Look at My Sweater!
I took these photos more than a month ago and never got around to posting them. But I have to level with you: this semester has been far more overwhelming than I could have anticipated. And I knew it would be wild going in.
We’re back in person at seminary. In addition to being fully vaccinated, all students have to get weekly Covid tests and wear masks at all times.
For the first few weeks of class, we weren’t sure we would be allowed to have indoor chapel services – even though they’re the main community formation activity at a seminary – because the university deemed it an “extracurricular activity.” Eventually, the staff got it reclassified as a ”lab.”
The initial health-related anxiety of going back to school in person has given way to social exhaustion and academic stress. I’m also less than 6 months from ordination, so I have lots of meetings, portfolios, and other career-related things on my plate in addition to schoolwork.
It’s been hard to keep my head above water. But I’ve been trying to let myself breathe, give myself space, and do what I really want to do instead of listening to the voices in my head that tell me to wait until a better time.
If there’s anything that this ongoing pandemic has taught me, it’s that we don’t have the convenience of waiting until a better time. Life is fragile. We have to follow joy and beauty where we can find it.
To that end, I went whale watching on Cape Cod earlier this month. And I made the 2.5-hour round trip drive with a stranger to see my favorite vocal ensemble, VOCES8, on Friday.
I’m in over my head in almost every way. But I’m alive and I get to be with my loved ones. And I get to laugh with friends by fire pits and get teary-eyed over the meaning of life on long, fall walks. I do not take it for granted.
Also, look at this sweater! A lovely thrift shop find.
Wearing: Thrifted Sweater, Madewell Balloon Jeans, TEVA Sandals (these run a full size big)
