Brian. Mandi. Brain. Stephanie. Ke’ala. Ben. Daven. Adam. Logan. Kat. Lana. Sky. Alanna. Jayme. Sabrina. Adam. Andrew. Amy. Amy. Emily. Emily. Kirstin. Ann. Jessica. Tyler. Nathan. Evan. Graf. Jeremiah. Kimberlee. Anna. Emily. Matt. Evin. Kathy. Hilary. Krysta. Brittani. Megan. Lindsey. Dan. Andrew. Steve. Kile. Michael. Maleea. Katie. Kari. Zack. Steven. Lindsey. Aaron. Holly. Jill. Kimberly. Kelsey. Conner. Jacob. Krieg. Cameron. Tyler. Matt. Jenna.
These are simply the students who I have supervised/advised over the years. There have been many students who I have spent time with in a number of different roles. I have led small groups (BCG’s!!), Walked with students through tough decisions, I’ve been an academic mentor. I have spent countless hours in spontaneous conversations with students, I’ve sat with students who are completely wasted as all they could do is shower me with drool and profanities, I’ve celebrated life with more students than I can count. But I did count something… Just counting the students listed above, in the past 6 years, I have spent approximately 1,687 hours in one on one conversation with these students. I have also spent 345 hours in team meetings with these students. Keep in mind, these are the structured times. For 4 of those 6 years, I was living in a residence hall and those students were my life. The spontaneous time that I spent with these students is much more. I have baked enough cookies over the course of those years to satisfy Eric for life (and that would take a lot of cookies). A number of these students have called me in the middle of the night (sometimes crying) and they KNEW that they would find a listening ear.
But the amount of time/cookies/tears that I have invested in them is NOT the important thing here. The important thing is the overflow of joy that it gives me to have walked through life with these students. I sit here now and I am overwhelmed with emotion and the fullness of life I have experienced with them, from little brother’s being hit by a car and suffering a brain injury, to break-ups, to spontaneous talent shows, to parents being diagnosed with cancer, to and marriages and job searches to “coming out” and just about anything else you can imagine. And the things that I have LEARNED from these students are the things that have shaped the person that I am. It was my 4 years of college that landed me where I am today and if any of the students that I have the gift of investing in look back and see this time as something that shaped them, that is more than I can ask for.
If any of you are reading this, please know that I am a better person because I know you. Also, know that I love you and miss you dearly (unless I just saw you today, then I don’t miss you quite as bad).
5 comments:
Well Trae...as you can probably guess, your post brought me to tears (big surprise huh)! :) YOU are such an incredible person...I really don't have words to express how meaningful the times I have spent with you (both "scheduled" and spontaneous) mean to me.
Going into my year as PA I never would have imagined that I would have found such a wonderful friend as well as mentor in you. Sure I'd heard you were amazing, but I never knew just how incredible you were until I was in the midst of one of the most challenging years of my life...and you were right by my side through it all. Thank you for being you, for serving God through your time spent with college students, for being a true friend to me!
As much as I love the place in life that I am in right now...I'm sitting here crying because I would give ANYTHING to just have one more day living near you, taking a walk on Queen Anne (or even a run) with you...because being around you made me a better person. I miss you terribly and I know I haven't done a great job keeping in touch. I know life has taken us in different directions and placed us in different locations. I know I can never go back and be a PA again...which is mostly okay with me...except for the fact that it means my time with you is more a memory than a present reality.
If you were sitting with me right now I'd probably be blubbering away, not able to tell you how important you are to me because the tears would be getting in the way of speaking clearly. So maybe it's best that I'm sitting here eating my breakfast, thanking God for giving me a year with you.
This comment is already way too long, but I'm sure I could go on for much longer...I love you Trae. From the bottom of my heart. I pray that God blesses you today in knowing that you have such a grand purpose for Him...the number of lives you have touched are incredible...and you're not even 30 yet! I can't even imagine what God has in store for the rest of your life...
Thank you Trae. I miss you!
<3 Krysta
Don't I mean anything to you? I see two Tyler's, but no Pickel...
Heartbroken,
"The kid who ate a chewy bar off your finger during prayer"
Pickel, you will always be pickel to me. Forgive me for not letting the world know. And that was kinda gross when you ate the chewy bar off my finger. And really funny.
Krysta. There are no words except maybe "my cup runneth over". I love you!
Trae! I'm just dicovering your blog and am excited to continue to read your 30 in 30, what a great idea!
Post a Comment