My little sister graduates!

Okay so I lied. my big sister graduated today, but technically I can call her my little sister, since I am a freak and grew to be 6'8', even though she is only 6'1'.

All height differences aside, I am so so proud of her, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English Literature and she graduated Summa Cum Laude!!! for those of you who don't know that is the highest honors that can be conferred on someone (correct me if I used that word incorrectly) for their grades during their degree.

I just want to take a moment to say how much my sister has inspired me academically and personally in school.

I think there can be a stigma or assumption about academic/hardworking/reallyfrickensmart people, and that stigma is that they are snobbish or perhaps sort people into categories based on their grades, social skills, and/or their academic intelligence. However my sister has exemplified to me and many others at this school how refreshing it is when you look at a person as someone of worth, regardless of what insecurities and/or personal difficulties they are operating out of. She is the first person to try and understand someone when they do or say something that is hurtful or immature instead of simply writing them off, and while she doesn't stand for injustice or abusive behaviours, she always approaches conflict with a willingness to look at where the other person is at and try and communicate any issues with love and respect.

I think this behaviour goes hand in hand with her values when it comes to Christ's approach to community. And I also think that her approach to other people in seeking to understand is something that heightens her ability to learn and be excellent in her studies. This open-mindedness that fosters curiosity and wisdom is something that builds into our faith in God and our wonder at his creation.

This wonder is something that I've seen her acquire and that I've begun to experience myself. The great thing about academics is that it allows us the opportunity to delve so deeply into a subject that we get lost in the infinite complexity and beauty of the subject. As people of faith we need to see how God has created these things to have us lose ourselves in them.

I think that good grades on her part are not a result of needing the highest GPA for prestige or even to open more doors in future education, but instead because of the inspiring beauty of God's creation. I'm not going to pretend that I always do my very best in school to achieve the highest marks, but I think the more I have connected my studies and pursuits in school with the bountiful character of our creator the more excellent I do anyway.

Today after her grad I was reading a book on Vivaldi, and there was a chapter on some background history of Venice, and at that moment I was reading about the art and architecture and literature and music that emerged in the Baroque period. We got talking about the pursuit of understanding and knowledge of that period, and the realization that emerged of the vast incomprehensible scope of God's intricate creation. Art in the church was considered worship simply because it was becoming more and more complex, a reflection of God's glory and power. I say that this is still true today, that in music and literature and other forms of art it should be less important perhaps what the logical message is that is being communicated; and more important what the beauty and excellence of the art is communicating about the character of God. This is why I don't understand it when someone says "well how can that genre of music be glorifying God?" or "how can that literature which has nothing to do with Christian beliefs be glorifying God?". I am not saying that all paths lead to God, but that all things that are excellent in some way represent his characters, and that he is in the business of redeeming those things that have been twisted or perverted, even in their excellence.

Thank you Celine, for in a sense paving the way for some of my thought patterns and goals and ambitions, and I wish you well in your future studies and what God has for you.