D'Caffeinated Pickle

I am over at the university for this Summer session. I am taking ED 2500 which is a introductory course for prospective applicants to the ED department. Next wee we get placed in a local school to observe and participate half days Monday to Thursday. I am looking forward to being back in the schools again. Since I have been in university my time on campus with junior and senior high students has been significantly reduced. This has easily been the hardest part of my transition - at least from a professional perspective. (There have been other more significant issues WE have faced in the last while on a personal level) My favorite part of youth ministry was the amount of time I got to spend with kids especially in their world - school. So it really seems like I have been cut off in some ways from a huge part of my life. This afternoon listening to my fellow students before class brought me back. They were discussing their addiction to various TV shows - like the Hills. It's weird the kind of connection that I am making with students in my class.
Now more than ever I am self conscious of my weight problem. I am not sure why 'cause it never really bothered me before. Part of it is that there has been no small focus on appropriate dress for our mini practicum. Long and short - it still amazes me that strangers wanna engage with me in a significant way as an individual. I have had some pretty significant conversations with a number of individuals already. It's always perplexing to me. But i recognize that whatever it is that I possess it is something that I must be responsible with before God. I can't actually identify what it is about who I am that others find interesting enough to want to engage with so I am left with this sense of awe that anyone would want to 'hang out' with me.
Anyways