Archive of December 2008
2008 in review
Posted at 8:54 PM
A year ago I wrote about 2008:
My CU responsibilities continue, and my degree will continue to be difficult. I now know more what to expect, but no doubt God’ll bring all sorts alongside that I don’t expect. It’s good to be kept on my toes.
A big feature of the first half of my year was music – something that should be of no surprise. Thinking through a theology of music became more than just an intellectual exercise, as I was asked to take charge of music in the CU. Music, ever the controversial topic, was the cause of not a few late night conversations. Meanwhile, my degree continued, and while the work was still difficult, it became more interesting – I got to write an essay on the Beatles, Iannis Xenakis and Miles Davis, and wrote some electronica with my new recording setup.
The summer began with a bar job that I disliked intensely, and was secretly pleased when they fired me two weeks later for not being “hardcore” enough. I then had a depressing month or so looking for work, before returning to the place I hoped never to go back to (Jessops). Fortunately it was actually quite fun for a month or so, and certainly a lot better than being unemployed. (It turns out there’s a difference between unemployment and holiday for a university student. For a month in the summer I was doing nothing, like many of my friends – the difference was, I needed to be working. As a result, it was incredibly depressing and I couldn’t seem to enjoy the “freedom”.)
My final year at uni began with illness after illness, leaving the start of 2009 as a big catch-up on the work I didn’t quite manage during the previous term. However I did manage to collaborate on a film soundtrack, and as a result caught the film composition bug. In fact I get the feeling I’ll look back on 2008 as the year I really got excited about music. I’ve started to perform songs for various events; I’ve written for a film; I’ve rediscovered the joys of art in its widest sense, as one of God’s great gifts. It’s a shame the excitement didn’t come earlier, as my degree’s almost over! Still, music will still be there once I graduate.
Looking back over the year, it wasn’t easy – and it’s hard sometimes to see how Romans 8:28 fits with my life: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him”. That’s the great thing, though. I can’t see how, but I know that in all things – in the difficult spring, the depressing summer, the illness of autumn and the stress of winter – God works for my good. It might not feel like it, but it’s still good to be kept on my toes. I still don’t know what next year will hold – I don’t as yet know what I’m doing come graduation. I know that God’s got a plan, though.