Friday, October 26, 2012

Ahem, so today I was doing my bi-monthly check of my friends' blogs (cuz I'm just supportive like that) and I felt inspired to write up a post.  This inspiration is likely due to the fact that it is 1:30 in the morning and I have a ginormous Chemistry test tomorrow that I probably should be studying for, or at least getting rested up for.  Instead, however, I will update the cyber-verse on the happenings of my life recently.

A few days ago I enrolled for classes next semester.  I'm right on track for a BS in History and a minor in Biology.  I had planned on majoring in Biology as well, but Gen Chem so thoroughly drains the life out of me that I figure that science is probably not for me.  So, I am just going to go with the awesome, albeit arcane, history major and do a complete trust fall into God.  I feel completely confident that History is where God wants me to be so I figure he'll set me up with something worthwhile once I'm done.

Aside from major and minor oriented courses, I am also currently taking/will continue to be taking Latin and Piano, both of which I enjoy immensely.  I took piano for 4 years back in grade school and then quit after I got burnt out.  I am very happy to be playing again and I am progressing much faster than I had dared to hope.  I am also in Latin I, which for me is about as much fun as it is work.  I don't know if it's the history-loving streak, but for some reason reading Latin and understanding it is just fascinating to me.  A perfectly boring English passage suddenly takes on great meaning when read in Latin.  I also find taking Latin very fulfilling because it has helped me recognized patterns in the structure of the English syntax that I hadn't noticed before.

I am also now working in Campus Ministry, which is a good job.  I love the people I work with and the work I do is fulfilling.  Even though the work can be boring at times, I always feel that I am directly working ad maiorem Dei gloriam.  I also became president of our university's newly resurrected pro-life club today (er, yesterday).  While I am quite nervous about what this might entail, I am happy to actually be doing something to promote the pro-life cause.

Oh, I am also taking a history and religion role playing games class.  Last month, I got to play the role of the great St. Athanasius in the Council of Nicea.  Although I do not think the game was written entirely accurately as compared to the actual event (the writers of the game were heavily skeptical of Christianity--they felt the need to justify every action of every character with a selfish secular purpose), I was strangely rewarding to fight the Arians for myself.  I feel as if I have some small stake in the actual achievement of St. Athanasius, because I had to do all of what he did myself.  And in the end, the Arians were defeated and the Church did not fall into heresy.  Right now, in that class, I am playing a game in which the bishops and nobles of Europe are deciding whether to and how exactly they should embark on a second Crusade.  I am a French noble of great wealth and consequence.  I do not like this game as much, mostly because I do not understand it as well and my chances of winning are far more slim.

Hmmm, what other shenanigans have I been up to?  Well, of late I have read some pretty amazing books.  Right before school started I read Looking for the King by David Downing.  It is a fictional book set in the 1940's about an American researcher who goes to England to research King Arthur and ends up befriending with the Inklings at Oxford (Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams) and finding the spear that pierced the side of Christ.  Good solid stuff, and it's a fanfic on Lewis and Tolkien, which I really appreciate.  Then I read this book called Catholic Philosopher Chick by Regina Doman and Rebecca Bratten Weiss.  Um, need I explain more than just the name?  This book was at once both deeply philosophical and incredibly funny, all while being incredibly relatable.  I would recommend it to any Catholic college women, especially those in the liberal arts.  And, just a few weeks ago, I finally bought Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love by Dr. Edward Sri and read it.  It's basically a summary of John Paul II's work Love and Responsibility.  I don't care who you are...if you are married, if you are engaged, or if you're a single lady like me, read it.  It is tailored towards those in romantic relationships, but the lessons it teaches can be applied to any human relationships.  It will radically change the way you view the meaning of friendship.  Yep, JPII was a real winner.

Aaand, when I'm not buried under a pile of books or papers bed covers (because, let's face it, college students love their sleep), sometimes I manage to find my way to the kitchen at my house or the cafeteria to eat some food.  If I get really bold, I'll go out to a restaurant with some friends.  A few weeks ago, in an act of unspeakable adventurousness, I made it to a movie and out two-stepping all in one night.  Save your gasps of awe, for I will attempt to make bold of the time available to me again this weekend.

Well, I think it's about time a shut this down and get some shut eye.  Until next time (whenever the heck that may be), keep whistling (and if you're like me, you'll be whistling some One Direction music).