Breaking Down Boston

            I think I’m just now realizing how much of life is made up of “other things.” By this I mean things other than the general extent of your occupation. Technically, as a full-time student, one would think I’d spend most of my time studying. While I do study and go to class for a substantial amount of time, much of my week involves meetings, conferences and activities. If I’m not performing or going to church or meeting someone for lunch, I’m dropping something off or depositing something or buying something. Perhaps, after all, life is a lot more about the “other stuff” than we sometimes realize – more about relationships, character-building, and learning than about the actual productivity. Not that the week has been unproductive. There have been the usual assignments, quizzes, and stressing. At the moment, though, weekends are at the forefront of my mind. This past weekend, for example, was very busy and also a lot of fun.
            On Friday morning I attended part of a conference on Middle Eastern literature and heard analyses of different authors and their writings, ranging from books to comics to poetry. The talks were in English, but it was interesting to hear the close readings done in other languages. Friday night I went to DOXA* for the first time in weeks and had a great time worshipping and listening to a good talk that reminded me to place God first.
            This prepared the way for Saturday, all of which I spent performing with my a cappella group. I hadn’t realized how extensive Break it Down Boston (BIDB) is. We left for BC** at 7:20 A.M. to meet up with Christian a cappella groups from Princeton, MIT, Yale, BU, UPenn, Penn State, Rutgers, Amherst, Johns Hopkins, NYU, and several other universities for the event.
            After the initial meet-and-greet, groups went off in pairs to designated areas around Boston to “sing on the streets”. We had the opportunity to perform at an assisted living and then sang outside. It was cold, so most people hurried on by instead of listening, but it was still fun.  We then headed back to BC to prepare for our joint concert. Every group, including ours, performed one or two songs, and it was great fun. Our songs (one of them performed for the first time in public) went fabulously, and we were blessed by everyone else’s singing.

             I have to admit, I was too tired to be overly excited at the end of the concert, but that wasn’t the end. Instead we headed back to Harvard for Relay for Life around 11:40-ish, sang a couple of songs, and then decided to go to iHop for breakfast. It was already past midnight; most of us had given up on getting a decent amount of sleep. That was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. Some combination of hunger, sleep-depravity, and carryover good spirits made it a night – er, morning – to remember. I know I’ve said this before, but my a cappella group is great, and I’m going to miss them, especially the seniors who are graduating this semester. We stayed chatting and eating at the restaurant until around 2:00 am.  Needless to say, I went to the late service at church on Sunday.
            I didn’t get everything done for school, but I’ll be alright. The mid-semester hurdles are over now; I just need to settle back into the normal routine of things. This morning we had Swim PT for ROTC and played water polo. I’d never played before, and I wasn’t very good – for one thing, it’s hard to remember who’s on your team – but it was fun. Now it’s time to finally go back to studying, though right now that doesn’t seem like it dominates my life.
            I’m still excited about weekends. This Saturday morning I’m going on a ROTC trip to Maine that promises to be interesting, and in the evening Under Construction will be performing in our Spring Concert, which I am even more excited about. And then it’s Holy Week, and that Friday the three main Christian groups on campus are hosting a showing of the Passion, and then it’s Easter!

            Everything is happening so fast, but I’m super excited for all of it! On the other hand, I didn’t get much of any ‘normal work’ done this weekend, so I should really return to what is supposedly my default setting. Bye for now!

*DOXA – (Greek word for “glory”) the large group gathering for Harvard College Faith and Action

**BC – Boston College