Hope is the parent of faith. -Cyrus A. Bartol
My automatic door broke.
My computer broke.
My wheelchair broke.
My parents got me a new computer.
It is not compatible with my adaptive keyboard.
My wheelchair broke again.
My joystick fell off.
As you can see, it has not been an easy month whatsoever. Life has really been testing me to say the very least.
When my automatic door broke, it was move in day. I could not get in and out of my room independently. Due to this, I had to be a commuter student the first two days of school. My parents were incredible at having a positive attitude towards getting me to Elmhurst before 9:30 for two days.
My computer does have many issues at the moment. We bought a new one after calling all my special software companies besides my keyboard company, Intellikeys. It will not be compatible with the new laptop until 2011, and no, they did not give us an exact date. We are working on downgrading the new laptop so it is compatible with my keyboard.
My wheelchair broke the first Friday night of school. The back of the seat had tilted back permanently. Although I knew it was a quick fix my dad could do, it still was incredibly annoying.
I was standing up in my wheelchair. When I sat back down, the chair decided to go as slow as molasses. No joke. It literally took me 15 minutes to get across the parking lot when it usually takes me 2 minutes! Just to emphasize how bad it was, nobody joked with me about it. See, it's one of my trademarks on campus that I am always speeding and leaving my assistants in the dust. It's become a part of my personality. I am always on the move, never stopping, I like it that way. Not any other way!
Finally, my joystick fell off. This is actually kind of humorous. I had gone to use the restroom, sat back down, and there goes my joystick. Clean break. No reason as to why. It was like a sitcom.
While this all was happening (or breaking, you can choose which word is more appropriate), Phi Mu was in the middle of recruitment. Recruitment is difficult for me. It is an extraordinary amount of time and I have to reschedule when my assistants come. It is quite taxing on me but totally seems worth it when we get the new girls. And may I say we got 22 fantastic women!
During this difficult month, I have turned to faith in the Lord. I remember praying one night and saying, you must be putting me through this for a really good reason. Usually, after a rough patch in my life, God puts a wonderful person in my life that reminds me, yes, tangible things broke but it's the people in your life that make life good and happy. I kept reminding myself, all the people I love are healthy and happy. That is what really matters. People. I wrote a poem in all of the chaos.
He Listens
I listen to Him.
He listens to me
The door cannot be opened.
He gives me a house.
A machine does not work.
He gives me people who have knowledge.
My tangible companion breaks.
He gives me a repair man.
I start getting down.
He brings people to give me hope.
I complain about being busy.
He reminds me that at one point I did not have a social calendar.
I get frustrated with family.
He lets me hear of a broken family.
I get impatient.
He gives me more people to teach.
I don’t feel heard.
He brings people that need to be listened to much more than me.
He listens to me.
I listen to Him.
I hope you get something out of this poem.
Now, you're probably wondering, did all her technology get fixed? Between my dad and faithful wheelchair repair man, I am sitting upright and have a joystick attached to my chair not using any duct tape. My computer will be fixed soon due to the efforts of one incredible tech guy at my wonderful college and my hard working mom. And yes, I am speedy Gonzalez once again! Due to this month's never-ending difficulties, I really did appreciate the small stuff.
During recruitment, we talked a lot about sisterhood. My "sisterhood moment" during recruitment was when the recruitment chair, Christina was passing out name tags. She was calling out names, instead of saying, "Hannah", she said, "somebody put this on Hannah" She thought ahead. Even though, she had a million and one things to think about, she didn't forget to think of what was easiest for me.
Another experience was truly awesome. I was invited to go to a dinner about interfaith and it was extremely formal, etc. A few days before this dinner, I realized my assistant couldn't come until an hour into the dinner. I had come to terms with this and told the hostess about the situation. When I sat down, I had two students on both sides. I made it known that my assistant was coming in an hour so nobody would feel awkward. The two girls would have nothing to do with that idea. They fed me the entire dinner! They just would not have me go without eating and I rejoiced privately in the good of humanity at that moment. The really good part is next! I found out that one of my girls (my assistants) cannot continue to work with me this semester. I am terribly sad and so is she about the situation. However, I have to find more girls due to this. Guess who I asked? Yup, the two girls at dinner! One of them will do dinner on Mondays and the other is thinking about next semester. See! I told you God is watching out for me.
Even in the most frustrating times, I choose to see hope. A significant part of that is thinking of you, my dear readers. I know you know me to be positive in the darkest circumstances and I always will because as long as I have an audience who cares, I will perform to the best of my ability.
Have Hope and Faith,
Hannah!
