Tomorrow begins another school year. So, on the precipice of my second year as a full-time faculty member, and in honor of my move up to Lowell exactly 13 months ago today, I thought I’d pass along 13 lessons I’ve learned over the past year and one month. In no particular order:
- BALANCE is key.
- Being a CUBS fan really really sucks a lot of the time.
- At school, my REPUTATION has started to precede me. And I think that’s awesome.
- Politics exists EVERYWHERE. And I think that sucks.
- I miss my FRIENDS. That being said, two of my closest friends have moved up to Lowell, so I can’t complain too much at all. It’s just that I also miss my other friends from Tallahassee and Chicago. Badly.
- The way I see it, OREO is certifiably the gentlest, sweetest, cutest, most loving dog in the world.
- To quote The Fray, “Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the SAME.”
- I do what I LOVE. And I love what I do.
- I miss the CITY, Chicago in particular. I’m going to make it a point to get to know Boston.
- More and more I’m discovering that being spiritual and being religious are two very DIFFERENT things.
- The importance of a good TEACHER, at whatever level and in whatever subject, cannot be overstated.
- As much as I’d like to consider myself a moderate, I’m beginning to lean more and more to the LEFT. Or perhaps it’s a reaction and I’m just leaning further and further away from the right.
- COMMUNICATION is key.
Christopher Endrinal 
Dear Anak,
Nothing pleases me more than your #10 that says something about your discovering the difference between spirituality and religiousity. It has taken me a great while to disover it myself and, frankly, the discovery is a continuum each and every day. Like I always say, I’d rather be spiritual than religious.
While I was in the Philippines two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to talk about it with two of your first cousins–Kuya Boy and Ate Cora–both of whom are members of a religious group: Couples for Christ and Marriage Encounter, respectively for both. Before I left, I thought they understood well enough the difference between the two, after they asked me innumerable questions about them. The Holy Spirit must be guiding me all through my explications.
Anak, you’re on your way to unmistakable godliness: being spiritual is far more than one can aspire to be; although to be religious helps pave the way to genuine spirituality.