Thursday, April 21, 2011

Survive

So, I understand it’s been a while. I’m sorry, but I distinctly remember not making any sort of promises.

Anywho, a lot has been going on, so I’ve been a little busy. During the senior interview for one28 I was asked to find a song that identifies with my four years of college. I went first so I didn’t get the memo that we were giving funny answers like “Friday” and “Whip my hair.” I ended up giving a serious response.

The past couple weeks have been crazy. Sing Song, Anchor Splash, Island Party, BYX retreat, Senior level Engineering courses, and all this is on top of my never ending job search. It was amazing that I made it through all that. I lost a lot of sleep, but I got everything done.

My reward was taking that irrational road trip that everyone takes in college. I drove with one of my littles, Jeremy, to Austin to see Rise Against in concert. Words cannot express how awesome it was. So totally worth it. Unfortunately, after we got back at 2am, I still had homework to do and a test to study for so I didn’t go to sleep. In the midst of my scholastic efforts I found the time to entertain my artistic side and do a little car window graffiti. I had been so busy I hadn’t found time to ask a girl to formal, so I had to get a little creative, and write it on her car while she was in class.  She said yes!

That’s enough about recent life, now for the point of this blog. The song I picked was an epic song by Rise Against. It’s called “Survive,” and for everyone’s benefit I have listed the lyrics to the chorus below.

 Life for you has been less than kind,
So take a number stand in line.
We’ve all been sorry, all been hurt,
But how we survive, is what makes us who we are.

It is a great representation of my four years here at SMU. In the past four years, I have faced many disappointments and dealt with a lot of emotional stress. The death of my father, the heartache of my first break up, and the disappointment of failing a class were all major lows on my roller coaster of a life. Now I know that not everyone has dealt with everything I have. I’m not trying to brag about my situation, or look for sympathy. The beauty of life is that we all face our own trials, and only God can help us get through them.

God doesn’t place us in situations that are beyond our means, he knows our strengths and weaknesses probably even better than ourselves. After I lost my father to melanoma, I thought my world was crushed. With some help from friends I managed to pick up the pieces of my life. A year later a friend of mine lost her father. I tried my best to be there for her, and just use the experience that God had graced me with to help her cope. Since then I have kind of found my calling in helping those who are grieving cope. It’s the best way my mind can justify why God saw fit to take my father from me.

I also use any of my other life experiences as platforms to help others. That is our calling as Christians living life. You may not have dealt with death, or heartache, but you have faced some sort of issues. Whatever they are, God has used them to teach you and equip you so that you may one day glorify Him through situations with other people.

Our lives are roadmaps of our choices during difficult situations, and like the lyrics of “Survive” say, “Its how we survive, that makes us who we are.”

T.T.F.N.