“IF” by Cassondra Marshall

“IF”

by Cassondra Marshall, written for the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of UAHuntsville

If it were just a school,

Surely we wouldn’t be so grieved.

And if they were only teachers,

We’d accept the news we have received

With no thought of what it means

To have walked up and down those halls,

Or the privilege of saying

We learned within those walls.

If it were merely an institution,

We’d just shrug off this disaster.

If they were just instructors,

None of this would even matter.

If we had only gotten

A receipt with our degrees

Then we’d see the same victims

That everyone else sees.

But if I could just be honest

In hopes of shedding light,

I’d tell a tale that’s different

From what others say and write.

I would say that I grew up

In Central Campus Residence Hall,

And that I’m a better person

For having answered the Charger call.

I would say that I was nurtured

By the best school staff in the nation.

And that I have walked away

With much more than education.

That I was mentored by professors

Whose classes I never took,

And gained more from their influence

Than from 20 million books.

I’d say that UAHuntsville

Is much more than just a college,

And as a UAH student,

I obtained much more than knowledge.

And if I were a gambler,

I’d bet that I’m not alone

In writing, thinking, and feeling

That UAH was more like home.

Singles Awareness Day

I would just like to take a moment and address "Singles Awareness Day" aka Valentines Day. I hear so many of my Christian friends talk about celebrating S.A.D. It almost seems selfish to me to take a day that is centered around Love and turn it into a pitty party when we have THE most perfect Love that anyone could ever dream of in the Love of Christ. Seriously, this man was beaten, spat upon, mocked, tortured, nailed on a cross and crucified for YOUR sins so that you could have eternal life. If that's not Love then I don't know what is. I've been "in love"...a couple of times...and as great as it is, it pails in comparison to the Love that Christ shows me every day of my life. This Valentines day, single or not, I encourage you to have a new attitude and instead of celebrating "S.A.D." celebrate the love that you do have in your life. The love of friends, family, and Christ. Share that love with others this season, volunteer somewhere this weekend and share your love with someone in need. Celebrate life changing love this year and I promise it will beat any Singles Awareness Day you will ever have. Happiness is a choice, and joy is not circumstantial.

What now God?

Sometimes I don't feel like I know what I am "called" to do. I think Christians get in this rut of trying to find their "calling" that they forget to slow down and figure out why God has them where they are right there in that very moment. We grow up thinking of a "calling" as a profession but the more I think about it, I don't think that is what a true calling is at all. I hear so many people, especially in my field of work, talking about being called to be a teacher, doctor, ect. While this may be true for some of us, I don't think those of us that are lacking that kind of direction are lacking anything.

I believe that God calls some of us to professions, but some of us he wants to steer along day by day. I made the comment to a friend once that "I don't believe Admissions is my calling, but it is an avenue to where God wants me to be." I was wrong for that. God's direction is greater than a career path. If he has me at UAHuntsville then that is where He wants me to work for the time being whether it be months, or years. Sometimes I doubt my decision to go to UA and major in Advertising. I am wrong for that. Even if I never use my degree, I know there was a purpose for why I was there. I knew that when I started, but somehow that belief got lost along the way. Whether it was a peer in my class, or a teacher, or someone that walked in to TISH Student Services, there was a divine reason that God had me there.

I am definitely not the first to ask these questions. When the Moses and his people were in the wilderness for so many tiresome, troubled years, some of them questioned. Some of them even wished they had never left. Were they crazy?? They wanted to go back to slavery?? No, they weren't crazy. They had just forgotten that God is a big picture God but only shows us a little at a time.

I don't know where I will end up. I don't know how long I will be at UAH. I do know that He will open the right door at the right place when I am ready, and THAT will be my "calling", even if it is just for a season.