Good day!
Before we get started, I must admit that I've never written a blog prior to this. In fact, I've never read a blog, ever, so if you're in to that kind of stuff, I'm probably not the best person for the job. I'll have hudreds of typos, grammatical errors and stupid comments, so please let me know when I screw something up or make a boo-boo. my posts won't be beautifully written (remember, I'm a Biology major) and they won't be earth-shattering. But I promise you this, they will be real. It's my goal to reveal a little bit of my life, whether it be my thoughts, something my friends did, or a stupid joke I heard, to you through this blog with the hopes that you'll get to see me grow, fall, fall again, and change over the next semester.
My name is Kyle Stewart and I'm leaving in 3 days to study at Harlaxton University in Grantham, England. I'll be there a mere 4 months taking general education classes that really serve no purpose whatsoever to my Biology major, yet I have to take them eventually, so why not in England?
I'm fooling no one by saying that I'm going over there strictly for the educational purposes. Rather, I am studying abroad to learn. I've come to the realization that life is a lot larger than Centerfield, Louisville, Ketnucky, or America. I'm traveling aborad to learn about the culture, the landscape, and the people of these "foreign" countries.
Last night, I snagged a hangout with the ever-wise Nick B before I left. As he, Mason and I stood in the freezing cold Starbucks parking lot playing soccer with a piece of ice, we departed with a prayer for the next semester. Nick closed by praying that God would grace us with "adventures and hearts that long for adventure."
This has become my prayer. 1) That God will put me in instances or adventures that are new to me and will teach me more about the world we live in. But more importantly, 2) that God will give me a heart that desires for adventure, not just adventures. In my mind, adventures are small, one-time happenings that will likely make you sweat, poop/pee your pants, bleed and/or cuss (or some combination of the 5). But adventure, that's different. It's much more large scale than adventures. I pray that I desire to put myselves in situations, no matter how stupid, silly, or adventurous they may seem, in which I can grow personally, culturally, or spiritually. I'm being thrown into a new culture and a new situation where areas of needed growth in my life will become blaringly evident. Knowing this, I pray that the Lord draws me to adventure into new areas of growth.
I'll be in the wrong if I don't mention the incredible people I'm traveling with. First, my ever-beautiful-and-sweet girlfriend, Naomi. I'm incredibly lucky to get to take this trip with her. It's a great chance to see and experience the world with someone that I care so much about. Additionally, I'm incredibly lucky to have her in my life to begin with as she keeps me in line, exposes my faults, keeps me humble, and pushes me toward being a better person.
Then there's Mason. I don't know if I've ever met a human that is as interesting as him. Our thought processes are different, our personalities are different, our opinions on a lot of superflous things are different. yet we get along. God has blessed me with him in this scenario to keep me accountable and to challenge me in many ways while in the ne environment. His view of God is one that raises Gods' existence and power over that of all, including himself, and it's something that I desire in my own life. We see God in very different aspects of our lives, and seeing this in him reminds me that God is not limited to revealing himself to us in a specific way, but that God is so powerful that he can speak to each of us in differing, yet still effective, ways.
Before rambling, which I have already done and will do many times throughout this blog, I'll wrap it up.
Please feel free to contact me at anytime with questions, comments, smoke signals, flares, whatever your heart desires. I'm extremely blessed to be going on this trip where I will undoubtedly grow in many ways. Additionally, I'm lucky to get the chance to share with all of you great people the happenings and developments of this adventure.
Kyle
