Play that song by Green Day

It's nearly the end of the semester, and it's finally catching onto me. I'm sad that I'm not gonna see a lot of these people the a few months. But last summer it worked out, so clearly this summer will too. It's just gonna be different. I think about this past year, and I realize it's been amazing. It started in the fall coming back from LT, tanned from being in the sun all the time, ready to hit the campus here at the UofI hard. I messed up a lot. From a school standpoint, I was looking at switching majors. I decided to stay the same major and God has blessed me with study buddies and resources out the rear end. I got to meet a ton of new people, freshman, sophomores, juniors, seniors, grad students, and little kids I got to babysit. The freshman I met have become an integral part of my life. The sophomores I've met have become the people that I am doing this school hasrdcore with. The juniors and seniors have ecome a smaller gap. The grad students....well, I don't think I'll ever understand them. But I got to hang with so many people, grow in my ministry role. I still messed that up a lot and I've learned a lot more about the practicalities and the down and dirties of it all. I have put myself on the line, I've been to Michigan for a ski trip, I've been to Bloomington to hang with friends, I've been to Chicago to hang with friends, I've been to St. Louis to see family, I've been to Ohio to see an Illinois game, I've been to New Orleans for a missions trip, I've been to Memphis to hang out...WOW. I've been to a lot of places. I've met all sorts of people, Calvin, Mike O., Rachel, Sarah, Christie, Cale, Greg, Anthony, Justin, Imig, Mike A., T-Dawg, Dan, Pat G., Dieball...and there are so many more, but I have to finish this post in ten minutes. Then there are the people that I already knew that I've gotten to know so much better...Josh, Mike, Eliz, Kim, Syd, Jeff, Julianne, Kaylin, Megan, Erik, Evan, Fred, Brooke, Casey, Heyen, Paolinetti, Ty, Chris, Paul, Gleason, Megan...and there are more here. I love the people here. It's gonna be sad to not see these folks for a while. But I'm already excited about the summer that I'll be having hanging with my bros I haven't seen in forever. I'm ready for that. It's gonna be great! I just could reflect forever...but I think I'll take a break for a bit. The coming year is gonna be great. New student month is gonna be a stress, but it's gonna be sweet to get people excited about meeting new peeps and also helping Mike and Eliz in their roles. It's gonna be great to hang with my junior peeps. I'M GONNA BE AN UPPERCLASSMAN!!!! WOW!!! What's going on!!! Okay, I've let my diatribe go a bit too long. So I'm done for now.

God, guide me as I must push through my last few tests and get done. Help me to focus and reflect come time for reflectingafter the tests. I need you, and you got my back!