My Writings

Here I sit. These are my last hours of work at the McKee Library - my last hours of work at Southern. And, sitting here, I must reflect upon my time here. So many heights. So many depths. I have fallen. I have grown. What a time.

This place is now full of my thoughts and memories. Five years of schooling and service. It has gone by so quickly. It seems that, just four years ago, I was ending my first year here - it seems that it was only a month ago. Now… I am about to graduate. Time feels as mysterious as love…at times.

If you’ll, please allow me a few lines to list some of my Southern memories - not all good, not all bad, some amazing:

Summer session class - my first college experience

Rooming with my brother, just down the hall from Michael and Seth

Spending time at the CK with Geoff, Michael, and Seth

Rock climbing - HorsePens 40, Tennessee Bouldering Authority, and Rock City

Meeting new friends - spending time with old ones

Meeting Beth-Anne (this will undoubtedly be the hightlight of my Southern life….she sums up the best of my Southern experiences)

Getting a 1.9 GPA before going out as a Student Missionary

Mission service in Yap (this will undoubtedly be one of the top memories of my life - it was hard, but something about it keeps beckoning to my heart)

Returning to school - 3.9 GPA first semester back (a 2.0 GPA jump between two school semesters - my greatest scholastic achievement….straight A’s!!!)

More jobs on campus - working hard at them

Asking Beth-Anne to marry me…having our friends be involved!!!

More classes, more friends, more learning, more life…

Student Teaching - knowing that I still want to be a teacher

…I will miss Southern. I will miss the people. I will never forget the memories. I will never forget that this is the place where God helped me find myself in a more true way than ever before…and where He showed me the companion of my life.

Here’s to Southern: the school of my fondest memories.

Finally, my site has been updated. It’s about time. For the past year or so, I have hardly touched this place. Hopefully that’s about to change.

To the individual who can solve this riddle and tell me the answer before the month of February is up, I will send $5.

Thinned-out darkness:

Dirty

Empty

And weak.

Filled-out lightness:

Smooth

Sleak

But still the same.

What is the darkness? What is the lightness? And why is it the same?

Just reminiscing about my time spent on Yap.

It’s already been 2.5 years since I first left my family and girlfriend for Yap. I hated it so much over there. And yet, I grew so much over there. Some of the times, I couldn’t stand who I worked with. Other times, I couldn’t stand myself. I felt like God was so far away, and so distant - I had no idea why.

Now, looking back, I can really see - I mean it - I can really see that I’ve scarcely been so close to God as I was there. Now have I grown so rapidly in such a short amount of time. I hated it so, so much. Yet, I grew so, so much.

I wish everyone could feel how I feel when I reminisce. I don’t know if I call it nostalgia, being melancholy, having a continually feeling of surreality - whatever that may be, or what you call it, but I just wish someone else could feel the way I feel.

…then maybe this post wouldn’t be so boring - lol.

-Matt

Romantic words spoken to me by my fiancee:

“I love you like a banana loves its tomato.”