Change

Quick update on what has been going on as of late. After working in VA, I went up to Canada for a couple days with my family and friends from church. After that was Thanksgiving in August. Then I drove down to Texas from PA.

This upcoming semester is going to be challenging for me in a lot of ways. For one, I am taking 21 credits, which includes 3 labs and a flight course. I am also heading up the LUMA group, and am still involved with NIFA. 41 EO (Extended orientation) is this week, and it is weird meeting all the new freshman on our floor. I actually just moved into an apartment on campus with 3 other guys, and am enjoying it a lot. We are pretty much settled in now, and tweak the arrangement of furniture as the days go on. Nothing matches, but it is a very nice apartment. Our kitchen is fully stocked, including 3 fridges (2 mini, 1 full), a stove, dishwasher, microwave, toaster oven, 2 George foreman grills, knife set, pots, pans, misc. cooking stuff, cutting board, etc. And about 4 coffee makers. Finding a vacuum cleaner in the dumpster was a blessing, all it needed was a new belt. It is weird being off of 41, but the apartments are much more out of the way/quiet.

The semester brings a lot of changes too. A new dorm is being built, and a lot of progress has been made on that. The pond has been neatened up, a parking lot is being made, the logo changed, new majors were added. The ATC sim lab is up and running. We also have a nursing program, so the freshman class ratio was 2 guys to 1 girl (which is crazy- it is typically 3 or 4 to 1). With all these changes, I feel like the culture of our school has changed a lot. I don't know how to put it, but being a senior is weird. Things that used to be back in the old days, like old saga, are a thing of the past now. I almost feel like the new logo is trying to be more appealing towards a larger group of people, to make the school more popular or more normal almost. I like the old way. Yeah, in order to grow things need to be changed around and all... but still the atmosphere is just different. These changes attract more people. Is it numbers we are after or quality? Honestly, with the new nursing program there have been a ton more girls around, which is "good", but at the same time there are a ton more immodest people (guys and girls) walking around as well. Along with a ton more immature relationships forming over just the first couple weeks.

This past summer there were a lot of memories that I treasured and thought back on, as the days of my youth. Like at the church picnic, going to a bridge. At home, its the Left (gas station), and the gazebo by the lake.  I also had some time to walk around downtown Philly this summer. I went to the national art place where the rocky steps are, just to remember things from my mission trip several years ago. This place brought back a flood of memories.

Moving on with change is hard. New change can be unwanted. Life still chugs on. Learning from the past and pushing forward to make the most of every minute.