"so take the photographs and still frames in your mind"

"hang them on a shelf in good health and good times. tattoos and memories and dead skin on trial. for what it's worth, it was worth all the while."

yes, folks, the middlebuy chapter is over, and i'm glad. i had a great run in 5 summers--4 in the spanish school and 1 in the french. i've proved that i can work competently at the graduate level in 2 foreign languages, one a little more foreign than the other. i've moved to madrid--twice--got sick, recovered, graduated, worked, moved back to madrid, got engaged, will move back to madrid to get married. in the past five years, i've learned more about relationships, helping others and God's omnipotence than literary theory, art history or pedagogy. i've learned the importance God placed on my life in sending his Son to die for me and that "In his hand he holds the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind" (Job 12:10). i've learned that each of us has more of an impact on each other than we may even know in this lifetime, and we all work for the glory of God's plan.

and, yes, i learned how to conjugate some verbs and use some prepositions. i did more theatre in spanish and french than i have in english!

after seeing my friends graduate with their master's the other day and not continuing with my own doctoral program at middlebury, i'm feeling better than i thought i would be. after my own graduation in 2005, i learned that it's all right to have a good time at school, but it's better to live your life in the present in preparation for the future.

"there's something unpredictable and in the end it's right. i hope you had the time of your life."