2007-2009 / Bachelor of Theology (Henderson Campus)
I remember how kind everyone was, and how much fun it was to live on campus. I absolutely loved spending hours in the library, and knowing that I would see classmates there to talk in whispers and share useful books. When I lived there, we ate dinner together in the dining room, and it was so fun to see everyone and catch up on how the day had been. I liked very much to relax in my room or on a patch of grass under a tree. But another favourite thing to do was find a few people to go together across the road to Pak‘n Save. So fun!
I met some people at Laidlaw who I still contact periodically even now, eleven years after graduation. Shizu Goto from Japan was someone I still keep in touch with and I was able to visit her a few years ago. She is still serving God, working for her local church in Yamagata. And I’m still in touch with another friend who lives in Auckland (one of the few who stayed in Auckland!) even though I moved to Nelson City.
I think most of my time at Laidlaw is filled with things that I would say are my 'favourite thing', but I suppose the best thing was learning a new way to look at my faith, the Word, and my God. Learning that I can't always find a simple answer or any answer at all, and that was okay. Learning that some of my own beliefs were not Biblically-based, and tracing them back to find out where I had learned these wrong ideas. Unlearning wrong ideas is hard, but necessary. I now know that I don't know enough. Three years was not enough. I wish so much that I could have studied longer at Laidlaw. The lecturers were so interesting! All of them had their own teaching styles and preferences, and all of them had great book recommendations! I remember annoying a couple of them, but not on purpose...probably!
It was the best time of my life. I didn't want to leave. But I knew that you can't stay. You have to keep moving. And it was the first time in my whole life I was ever an 'A' student. So that helps my time at Laidlaw to stay beautiful in my mind.
I will say though that I remember being rude and thoughtless more often than I would like, but didn't realise at the time. I apologise to everyone for that, if anyone I hurt reads this. Thanks, everyone.
I was equipped to look for answers anywhere I could find them. I was changed into someone who was more confident in my own abilities and I began to see God in new ways. I was shaped into someone who began to believe that she was no longer a worthless mistake who knew nothing.
After Laidlaw I went to work at a rest home as an Activities Coordinator, and then to teach English in Japan. Now I work as an Administrator in Nelson Cathedral.
I am grateful to God for his patience - with me, but also the human race...
