Welcome to the Quarankingdom! Population: Varying

 It has been five days since I was put in quarantine. My test results have come back Negative, praise God, and I now await the day that I can leave. Since I have some friends that are also quarantined, we all naturally made a group chat to make sure we are all doing fine. We have named the group chat the Quarankingdom and we even have a Quaranqueen. We've added people to the chat as they come to quarantine and we tend to keep them there even after they get out. We plan movie nights, game nights, and alert others when food has been delivered. We have built a community even though we can not see each other's faces except through that of a screen. We take care of each other and try to build each other up. 

In this kingdom we all have a role; I am the Quaranbishop and there is the Quaranjester (has been released from Quarantine), Quaranknight, Traitor Quaranpeep (has been released from Quarantine), Quaranrook, and the Lord of the Covid at Rhea House. We try to have fun about this time of solitude and tend to talk in semi-Old English just for the heck of it. We are all going a bit stir crazy and have tried to find ways to alleviate being in a cinder block room. One has done cartwheels, another practices martial arts, another walks around the room as much as possible, and another writes, reads, and watches movies all the time. These help, but it is the people outside of this building that make sure we are doing well that make our day. 

From snack bags to window meetings to Zoom game nights, all of it is appreciated. We all only have a short amount of time left in the Quarankingdom, but it has changed us all. For better or worse, it has forced us in with our thoughts and prayers. It has also allowed us to be alone to rest and not worry too much about the outside world. Our classes are being recorded and that helps with not falling behind, though I wait for the day I can be in classes in person. 

Though I yearn to leave, I cannot leave behind the lessons that I have learned. I have learned to be silent and listen to God. I have also learned to rely and trust others and sometimes that meant to relinquish control. I have had to trust people to bring stuff that I forgot in my dorm, for food from the cafeteria, and to hold events without me being there. This lesson has taught me to slow down because not everything is going to crash and burn if I do not have my hand on it (I am good but not that good). 

Now as I finish my thoughts here, I will go back to my virtual studies and maybe a movie or two. I hope you all have a wonderful day. God Bless!

Senior Year

 After 5 months of being uprooted from my Junior year at Bryan due to COVID-19, I am finally back at Bryan College for my Senior year. I knew this year was going to be different because of all the new guidelines that we had to follow both on and off campus, but it is perfectly fine because I know this school wants us to be safe and they care for us deeply; that has never changed. 

I began this year, as usual, being involved in many things. This year, I am a Co-Captain for Neighbor2Neighbor (my PCI [service group] initiative that I created last year), Co-Captain for Debate Team, a Co-Leader for Gateway Group Leader (Where I help those who are new at Bryan with their first year experience course), Service Project Coordinator (more on that later), Senior Male Senator for SGA, and I am taking 13 hours this semester. Not too bad, but after two weeks of a busy schedule I was looking for some alone time this weekend. 

Well, God looked at my 2 days of alone time and raised it to 10. As of noon on Friday (8/21), I found out that I was in contact with a positive case of Corona on campus. This is our first positive case on campus. So, when I found out, I got a call from the head of the Bryan Health Task Force that asked me questions, in which I answered honestly, and that got me a wonderful trip to Arnold Dormitory until September 1, 2020. I have no doubt that God will show me things in here as I have a room to myself and not allowed to leave whatsoever. I only thought I need solitude for 2 days where God saw I needed more and that's okay. 

This is easier on me because I can switch my in-person meetings to online, my classes to recorded lectures (which they are all being recorded), and my social life to online with my friends and all. My assignments are essentially all online and so is my work. My friends have already been there for me as I have been there for them (cause there are 5 of us in quarantine on campus), and my friends who are not in quarantine are praying and checking in on me to see if I need anything. I truly am blessed by what I have here at Bryan. 

I do not know what these 10 days will bring, but I know God will work through anything. I get my test results back by either Monday or Tuesday, I'll keep everyone updated. 

Psalm 51:15-17

"For you do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart- These, O God, You will not despise."

I do not know what I will experience, but if this experience was made to break me only to trust God more, then praise be to God and let him do his work. May God bless you all this morning. Until next time.