New Semester; New Friends; New FAV Class; New Church; New Plans!

Every January I think about, wonder about, what God might have in store for me in the coming year...And the events and opportunities that come my way never cease to amaze me. I can't help but hope that this year will follow suit.

Things are already looking up. Upon returning to Nashville after a month-long (much-needed!) break I quickly got in touch with new and old friends and made a decision to make sure I get out more this semester! It's so easy for me to get too focused on school and become socially deprived. I end up being alone, lonely, worn out, and feeling under the weather. Those are four things college should NOT be! Thankfully I've gotten to know some great people and look forward to staying busy with them.

Another biggie is finding a church....after 16 rather awkward weeks of visiting new and diverse churches--everything from Methodist to Southern Baptist to ultra-progressive neo-christian modern "things" that I would hesitate to call church--I think I've found what I will be happy to call my home church. I visited Fellowship Bible Church with some friends last week and really enjoyed it! Since then, I've met several other classmates that go there too. Coincidence? Maybe not :)

What else is new?
Oh yes...

Since changing my majors last semester (from Sociology/French to Entrepreneurship/Int. Business) I've been eagerly anticipating the classes I'm taking this semester as part of my new track. My favorite by far is Entrepreneurship. This may or may not have something to do with the sweet, adorable guy in my group who winks and smiles at me throughout the 4-hour class period, but in any case, I've been toying with the idea of starting my own business since I was about 12, so finally getting into an entrepreneurship class is so exciting! And I might actually use the material sooner than I thought.... ;)

Also.....I got a new job! This one is off campus and (thankfully!) pays more than the minimum wage telemarketing job I had on campus last semester. (I must say, it's pretty demoralizing to move across the country, only to be welcomed by a 60% pay cut!) So yes, I was apparently hired at Panera Bread--the BEST bakery/lunch cafe in town--although they haven't gotten back to me with a schedule, so I think I'll be calling to harrass them tomorrow. :) It just happened that they were looking for a night cashier to work about 18 hours a week; and I just happened to walk in with a stunning resume ;) looking to work nights, about 20 hrs/wk...perfect! I'll be at the one on 21st, next to SAT Co., so come visit me!


For some reason I seem to have a lot of extra time this semester, so I've doing some extracurricular reading in addition to the thirteen assigned books I need to finish in the next 14 weeks. About a year ago, a good friend recommended I read Louise Brown's The Dancing Girls of Lahore. Seeing as it's taken me ten months to get through the first 6 pages, I'll admit that it starts out slow. But once you get past the slightly anthropological beginning, the story is captivating. Louise Brown is an English sociologist who moves to Pakistan over a period of seven years, I believe, to study the lifestyle, history, and societal role of the once-respected dancing girls of the now red-light district in Lahore. She does a great job of giving faces, voices, and personalities to the women we often refer to as "victims of sex trafficking."
It's a good read...Let me know if you want to borrow it!

Now that I have a social life, give me a call and we'll get together for coffee...or Fro Yo if this 60-degree weather keeps up! :)

Wishing you all the best in 2009,
Shirah