The Adventure Starts Again Today! Prayers Requested!

I am sitting in the library, surrounded by young people. I love the energy of the young and admire their recognition that one must prepare for the future. I watch them as they saunter pass, individually or in a group, and I stop and think about the fact that at some of their ages, I was working at a chicken plant. It was my first job and maybe the hardest job I ever had, standing as dead chickens devoid of feathers came down a conveyor belt constantly for eight hours.

My job was to remove the windpipes, which required grabbing the chicken and reaching in to pull the windpipe out. My hands were swollen to twice their size by the end of the shift. As long as the chickens were coming, we worked, even after our shifts ended. I have never been so happy to have an allergy, as I was allergic to chicken feathers. My supervisor noticed rashes on my face and hands, and when the doctor made the diagnosis, I celebrated. So, I envy the young students who can go to college right out of school and applaud them, although I know that not everyone is college material.

Being here again as a student rather than as a professor is interesting. I am called Miss Regina by other students. My gray hair stands out, and students tell me that they admire me being in college at “my age.” They tell me that they like my comments in class, but they shouldn’t be surprised I make As because I have lived most of what we study. I will miss the interactions with such lovely people whom I don’t have to give grades.

Today, I start the last two courses, and my prayer is to remain healthy through this semester, for I have had to drop courses for the last three semesters, or I would be long done. I could let the last two course go and just be glad for what I have already learned and the great times I have had, but I don’t believe in quitting. I mean to complete what I started, and with the Lord’s grace and mercy, I believe that I will march in May. This semester I am taking two courses that interest me: Religion in the American South and Religion and Sexuality in Popular Culture. Each will require me to think outside the box and beyond my comfort zone. But that is what I love about going to college, for it keeps the “little gray cells” active.

So, pray for me. Fingers crossed.