my thoughts

sorry ya'll, this is kinda long...
1. I'm Colleen McKown, and I'm a senior at Davidson College. My major is Medieval and Renaissance Studies, which is an interdisciplinary studies/self-designed major (mainly English and History classes, with some religion and art history.) I am writing my senior thesis on St. Teresa of Avila, a 16th century Spanish Catholic reformer/nun/mystic. As to the common response of "that's really cool!! ummm....WHAT are you going to do with that," I hope to go into something in the writing/journalism/field (maybe public radio, documentary film, or news reporting...) but I have thought of almost every career option (professor, counselor, teacher, foreign service officer, etc, etc, etc.)
2. My song would be "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls. To me, it's about someone who goes to extremes to try to find some sort of absolute truth to hold onto, and realizes that there are many answers to life's dilemmas, and that meaning is found when she learns to take herself less seriously and just live. I have tended, throughout life, to try to find something ultimate and absolute to hold onto. I usually end up completely rejecting it and trying to find something else...but in truth, meaning is found in the little things...late-night conversations with friends when you should really be studying, reading a book that really speaks to you, meeting someone new that you really connect with, sharing a great meal with friends, being there to listen to someone, even if you don't know what to say...
3. This whole search for the absolute is especially true regarding my spiritual journey. I started out as a liberal Christian...I've also dabbled in New Agey/Buddhist philosophy...I became an evangelical Christian for awhile...then rejected it and decided I was agnostic...I'm still searching...but I'm considering very liberal Christianity again. As for one thing I belive....I would say that it's important to spend your life doing things you are truly passionate about while honoring, respecting and loving others for who they are.
4. My question would be: what can we do, as educated members of American society, to help the injustice, inequity, and complete injustice that exists in the world? What are concrete ways we can live more consciously? One of my roommates this year did an urban service internship lsat summer, and it was her first real encounter with marginalized/truly poverty-stricken people. It completely changed her life...her values, career direction, everything. I know that one part of Christianity I do really agree with is the importance of embracing, loving, and helping those who are marginalized in our society. I am kind of repelled by the materialistic, capitalist and self-seeking society we live in, but I know that I am just as big a part of it as anyone else. I feel that there is such emptiness sometimes in our society...what can I do to bring a little more meaning into this world?
5. I like the story of Adam and Eve because it speaks so much about human nature...(I took a Milton class last semester on Paradise Lost...which is entirely the story of Adam and Eve...) I like the story in John when the scribes and Pharisees are about to stone the adultress and Jesus says, "Let anyone among you who is without sin cast the first stone," I like the story of the good samaritan and the one (not sure which book) where Jesus invites those who are poor/outcasts to come to the banquet. I also like 1 Corinthians 13. I am angered by passages that say man should be the head of the household, passages that speak out against female authority in church and homosexuals...
6. I'd like to look at the gospels from a social justice perspective...see how Jesus really lived life and how Jesus calls others to live their lives.
7. I would just like to learn more about what living life as a Christian looks like/should look like...I'm still searching for something meaningful spiriutally that places more emphasis on what you do in this life to live your faith than what happens after death. I really admire Christians who live Christ's example in their daily lives and I'd like to learn more about what this would look like.