Graduation Thoughts (#2?): Compare and Contrast

-
Apparently my last post on this topic gave some people the impression that my time at Regent was terrible or something. That is not what I meant to convey.

Rather, I was thinking about my time at regent, and my upcoming graduation, in comparison with my other graduation experiences. In High School I spent every day for 3 years with most of the same people. Upon coming to the end, I was with that same group, and we were all transition in the same way. We were moving on to the next step of our lives, looking forward to what was coming, feeling fear, trepidation, excitement, joy, etc. all together. In my undergrad at UofA I had spent four years living in a different city, in both residence and a home with a bunch of friends, and while not all of us finished at the same time, it was still a very close knit community to be leaving, and it was still a point at which many of us transitioned in the same way together. We were moving on to the next step of our lives, looking forward to what was coming, feeling fear, trepidation, excitement, joy, etc. all together.

Now, I have come to the end of my Regent degree, and most of that is not true anymore. Yes, I did develop some very close friends at Regent. And I had a lot of good times. But I don't honestly know if I will know anyone who is walking across the stage with me; I imagine there will be people I recognize, but beyond that....? I am also not moving on to the next step of my life; I already did that, several times in the last year.

So it feels different; very different. Am I excited? Definitely. Was my time at Regent well spent? No question. Is graduating a big deal to me? YES! I am so glad to have had the amazing opportunities I have had, met the people I did, spent time learning all that I have learnt, and more. Looking back, it was an amazing time, but my reasons for saying that are very different than my reasons for saying the same thing at the end of high school and my undergrad.

Well, here I am at the end of yet another post on this topic, and I feel like there's lots more to say. I'll get there, I just hope that whoever is reading this don't mind me taking so long.

Comments

joan said…
You are older now buddy, thats why it feels differently this time...ha ha.
Congrats my friend ! thats an awesome achievement !
2:45 PM
Andrew said…
Lol, yes, and you wiser, which is why you can say in one sentence what took me several paragraphs :)
10:17 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Forgiveness: A Hard Word From Luther

-
"Those who follow Christ grieve more over the sin of their offenders than over the loss or offense to themselves. And they do this that they may recall those offenders from their sin rather than avenge the wrongs they themselves have suffered. Therefore they put off the form of their own righteousness and put on the form of those others, praying for their persecutors, blessing those who curse, doing good to the evil-doers, preparing to pay the penalty and make satisfaction for their very enemies that they may be saved. This is the gospel and the example of Christ." - Martin Luther (Quoted by Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge, pg. 161-162)
Read more

A Good Tree Bears Good Fruit....

-
Image
"Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." - Matthew 7:17-18 "One of the most powerful ways to influence the behavior of a system is through its purpose or goal. That's because the goal is the direction-setter of the system, the definer of discrepancies that require action, the indicator of compliance, failure, or success toward which balancing feedback loops work. If the goal is defined badly, if it doesn't measure what it's supposed to measure, if it doesn't reflect the real welfare of the system, then the system can't possibly produce a desirable result. Systems, like the three wishes in the traditional fairy tale, have a terrible tendency to produce exactly and only what you ask them to produce. Be careful what you ask them to produce." - Donella H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems. 
Read more

A Gracious Reading of Rob Bell

-
The Journey So Far The controversy rages on over Rob Bell's upcoming new book. No matter what happens now, this controversy has effectively guaranteed that 'everyone who is anyone' will need to read this book. Either to find out what is wrong and bash it, or because someone we generally disagree with also disagrees with the book so it has to be good stuff! Then, because 'everyone' is reading it, people like me will 'have to' read it to. After all, I am a pastor, and if many of my people are reading and being influenced by a book, don't I need to know what is going on as well?  Or so the reasoning will go... and perhaps I will read it, who knows. In the meantime, none of this will stop me from continuing to join this fray which I probably ought to have stayed out of in the first place. Onwards, Christian... :) The Latest Salvo The latest salvo has been fired by DeYoung  claiming that not only do we not need to talk with Bell but, more importantly, it
Read more