Nina Update

Okay, so, I know who my roommate is! We will be living on campus in the fall, and I have received one email from her. She seems very nice and I'm excited to get to know her! I think we'll get along very well, and one point of interest: Maria's roommate has the same first name as mine, though they spell their names differently.

I also just had orientation at Auburn, also known as Camp War Eagle. It was a bit of a reality check for me. I leave for school in a little less than a month. I will be taking a total of 17 credit hours. I'm incredibly excited but also really nervous, mostly about having enough time to practice piano and study, and about making new friends. I absolutely have to keep my grades up, in order to maintain my scholarship. This summer has just been so free of responsibility that I think it's going to be really hard to settle into a routine again.

In Sunday School today, we talked about war. The Bible definitely teaches that we should submit to authority. I think that means respecting and honoring our president, even if we don't necessarily agree with him. I think that means following our leaders into war sometimes. Some wars are necessary, but I couldn't tell you which ones. I know that the freedoms we have in this country didn't come freely, and I'm grateful for them, but I want nothing to do with war. It terrifies me.

There's a boy from my church who graduated early and enlisted. I ran into him at Starbucks the other day, in uniform, paperwork spread out on the table before him. He casually shifted the cigarette pack and lighter away when I approached. He was only in town for a week. It was so strange to me to see him like that. He is the same age as I am. I remember him in sixth grade, when I met him, and he still seems like such a little boy to me. I pray that God will protect that little boy.

I'm also incredibly grateful that even in this time of war, we have not yet instituted the draft. I can't imagine any of my friends getting plucked from their lives, full of so much promise and potential, to go fight. I don't think I could ever understand the sacrifice it requires. I don't want to have to understand.

Point being, I really appreciate our soldiers.