With the start of a new school year, I suppose it’s a good time for a life update……..

At the end of last semester, I graduated from Blinn College with an Associate of Arts in Music. Since that chapter had reached its natural conclusion, it was time to move forward. Fortunately, I had just enough sense to apply and audition at a school that would become my next home: Texas Lutheran University (TLU).

With a really good scholarship package and great communication with faculty over the summer, I was all set to enter my Junior year of the Music program here in Seguin! On top of my Vocal Performance degree, I also took on a Campus Ministry Leadership position as the Student Worship Leader. In this position, I am supposed to help grow the music aspect of the ministry. Alongside music leadership, I plan to assist in other aspects of ministry and growing my own faith in the process.

Like I said, this position is also good for me to connect with my own faith. As someone who has a tricky past with religion, connecting as worship leader was an interesting concept for me to grapple with. But I came to the understanding that this position was just as much for my benefit as it was for the community at TLU. I get to use my position to help myself and other students explore worship. Not only within chapel services, but other ways outside of traditional experience that we can experience the divine. Some of my sessions will be merely connecting with ourselves and each other, and others will have guided activities to help us connect with spirituality. But all this is to say that I’m most excited that TLU has given me a space to bring my authentic self to the table in a ministry setting.

This, of course, should not have been a surprise given the theme of ministry for this school year. TLU’s Campus Ministry theme for the 2023-24 school year is “It’s time to Be Real.” Yes, it’s modeled after the social media app. But for those confused, Be Real is a photo sharing app where users are prompted at various times (once a day) to post 2 photos almost simultaneously (one from each the front and back-facing cameras). There is no photo editing involved and photos remain on the site for 24 hours. The concept is authenticity in self-presentation on the media, with a focus that not everything is flawless or picture perfect all the time. It pairs well with the chosen verse, 1 John 3:18, which reads: “Dear children, let us love not in words or speech but in action and in truth.”

So this year, we are focusing on living authentically and loving deeply. This follows Luther’s theology, which basically says the grace of God frees us from selfish obsession to live a life of pure love and service to God and neighbor.

Of course, coming back to “religion” in any capacity will bring its own triggers for me, and I’m working through them. I’m making the decision to stop hiding from my call because people in my past pushed me far away from the church. While I don’t know if that call means seminary, I do know that it means I’m meant to help. We’ll see what that looks like later. Until then, I’ll keep writing poetry and scattered updates.

Thank you all so much for sticking around for all my shenanigans. I promise they will absolutely continue! If you want to see more direct information about TLU Campus Ministry, I highly recommend following the instagram page (@tlucampusministries)! Thank you all so much, and here’s to another school year!