Thoughts, Feb 28th, 8:07PM

I am sitting on a bench in a gazebo in the middle of the quad at Belmont, and a strange phemona has occurred.

Next to me, a spontaneous event has erupted. A group of students, armed only with a banjo, two violins, a penny flute, a dulcimer, and their voices began to perform everything from medieval music to their own versions of the themes from Titanic and Pirates of the Carribean to original songs. And it's all improvised on the spot. It's been going on for quite a while now, and I love it.

I love the fact that the weather is perfect and I am outside at 8pm with only a slight chill in the air. I could not have asked for a more beautiful day in Nashville. Everyone has come out from their winter hibernation, and the campus is once again full of life.

I love that I just came outside not too long ago from seeing an interview with Ben Folds and his take on the production of music in today's dynamic world.

I love that I have made so many close friends here that really care for me enough to wake me up every three hours during the middle of the night to make sure that the bite on my back was not another attack of the brown recluse that apparently has made a home on our hall (not for long! mr. exterminator had a little visit yesterday).

If home is where the heart is, I think that (finally) a part of my heart has rested on Belmont. It's been a long process, but it's good to feel at home again.

It's also good to have spring again. Everyone is in happy moods, everyone is out playing frisbee or resting on a blanket or reading their favorite book. Community is being fostered simply because everyone is congregating at the center of campus. Spring is also a reminder of me that all things can be made new. All things can be restored. The winter has gone and and new things are in store. A new life has just begun for me. And it's always good to be reminded that life is full of (and even dependent on) rhythms. It's how God created it. A time to be sad, a time to be happy. A time to grow, a time to reflect. Things don't stay the same, and they aren't intended to. Change happens. I can detect rhythms even within my weekly routine. I know that there are certain times during the week when I'm more likely to be worn out or sad than others. And I can prepare for that. It's normal. It's a rhythm. Just like I can always count on Sunday coming after Saturday. Or on Spring always breaking from the Winter. I am just glad that I'm finally on the growing curve and am leaving the reflective state. It's been a long season in my life, and it's so refreshing to be free from it and experience new things. I know it'll come back soon enough, and at that time I'll be needing it and wanting it, but right now I'm happy for the change. I can't wait to see what this chapter has for me. I feel like I'm finally HERE. Some of you know all too well what I mean by that.