In the Lay of Things

Cheesin' hard for the girls day trip...      Wow. That really is all I have to say after these past two weeks. It has been such a delight to be where I am, I truly can't express that enough. Just last week, I experienced my favourite night here so far. While my roommates and I were sitting in our room chatting, we suddenly noticed a downpour of rain outside. One by one, we ran out of the room, dancing in it. This was one of those moments where I have never felt more alive. The contagious laughs that came from each one of us as we ran around campus, drenched and in complete awe, became a joyful sound that turned into a lingering hum throughout the week. I was just so happy. I was reminded in this moment of all the times where I thought I was happy, where I thought I was overflowing with joy. Moments where I believed I had everything I needed. Looking back now, I realize I was falling short in those memories. Nothing has filled me up like this experience has...

     It is so beyond crazy to say that I am heading into week five here in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The students and I had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Michael Brown on campus this week for our lecture time, and his Thursday night message was something that I found to be incredibly relatable.  Pretty sunset during our room dinner outside with the girls      Dr. Brown began talking about an experience he had in an airport. He was travelling with a large group of people and just about every possible chaotic thing that could happen, happened. Whether it was boarding passes accidentally packed in checked luggage, running late with the gate positioned all the way across the airport, or having the shuttle to the gate be non functioning; it was nothing short of crazy. Dr. Brown mentioned that in the midst of running to the gate with his luggage, he stood there in the middle of the airport and began experiencing a supernatural joy he knew was from...