A Smile on Everybody's Face

Apparently it snows in Virginia…

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:32:12 -0500

Apparently it snows in Virginia…

"What usually is done may be evidence of what ought to be done, but what ought to be done is fixed by..."

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:34:45 -0400

“What usually is done may be evidence of what ought to be done, but what ought to be done is fixed by a standard of reasonable prudence, whether it usually is complied with or not.”

- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

For all of my visual friends, here is what my first year of law...

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:35:16 -0400

For all of my visual friends, here is what my first year of law school will look like.

You may notice that I have not one, but two classes on Friday… this will be a novel experience for me, as I have become quite proficient at avoiding Friday classes. I can say with confidence that I have not had two Friday classes since my very first semester at Clemson… which by the way feels like it began last week.

Still thrilled to get started!

This video gets me so fired up! Even though I worked out this...

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:36:05 -0400

This video gets me so fired up! Even though I worked out this morning, it makes me want to go do it again. Well done, Tigers!

This is the start of something Good.

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:19:00 -0400

As I mentioned in my previous post, “Passing Through,” the first few days I was in Charlottesville I was feeling ~~pretty~~ very homesick. It didn’t help that I was just hanging out in a hotel room, alone, waiting to move into my apartment. The highlight of this 3-day stretch was probably an endless supply of hotel coffee (Thank you Hampton Inn of Charlottesville) and access to Gold’s Gym of Charlottesville (quite an impressive facility, by the way). But one can only drink so much coffee and pump so much iron before one becomes unbearably restless.

So I finally made myself get out of the hotel room in order to explore the University which I will call home for the next three years. Thank the Lord I did! I definitely think that my restlessness in the hotel room was the result of some divine nudging by the Big Man Upstairs.

I decided that I needed to get a feel for the lay-out of UVA and figure out how to navigate myself to and from my apartment. So I decided to park my car in my future apartment complex and run to the main grounds of UVA to see the sights. At this point, I would like to make two assertions that I believe to be true:

If you’re physically able, running around a new place is one of the best ways to get a feel for the environment. You’re not moving as fast as you would be in an automobile and thus have the opportunity to notice many more details than you would behind the wheel.
Physical activity does wonders for one’s disposition. As you will soon discover, this run was monumental in re-energizing me, but even working out at the aforementioned Gold’s Gym made me feel a bit better.

So I embarked on my run to the Main Grounds. I should now make a note of clarification. At Virginia, terminology is sometimes a sensitive and precise subject. Thus, the following are true for common terminology at UVA:

The word “Campus,” is quite the faux pas at UVA. The physical place of the University is simply refered to as “Grounds.” This may be further sub-divided into “North Grounds,” which houses the School of Law and Darden School of Business, or “Central Grounds,” which houses the Rotunda and the vast majority of the academic facilities.
Since Mr. Jefferson stressed the continuity of one’s education, undergraduates are not referred to as Freshmen, Sophomores, etc. Instead they are called First Years, Second Years and so on. (I am thankful for this, as I’ve been in school for so long I believe the dictionary has run out of terms for my academic status.)
Professors are called Mr. and Mrs. instead of Dr. Mr. Jefferson himself was not a Ph.D. and believed that this system was more conducive to setting instructors and eager scholars on less-formal terms.

I like all of these terms and will abide by them in my references to life here in Charlottesville.

Now, back to my run. My first run to Grounds was unbelievable. I basically ran down one street (Ivy Rd. which turns into University Ave) and up one semi-unpleasant hill and found myself right outside the UVa Rotunda. Wow. What a beautiful piece of architecture.

The Rotunda is the University of Virginia’s iconic building, which is featured in many logos and symbols associated with the University. In Clemson terms:

The Rotunda:Virginia::Tillman Hall:Clemson

(I’m still ticked off the College Board took analogies off the SAT. Those were my jam.)

I ran from the central grounds back up to my apartment, which is adjacent to the law school. Since I was feeling pretty ambitious that day, I decided to take a short adventure and run by the building I will be spending my life in for the next 3 years.

I only ran by the building during the run. (I had perspired a bit and was was also the fortunate depository for some precipitation during the run. Long story short: I was wet.) But just running by was all I needed that day.

It is so strange how sometimes it takes seeing an iconic view for us to really know we have arrived somewhere. New York won’t feel like New York until one sees the Statue of Liberty. Paris doesn’t feel like Paris until we see the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe.

That was how I felt in Charlottesville leading up to this run. And then just like that my whole disposition took a 180 degree turn. It took going to see these iconic images and really feeling like I was a part of the place to remind me how happy I am to be here. Since learning about Thomas Jefferson in high school, it has been my dream to attend the University of Virginia. In a way, everything I’ve done leading up to this point in my life, at least in the academic sense, was to prepare me to be right here. Exactly where I am. Right Now.

That got me FIRED UP. With that in mind, I really felt like I didn’t have any time or reason to be homesick. Literally, I’m living a dream right now. Of course, I will still miss everyone terribly for the next three years. I know I’m going to miss out on a lot of fun stuff back home. But this is the opportunity of a lifetime. I’m so blessed to have this adventure before me and couldn’t be happier than I am right now.

I’m going to love these next three years.

Passing Through

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:44:00 -0400

Yesterday marks exactly one week since I said goodbye to Clemson and departed for Charlottesville, Virginia to begin Law School. I wish that I could tell you that the experience was easy and painless. However, we all know I’m a terrible liar.

It’s a good thing that I know the stretch of Highway 123 between Clemson and Easley like the back of my hand… both for me and those motorists who passed my Uhaul Truck the morning of August 6th, 2011. During that particular stretch of highway on that particular morning, my vision was terribly obstructed and blurred by an unfamiliar type of condensation which came from the ducts under my eyes. As I’m not a generally emotional person, I was wholly unprepared for the rush of emotion that hit me. That morning, as I said my last goodbye and left Clemson for the last time, I finally understood the expression “open the floodgates.” On the bright side, I think I now have a more vivid understanding of what it may have looked like when God “unparted” the Red Sea after Moses and the Israelites had safely crossed out of Egypt. (Exodus 14:26-28)

Before I left, I took a final drive through the campus that I walked across every day for the last 5 years. As I drove, it was only appropriate to listen to Doug McCormick’s “Tiger Raised in the Southland,” on repeat. The song itself brings to mind so many great memories. As many of you probably know, I think life would be a lot more fun if it were a musical (Note: A musical of the Singin’ in the Rain variety, not of the Mamma Mia! variety. Gene Kelley can be in my musical.Meryl Streep cannot.) If my life were a musical, I think Doug’s song would certainly be the headliner of my soundtrack.

As I drove around campus, so many memories came to mind. A previous version of this blog post actually listed those memories. (Luckily for you, my Thinkpad T60 (circa 2006) decided to take a holiday during that post and I had to start over.) Needless to say, virtually everything I looked at brought to mind a moment or memory that was incredibly special to me. If you’re reading this, I saw something or thought of something that reminded me of you and thought fondly of our time together.

After 5 years, Clemson really had become my home (Much to the chagrin of Jeannie and Kenneth Park). So much of my support and my relationships were centered on that little college town. Those relationships I had made with my very best friends in this world all started right there in Tiger Town. Everything I knew was there and everyone that knew me was there. The opening number from the sitcom “Cheers” comes to mind. Although I keep telling myself that sitcom is way before my time, its theme song really resonates when I think about Clemson:

Sometimes you want to go- Where Everybody Knows your name- And they’re always glad you came

Leaving Clemson and the Carolina’s really felt like I was leaving everything and everyone that I loved.

As a result of all leaving that which is so special behind and being alone in a new place, I think I was pretty depressed for the first few days I was here. I was killing time in a hotel until I was able to move in to my new apartment on Tuesday. I didn’t have much to do besides think about all the faces that I already missed terribly, knowing it was only going to get worse.

But as I began to think about it over the next few days, I realized that I wasn’t sad about leaving the place as much as I first thought. I was more afraid that the relationships that I had built in Clemson would change after I left. For me, those relationships that I built over my 5 years in Tiger Town are the “Something in these Hills,” that Joe Sherman talks about.

“I have my names and I see once more the faces and feel again the beloved personalities that go with them.”

Not only would I miss those familiar and kind faces, but I liked the idea of being a familiar face to others. I dread the day that I walk through Sirrine Hall or 110 Daniel Drive, or cross the Library bridge or enter the Student Union, and no longer am a familiar face to those people who mean so much to me.

In other words, I felt as though Clemson had become a huge part of me and I too had become a small part of Clemson. Clemson became my town and Clemson-ites became my family. The people I met there made me into the person that I am. And I’ll never be the same as a result of that time and those people.

In a town where people are constantly “passing through,” as Dr. Joel Brawley eloquently put it, it seems hard to come to the realization that I too am simply “passing through.” But I’m so thankful to have made those relationships and memories with so many special people who have blessed my life beyond measure. I hope and pray that those relationships stay strong and continue to bear fruit for the rest of my life.

Passing through, passing through,
Sometime happy, sometimes blue, glad that I ran into you.
Tell the people that you saw me passing through.

"Bring me joy, bring me peace Bring the chance to be free Bring me anything that brings You glory And..."

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:48:37 -0400

“Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there’ll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that’s what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain.”

- “Bring the Rain” - Mercy Me

"But I trust in Your unfailing Love; My heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord,..."

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:21:00 -0400

“But I trust in Your unfailing Love;
My heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
For He has been good to me.”

- Psalm 13:5-6

I will miss the great folks from Clemson’s Alumni...

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:49:18 -0400

I will miss the great folks from Clemson’s Alumni Association.

"Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what..."

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:47:00 -0400

“Justice is getting what you deserve.
Mercy is not getting what you deserve.
Grace is getting what you do not deserve.”