First Week of Classes

First week of school is finally over and I can say that I have never read/studied so much in my whole life. I used to be a computer science major in undergrad and so reading was never really something I had to do a lot of. Even on the off times where I had to do readings for classes, I was able to pull through with minimal reading and my good old friend "Sparknotes." For the first time I am taking my studies and reading seriously, and God has really been so evident throughout this time. Just being able to sit and peacefully read or study is something I could never see me do, but God has given me peace and strength to pull through. The one class that takes up most of my time is Greek. Besides the 4-5 hours I spend on it daily, it is a really interesting class and I actually enjoy learning the new vocabulary and grammar. I even got a bunch of index cards and cut them out into ghetto flashcards to practice with! My other classes are also all very interesting and challenge me in different ways. Spiritual Formation class has really challenged me on my relationship with God, and Old Testament Survey has brought me to dive much deeper into the Old Testament. During my systematic Theology class, my professor opened up with three questions that I had to think about for a while: "Where am I? What am I doing? Who am I?" Each class brought a new challenge for me, and I could feel God working through each lecture and book reading. I generally spend all my time in the Great Hall which has comfortable couches and desks to work at because my room is kinda dark and gloomy. My usual schedule so far has been: Class in the morning from 8-9, Greek from 9-12, Lunch from 12-1, Greek from 1-2/3, Reading until 5/6, Dinner for like an hour, and then back to more reading til around 10/11.

Besides just my studies, I have been trying to get to know different students and build community. It has been a little hard to get to know people because for some reason Gordon Conwell literally feels like a ghost town right after classes are over. I have no idea where all the students disappear to, but they are definitely not studying in the public spaces (my guess is that they are hiding in their rooms or the library), so getting to know many people has been hard. Instead, I find myself spending a lot of time alone which has been a weird experience. During these times I have had a good chunk of that time with just me and God. Either through worship in the Prayer Chapel or just personal quiet times with God, I have felt him giving me peace and comfort through and through. I've also been able to focus on making deep meaningful relationships as to just knowing the whole student body.

Overall it has been a very fruitful and new first week. Many firsts including eating weird food that I never would even touch back at home... but what choice do I have up here :/ But on the bright side, I have tried many new foods, and found out that I like eating cannolis.