So your next question is probably "Why Lee University? Why a school no one has ever heard of; a place where none of your other friends are going? Why did you choose to go somewhere that holds so few friendly faces and even fewer frequent ones; somewhere you wouldn't even be able to pick your roommate; somewhere you had to start over from scratch and build your reputation all over again, where it would be even more difficult than at Motlow?" My answer is simple: God called me here. I think the first time I realized I needed to be at Lee (though I didn't know that at the time) was when I was twelve years old. I hadn't heard of Lee University, and I wouldn't hear about Lee until I was 17, but even still, when I was twelve I knew I belonged here. There was a song I heard called "Cleveland". I don't know why, but I knew I needed to go to Cleveland at some point in my life and live there. At the time, I thought I belonged in Cleveland, OH. I honestly had no idea what could possibly await me in Ohio, but I had my sights set on going to this mysterious Cleveland. Now we will jump to seventeen. I began my college career at seventeen. I graduated early, having been homeschooled. At the time, I thought I would do like every other Motlow student and go to Motlow for two years, graduate, go to MTSU and live a relatively boring life after that. However, God had other plans for me. In the fall, I was in chorus with a girl named Mary. We didn't really become friends until the Spring semester, when she told me she was going to Lee. I promptly forgot about it, but still had Cleveland in my mind. I had remembered her mentioning that it was in Cleveland. Somehow, it got brought up in a conversation with my grandmother that Mary is going to "some school in Cleveland" as I called it. She did the research for me. I was still convinced that I was going to MTSU. Strangely, immediately after she had told me about doing the research about Lee, I knew that was where I was going to school. I graduated from Motlow after spending three years there, while in the meantime I only applied to one four year school: Lee. It's been an uphill battle, but I know God is in it. I know God has led me here for a reason. These trials and struggles are present to keep me fighting; to keep me from becoming complacent, not because I don't belong here.
But beyond my college career, there is an entirely different side of me. I have one of the greatest passions for writing. I love it possibly as much as I love music. I can write short stories, and at one point I was working on a novel. I gave up on what I like to call "novel number one" because events in the tale were coming true in real life against all reason, and it bothered me so I stopped writing feeling that if the events f the novel played out as I had planned to write them, that i would feel responsible for the death of one of my friends. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I am well aware that my novel wasn't the cause of the events coming true, but it was too eerie for me to continue. Now I'm toying with the idea of "Novel number two" which I may begin writing in November for NaNoWriMo. So if you stumble upon any works written by "Cecelia Swick" you know that's me. It's just a pen name, but it has its uses.
As I've mentioned I am a MusEd major. I sing. I also play some piano and "fiddle" (along with the other violin family instruments. Except cello.) I've toyed with a great number of instruments, but those three are the ones I always come back to. There's something extremely relaxing about being able to sit at a piano and pound out a melody, whether it be because you're happy or because you're sad, that works on your soul. Singing is something I, unfortunately take for granted to a certain degree. If I were to lose my voice, that would be the end of my career as a music major. I don't have the same outward passion for singing that I do for piano, even though I'm a much better singer than I am a pianist.
Something I don't like to talk about is something that I let hold me back through most of my teenage years and childhood: my eyesight. If you've met me, you've probably noticed there is something different about the way I look at things, about the way I read, and about the way I function, physically, in general. I can't tell you "how well I see," except in relative terms. I can function to use a computer and to read my textbooks without any assistance such as a magnifier or text to speech software. I can see faces, but sometimes detailed facial structure escapes me, and reading from distances is next to impossible for me. I think this becomes most apparent when I use my phone. This is something I am kind of required to tell my teachers about, but I don't tell fellow students until I absolutely feel as though there's no excuse for hiding it anymore. If you ask me directly, I will tell you, but until then, it's my burden and mine alone. So feel privileged if you've stumbled upon this, because I'm about to give you the full details:
I was born with congenital cataracts, a genetic disorder inherited from both sides (meaning there's pretty much a 100% chance that my children will have them too.) for which I had two surgeries, one at one week, the other at two weeks old. I also have glaucoma which God has preserved my eyesight through for whatever reason, because I've had it since I was a baby, and my eyesight is still the same as it was, if not somewhat better. I rather despise talking about this subject though, because it's not a part of who I am. If I could rise above it completely and never tell anyone that I had visual problems except for my very very closest friends and family, I would. Unfortunately, this also inhibits my ability to be able to drive any motorized vehicle. In other words, I may never be able to drive for the rest of my life. This is why I refer to myself, often, as an "indefinite, involuntary pedestrian."
The most important factor in my life however, is God. He rules my being, my soul, my heart and my footsteps. Into His hands I commend my heart, body, mind and spirit. Which is something I really need to claim more strongly because I find my heart leaping from my own grasp into the hands of someone else, far more prematurely than it ought to. That is beside the point, though. Jesus has been my rock and salvation through the hardest of times, and if not for Him, I would have made the biggest mistake in my life by not coming to Lee.
That being said, I think you've gotten to know a great deal of both the objective side of "what I do" and some of the subjective side of "who I am". For now, I will leave it at that. Describing one's self is often an awkward process, so rather than talking about my likes and dislikes, I will allow you to figure them out through my writings, rantings, ravings, poems, prayers and promises.
Cecelia
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