wanted to learn the language, so I was very excited when I realized that I would have a little piece of China right here in Mississippi....of all places! Right now I'm taking Chinese 201 and absolutely love it even though it's a very hard language to learn. Most of you are probably thinking I'm a little crazy and wondering why I didn't pick Spanish or French, or something like that. I guess my motivation is my desire to reach the Chinese people and tell them about the Lord.
Well, I'm getting the chance to do that. My husband and I help out at a Bible study for Chinese students every Friday night. Jeff (my husband) teaches one of the lessons (the one in English....we're no wheres near fluent in Chinese yet!) and I just hang out and try to get to know the students and encourage them. I can't imagine how hard it is for them to come here and try to get a degree at a college that dosn't use their native language.
Anyways, I love this Bible study beacuse it's like jumping into another culture for an evening. They eat Chinese food and most of the singing and everything is in Chinese (Except for Jeff's Bible study, of course!) I have lots of people that love helping me practice my Chinese, and I feel like I can somewho help them be more comfortable and confident at MC. It's a great deal for eveyone involved!!

My First blog!

Hi, Everybody!! I'm writing my first blog! ....I'm still not sure how I feel about this, but I think it'll be fun. My name is Bethany and I'm a student at Mississippi College. I'm doing this blog as part of my English 101 class. I'm originaly from New York state, but I've been here for about three years. I'm a long way from home, but I'm married and Mississippi has become home for me and my husband.
I've really loved being at MC! There's lots of neat people here. I really like getting to know the Chinese students. My husband and I go to a Chinese Bible study every Friday night that I absolutely love! I'll probably talk more about that later. ....till next time