Well it's done. I'm moved out, packed up, and waiting in the airport terminal to come home for good! (for the next 3 1/2 months at least) I kissed Thurston (my constant party of a dorm) a bittersweet goodbye, and with tears in my eyes wished my best friends off on an amazing summer. I am in awe of how close I've gotten to some of the people here. They have touched my heart, reached in, shaken something up, and changed me forever. It's as if God himself, indwelled in us Christians via his Holy Spirit, used my friends to minister to me and tell me how much He loves me. From camping to insane prayer meetings to sharing our hearts, I have developed some of the greatest friendships of my life. I can't wait to room with two of my best friends next year - Franny and Rohita. We're going to have a bible study in our room and it's going to ROCK. Smiling to myself now, I am realizing that these goodbyes are only setting the stage for a lifetime of awesomeness - the best is yet to come! And this is only the beginning.
I see DC surrounding me. And I'm not looking at marble-cut monuments or a pencil-like sculpture reaching into the sky. But I see it right now even in this terminal. Because after living here for almost a year, I have a new worldview. God stripped any bit of bigotry out of my bones, put me in situations that made me ask questions and seek answers, and caused me to see through a new lens. I can finally say that I am at that point in my life where I don't know everything! I DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING. It's such a freeing statement, and yet it gives me this insatiable obsession for information. Call it college, but I say it's the diversity of DC. So many ideas, so many worldviews. People from all over the world come here to change things, but then they find that they have so much to learn. STORY OF MY LIFE. Well now that I officially don't know everything, I can see how real my passions are, how good and pure my idealistic motives are. I can see them through a critical lens and follow God through every single step, hurdle, and encounter. I'm ready. DC has shaped me, and now I'm ready to shape it.
The truth is, though, DC will have to wait for me for a few months. I'm done with finals, done with work, done with responsibilities, done with stresses, and done with a tiny cramped dorm room - for the time being. Gosh I've been so homesick. I'm ready to go see my family. I want to kiss my sister on the face, embrace my dad in a giant hug, and cuddle next to my mama. And the best part forizzle is no more college food. Good bye PB&J, hello Mom's cooking! I'm ready to see Jacob and cuddle with him for two weeks straight, jam like crazy with his new mandolin and my mediocre guitar skills, and give him a kiss! I'm ready to start a bible study with all my friends back home, and I'm ready to just sit and give God all the praise and all the honor and all the glory. Yes. That'll be the best part of coming home. No more fixed schedules, but just blissful chilltime with my Creator.
Goodbye DC (for now), hello Tampa!
<3 Katrina
