senior year

Hi, y'all!

I'm doing things a little bit backwards, as I've already posted about graduation. But now I'd like to look farther back & focus on senior year. It was a challenging time, but I think I came out of it in one piece. Would I want to do it again? NO. I think I contracted senioritis on Day 4, which is probably a record or something. Don't get me wrong, I love school, but I am a lil bit burnt out now. Nevertheless, senior year brought many blessings, a few of which I shall highlight below.

off-campus housing

I officially moved off campus into a town house with my besties Jemi & Charmaine. It was so nice to commute, as we only lived 12 minutes from campus. I felt like I really got the separation from work & school that I needed. Home was a space for relaxation and studying. It was also neat to get a test-run at being a "real adult" through paying for our rent & utilities, buying our own furniture & decorations, and learning to live in a community where people, um, don't run around with their shirts off during finals week. And, of course, living with my best friends made it all 100x better.

last classes of English major

Last fall, I enrolled in three English classes: two that were required and one just for fun (don't worry, I audited that one). It was strange to sit in those classrooms I've been familiar with since I was 17 and know that it was the last time. At the same time, the sense of time being fleeting helped me to appreciate my professors & classmates more than ever. I made new friends, continued to strengthen my relationships with "old" friends, and learned new things. I got to read everything from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to Paradise Lost, and I also got to write a literary analysis on Anna Karenina, one of my favorite books!

TESOL minor

So, even though I've technically been a TESOL/ESL minor since my first semester, I didn't really embrace it until senior year. This year, I took all of my methodology courses, my final seminar, and did my internship. One of my favorite parts of the TESOL minor was learning how many cool people there are at Messiah who are just as passionate about teaching ESL/EFL responsibly as I am. I especially loved getting to know Dr. Tina Keller, the coordinator of the minor, who showed me where a love for education can take me. (Thank you!!)

off-campus job

Senior year was the first year I worked off-campus. I knew my 13~ hours of on-campus work just weren't going to cut it, since I now had to pay for gas & renters insurance in addition to groceries & car insurance... & everything else. So I stayed on at my summer job, working as a server at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant. I even convinced Jemi to join me, which was wonderful. If you've ever worked with your best friend, you know what I'm talking about! :)

faculty assistant position

This spring, I started a new job as a faculty assistant for my professor, Dr. Dzaka. The work was not particularly notable, but I really enjoyed spending more time with Dr. Dzaka. It was both of our last semesters--mine because I'm graduating & his because he's retiring. Dr. Dzaka is the very first professor I ever had at Messiah--I took his Postcolonial Literature course in Fall 2015--so it felt very fitting that I spent so much time with him during my last semester at Messiah.

senior thesis

Speaking of Dr. Dzaka, he was also the faculty advisor for my senior thesis, which I presented via Zoom on April 30. Like I mentioned a few posts back, I only had from January to April to work with him (he was on sabbatical in Kenya & Ghana during the fall). That certainly put a time crunch on my project, but then, I'm used to that. I read most of my primary texts in the summer & fall, and in the spring I spent a lot of time procrastinating. I really didn't write the bulk of my senior thesis or edit it at all until the second half of April. Tears were shed, coffee was drunk, and words were written. But it all turned out all right! I had my big revelation the night before, created my Google Slides, and presented with confidence. The next step is tidying the paper up for publication & grad school applications!

quarantine

The unexpected part of senior year... I never thought I would be stuck in my house for *checks calendar* 74 days, but life is a little crazy sometimes. Completing my last semester online was not my favorite thing, and I missed so many experiences due to COVID-19, but in the end, I am incredibly blessed. Yes, the stay-at-home orders sucked, but I am thankful for the time quarantine afforded me to get closer to my family, to God, and to some very special individuals (including a beautiful lady whose name begins with L). So, strange as it may seem, quarantine was a blessing for me. (NOW STAY AT HOME & PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING SO THAT NO MORE PEOPLE GET SICK!)

Some last thoughts: sometimes blessings come in disguise. Sometimes endings are really new beginnings. And sometimes God comes into your life--not in bright, flashing lights--but in a whisper.

xx Liz

If you're a college student, what were some things you enjoyed this year?