Coming Up for Air (or, Reading Week)

Reading week is finally here.  (Deep sigh of relief inserted here.)  This is my first term at UTS and I am exhausted. I am pursuing  a MARL (Masters in Religious Leadership) on a part-time basis. 

For those of you who don’t know, reading week is a kind gesture inserted into the middle of the term to allow people like me to catch up and have a bit of a breather from classes, and prepare for the weeks to come. 

I do have a lot of reading this week, but also writing and studying.  My first mid-term exam in Older Testament is coming up.  The professor has gone over all of the material thoroughly and has made herself available via webcast and the class webpage over this next week.  How cool is that?  My small group for Theological Interpretation is finally meeting next week to go over our project on immigration.  I also have to catch up on a book that I haven’t yet finished for that class (oops).  Finally, I have a three page book review to write for Principles in Writing.

All of that seems feasible, but did I also mention that I have a family consisting of 2 kids (age 7 and 9) a supportive significant other, and two dogs?  All of whom need meals, quality time, walks in the park, help with homework, and transportation to and from extracurricular and church activities, to name a few.  I try to delegate as much as I can, but sometimes, the mom has to be the one to get the job done.  I think I also forgot to mention the volunteer activities in my kid’s school and my church that I signed up for thinking that I could work them around my school schedule.  Yeah, right. 

Being exhausted from all of this is thrilling.  The synapses in my brain haven’t been this busy in years.  I’ve got a goofy smile on my face most of the time knowing I am exactly where I am meant to be.  Answering the call to seminary has been an extremely fulfilling decision.  It has opened my eyes in more ways than I could have ever imagine.  Just the diversity of the denominations represented in the student body, helps to broaden and challenge my own theology.  I’ve met other United Methodists, like myself, but also Unitarian Universalists, United Church of Christ, Quakers, undecideds, pagans, evangelicals, Jewish and Roman Catholics, all contributing to the same conversations with meaningful insights.  This is an exciting time to be at seminary.

- Sarah Kronkvist, MARL student