Back in the Zone

Last year, when I returned to New Haven from winter break in California, there was snow on the ground and snow in the air.

I took the same travel route this year, taking a 5-hour overnight flight out of Long Beach airport, arriving at JFK in the early morning, catching a NYC Airporter bus into Manhattan's Grand Central Station (2 hours in morning rush hour traffic), and then riding a 2-hour train to New Haven.

A good friend picked me up, and we headed to his house for lunch: brown rice and baked tilapia (loaded with peppers, onions, spinach, lemon, thyme, and seasoning).

I was home for a month, but it almost feels like I never left New Haven.  The weather is still mild, just like it was when I left.  My friend says it only flurried once, and the snow didn't stick.  We catch up a bit, and it doesn't really feel like a New Year has come since our last hangout.

I get home around 2 pm and start catching up on emails.  The new semester begins on Tuesday, and somehow I feel more ready for it now that I'm back.  It's almost like time at Yale stopped, waiting for us to get back from the holidays.

I don't have any particular emotions at the moment, which is an interesting state of mind for an F (Myers-Briggs "feeler").  The dread I had felt while at home towards returning to the stressful school environment has dissipated.  I remember now that there is also close community and support here, which makes the stress manageable.

In 2015, I gave of myself freely to the community here by hosting gatherings, cooking for friends, giving rides, listening, praying, participating in meetings, and taking on a campus leadership role that was perhaps a bit too much for me to handle.  It's my final semester here, and I am reorienting myself to absorb it all and cherish the good moments.  I want to take away as much as I can from Yale and Divinity School, and while I will still be present in each moment and interaction with my peers, I sense that this semester is about enriching myself rather than offering every cell of my being to the community.

A fellow student and prayer warrior from YDS texted me last night, as I was about to board my plane, with insights that match what I have been sensing.  I feel stronger already, and I know that the support of friends like her will get me through the rest of my time here.  I'm back in the zone, and I have hope for a good 2016!