Professor Zook, Home owner, little girl

Time flies. Seriously. I think summer just disappeared. Today was Opening day at Biola, when all of the new freshman come on campus. It was a busy campus today, especially compared to the lull of summer. I remember when students were leaving for summer break. I saw some students I knew earlier this week and thought, wow you weren’t home very long. And they said, “well it was about two months”. Oh yeah, it’s getting near the end of August now. Sorry, forgot about that one.

Life is, well, to put it nicely, a little chaotic right now. I think that’s why it moves so fast. Mostly all fun things going on, but just a lot, and a lot of BIG things.

I’m teaching a class, starting next week. I never thought I would be a professor. ME? Yeah, I’m nerdy enough, and I love learning anything, so I guess it makes sense. But I like to be in the back of the room hiding behind the “stage” (If you didn’t know, I’m an audio engineer at RockHarbor Fullerton- in all my spare time!- and I like my place behind the scenes; I also lead worship, which is completely different and something I’ve had to grow into being front and center stage). So yes. Intro to Management Systems (MIS) at Biola University. It’s a real class, with 40 students. And I’m teaching 2 sections, which means I’ll have 80 students total! Ahh!

The funny thing is that I never would have thought six years ago when I took this class that I’d now be teaching it! I’m really excited. I was a Business major with an emphasis in MIS, and have been working in IT for the past two years (full-time, I can’t believe it’s been so long already!) so I’m equipped to teach this intro class. It’s not very technical, but an overview of technology and the importance of IT for Business students. All business majors have to take it, and I’m excited because I think it’s a topic that is very important for management people to learn about. You are going to have a team under you? What if you have programmers under you, and you don’t know what the difference between software and hardware is? You’re going to have a big problem. We’ll cover some of those things in my class. I’m also excited because the paper I’m having them write is going to discuss how technology has affected us socially and spiritually, both for the best and for the worst. It will be interesting to look at how technology is bad for our souls and our relationships. We don’t think about that much in our world today.
A goal I have is to get more students interested in doing MIS. I’ve talked to a few students who work at our helpdesk and they’re management majors, but want to be managers of IT. And why are you not MIS students instead of management?!? Oh, we didn’t really know what it was, and didn’t hear much about it. That will change hopefully. This will help make it more clear. I also want to encourage more women too. I’m really a proponent of women in IT, so I’m hoping that seeing me -a decently social, attractive, young woman- will let them know that women can and actually do this type of work.
It will be a great experience for me to learn how to prep for a class, make technology fun and interactive (because it really is fun stuff!), and learn how to explain things well. Overall, I think it will just be good life skills that I learn from teaching. I’m only planning on teaching it this semester, but if it’s something I love, maybe I’ll continue.

First, a professor. Then a home owner. Yep, you got it! I’m buying a house! It’s a little 2 bedroom, 1 bath house, and escrow should be closing in the next two weeks. Weird, huh? It’s weird thinking about what color I want to paint things. It’s my house. I can paint it any color I want! Which is actually very overwhelming, because there are so many, and the whole decision is up to me. I can do whatever I want. However, I am soliciting your opinion, because I don’t know what to do. Too many options. I have the inside colors, but what about the outside? Please leave your suggestions in the comments 🙂
It’s also weird because I never thought I’d buy a house before getting married. Always thought I’d have a husband helping me decide what color fixtures and walls to do, but hopefully that will be some time in the future. (Any prospects, send them my way, haha!)

Sometimes I feel like I get ahead of myself. Not that I try to be so grown up, it just happens upon me! My friends that I grew up with from church just graduated college this year. College seems so long ago, so it’s really weird to think that they just finished. haha. I’m at a weird point in life where everything is changing and becoming more serious. With that seems to come more stress, because now I have a mortgage to pay, so I can’t just up and quit my job if I decide one day I don’t like it (well, I could, but that’d be foolish). There doesn’t seem to be enough time in the world to do all the things I want to do or learn. As a kid, you can do everything, because you don’t have to be good at it. If you want to have a hobby as a gymnast (like I did), you can and don’t have to worry if it will become your life-long career. You have your hands dipped in a lot of different things. As for being an adult now, I wish that I could take that care free attitude of life sometimes and just do something because it looks like fun or I’ve always wanted to. It will have to wait. Half the time I don’t even have time to think about the day before going to sleep. So then when I take time to think, it all comes out (which is why this is so long now, and there’s oh so much more about life that I’d like to discuss). I know they say tomorrow never comes, but it will have to wait at least for the next month, because I’m moving and teaching. That’s enough.

As a little girl, I had great parents (still do) who took care of me. I didn’t have to worry about things because I knew it would all be okay. One of the blessings of being a Christian is knowing that I am God’s little girl still and that he takes care of his children. My Bible study group just finished memorizing 1 Peter (took us about 9 months) and it has some great verses to strengthen people going through times of suffering. The past couple months have not been good health-wise for me, and so every morning the first thing I think of as I try to get out of my bed at the latest minute possible, is “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude”. Wow. That’s a difficult calling. Yet I choose to live it. I have been trying this week to “Cast all [my] anxiety on him, because he cares for [me]”. This is so hard for me to do. Fear is in front of me, because change is happening. I’m growing up and that’s a scary thing. As more independence comes, I will cling more to God. His encouragement spoken to me is in Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

To the classroom, to the new painted rooms, to the garden in my new backyard, he will be there wherever I go. To God be the glory.