Life in a nutshell

Good Morning~

I have a Tumblr account but I never take advantage of this great creative space so I thought I’d tumble on this cold, damp day in Merced while sipping a cup of coffee. I could speak of my life, I could share about this semester, and I could try to be philosophical, but instead I am going to enlighten those who read this and share about my life as a tour guide.

I’ve worked for UC Merced’s Visitor Center for 1 year and a half—I have met countless people and forgotten 98% of their names, done my fair share of mess ups..and loved ever bit of it (for the most part) :) I love using my tour guide fingers, walking backwards, projecting my voice (which doesn’t take much effort), answering the question: “What do you do in the middle of nowhere,” and wearing my fashion statement polo.

Being a tour guide is such a huge platform for loving on people, giving them the hope that they are worthy of going to a UC campus for higher education, and one day my hope is that UC Merced will be known as a campus infiltrated by the love of God—that our God will be made famous upon our secular institution.  Last year in my dorm, we had a map of California with an arrow pointing to Merced with a big sign that said ‘Revival.’ Many tour groups asked about it and were truly interested in hearing about this new, foreign term “revival” and some people even stopped to tell me that they’d be praying to see revival break through as well.

On a light note, I wanted to highlight some stories that stuck out to me in the last year and a half.

1st Highlight: On my first tour ever, I remember the sheer terror that ran through me because I had no idea what to do or what to say. I was taking a large group of high school students around our campus and we were just about to move away from the laundry room. What I saw next was not something I expected to see on my first day of work. Outside the doors, was a tree beautifully decorated with panties, thongs, and men’s briefs. Yes..a tree covered with under garments hanging like Christmas ornaments. To appease this group of laughing hyenas, I told them that this was simply UC Merced’s way of presenting the Lost and Found.

2nd highlight(s): This was something that was ongoing, but I told my tours that you could see Half Dome from our campus which is so not true because you have to drive two hours just to get into Yosemite to see anything remotely close to Half Dome. I told groups that our carpet is made of “trash.” I told some tours that the alumni used to wear hardhats to their classes because the construction was too dangerous.

3rd highlight: Junior Highers are UNfiltered little people. I’ve been told I look like one of them, I’ve been told I look old—32 years old. I’ve been told that for Halloween little girls wanted to dress as bumble bees. Bumble bee—aww cute, right?—no, it was specifically mentioned that they were going to be “slutty bumble bees.” They’ve talked about condoms, lesbians, masturbation. In all seriousness, the generation below us needs guidance, love, and a lot of prayers.

4th highlight: These next highlights lead to the photos—sometimes people ask for my number, ask me to go clubbing with them, and even go to one of their proms…I graciously decline these lovely offers but it’s fun sometimes to see what dynamics a group can bring.

I’ve been blessed to overflowing and it’s been a privilege to serve my school in this way…happy times.

Have a great weekend and live For the Kingdom.