Vortexia's Secret

so i should have been spending the last few hours researching and writing a paper, but i wasn't. i got distracted. i made bread, tea, read the alumni magazine, and all kinds of other stuff. but now i have no regrets. flipping through the alumni mag from my alma mater, i was surprised. i feel like i have accomplished a great deal, but i went to a school full of high achievers, and i had done very little in comparison to some of the other alumni. of course, i also have to remember to put things in perspective. that's not what is important. i could strive for high status achievements, become known for being a big shot, and all that jazz. i know i could do that. but that's not what i want. i want the other road. the one where it's harder going and you get little appreciation. i want to help people, especially the impoverished and homeless. not something that garners a big reputation. and i'm fine with that. although i am still tempted to get a PhD before i start in on that. or simultaneously. i know, i'm crazy. anyway, that's all off topic.

so reading through it, i remembered another friend of mine who is interested in working with the homeless. i need to talk to her about what she's planning on doing now. then i read the story that changed it all. we had a young man at my alma mater who i knew of and had talked with a few times, but wasn't really friends with. i knew he had extensive health problems and had a lot to struggle with in his own life. i knew he unexpectedly dropped one of my classes and the prof wouldn't say why. rumors went around that he had to have surgery, that he got too sick to attend, the prof wasn't willing to work with him enough for him to continue in the class, and whatever else. well, i discovered through the alumni mag that he passed away recently. not during that class he dropped, but before he was able to complete his degree. turns out that he had a terminal illness and knew that he might not be able to finish before he passed away. but he was committed to learning and to that university, so he persevered. the article was written by the head of the department in which he as majoring, and this professor talked about how he could hardly get through a conversation with this young man without getting a little choked up inside. he was inspired by the commitment this man had to education and his fellow humans. asked others if they were having a bad day when they looked down or upset, although i never once remember him discussing the problems he faced... and that prof couldn't remember it either. anyway, i wanted to share because it really touched me.

P.S. Keep them in your prayers.