so close.

i am currently working on my last two papers at Providence College... a lot of my friends are done, but i am still chugging away at my school work. i finished my last exam today; it was very difficult, but i feel confident in my answers and look forward to seeing how i finished.

anyway, i will be up late tonight working on my last assignments... i am drinking my first cup of coffee for the night, hopefully it will be enough.

then grad weekend begins!!!

year eight.

so, i've been given the opportunity to serve at camp nutimik again. the past few summers have been quite the adventure, a lot of good times and a lot more hard times, but i'm still excited. this summer i want to grow more as a leader; last year i spoke in front of large audiences, and while i didn't do a terrible job, i wasn't the most natural speaker... so i want to develop that. also, i want to spend some time developing some devo's for the staff. i want to be able to whip up a good one and communicate it effectively.

also, this directly applies with what i want to do with my life. someday i hope to work in administration in a social work office somewhere. i like working with people.

call me crazy, but imma goin' back fer mo'

kel's tips 002

style.

belts are always a good accessory to top off whatever you're wearing. black is a great default colour, as it looks pretty sweet on anything from jeans to khakis. white is a good colour if you're wearing darker colours. word of caution, do not wear a belt that matches your shirt colour (with the exception of black), it looks terrible.

on a related note, if you insist on tucking in your shirt, please wear a belt. also, stay away from large, obnoxious buckles... unless they serve some purpose, like wearing the Batman logo to some convention (okay, bad example).

so, go pick up a belt. or three. they're cheap in price and a lot to the way you present yourself.

;)

the jane austen book club

even with all this homework piling up, i have decided to start reading another book. i recently bought Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility... i know, my testosterone has probably dropped significant levels, but i'm opening myself up to new genres and this seems like a good place to start. S&S is Austen's first of six novels. Not saying i'm going to read them all, but Austen seems to have stood the test of time, so I'm sure there's something good in there. maybe not for the 24 year old male in 2011, but whatevs.

"knowledge is power"

- slogan you see tacked on advertisements encouraging peeps to stay in school.

reflecting on most of the sociology papers i wrote during my time at Prov, a theme that frequently appears is the power found in education.

as a man who has spent the majority of his life in school (yes, i'm counting elementary school and etc), i am a strong advocate of institutional learning. i have recently decided that i will always be taking a course of some sort in some school. after completely my 4 year advanced BA at Prov, the next four years of my life will hopefully look like this:

2 years of bachelors of social work

2 years of masters of social work

in my thirties, i would like to obtain an LLM.

on a related note, i recently read "become wise by walking with the wise, hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces. Prov 13:20"

sitting with others who know more on other topics is always an interesting experience. soaking up knowledge like a sponge to water is always beneficial.

keep reading! keep writing! keep listening! and always, keep loving.

Kel

sunday lunch.

this past sunday i was reminded of what a Christian family should be like.

after attending a service in Niverville, i was invited to an older couples house with a friend of mine (the seem to have "adopted" him into their family). apparently it is tradition that the whole family comes over after the service and they are free to invite anyone for the meal. there were four generations in the house: the grandparents, their kids, their kids, and their kids. the couple have been living in Niverville since 1932. wowza.

it was just a nice experience of meeting new people and having great food. for the poor college student who makes himself meals, this was definitely a treat.

what i was getting at earlier. i really admire this family for focusing outward and opening up their house to people within their sphere of influence. it is not everyday you meet people who are willing to feed a total stranger and send them away with a plate full of leftovers.

i think that the Christian, as a follow of Christ, has a responsibility to love everyone around them; people beyond their family.

if we really want to have an impact on the world, why focus inward on yourself and just those in your immediate family?

gah, i cannot until i can stop playing the poor college student...

K

something special, just for me (and now for you)

have you ever had one of those moments where something cool happened, but if you ever explained it to someone it wouldn't sound nearly as awesome as it actually is and the other person would not appreciate it nearly as much as you do?

as you may know, i'm currently reading the narnia series. a while back, i was reading 'prince caspian' and i was at the part where he is fleeing from his home. later on that night i was walking down a back path through a forest that reaches Prov. the book kinda came alive in that moment. it was pretty sweet.

THEN i saw this sign hanging in the forest. and it blew my mind.