First Week Last Year

It is that time again. Macy's has removed it's strange and yet traditional holiday windows, the wind blows cold, and people are wrapped up tightly with their hands fondling their Starbucks cups. The Christmas season has gone and with it another semester. The begining of the end has ended only to lead to the begining of the end of the end. Otherwise known as the final semester of my senior year.It has been a long journey here at The King's College. There have been many changes to the school over the course of the past four years, but none so much as personal. Going from naive freshman to burnt out senior has had many twists and turns. Perhaps it is cliche to write that I would not change any of it, but it is the truth. Hard Times could be the title of my career here. From losing many friends and family back home to the grave, to thinking my sister had been killed in a car accident, to failing that midterm, to having the provost chastise me, I would have to classify a great portion of my time here as hard. But that does not mean it has not been good.It's strange to think that something hard and painful can be good. In fact, I might say that it is an oximoron. What is bad can not be good. Or can it? What I typically view as bad might really be good afterall. It is only because of the hardship that I face...or that we face, for that matter...that makes us who we are. But more than that, difficulty is a blessing. It teaches us that we are stronger than we think, that we can accomplish more than we ever dreamed, and that those petty acquaintances in our lives are truly are best friends. Reflecting on the past, I look forward to the challenges ahead. Life is full of challenge and pain, but through those struggles growth and knowledge come about.