Thursday, May 29, 2008
i guess there's not much left to write
i was told that it's time for part 3 of my post-college post. but i realized that there really isn't much left to write that i haven't already written or told people. and those people are probably the same people that will read this. SO, the moral of the story is this: bing has been good to me. God is amazing. i will miss everyone at bing, but don't worry, i'll be back to visit! :D
Thursday, May 22, 2008
part 2!
if you haven't read part 1 yet, please do so (scroll down).
i suppose enough time has passed since my last post. and since i'm home alone for 2 1/2 weeks, i'll have plenty of time to write more; especially since i have no one to talk to at home. haha. so i shall continue my after college thoughts now.
speaking of senior year, one of the highlights was tonics. you may know us better as the binghamtonics. either way, it was definitely a great experience for me this year. a cappella was my life in college. not 1 semester went by where i wasn't involved in a cappella. 8 semester shows, 7 dollar shows, 3 semesters as MD, 1 semester as AMD, and the memories are endless. now, don't get me wrong, tonics wasn't the only a cappella highlight. i could never forget koinonia. i had an amazing 6 semsters with that ministry. i learned a lot musically and spiritually from my brothers and sisters over those 3 years of service. it's funny, though. this past year, A LOT of freshmen joined the group. and these freshies were AMAZING. part of me wishes i could have stayed in the group knowing that they were going to join. but, i knew that God had wanted me to leave the group. i have no regrets about leaving. i'm glad all these new people have joined and that they are all passionate about the group. steve did an amazing job moving everything forward and now i think the group can grow to its full potential. you know things have changed and are a lot better when the other a cappella groups comment that koinonia sounds good at dollar show. usually, that's not the case...but now, they're definitely up there to being one of the best groups. now that i think of it, no one ever said that when i was in the group. haha. maybe it was me. HA! anyways, i'm proud of koinonia. i love you guys!
now, back to tonics. these are some amazing people. i met some of the most genuine people here. even though they can go a little crazy sometimes, they really care about each other like family. and, it helped that mike was in the group with me. i think we both needed each other to keep ourselves sane...and in check. sometimes it's hard to live differently with so many temptations and distractions. but, having mike along side me was definitely a great help and encouragement. i wonder...as alumni of both groups, can i sing with both at the dollar show? haha. that would be awesome!
time for the BIG ONE! intervarsity. oh how this fellowship has changed since i was a freshman. going in freshman year, i thought that the fellowship was awesome. large group was great, small group was awesome. i couldn't ask for a more welcoming group of people to usher me into college. and then as i get more involved, i realize that there's a lot of things that need changing. and as i got more involved, things got harder. i got frustrated with leadership, or lack there of. but as i continued to talk with people, and pray about a lot of my feelings, things got better. and look at us now! we're more diverse, we're growing in number, and people are coming to Christ. of course, we're not perfect, but it's a start for change. i also realize that it was never my job to make change and see change. it was my job to lay a foundation where change could start. even if i don't see the change right away, God will use my efforts to make those changes in the future. being a small group leader was one of my favorite experiences in college. i led 3 different small groups and they were all awesome. the first time i led was sophomore year with dan chan. it was so weird because he was my small group leader the semester before. but it worked out really well. we led a group of really great freshmen guys. i learned a lot about being a brother and how important it is to encourage others. i didn't lead again until fall semester senior year. i lead with mike in CIW/newing. it was pretty much like a freshman guys small group. this time, it was very different. these guys really had a lot of insight into the Word and about their faith. they asked a lot of questions and really got me thinking about different things about my faith. and because i saw mike about 6 days a week, our relationship continued to grow. he's such an awesome guy and a humble servant. i hope that i can continue to get to know him even though i'm not at bing anymore. now, my last semester, i led an upperclassmen small group with boaz. it started out pretty well because we had a lot of interest and a lot of good things planned. and wouldn't you know it, only 1 of the 9 or 10 that signed up came to the first small group. after that, only 1 or 2 came consistently. bo and i got pretty discouraged and hoped that more of the upperclassmen would come. but God pulled through and brought 3 people consistently the last month and a half. we had a lot of good discussions and prayer times. the greatest thing i learned is waiting on God. we had plans and expectations, but God changed everything. it's not about what we want, but what He wants. boaz really was a big influence for me in college. being on praise team, leading SG, playing every kind of ball possible, and so many other things with bo created a friendship and brotherhood that will last forever. i'm so glad i got to know bo the way i did this year.
ok, there's more...but this post is too long already. i guess there will have to be a part 3.
i suppose enough time has passed since my last post. and since i'm home alone for 2 1/2 weeks, i'll have plenty of time to write more; especially since i have no one to talk to at home. haha. so i shall continue my after college thoughts now.
speaking of senior year, one of the highlights was tonics. you may know us better as the binghamtonics. either way, it was definitely a great experience for me this year. a cappella was my life in college. not 1 semester went by where i wasn't involved in a cappella. 8 semester shows, 7 dollar shows, 3 semesters as MD, 1 semester as AMD, and the memories are endless. now, don't get me wrong, tonics wasn't the only a cappella highlight. i could never forget koinonia. i had an amazing 6 semsters with that ministry. i learned a lot musically and spiritually from my brothers and sisters over those 3 years of service. it's funny, though. this past year, A LOT of freshmen joined the group. and these freshies were AMAZING. part of me wishes i could have stayed in the group knowing that they were going to join. but, i knew that God had wanted me to leave the group. i have no regrets about leaving. i'm glad all these new people have joined and that they are all passionate about the group. steve did an amazing job moving everything forward and now i think the group can grow to its full potential. you know things have changed and are a lot better when the other a cappella groups comment that koinonia sounds good at dollar show. usually, that's not the case...but now, they're definitely up there to being one of the best groups. now that i think of it, no one ever said that when i was in the group. haha. maybe it was me. HA! anyways, i'm proud of koinonia. i love you guys!
now, back to tonics. these are some amazing people. i met some of the most genuine people here. even though they can go a little crazy sometimes, they really care about each other like family. and, it helped that mike was in the group with me. i think we both needed each other to keep ourselves sane...and in check. sometimes it's hard to live differently with so many temptations and distractions. but, having mike along side me was definitely a great help and encouragement. i wonder...as alumni of both groups, can i sing with both at the dollar show? haha. that would be awesome!
time for the BIG ONE! intervarsity. oh how this fellowship has changed since i was a freshman. going in freshman year, i thought that the fellowship was awesome. large group was great, small group was awesome. i couldn't ask for a more welcoming group of people to usher me into college. and then as i get more involved, i realize that there's a lot of things that need changing. and as i got more involved, things got harder. i got frustrated with leadership, or lack there of. but as i continued to talk with people, and pray about a lot of my feelings, things got better. and look at us now! we're more diverse, we're growing in number, and people are coming to Christ. of course, we're not perfect, but it's a start for change. i also realize that it was never my job to make change and see change. it was my job to lay a foundation where change could start. even if i don't see the change right away, God will use my efforts to make those changes in the future. being a small group leader was one of my favorite experiences in college. i led 3 different small groups and they were all awesome. the first time i led was sophomore year with dan chan. it was so weird because he was my small group leader the semester before. but it worked out really well. we led a group of really great freshmen guys. i learned a lot about being a brother and how important it is to encourage others. i didn't lead again until fall semester senior year. i lead with mike in CIW/newing. it was pretty much like a freshman guys small group. this time, it was very different. these guys really had a lot of insight into the Word and about their faith. they asked a lot of questions and really got me thinking about different things about my faith. and because i saw mike about 6 days a week, our relationship continued to grow. he's such an awesome guy and a humble servant. i hope that i can continue to get to know him even though i'm not at bing anymore. now, my last semester, i led an upperclassmen small group with boaz. it started out pretty well because we had a lot of interest and a lot of good things planned. and wouldn't you know it, only 1 of the 9 or 10 that signed up came to the first small group. after that, only 1 or 2 came consistently. bo and i got pretty discouraged and hoped that more of the upperclassmen would come. but God pulled through and brought 3 people consistently the last month and a half. we had a lot of good discussions and prayer times. the greatest thing i learned is waiting on God. we had plans and expectations, but God changed everything. it's not about what we want, but what He wants. boaz really was a big influence for me in college. being on praise team, leading SG, playing every kind of ball possible, and so many other things with bo created a friendship and brotherhood that will last forever. i'm so glad i got to know bo the way i did this year.
ok, there's more...but this post is too long already. i guess there will have to be a part 3.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
fine...i'll make a blog
it's funny how quickly sites like this spread. since everyone uses blogger, i may as well make one for myself. ok, so now that i sound like one of those lame-o's who does something because EVERYONE else is doing it, i shall allow you to read my mind.
and now for the "after-college post"
it's weird to think that 4 years of my life flew by like it was 4 months. it really hasn't sunk in that i won't be moving back to bing in 3 months. it feels like another one of those years where i move all my stuff back home and don't really have to unpack it all because i know i'll just pack it again at the end of the summer. but, that's not exactly true anymore. graduation was definitely one of those anti-climactic moments in life for me. it was strange because the last month or so leading up to graduation had all the signs of the end of college. i went to my own senior banquet (which was incredibly weird. i'll discuss that later), i started to hang out with people more, i had no real work to do, people kept on asking me, "so, what are you doing after graduation?", i began to try to do as many things as possible in bing that i never did, i attended my last large group, i went all out at denny's...twice, and the list could go on. but, despite all of that, i refused to accept the fact that i'd be leaving this place and never coming back (ok, not never, but not for school...maybe). bing has been good to me. there's so many friendships that i've made that will last forever. there are things i've learned that have changed me forever. everything happens for a reason, right? i guess i was meant to be at bing and went through a lot of crap and a lot of good for a reason. i probably don't know that reason or reasons right now, but i will. and i trust that God will show me in His time.
so, what did i learn these past 4 years? thanks for asking. that's a good question. whenever i think about what i learned, the first thing that comes to mind is my pride. wow, i was a brat when i was little. and when i say "little" i mean life up until freshman year of college. i look back on how i interacted with people and i realize that i thought i was all that and a bag of chips. now i know why tiff didn't like me when i we were in 5th grade. it makes sense. the truth is, i'm totally not at all as special as i thought i was. God really broke me down and told me that i need to learn how to be humble and modest. i'm nothing...really. what makes me something is Jesus. i've grown closer to Christ these past 4 year more than i can remember. what's funny is this: i don't deserve anything God gives me. i'm unworthy of His grace. but, He gives it to me anyway. it boggles my mind. i mean, i know why he gives it: His love. but i don't know why he loves me like He does. HA! i just realized that i referenced 2 praise songs that bing's IV praise team loves: unashamed and love me like you do. haha. anyways, despite all of the up and downs of college, God brought me through. there were more ups than downs. so, if there's one thing that i can encourage you with, it's this: know that no matter how low you think you've hit, you'll be back higher than you ever thought because of the hope that Christ gives us. His love is bigger and greater than anything we can imagine. and when you experience that hope and that love, you'll want to love others just as much. (maybe that was 2 things...but they're tied together)
as much as i'm going to tie everything together, it's probably not going to work. but i'll try anyways. hang in there! there's only a little more i want to say in this post.
senior year was probably my favorite out of all 4 years. now, don't get me wrong, alumni, you guys are great. you cared for me in so many ways and couldn't even begin to tell you how thankful i am. but, the truth is, being an upperclassman and caring for underclassmen is infinitely times better than being the underclassman that's being cared for. i met so many underclassmen that had a lot of energy, passion, fire, and flat out awesome-ness. a lot of people talked about how awesome the seniors are, how we're leaving a legacy, and all that jazz. i really do appreciate all this and i'm glad that we've impacted you guys so much, but know that it's not really us that are the ones to thank and build up. it's all about God. it's through His love that we do what we do. we all serve one purpose: to glorify God.
ok, i'm tired. i think i will tell you part 2 later.
and now for the "after-college post"
it's weird to think that 4 years of my life flew by like it was 4 months. it really hasn't sunk in that i won't be moving back to bing in 3 months. it feels like another one of those years where i move all my stuff back home and don't really have to unpack it all because i know i'll just pack it again at the end of the summer. but, that's not exactly true anymore. graduation was definitely one of those anti-climactic moments in life for me. it was strange because the last month or so leading up to graduation had all the signs of the end of college. i went to my own senior banquet (which was incredibly weird. i'll discuss that later), i started to hang out with people more, i had no real work to do, people kept on asking me, "so, what are you doing after graduation?", i began to try to do as many things as possible in bing that i never did, i attended my last large group, i went all out at denny's...twice, and the list could go on. but, despite all of that, i refused to accept the fact that i'd be leaving this place and never coming back (ok, not never, but not for school...maybe). bing has been good to me. there's so many friendships that i've made that will last forever. there are things i've learned that have changed me forever. everything happens for a reason, right? i guess i was meant to be at bing and went through a lot of crap and a lot of good for a reason. i probably don't know that reason or reasons right now, but i will. and i trust that God will show me in His time.
so, what did i learn these past 4 years? thanks for asking. that's a good question. whenever i think about what i learned, the first thing that comes to mind is my pride. wow, i was a brat when i was little. and when i say "little" i mean life up until freshman year of college. i look back on how i interacted with people and i realize that i thought i was all that and a bag of chips. now i know why tiff didn't like me when i we were in 5th grade. it makes sense. the truth is, i'm totally not at all as special as i thought i was. God really broke me down and told me that i need to learn how to be humble and modest. i'm nothing...really. what makes me something is Jesus. i've grown closer to Christ these past 4 year more than i can remember. what's funny is this: i don't deserve anything God gives me. i'm unworthy of His grace. but, He gives it to me anyway. it boggles my mind. i mean, i know why he gives it: His love. but i don't know why he loves me like He does. HA! i just realized that i referenced 2 praise songs that bing's IV praise team loves: unashamed and love me like you do. haha. anyways, despite all of the up and downs of college, God brought me through. there were more ups than downs. so, if there's one thing that i can encourage you with, it's this: know that no matter how low you think you've hit, you'll be back higher than you ever thought because of the hope that Christ gives us. His love is bigger and greater than anything we can imagine. and when you experience that hope and that love, you'll want to love others just as much. (maybe that was 2 things...but they're tied together)
as much as i'm going to tie everything together, it's probably not going to work. but i'll try anyways. hang in there! there's only a little more i want to say in this post.
senior year was probably my favorite out of all 4 years. now, don't get me wrong, alumni, you guys are great. you cared for me in so many ways and couldn't even begin to tell you how thankful i am. but, the truth is, being an upperclassman and caring for underclassmen is infinitely times better than being the underclassman that's being cared for. i met so many underclassmen that had a lot of energy, passion, fire, and flat out awesome-ness. a lot of people talked about how awesome the seniors are, how we're leaving a legacy, and all that jazz. i really do appreciate all this and i'm glad that we've impacted you guys so much, but know that it's not really us that are the ones to thank and build up. it's all about God. it's through His love that we do what we do. we all serve one purpose: to glorify God.
ok, i'm tired. i think i will tell you part 2 later.
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