"Mrs Landingham What Next?"

I hearby write this journal early morning before I head off to church at Koinonia with my good friend Jerry from the office. This has been a very quiet and relaxing weekend for me. It has been a while since I did not have to work on a last minute project for class and I did well in the class but I am going to have to tighten up and do better if I expect to become a competitive candidate for a Ph.d which I am seriously considering pursuing. But one step a time. Right now, let's get through the Masters first. Most of the college friends I have made this academic year have headed back home for the summer, especially those from the Baptist Campus Ministry. It is emotionally difficult to see people graduate and move away and go home for their summers when you have enjoyed their company and see G-Ville and ECU become a little dead before summer school starts back up but it isn't the same as the regular academic terms. I am a people person. Even though I can get a bit moody and need to be left alone from time to time, don't take it personally. However, I have come quite used friends leaving because working on a college campus, you are always going to meet new people. Although the older I get, the more disconnected I feel from college students even though technically I am still one. I don't have a heart for teaching public school but I do have a passion for teaching and connecting with college students. I discovered that this past year that my role on campus has changed over the past few years since I graduated with my Bachelors. I am serving more and more of a role as a mentor, teacher, and counselor. This is not something that I am trying to establish, it is just something that seems to be coming out more naturally during this transition I have made into young adulthood. This summer I turn 27 and will only be three years away from turning thirty and that seems wild to me. Yet I have made close friendships with people who are just graduating and around the age of 21 and observing them just beginning their transition. I used to be the youngest as well as the smallest person if about every event, situation, class, etc I have been a part of most of my life. And now, I am the oldest around most of my friends and it is a weird feeling to be a veteran. Still making friends with freshmen. For a long time I avoided it but I have met a lot of great people and I found myself to be an asset of information to them because I have been through college and from my job on campus. And it feels good to be a resource now rather than being the person always in need in which growing up under my circumstances constantly placed me to be in a position to need others. It feels great to be useful for a change. This summer will be the summer I finally get my first car and if you have kept up with me over the years, you know how much of a struggle that has been for me. "The Angels in Heaven Will Be Rejoicing" when that day finally comes and although I picked the perfect time with gas prices skyrocketing, I know that it will change my life for the better. I titled this blog with a quote from one of my favorite shows, "the West Wing." When the President finishes a big project he always say the quote to his secretary. And I am asking the same question for my life. "What Next?"