The year that changed my life.

Debby, Allan, Ellen, Charles, Sheila, Eric  Missing;  Hal.

At the ripe 'ol age of 19, I was a broken shell.  Withdrawn, shy, and lacking confidence, there was little I felt that I could offer the world.  I had the things I loved, which included my relationship with the college's biology department and my love of photography.  Outside of that, I had no friends or areas of interest.

I came from a dysfunctional family; my mom was a17 year alcoholic who had made 6 suicide attempts and wasn't finished yet.  It would be Christmas eve a year later that her last attempt would be made.  I needed to get out, so I applied for a student loan and moved into residence on campus in September.  I wanted to learn more about photography and so I joined the college newspaper, the Bricklayer, as a photographer.  Little did I know that it would change my life.

I met people there that I still know and love today.  They accepted me for who I was and enjoyed spending time with me.  I learned photography (thanks, Al), silliness (thanks Charles), how to dance (thanks, Ellen), and best of all how to love people and accept love from them (thanks everyone).  

I can't say that my grades were very good; I spent so much time being social for the first time in my life that academics took a back seat to learning.  Looking back, I have to say that it was an acceptable sacrifice.  In the end, the poor grades did not affect my career and I could finely look others in the eye and believe in myself.  That is something that has stayed with me to this day.

I am also very thankful for the families of Alan and Charles.  They opened their doors to me and treated me as one of their own.  I had not known the kind of love they showed me before.  I am forever grateful that they accepted me for who I was, in spite of my brokenness.  I began to heal.

The most important thing we have in our lives are the relationships we hold dear.  However, you can't get into those kinds of relationships unless you are willing to both show and receive love.  I'm not talking about erotic love, I am speaking of loving others as you should love yourself.  The Bible calls this agape love.  But that is another story.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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