When I was in high school I did not enjoy school. As most high school students, I thought school was kind of useless in some areas. (For me, math and science especially) Since the 8th grade I knew where I wanted to attend college and I knew I did not need these subjects for my time there, but simply needed them to graduate high school. Let's just say that in high school- school was not my thing.
Over the past week or so I have been dwelling on my thankfulness for education. When I was in Cambodia I learned about the chances of people getting an education in their lives. When the Khmer Rouge was in power, they wiped out 20% of the population of Cambodia... Starting with anyone who was educated. It's true, they targeted educated people. Now, 30 years later, the country is in shambles. A generation of uneducated people is in power now. Not to say it isn't getting better, but it's just a terrible thing that an educated person was a bad person-worthy of death. Anyway, a large number of children in Cambodia will not ever get an education, not just a higher education. But you can bet that those who go on to higher education are few and far between.
Now, I know we live in a different place and our country has not seen the same problems they have. But I am very thankful for an education. Not just high school, but more so, for my college education. Since about the 8th grade I dreamed of the day I would move to Ozark Christian College in the thriving metropolis of Joplin, Missouri. Let's just say the journey has gone different than I ever anticipated, but in some ways, it has been everything I hoped it would be.
One of the reasons I am thankful for the education I have received at OCC is because it has honestly allowed me to enjoy school. I get to study things that pertain exactly to what I want to do with my life. This has allowed me to look forward to going to class each day and write a countless numbers of papers, study some intense memory work, and take tests with a zeal I have never had for school before. The knowledge I have gained while at Ozark is irreplaceable. I am forever thankful that Ozark has instilled in me the idea that school can actually be enjoyable!
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be able to learn about my area of interest under the most Godly set of professors I could have ever asked for. One of the things I always tell people when they are considering Ozark or want to know what I love about OCC is this: This is your family. It's no longer professor-student relationships, it's like every professor becomes your mentor. These are the people you will look up to and what to be like whether or not you agree with all of their thoughts and ideas. These are people you don't just learn from concerning the Word of God, or in my case, Psychology and Counseling. These are the people you learn from for four years concerning the life you lead and how to be the person God intends for you to be. I would have never developed into this version of me had I chosen to go somewhere else, at least not in my four years of college. As I approach the end of my second to last semester, my heart is filled with the sorrow you feel when you are about to move from your home. I could never express my thankfulness to the faculty and staff at OCC for pouring in to my life for four years... and some of them, I know it will continue in the years to come. Choosing Ozark was easily one of the most important decisions I have ever made. The people I have known from my time there have been by me through incredibly important and trying times. I will forever be thankful for my OCC family.
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