The school year is drawing to a close. Today I finished my last final and said goodbye to all my friends.
It ended the same way it always does, despite all that had happened and all that had changed in the last year. We loaded the furniture, traveled to storage (operated a fork lift unsupervised...), stayed up all night studying and laughing on the floor because our minds were lost, attended the senior recitals, ran around doing paperwork... all that crazy busy stuff that would be draining on its own but somehow always happens to happen in the same week.
My favorite part and perhaps the most heartbreaking part of the end of the year is the chance everyone gets to reflect upon it. Sometimes we don't even notice how much has changed until we analyze it.
This time last year I was sitting in an empty room waiting to embark on the choir tour in Italy. I had never been to Europe, I had never seen my mom's birth place, I had never met my newest set of life long friends. I had never, I had never, I had never.
Today I went to a Mediterranean restaurant called Ali Baba's in Simi Valley. I'd been there once before.
I walked in and said hello in arabic to the owner (Omar from Palestine) and he said "Hello Kjrstin, looks like you got a tan!" We're obviously very good friends now that I've bought one felafel sandwich from him in my life. I ended up staying 15 or 20 minutes speaking with him (half in arabic and half in english) about traveling, CLU, Simi Valley, the Egyptian accent, Bakersfield, feeding the homeless (he opens his restaurant once a month specifically for a free meal for the homeless). By the end of the visit he had promised to only speak arabic with me so I "will HAVE to learn" and I promised upon my return I would have a newly burned Nancy Ajram CD for him.
A year ago I didn't even know arabic was read right to left. A year ago I didn't even like driving to Panda Express by my self much less striking up conversations with strangers.
A year ago.
A year ago my life changed. Completely. Starting the moment I boarded the tour bus with choir to fly to Milan.
So we all know about the travels... yadda yadda... yes I've written an entire blog about my traveling, so let's reflect on this semester.
This semester was for me the best semester at CLU so far. I was able to incorporate a lot of what I learned abroad into my classes and conversations with new people. And of course I now have a completely new lens with which to view the world =)
This year I lived again with my two best friends at school and a beautiful new one. My circle was expanded, I became close with some amazing new people, and finally started finding some adventures more locally. Last year I went home too often on weekends and probably missed a lot. It's amazing what kind of adventures one can find in their own back yard!
I have re-awakened my love for CLU by realizing how incredible it's staff is. This semester I have two new bosses at the library where I work and they have been a joy to get to know, always with good advice and a willingness to listen. In addition to that, I was able to work more this semester with my faculty adviser from the religion department, Dr. Thomas. I took my last class with him this semester and also was able to visit his office hours and chat about Egypt. I've never had a teacher I've enjoyed talking with more, even attending his lectures is alwas rewarding. He may never know, but his encouragement to become a religious studies major and then later to travel truly changed my life. The head of the Religion Department, Dr. Fogg has also been very inspirational to me. It was she who actually was the first to suggest I take arabic course, and look where that has lead me!
In the past I have often questioned whether or not CLU was a good fit for me. Here there is some missing element I've never been able to place, but something that feels different. I've had trouble connecting with students here. At some times it has been a struggle for me to find things I like about the city and even people I'd like to get to know better, but luckily I have always had a few good friends and the incredible staff to remind me why I've chosen to remain here the last three years. If not for the relationships I have developed with the teachers in the Religion department and the campus pastors, I can't say for sure if I would have stayed here. Thankfully, academically this school is a perfect fit for me.
I am excited to see what the summer brings! It will be an entirely new dynamic living off campus and with only one of the roommates I've had the past two years. Then in a few months, after a highly anticipated vacation with my family to the Midwest, I'll be off to D.C. to see what kind of adventures await me there.
You could say I am generally thrilled about my prospects right now =)
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