aannd ... we're back!

Dear readers,

It’s been way too long. A new semester has brought a new schedule and new activities that seem to threaten the regularity of your most beloved blog. For this, I apologize. But I assure you that I’ll be back into the swing of things soon.

Since we last spoke (or.. I spoke, you listened), I spent two and a half wonderful weeks at home for Christmas and fun with family, friends, and a little special someone. It actually felt like a vacation. When I was younger, I’d hear Grandparents staying at our house say that they were on vacation, and I could never really fathom that spending time at 1 Dalecroft Circle could feel like a vacation. But that’s exactly what it felt like for me! No schoolwork and plenty of time to spend with the people I love most. And then there was Christmas and New Year’s! Jinkeys, it was grand!

One of the greatest things about the break, actually, was the little digital recorder that I received for Christmas. I recorded a good five or six songs over the break with a whole bunch of talented people. (If you’d like to request a copy of any of these acclaimed cover songs, just send me an email. Go for it… ask me. They might be worth something one day. ha..)

But, as a wise (and seemingly pessimistic) person once said, “all good things must end.” So I left all the joys of home behind and looked forward to all the joys of school ahead of me. … Now, before you spill your coffee or knock something over at reading such a paradoxical proclamation (“joys of school”), I just want to assure you that I do, in fact, find joy in my schooling. Yes, you may gasp, laugh in my face, or call me a liar, but I will not deny that I really do love school.

I’m currently in the midst of J-term, which is essentially an entire semester crammed into three weeks. We take one class for three hours a day over 15 days. The homework abounds and the reading is unending, but I’m taking theology and learning a lot. Classes consist of a lot of deep thinking and inconclusive discussions, but my teacher is great; he’s only 25(ish) and really enthusiastic about the material.

I’ve also started training for my Phonathon job. I have one more session later this week and then I’ll hopefully start working next week. I’m pretty nervous, though, about my first few calls as there is a lot to remember and a very high likelihood of rejection… So I’d appreciate prayers for that.

Speaking of prayers, I feel like I should dedicate at least a portion of this blog to something very exciting that’s been happening recently. Basically, I’ve really started to focus on spending more personal time with God. It’s one thing to spend your college years in a wonderful, safe, nurturing environment, but it’s quite another to try and live your faith actively. And actively is how I want to live. I’ve been more faithful with my devotions than ever thanks to a very reliable and encouraging accountability partner (thanks, kk). I went down to the Agape Center with a friend the other day and collected some ‘literature’ on serving opportunities around the community; I’m planning to fit some volunteering into my schedule for the Spring. I figure my priorities have been shamefully self-centered recently and that definitely needs to change. Which gets me thinking…

A lot of people say college is the “time that people define themselves.” I can attest first-hand that this is true – people fill their time with all sorts of things (everything from video games to dance classes) in hopes of solidifying their identities. But I’ve talked to a few people who feel really discouraged with this new college lifestyle, that it’s not as fulfilling as they’d expected. Admittedly, I felt myself sharing many of those sentiments earlier on this year. I was busy, but I was feeling sort of aimless; I’m in a perfect little bubble, surrounded by the nicest people and given the greatest opportunities, but it doesn’t feel quite right to spend all this time and energy focused solely on myself. I mean, the goal of ‘tertiary’ education might be to beef up my resume and gain lots of valuable experiences, but I don’t think that my greater purpose as a Christ-follower needs to be compromised in the meantime. On the contrary, I feel like all of my goals for college (good grades, lifelong friends, rewarding experiences, adventures abroad) need to first be rooted in a desire to seek God and see his work accomplished through me. And if I can do that and have a fulfilling, enriching, and challenging experience at college, then this mammoth investment called Messiah will be worth every penny.

So that is that.

In other news, swimming is great. Well, truth be told, I haven’t been going to any morning practices lately… but it’s just so darn early. I just barely touched out another guy at our meet on Saturday to win the 50 free. There was no one really good in the event, but it was still pretty fun to win something and to add points to the team’s score. And I got a personal best time, which is always fun.

Class is going well; we had a test today that was way easier than I expected it would be. Or maybe I was just surprised by my own razor-sharp intellect. Yeah, I’m going with the latter.

Anyways, I think I’ve pretty much summed it all up. As I said before, if you want to hear those songs I recorded (there’s one each with Mom, Emily, Sam, and Katrina), just let me know. And if you want to know anything else about anything, there’s not a lot I don’t know. Haha.. just joshin’.

Love,
josh

p.s. the mysterious aforementioned accountability partner, enigmatically dubbed “KK,” is actually Katrina Kobayashi… who is actually my girlfriend.