4 Things Learned In College

It's that time of year again(!) when all of your friends go their separate ways and start college here in the next month or so. It's hard to imagine because it's almost the end of July...

I'm just glad I'm through with undergrad, and that I'm not having to worry about the start of a new college year. But, I know that this is an exciting, nerve-racking, hopeful, and (insert emotion here) time for those who are starting college or returning back this fall.

A former student of mine has two years of college under her belt, and she recently wrote a blog post that provides some wisdom about college from her own perspective and experiences that I find to be practical, especially for her particular audience.

In a non-literal nutshell, she writes:

1. It's going to feel weird for the first few weeks
2. Please, go to church
3. College friendships are different
4. You might not love it right away

Read an explanation for each here: It's been two years and I've learned four things in college

- JD

PS I should write about my college experiences sometime...

College clipart // BestClipArtBlog.com

The Other Side: Meeting Two Angels

The other day I blogged about meeting Bobby and Jackie Angel. I mentioned how one of my former students, who is such a huuuuuuuuuuge fan girl, had the opportunity to talk to Jackie on the phone since she herself wasn't able to be there in person.

Well, she just blogged about it!

A snippet:

Not going to lie, I was quite jealous of all my friends who got to hang out, take selfies, and watch Jackie speak in the flesh, while I was stuck at home in bed with an injured foot. However, my day was made when one of the volunteers at my parish [hmm, I wonder who that is...], who was eating lunch with Jackie, texted me and was like "hey so can you talk on the phone right now? Jackie said she'd talk with you!" and I responded back with, "YES. OF COURSE" So later on after Jackie finished eating, she called me. I gushed to her about how big of a fan I was and how much a loved her, and she laughed and said thanks lol. I thought our conversation would just be a few minutes, because I figured she would just say hi and then hand the phone back. . . but I was pleasantly surprised when she asked me about where I'm going to college and what career I was interested in. I happily told her that I wanted to pursue a career in youth ministry and, God willing, become a traveling speaker just like her. She offered me some great advice and encouraging words that I'll hold onto as I pursue my dream. 

Read the rest here: A Wake Call From An Angel

I dig how Allie saw this opportunity as a wake up call of where she needs to be focused in her life, and it's a good reminder for even me as I read the rest of her blog post.

- JD

I Am A Muskox

With all of my involvement in church-related things the past several years, I've had a desire to go deeper and learn more. One of the awesome things about being Catholic is having access to our teachings, and now in the modern and digital age, that is so much easier. One of the several ways I learn more about my faith is by following Catholic bloggers.

Sometimes Catholic bloggers are actually kind of a big deal and do more than just blog.

Dr. Taylor Marshall and family

Take Dr. Taylor Marshall for example. I've been a follower of his blog for a while now, and he started something called the New Saint Thomas Institute. Apparently a bunch of his readers/followers expressed interest in learning more about St. Thomas Aquinas, philosophy and theology in general that he decided to start his own institute in which to teach philosophy and theology using St. Thomas Aquinas as a guide. I mean, Dr. Taylor Marshall used to be a professor and a chancellor of a local small Catholic university and is very passionate about this stuff as evident by his blog.

When he announced the New Saint Thomas Institute, he promised a few things that were very enticing to me. He wanted it to be cheap and affordable to where you can gain a good understanding of theology without paying university-caliber fees. He also wanted to produce high quality teaching content and high quality videos.

I, being on a quest for a deeper and richer understanding of my Catholic faith, couldn't resist this idea of the New Saint Thomas Institute. Since I'm continually having to teach Catholicism to Catholics (and non-Catholics too), I need to be better equipped with better knowledge and understanding of my faith so that I may better share the truth with others. And St. Thomas Aquinas is a pretty legit saint and doctor of the Church...my TI-89 Titanium calculator is named after him! The works of St. Thomas Aquinas are such a wealth of Church teaching and theology.

While I wasn't in the first wave of people to sign up whenever Dr. Marshall opened up NSTI, I was for sure in the aftershocks, as it were. I pay a small monthly payment and have access to a growing amount of quality resources (blog posts, videos, forums, etc) to learn all the theological things. I think he's even offering a sort certificates for those who complete "courses"!

I'm pretty excited to be a member of NSTI! I just wish I had better time management skillz to keep up with new posts and content. But that's the nice thing about NSTI too--I can go at my own pace!

If you're at all interested in diving deeper into the faith and don't want to pay two arms and a torso for it, you can join the New Saint Thomas Institute!

So, there's a story behind it...but the mascot of the New Saint Thomas Institute is the muskox.

Tommy the Muskox

I am a muskox.
-JD

Dr. Taylor Marshall and family // TaylorMarshall.com

Tommy the Muskox // TaylorMarshall.com