Hello everyone! We have officially 75 DAYS until I head down to Georgia for Training Camp! I am so very excited, but there is still work (and lots of fundraising!!) to be done before I can even begin to pack!!
Lately it seems that my plate is full 98% of my time, and I have a significantly less amount of free time. This causes a lot of stress for me; so much so that I am becoming an academic hermit! Seriously, I spend so much of my time holed up in my dorm, either studying, or procrastinating with Facebook videos. Without my good friend, Conrad, I don’t think I would leave my room half as many times as I do!
A little backstory on Conrad-
Up until very recently, I lived on the 5th floor of my residence hall. Moving in last August was terrifying! I didn’t know anyone, or the new social norms, and it caused a lot of fear and anxiety in my life. The saving grace in this situation was that the freshmen on campus moved in a few days earlier than everyone else, so we could get accustomed to our new lifestyle while knowing that this was a new and exciting experience for all of us. It brings so much comfort to know that the people around you are probably feeling the same amounts of confusion as you are! For those first 3ish days, I fell into a routine, found friendships on my floor, and started to really settle in. Then, Saturday came. Literally overnight, our 5th Floor Family grew by like 15 people!! All new faces, names, and personalities to learn. Did I mention how terrified I felt?
It was difficult, to say the least, to try to get to know some of the new faces on the floor. Some were definitely more inviting than others, but I convinced myself that everyone already had their friend-group established, and didn’t want anything to do with me. Apparently, I was wrong.
It was the Sunday night before my very first day of college classes, and I was trying to prepare myself in every way I could think. I was stressed about wearing the right outfit, and making sure I had prepared my pre-lecture notes in the correct format. I was sitting in my suite-mates’ room with the door open (our residence hall doesn’t have air conditioning, so any airflow is welcomed!), listening to my friends down the hall hanging out, and feeling a little sad that I wasn’t involved. Then, I heard someone say “hey”. I looked up, and a 6-foot tall, barefoot man with a drawstring bag was walking into the room, and making himself comfortable in one of the chairs. Within the next 15 minutes, I knew Conrad was going to be a great friend.
Last semester, I learned a lot about Conrad. He is a triplet, he loves writing and sharing his poetry, he is a huge movie geek, and can quote almost any movie (except for The Matrix), he invented his own cereal (it’s really just a combination of 3 cereals that he calls “Frosted Cinna-Loops”), he loves Jesus and is a leader in our CCF (Campus Christian Fellowship), he loves to hug, and he was my neighbor. Our adjoining wall, we used to communicate through knocks (my side was more used than his), and he was always around to check in on my roommate and I to see how we were doing, what we were watching on TV that night, and if we wanted to hear his latest piece of poetry.
This semester, after countless invitations from Conrad, I began joining him for Sunday and Wednesday evening services at CCF. This church is unlike any other that I have ever attended!! I walked into Violette Hall (the math/business building on campus), pushed past my anxiety-inducing flashbacks to my Calc 2 days, and followed Conrad around while he introduced me to LITERALLY every person there. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that Conrad knew everyone, and everyone loved to know Conrad. As we walked into service, the worship band was already playing, and the lecture hall was filled to the brim with students swaying, singing, and pouring their hearts out to the Lord. I get goosebumps every time I relive that experience. Don’t get me wrong, I love my home church in Cuba, but it was such a different experience for me to be surrounded by people closer to my age than my parents, all gathered to worship and learn about our Savior. I was hooked. Now, I look forward to services, and sometimes it’s the only thing pushing me through to finish the week out strong. I absolutely love all of the love, understanding, and grace that radiates out of these humans. I have never felt closer to God than when I’m standing, heart open, surrounded by my friends, in the third row of VH 1000.
I truly believe that God called Conrad to be my spiritual mediator/mentor during this time of my life (whether Conrad knows it or not), and I am forever changed, and forever grateful to have such a kind-hearted, God-loving, sensitive human being as my friend.
