It is finished. Finals week was intense: I had regular classes Monday through Wednesday; a final class assignment also due Wednesday; two in-class essay exams on Thursday, for a total of three hours of frantic writing and a very cramped wrist; another two-hour exam on Friday; and two term papers, also due on Friday. As I left the building on Friday, I’m pretty sure that I was only semi-conscious. But, if it was a dream, it was a very happy dream. Since then, I’ve been reminded once more that life is beautiful. The sun is shining (most of the time, at least); I can sleep; and, to top it off, Coldstone Creamery has a sale of two dollars for any LoveIt-size, so this week will be filled with affordable, creamy, calorie-packed deliciousness. Yes, indeed; life is good.

It is strange to think that I’m already done with my first academic year of graduate school; as always, I am shocked by how quickly time goes. Looking back on this year is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, most of my initial expectations for Regent were disappointed. I did not make close relationships with any of my professors, and by midway through second semester, I stopped trying. I did not have any life-changing epiphanies in the classroom; indeed, it felt like most of my mental energy throughout the year was devoted to pushing back against what I was being taught. I did not “make friends and influence people” among the Regent student body, at least insofar as I can tell. Similarly, my personal expectations were disappointed. I did not write a book, learn a new language, or accomplish much else of note. Rather than becoming a humbler, wiser, and more virtuous person, I have been generally angry, short-tempered, selfish, and arrogant.

Nonetheless, although I did not gain what I hoped or expected out of this past year, I have gained many things that I did not hope or expect. I have learned a lot, whether directly from my studies or not. From my studies, my knowledge of history has filled in substantially, as well as my basic understanding of philosophy. I also have a much greater appreciation for and awareness of the content and context of the New Testament, thanks to Rikk Watts, the Australian Pentecostal with a Ph.D. from Cambridge. I also learned a lot in reaction against what I was experiencing in class: what education should, and should not be; how it should, and should not be done; why it matters if we have souls; the dangers of technology and depersonalization.

However, I feel that most of my true education this year came completely incidentally to class. I learned to draw, and took up calligraphy again. I learned to cook, and learned that I actually quite enjoy it. I improved substantially on piano, and got to sing in a great choir. Most of all, though, I learned through relationships. I’ve also been tremendously blessed in my living situation. I’ve had the rare opportunity to have what really feels like a home to come back to, and a second family.

The people I most connected with at Regent were fellow students who had come from non-Western backgrounds, and they have some amazing stories: Mitito, who came from Japan speaking no English with his wife and one-year-old daughter, to enroll in a reading and writing-intensive master’s program; Jude, from Granada, who combines a deep intelligence and insight with a chillax Caribbean accent and approach to life; Miao, who studied in an underground seminary in China, and somehow learned to speak flawless English; Alvin, from Indonesia, whose dedication to studying biblical languages rivals that of anyone else I’ve met. It has been immensely inspiring, informative, and exciting to see and hear what God is doing throughout the world.

So what now? Good question. My plan had been to stay two more years and complete the Master of Divinity program; however, after this year, I think that I will probably opt for a two-year degree instead. People have asked me frequently (particularly as I got more tired and grumpy towards the end of the year) why I was back in school in the first place. The only answer that I could give was, because I thought that this was where God wanted me to be. I still don’t know where this is headed, although the more I learn about Africa, the more excited I become about the opportunities there. I don’t know how the lessons I am learning now are shaping me for some future task. What I do know is that God has been faithful to me thus far; I trust that He will continue to be.