Best.Day.Ever

Ask any of my college roommates. Every day, after class, meetings, and studying, I'd walk into 1604-E Holleman and say, "Today was the best day EVER!" I think they eventually got annoyed with my Pollyanna-like entrances, but there was just something about college life that brought me a deep, soul satisfying joy. I wasn't lying either... it truly seemed as if every day was better than the last. Since then, life has gotten a little more routine, a little harder, and sometimes (sigh) I have a little less soul satisfying joy. Part of me still craves that College Station feeling. College Station is a magical place where I am the person I am meant to be.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, I had the good fortune to spend 24 blissful hours in College Station. My school asked me and two of my Aggie teacher friends to go to A&M to recruit some kick-a Aggies to teach the best kids in Houston. It was, in the truest sense, the BEST.DAY.EVER. Here's why:

We arrived in College Station around dinnertime on Tuesday. As usual, God met me at the intersection of Texas Avenue and Highway 6. I know - God is everywhere, but his presence in College Station is supernaturally palpable. I feel closer to him when I cross into that town. My teacher friend Rachael and I checked into our hotel and went straight to La Bodega. We sat on the patio and ate chipotle chicken burritos (which tasted exactly the same as I remembered!) It felt like old times, eating and chatting with friends. After La Bodega, we headed over to Reed Arena for Breakaway. Breakaway changed my life in college. It drew me closer to the Lord. I have not been to Breakaway in more than five years, so I was CRAVING it.

As we drove up to Reed, we exchanged disappointed glances. The arena was dark and there were like six cars in the parking lot. Never fear, a quick click on the iPhone let us know that Breakaway was at KYLE FIELD! We started walking that way along with DROVES of college students, all carrying their bibles. It was like the crowd flooding into a football game, but it was a crowd flooding in to praise Jesus. As we filed inside, we filled up the entire first two decks of the alumni side. It was an amazing experience to praise God at Kyle Field. The music was loud enough to be heard all over campus, and there were even people peeking out of the windows at the Bright Center to see what was going on. My heart was filled with so much gratitude and awe. Where else but A&M would students fill a stadium to worship on a Tuesday night? The worship and message were both amazing. At the end, we sang the Doxology with no music, for everyone on campus to hear. Praise God for the favor he has shown A&M. I was filled with joy for the things he is doing there, and to be a part of it for just one night was a dream.

The next day, we had the honor of recruiting at the Mays Business School Career Fair. Many of you know my story, but I was a marketing major at Mays when I decided in my senior year that I wanted to be a teacher. Although I would never give back my business degree, I have found satisfaction and success in teaching, and I want other business majors to know that teaching is an option! We arrived at the fair and set up our booth among accounting firms, retail stores, manufacturers, and computer programming companies, which was a somewhat out-of-body experience. I was just there five years ago!

We thought we were going to have a pretty slow day... convincing people to consider teaching and explaining to people why we were even there. We expected to be sitting down most of the day. The reality of our day was quite the opposite. Praise God for going before us and laying the foundation for so many students to be receptive to our message. We were BLOWN AWAY by the enthusiastic, genuine interest in teaching and specifically in YES. The three of us were talking the ENTIRE day. I think I sat down for like 30 seconds from 9:00 - 4:00. At most points, all three of us were talking to different students, and there were people actually waiting in line to talk to us. Can you believe it? All of these students were so hungry for something else. They felt that a business job would not fulfill them and were so grateful to know that an opportunity like YES existed. People with 4.0s in Accounting, Finance, and Marketing were interested in becoming teachers. The heart and drive of those A&M students humbled and overwhelmed me. At one point, after having a conversation where the girl wanted to hug me at the end, I just broke down and cried at our little booth as I put her resume in the folder. I couldn't believe that God was so faithful and so present. It was an amazing day. Our goal was to talk to 3o people. By the end, we got over 50 resumes and met about 6 people that we wanted to hire on the spot. It was incredibly successful, and it brought a whole new satisfaction to my career. Instead of helping kids that day, I got to help adults by letting them know about rewarding options options for their careers.

It was fantastic, and I went back to school today totally refreshed and ready to teach another day!