I don't think so, and that's why I haven't updated in two months! :-D
I mean, c'mon. These are the faces of happy people.
So it's taken me a while to get back to the "real life" business of being back here in Minnesota. The first few weeks were tough. I felt rootless and in transition between several different places, and I missed Ari a lot; turns out that when you see someone nearly every day for three months and then realize you won't get to see them again until January, you tend to get a little bummed out. Also, two days after I got back I began orientation week at Luther, which meant being at school from 8am to at least 6pm for five days straight, and I felt very over-peopled. It's been a while since I've had to be around people (most of whom I didn't know) all-day-every-day, and it led to some anxiety issues resurfacing, as they tend to do at these times. But we got through it, and I'm finally set up in my new apartment in Minneapolis, and I just finished my second week of school at Luther!
This semester I'm taking:
-Hebrew 101 - My favorite class! My professor is hilarious and insightful, and the language just fascinates me.
-Pentateuch - A study on the first five books of the Old Testement, also known as the Torah.
-Ministry with Youth and Family - This is a methods class to help me learn how to work with kids!
-History of Christianity: Overview - So far the subject matter is interesting, but I'm finding that I have a lot of theological disagreements with the professor. But it makes for some good discussion!
-Human Sexuality and Faith - This is a weekend seminar in October that I'm pretty excited for. Luther only offers it every-other-year, so I'm glad I made it in!
In addition to classes and continuing to work for my dad's company part time, I also just got a job as an intern for Salem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, and I'll be working 10 hours a week with their middle school and young adult groups! This is part of a requirement at Luther; that you work in a contextual setting throughout your time at school. But of all the churches I read about, Salem was the one I liked most, and was most interested in, so I'm pretty thankful I got it!
Among other news, my car is nearing the end of its life, and no wonder after 6 trips across the country with me! But I've been a little stressed out about money lately, and that's not helping. I'm finding that I've lost a lot of my trust (and what I refer to as my "zen") about things. I haven't taken enough time lately to get back into my yoga, or meditation, and stress about money and people and time and school come together to create a pretty frazzled Alison sometimes. I'm working on trying to reclaim my zen, and grow back into my faith that all things work together for good, and that God will take care of the big picture while I take care of the small things like making sure I eat healthy and practice a bit of self-care. Now that I've gotten more firmly settled in my schedule I think things will be able to go forward with a little more ease.
Once again, the old refrain: I AM going to post more over on my seminary thoughts blog, especially now that I'm getting inundated with all these new theologies (some of which ring true for me and some of which I just can't understand at all) and I'm sure I'll have lots to say about them!
For now, though, I'll be content with this regular life update, and I hope everyone out there is doing well!
