Anthropology

Ok, I know some of you made a face. Some of you rolled your eyes. Some of you may have leaned forward, a little more interested. Some of you probably think it's the study of bugs. Or feet. I've heard both.

No, anthropology is the study of human beings. This includes their behavior, their culture, their material culture, their surroundings, their laws, their morals, ect. I LOVE IT. I started studying it by accident. When I started college, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so I just sort of read the class descriptions and took whatever sounded interesting to me. Which is why math class waited until I was a junior. Anyway, God was definitely guiding me at that time, because I enrolled in Intro to Cultural Anthropology at Aims Community College, under the teaching of a wonderful Christian man. He never shared his views in class, but as I am part of that "club", I could tell by the things he said. He was a wonderful teacher, including a wide variety of views, opinions, and standpoints, as well as a lot of history and interpretations. I enjoyed his class immensely, so when at the end of the semester he announced a trip to the Four Corners to study some of the archaeology and anthropology (the two go hand in hand), I signed up. Four VERY full days touring the southwest (Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, all places that are now in my backyard here in Durango), later, and I was hooked.

I love people. Love them. My resume reads: "coffee shop, hostess, Cold Stone, Starbucks, retail, retail..." I love working with people. You get to see the best and the worst of them working in the service industry. Anthropology, for me, has just been the means to an end: understanding and working with people better. I have learned so much from it, I am able to examine, observe, and interpret human behavior better, and then have the tools to express those things in a clearer and more accurate way. It didn't just happen overnight. Although my personality was already given to this tendency, my formal education has expanded and enriched this God-given ability.

Anthropology has been the means to an end. And school was the means to that end. Or as Mike likes to call it, "The most expensive hobby I have ever heard of." That's what school has been. I have never been career oriented. The thought of climbing the proverbial ladder makes me nauseous. I have a hard time seeing it as anything but temporary. This too shall fall away, disappear like blades of grass or the summer flowers. Two Christmases ago, my mom asked what I was going to do after graduation. I told her I would probably move to Denver and go get my masters. She turned around and stared at me, open mouthed, in shock. She very gently reminded me that I had never wanted that, that I wanted- had always, ALWAYS wanted, was to be a wife and mother. I replied, "Hey, when Mr. Right shows up, I am dropping all this like there is no tomorrow!" And when he did, I was true to my word. :)

Last fall was wonderful. Full of walks downtown at night, curling up to watch a movie, nights out having dinner, nights in having dinner. We spent every spare moment together, getting to know each other better. Our friendship grew deeper, our conversations sweeter, our embraces longer (Oh come on, you dated once!). I would not trade last fall for anything.

However, what I did not know was that by creating those wonderful times INSTEAD of keeping myself above the six credit passing line, I became a financial aid probationary status holder. Yay. So now, with nine credits, THREE CLASSES to finish, the school won't give me a loan. Which, I don't get, because 1) It isn't THEIR money. 2) Fort Leisure has a 33% graduation rate. You think they'd want to keep whoever they could to raise that statistic! Anyway, luckily for me (sort of), I had mono last fall. It directly coincided with the end of classes. When my mom saw me for Thanksgiving, she knew something was wrong. I was so tired, simply exhausted. I just thought I was overwhelmed with life. And I was, but my body was working against me at the time too.

So last week I appealed for a change in status. I have a very high GPA, even with last fall's little, um, fluke. I just finished a summer class with a very good grade, and so I'm hoping that the school will allow me to finish. If not, we are going to be unable to move on until I do. I hate that.

So, dear friends, if you could pray for me this week, that I would have favor and not kill anyone, that would be great. I really want to finish, 1) Because my grandfather has fully heaped on the guilt. 2) Because I do want to walk across that stage and say I did it. 3) I want to prove to Mike that paying off my "hobby" won't be in vain. 4) I know I would regret it, I'm so close. 5) I want to be able to move on. It's time for us to start in a new direction, I can feel it. I want to be able to run head on into what God has for us next, with no ties binding us here. That means more to me right now than anything else.