Study Abroad Blog

It is almost the end of July and I am pretty sure this will be my last Judson blog :( This summer has flown by and still I do not know what to do with my life. I have a diploma and tons of wonderful memories from Judson, but I do not feel prepared to move on. Part of me wishes I could just go back in the fall. I want to be with my friends. School is all I've ever known... it is a crutch of sorts. I remember one of my favorite Rob Bell sermons about change. He said that sometimes we do not want any changes because we know that with change brings loss. I find this beautiful because it reminds me that I'm sad for a reason. It is because I had such a great experience in school.  I'm losing something that has been my world for 3 years... of course there is going to be some pain. 

I know my life journey will continue, but it will take a while to heal. I feel like a child experiencing growing pains. I do not want to stay in a stagnant position, but the transitional period hurts- like a child's bones when they grow. 

I do not know what life will hold for me next. The summer has been filled with tons of post-Australia reunions. I went to Florida to visit my aunt (who faithfully reads my blogs), to Troy to visit my dad's aunts (and trace some genealogy), and  all over East Alabama and West Georgia to visit family. Most recently I spent almost 2 weeks with my sweet and patient boyfriend who put up with me being in Australia. :) 

As the summer sun begins to fade (and my pockets grow emptier haha), I can feel the weight of "real life" beginning to press firmly on my shoulders. I need to find a job, save money, and start looking for graduate programs (after I find out what in the WORLD I want to do). I am no longer protected by the Judson bubble, but rest assured that it will forever have a place in my heart. 

With love and a few tears,

Christina Lee 

P.S. If you know of a job opening LET ME KNOW :)

My high school English teacher made us memorize quotes. I hated it at the time. In fact, I hated most of the work she gave us at the time. I've now come to appreciate the values she instilled in my life. There is one quote in particular that stuck with me. It is a small quote from Tennyson's Ulysses and in many ways it has shaped the way I look at life.

I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough
Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move

Sometimes I feel like I'm living multiple lives simultaneously. It all started after high school. I was used to one church, one school, basically one way of life. Going to Judson was a great eye opening experience. I was exposed to different people with different backgrounds, views, and ideas. I was forced to learn to accept other people regardless of agreeing with them. And now, an even larger change has occurred. I'm on the other side of the world. I'm in a different culture with a different accent and a different way of life. Again, my small boxed up world must expand. However, while my mind is expanding and my horizon is changing, I find it difficult to accept that the rest of my world is going on without me. As I go exploring in the Great Barrier Reef, chase Kangaroos in the Outback, and ride my bike along the Pacific Ocean to get to school every morning, my friends are in the states enduring horrible heart break and wonderful new beginnings, my sister is going to prom for the first time, and my entire family is starting a new phase in life. Don't get me wrong, I'm thoroughly enjoying being in Australia. However, it is hard to let go of the life I once knew... the person I once was... and the life that continues without me. Though I will return home, there are memories being made that I cannot be a part of. I think this is the problem with change. I think this is the reason so many people do not venture far from their known comfort zone. Every time you leave one place, you leave behind a part of you.

So, again I will say: I feel like I'm living more than one life. It is hard to stay connected to all the people and places I want to hold dear. It becomes overwhelming at times, but I'm grateful for every person and place that has shaped me. As I continue on the journey of life, I hope to be able to hold onto the challenges and joys that have made me who I am. Regardless of where life takes me (which for me could mean ANYTHING), I hope to remember that everything I do, every person I encounter, and every place I roam is part of me. It will never be lost because it is imprinted in my character.

I was Judson bound at approximately 9:23 a.m. EST on Friday. I arrived just before noon to a pleasantly quiet campus. There was not any impending work I needed to clear up last Friday, I just wanted to go hang out with my friends. It is strange how much I feel like I've missed out on just in the past few weeks. Luckily, I've been able to keep up with the major Judson happenings through Facebook.

Friday night, I went to Birmingham with a group of girls to celebrate a friend's 21^st birthday. We ate at the Mellow Mushroom (which strangely enough, I have been craving for about 2 months now!). On the way back to school, me and the other three girls I was with decided to go by Walmart. On the way out, I (being extremely parched) steered our little group to the juice section intending to get some Simply Orange OJ. Instead, I was somehow talked into getting a puke green drink of a smoothie consistency even though everything in me said I should not drink something that looks like that... Yes! I did give into peer pressure. Whatever I drank is still unknown to me; it supposedly had multiple types of fruit plus ginger root, broccoli, and many other forms of greenery in it. Moral of the story: NEVER EVER let your friends talk you into buying a drink that they aren't buying because they say it "tastes different, but very good". YUCK YUCK YUCK! I will be sticking to Simply Orange from now on!

Saturday was a day filled with dancing and karaoke. Jill, my roommate (that I'm no longer living with, but refuse to call ex-roommate) is the dance teacher at Judson. When I was at Judson, we had various dance classes every Monday night.  Because I was in town, we had a special dance class. We learned how to do a couple dances - one from the Nutcracker and the other was the Mamba. I failed miserably at the Mamba.... but it was fun!

Karaoke at J&Rs (a local eatery in Marion) was FABULOUS! I love to sing karaoke and I love to watch other people do it too! Some friends from MMI were really funny when they got up and sang. They always sang together and inserted entertaining sounds and lyrics into the songs. We even got Jill to get up to sing which was a challenge since going in she said she would never sing in front of people. It was a great day for sure!