Listening to: Sufi songs and zikr from Kurdistan and Jonatha Brooke, The Works
I've always loved representations of St. Jerome in art. There he is in all his withered glory, far from the distractions of society, living in a cave or spartan cell.
That's sort of me these days. I am either on campus or working in my cell - er - room. I am subsisting primarily on harira, which I cook up weekly in large batches, am fueled by copious amounts of tea and Turkish coffee. I have been known to forget to eat, but so far, I am more focused than I've ever been. I just don't really go out and do anything other than school work.
And the thing is, I am fine with it. I may be a nerdy hermit, but I like it. Tonight, I am pulling sources for a literature review on Islam and Social Work. I still have readings on human development theories and the juvenile justice system. And then there's the research on the MENA region for a project in my International Social Work course, my one elective this semester.
Our theory course is giving me fits, mostly because the sheer amount of information and the fact that I am having trouble processing it all because I have yet to grasp how it will fit into my future work. It's a course that leans more towards clinical practitioners, not macro focused folks like me. The other two - Social Policy and International Social Work - are more my thing, but we all have to have these foundational courses, so there's no sense complaining. Meanwhile, I am meeting with folks in the Middle East Studies department, trying to craft one or two independent studies to fit into my program on Islam and social development and trying to figure out how to squeeze Arabic courses into my life. I aspire to someday, someday, swim laps again.
So, if my posts are few and far between, that's why. But, I am happy.
Salaam.
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