Breathe…just breathe.
In 4 days, I will become the first person in my family to graduate from college!! I am done with classes and finals and I have the all-clear to walk the stage. I couldn’t be more satisfied with how I closed out this past semester. I’ve begun working full-time now at ARMtech and am so thankful that I finally have PTO, paid holidays, and more hours. I already miss the clients and staff that I worked with at Family Promise (an agency that helps homeless families), but I am incredibly thankful to have my nights and weekends available to train, read, pray, and fundraise for this trip. The past three months seem to have flown by too quickly and in just another three months time, I will be off to Georgia for Training Camp!
This Saturday I will get to see both of my parents and my sisters and enjoy some quality time together after the ceremony. I’m already getting emotional and excited about getting to show them around the Texas Tech campus. It’s been a hard road getting to this point; mostly financial setbacks. I attended Abilene Christian University and loved it there, but unfortunately couldn’t receive enough financial aid to stay. I spent 2 ½ years in Dallas working several jobs at a time to start living in my own place and pay back ACU for a last-minute loan. After that, I was able to transfer to Texas Tech and now I’m just a few days away from holding that degree in my hand.
There were many times when I felt like giving it all up. I started to question the whole point of going to school for the sake of getting that degree. I know God could still use me if I never have it. This degree only does so much on my behalf. But the years of classes, friendships, communicating with professors, paper writing, test-taking-there is so much that that degree cannot communicate to employers or friends or relatives. My relationship and knowledge of Christ can truly break down barriers and open doors. Being a peacemaker and disciple for the sake of the gospel of Jesus is truly where my future is going to take off. The responsibility never changed, but my maturity has. Thank you to all of my family, friends, professors, coworkers and everyone else who made this college experience memorable. Your encouragement gave me that extra push I needed to keep going strong.
Thank you again for your prayers and continued support as I take the next big step!!
Saturday, December 13th, 2008: Undergraduate Commencement at 1:30pm in the United Spirit Arena of Texas Tech University
