After applying at about ten places near my mom's house and getting called for only two interviews, I accepted a job at Dunkin Donuts with a goal of saving up money for things I'd need for the duplex. It didn't take more than a week before my manager got word that I was a hard worker, and as a result, she rewarded me with more hours than most of the employees there. I was fine with that since I always had Sunday's plus another day off each week, but my schedule was about to be slammed weeks later after I was offered a job at All Creatures Animal Hospital in Granbury.
My mom doesn't live in Granbury, so when I was offered this job, I decided I'd only work there half a week, staying at my aunt and uncle's house, then I would work at Dunkin the other half of the week so I could spend time with her. Well both workplaces wanted to give me as many hours as they could given my limitations, so next thing I knew, I was working 56-hour weeks, or two 11-hour days at the vet clinic and four night shifts at Dunkin.
I don't know how I did it, but I am certainly glad for the experience (and money) that came from it. At Dunkin, I befriended a few coworkers who served as a great support group for me and boosted my confidence in myself. And at the vet clinic, gosh, the things I learned there were so valuable. I watched as many surgeries, dentals, and other procedures as I could. They had me making and giving shots, staining and viewing slides under the microscope, and caring for patients before and after surgery. Of course there were the more menial chores, too, such as laundering kennel blankets and surgical towels, sweeping and mopping, and walking, feeding, and medicating dogs and cats multiple times a day, but those tasks didn't bother me much at all. I felt a sense of accomplishment when I was working there, sampling the career I intend to pursue. Each task I completed was crucial to the operation of a veterinary facility, and I sincerely thank Dr. Marczak for giving me such an amazing opportunity to discover the real reason I'm in college at Texas A&M, working harder than I've ever worked before to achieve a biomedical sciences degree. The list of "thank-you's" could go on and on, to Dr. Inman for challenging me to use my brain, to Dr. Cox for her kindness, and really just a big thanks to everyone I worked with for their patience and their willingness to work with me to make my short time there worthwhile.
By the conclusion of the summer, not only had I worked enough to save up far more money than I originally anticipated, but I had posted a few videos on YouTube as well. Not a single one of them was one of the projects I had planned, but they do give a little insight to my family life. I still intend to make blog-related videos that are more professional, though, so hold tight.
Now if you're a student at Texas A&M, you've probably already attended the first meeting of all of your classes and set some goals for yourself. I set some goals, too, one of which is to read ahead for my classes and another of which is to take more road trips than I did last year. Road trips? What does that have to do with studying for BIMS? Not much, but I do know that whenever I have a fair amount of social activities scheduled, I study more efficiently. Anyway, yesterday I got a chance to pursue said goal when my small group leader, Ashley, texted me that she was going to Austin for an artsy night out. I immediately said yes and even cooked dinner early for my roommates so that I could be at her house on time. She, Sarah, and I cranked up the music in her car and set off for Kenny's Coffee Shop. A bunch of people that I had met over the course of my prison ministry trips were there, so I caught up with them and met a bunch of their friends. Local musicians were putting on a good show for us, and artists were busy drawing. I saw a girl named Crystal produce several oil pastel portraits that night, and I introduced a notebook doodler, Audrey, to the art of zentangling, which she began experimenting with enthusiastically. I thought the best part of the night was over once we left the coffee shop and paid a brief visit to Jordan's (Ashely's best friend) apartment, but I was wrong.
Ashley was starving and needed food fast, so we stopped at the Sonic across the street. I thought some cheese sticks and ice cream sounded good, and Sarah turned out to be a little hungry herself. We chatted with the waittress who served us, and a lady, who we assumed to be giving the waittress a ride home, showed up. We began talking to this lady, a beautiful twenty-year-old named Nikki, and our waittress went inside to begin her closing duties. Nikki turned out not to be there for her after all. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what brought her to us considering she was parked so far away, but as we talked with her she revealed her heartbreaking story, that her ex-boyfriend had taken everything she owned including her life savings. She is now living in her car with her current boyfriend, and she has two kids she's worried about caring for. She showed us the spots on her arms from donating plasma for money, and she said she was looking into a job waittressing at a strip club so that she could get a place to live. Ashley asked her what she knew about Jesus, and Nikki said she knew the basics but that she never read the Bible. She believes that Jesus is real, but we could tell she didn't have a personal relationship with Him.
We knew there was only a little we could do for her since we were heading back to College Station, so Sarah offered to buy her food. By then, Sonic had closed, so I picked up my untouched bag of cheese sticks and gave it to her. Ashley even offered up what was left of her burger, and the girl took it, graciously saving half of it for her boyfriend. Sarah prayed over her, and Ashely told her about a Bible study for the homeless at Wells Branch Community Church, where they would give her food and where she could meet our other I Am Second members who will pray over her and help her with her basic needs. Ashely made plans to go back to Austin tomorrow to meet up with Nikki for lunch, and we all hugged her goodbye before making the drive back home.
Needless to say, college has gotten off to a really good start, and I hope that in future blog posts I'll be able to report on Nikki's progress. In the meantime, she could use all of your prayers, so please pray that she decides to accept Jesus into her heart and that He will ease her heartbreak and help her support her family.
