2008 Woodie Awards
The Last Straw
Anticipating an impact
By: Evan J. Hampton
Issue date: 3/22/06 Section: Opinion
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The last time I heard "Pomp & Circumstance" was in 2001 when I graduated high school and all I could focus on was not tripping and stumbling down a flight of stairs, taking all of my classmates with me. I wish I could hear it again, sooner than projected.
Many of my friends will be walking confidently down the aisles of Turner Chapel in just 43 days. Some might show signs of worry for the future, while others will have a box of Kleenex tucked under their gowns, sad to leave their friends and professors that they've come to respect and adore. All of them will most assuredly have signs of delight as they can finally tuck away the worries of registering for classes, whether or not to wear a hat in a building and staying awake until the pre-dawn hours, cramming for a test that will most definitely come.
School is over for them, but for me, I must try to survive and succeed until December. Sure to some of you that doesn't seem like a long way off, and it isn't in the slightest, but whenever I try and picture myself graduating this Fall all I can imagine is me doing an Army crawl up this huge hill of challenges, as if it seems graduation is a far off battle field that I might not ever get to set foot on. I guess I'm just anxious to get out there and make an impact on society in the way I feel called to do so.
I've been asked recently what my plans are after I graduate. I'm prompted to stand up with excitement at the sound of the three-syllable word, and triumphantly declare something extraordinary, but swiftly realize that I have zero idea. Bullets of sweat don't form on my forehead just yet, but I do realize that a fire needs to be lit under my britches soon or I might be wandering in the dark for years after I graduate, living with my parents and waiting tables the rest of my days. Some of you graduating seniors might be in the same boat.
There is a little light in the darkened room of my future plans. I still have the calling to be somebody in this world and to make an impact on a troubled society in the church and outside the steeple. I want to make a difference by writing ideas and opinions that others are afraid to say. To be the controversial voice on issues that need to be addressed, something that I've tried to do on campus, but find myself hitting a barrier I never expected exists.
I can't seem to understand why we as humans are afraid of what lies ahead. I'm not necessarily scared of where God might lead me, but more so scared of the persecution I might receive for speaking common truth. Persecution I've already been getting from people of all ages on a Christian campus that resonates "Christ's difference." It doesn't bother me that people with the same belief system I share knock me down a peg or two. What bothers me is the fact that the "Christianity perfection standpoint" has no room for adjustment. We as Christians have set the bar for society to follow, but I'm anticipating an impact I want to make by stepping out of this perfection atmosphere and seeing the true struggles people face. Yes, even Christians like you and me.
I wonder if any of my fellow students want to make a similar difference. Completely unafraid to hear the call He might be placing on your life.
It's been five years since I've heard the exciting tune at my high school graduation ceremony, but if I relax and focus, I know I can get up from my Army crawl and make it to graduation. I will no longer need to anticipate the impact.
Many of my friends will be walking confidently down the aisles of Turner Chapel in just 43 days. Some might show signs of worry for the future, while others will have a box of Kleenex tucked under their gowns, sad to leave their friends and professors that they've come to respect and adore. All of them will most assuredly have signs of delight as they can finally tuck away the worries of registering for classes, whether or not to wear a hat in a building and staying awake until the pre-dawn hours, cramming for a test that will most definitely come.
School is over for them, but for me, I must try to survive and succeed until December. Sure to some of you that doesn't seem like a long way off, and it isn't in the slightest, but whenever I try and picture myself graduating this Fall all I can imagine is me doing an Army crawl up this huge hill of challenges, as if it seems graduation is a far off battle field that I might not ever get to set foot on. I guess I'm just anxious to get out there and make an impact on society in the way I feel called to do so.
I've been asked recently what my plans are after I graduate. I'm prompted to stand up with excitement at the sound of the three-syllable word, and triumphantly declare something extraordinary, but swiftly realize that I have zero idea. Bullets of sweat don't form on my forehead just yet, but I do realize that a fire needs to be lit under my britches soon or I might be wandering in the dark for years after I graduate, living with my parents and waiting tables the rest of my days. Some of you graduating seniors might be in the same boat.
There is a little light in the darkened room of my future plans. I still have the calling to be somebody in this world and to make an impact on a troubled society in the church and outside the steeple. I want to make a difference by writing ideas and opinions that others are afraid to say. To be the controversial voice on issues that need to be addressed, something that I've tried to do on campus, but find myself hitting a barrier I never expected exists.
I can't seem to understand why we as humans are afraid of what lies ahead. I'm not necessarily scared of where God might lead me, but more so scared of the persecution I might receive for speaking common truth. Persecution I've already been getting from people of all ages on a Christian campus that resonates "Christ's difference." It doesn't bother me that people with the same belief system I share knock me down a peg or two. What bothers me is the fact that the "Christianity perfection standpoint" has no room for adjustment. We as Christians have set the bar for society to follow, but I'm anticipating an impact I want to make by stepping out of this perfection atmosphere and seeing the true struggles people face. Yes, even Christians like you and me.
I wonder if any of my fellow students want to make a similar difference. Completely unafraid to hear the call He might be placing on your life.
It's been five years since I've heard the exciting tune at my high school graduation ceremony, but if I relax and focus, I know I can get up from my Army crawl and make it to graduation. I will no longer need to anticipate the impact.