Reading the title of this entry, it would seem more suited for an entry about graduating or finishing something. Unfortunately this entry isn’t on that scale, but still significant enough to be qualified as such. At about 2:15 PM, I stepped out of the lecture hall having finished my 2nd Quarter at SCCO. It was an end to the intense finals week. The finals schedule was brutal; it didn’t show any mercy. There were 5 finals in 5 days, with the two most comprehensive and difficult classes coming first. Prior to finals, we had 2 weeks with 5 exams. This quarter has been especially difficult because of the break that we were given resulting in a compacted testing schedule.
Aside from the merciless finals schedule, I was living on my friend’s futon. Two and half weeks before the end of the quarter, I decided to leave my relatives’ residence, where I had been living since the start of the school year. An incident the night before I moved out, startled me and made me uncomfortable about living there anymore. It’s difficult staying, when you know that they expect you to move out, they do not communicate with you, and you think that your actions maybe the cause of the harrowing incident. I’ve never been in a position where I was that scared. I did not want to stay another night, because of the uncertainty of when a similar incident would occur. I packed my things the following night, and moved to Tustin.
Adapting to Tustin was rocky in the beginning. Luckily, it was at the end of the quarter. I actually grew to like Tustin a lot, despite the big commercial shopping plazas. Old Tustin is what I came to enjoy. In the same way that I explored La Mirada, and Fullerton, I searched for restaurants in Tustin. I explored and tried coffee shops and bakeries, sipping and snacking on tasty treats. The difficult part was not to get distracted living with my friend.
In desperation, I called my friend asking if I could crash at his place, and he said okay after checking with his housemates. I will be forever grateful for my friend’s hospitality. It was hard trying to study when my friend was trying to persuade me to play video games or watch movies. I know I study a lot, and was grateful that he helped me relax a bit. Though I did not necessarily change my study habits, I did not stress about the finals that were coming the following week.
Even with the looming need to study for the next final, after finishing each one, I was still able to enjoy my finals week. I went out to explore and try restaurants that I’ve been hearing about or meaning to try. The finals week was grueling though. Long hours at school just reading and reading over material. Testing my classmates with questions and studying every last detail because we did not want to underestimate the test. I was just waiting for the opportunity to sit back and let my brain rot. Praise God for His grace, and creating me the way He did. From what I know, I did well on my finals.
This whole experience has reminded me that God is in control, that He may all of sudden turn our life upside down within 24 hours. It was like God took my life, a snow globe, and shook it up. I had to wait and see where all the snowflakes would end up landing. I learned to appreciate my friends. I shared with some of the brothers in church the details of my situation, and why it has been difficult to feed my faith during this transitional period. My high school friend stepped up in a big way, and I will never forget that. I know that I only keep in touch with a few of my high school friends, and he is one that no matter when your last conversation was, there is no awkwardness when we see each other again.
Thank you, God for your sovereignty and omniscience in getting me through period of time in my life.
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