“After 26 hours of travel, a canceled flight, one train, three planes, a taxi and pickup truck, I finally arrived back in Texas at 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 22. I felt almost as if I had been on a continual journey for four months, while I studied abroad.”

The current outrage in the U.S. over the new screening and pat-down procedures at airports was bound to throw up bumper stickers.

I was in class the other day and one of my professors gave me a challenge to go two weeks without using the dishwasher and washing machine and to do everything by hand.

Baylor’s Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Davis has issued this statement; “Our specific call, at this critical moment, is to employ our collective imagination to determine the next steps to which our commitment and purpose point. The stakes are very high. … We must use all of our creativity to chart the many ways Baylor University can, and should, connect its commitments to its purpose to serve both church and world.”

As my first semester as a Baylor Bear is coming to an end, I cannot help but to reflect on the various things I have learned over the past few months.

Christmas — a season of good tidings and joy. A time meant for celebrating the birth of the Christian savior, Jesus Christ. A time for family, friends and reflection; even a time for celebrating love and faith.