T’was 25 days before Christmas and all throughout Joshua not a creature was stirring not even a mouse. The textbooks were laid on the tables with care in hopes that good grades soon would be there. The students were nestled all snug in their chairs while visions of passing tests whirled in the air. I in my cap and Nick in his beanie soon settled down for a long time of study. When all of a sudden the announcement was made that the test was put off for one more day. The students all cheered as Rachel walked away knowing the time would help in some way.
This week at Joshua, the snow has almost completely melted and gone away. Right when we thought we were going to get used to something, it turns out we were wrong. This is a commonly occurring theme in this program. In this time of a changing season, Christmas spirit, and being here for nearly a quarter of a year now, a perfect time of reflection is upon us. This may sound like a negative thing, but it’s actually not. As it has now almost been 3 entire months here, we have really been challenged in stretching our own selves to fit into the idea of discipline. Although the snow melt runs parallel to the idea of the constant change in this program, not all of it is bad. We are growing every single day through being in an environment which is not only different, but difficult. We have assignments to do every day, and books that need to be read, papers that need to be written, chores that need to be done. It truly feels like it never ends, and the chaos is ongoing. Even in our sleep, things are always happening and we just have to prepare for anything. Although it is difficult, each of us have been able to grow in ways that we otherwise never would have been able to. This program has broken our idea of comfort and is rebuilding it to be stronger, and wider, and fuller. We know how to be more flexible. We know how to adapt. We know how to handle adversity so much better than when we first got here. Honestly, to think that we have only been here for 3 of 11 months is pretty astounding, because we can look ahead to 8 more months of awesome, awesome growth. We can also look ahead to 8 more months of awesome fellowship and shenanigans.
For instance, last night we all got together during girls/guys night for a fun game of broom hockey! For many of us, it was our first time playing broom hockey, or even being on the ice rink at Hume. We split into two teams, yellow and blue. The night was full of slipping, and screaming, and long rallies, and even the occasional sliding accident. We left the rink with some wounds, icy bottoms, and sweaty hair from those clunky helmets. All of us were able to have such a great time together. It was so cool to see how well we all played together, there was no bad competition, it was all healthy and fun. Girls/guys night is always spent with all of us being separate, but last night was the first time we ever got to hang out together and we are so grateful for it. It definitely was a treat, even if it left some battle scars. All of us are looking forward to our next broom hockey night!
Written by Priscilla Shin and Jake Brown
