Do you ever just wonder as you pass people on the street what their story is? This is a daily occurrence for me. Oregon State's a rather large school (getting up into the 20,000s I'm sure) so on simple walks to class, one would probably end up passing hundreds of students a day. That's hundreds of life stories.The thought just blows my mind.
So for anyone who was just dying to know, my life story in a paragraph:
Joce DeWitt, born to Ron and Abbe DeWitt.
Born in Vancouver, WA during my parents' summer vacation on July 8th (if they planned that I am unaware.) Spent the first 6 years of my life in Sanaa, Yemen in the Middle East of Asia. This was where my brother, Braden, now a senior in high school, came into the picture.
The Civil War forced all foreigners out of the country, so my family left for a brief "break" to our home of Oregon. They are teachers, you see. But not just any teachers, they work overseas in International Schools. So after Oregon, we went to Bratislava, Slovakia where we spent over 2 years and once again came back to Oregon so Braden and I could spend out junior high years as normal Americans. As one could imagine, this didn't last longer than 5 years, so we were off. Again. As a family to Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela where the sun shines bright every single day of the year. After 3 years of high school in this tropical land, I spent my senior year in China and graduated in a class of 12. I made the decision to be a student at Oregon State for many reasons, but mostly because this is my home, and every radiant season brings with it a new glorious means of being alive.
I suppose if a stranger wanted to know a single thing about me, it is that I feel I have a very specific purpose in this life, and every experience I have, every person that I meet, brings me closer to finding out what it is.
A wonderful friend and pastor of mine once told me,
"God's future for you is not fragile."
What an amazing comfort to know that your hopes and dreams were taken into account when God wove together his plan for you.
...You thought I was leaving, didn't you? Wrong.
Not before I send out a prayer for my fantastic room mate, Selah Meyer, who is currently undergoing more stress than most college girls should. I thank God for her courage to stand up for what is right for herself and the people around her, including me. Selah, your determination is something I will never forget and I am so proud of you. The actions you are committing yourself to now will remain some of the most honorable in my memory.
No comments:
Post a Comment