It's All Basically the Same

I got back yesterday from my trip to Emory in Atlanta, GA. They put me up in a hotel that is owned by the university, one of many various institutions that the university owns. The school has a huge convention center, hospital, apartment tower, and bus system right there on campus. So coming from LeTourneau, I find myself in a bit of a shock as my cabbie drove me past the giant skyline of downtown Atlanta and through the mile long main road that ran through the heart of Emory University.

After I checked in, I spent the rest of the day walking around marble-encrusted buildings and giant medical centers to get a feel for the place. The school has the second largest collection of theological materials in their library, which is just one of six at Emory. On our little admissions tour, they made sure to show us the many first editions of Reformation first editions, including Luther's German Translation and Erasmus' Greek New Testament.

On the whole it was a great experience. The campus was wonderful, the people in the theological commmunity there were smart and friendly, and while some there embraced other attitudes than my own, I felt good there. Many of the other students came from far different backgrounds than myself, and I am fairly certain that I am one of few stundents from an Evangelically based school. However, I'm up for a new experience, and while I do not think it will be easy academically or emotionally to attend there, I do believe it will help me grow a lot and place me in a wonderful position to advance in my field.

I'm glad all of the searching is finally over and I feel relief along with a sense of accomplishment. The program I am in at Emory is one of the best and most selective in the US, and I'm proud to go there. I have more stories about cabbies in Atlanta and the fanatic attraction of the admissions staff to my middle name ("Oh, you're David TRAIL Blaser? Hahahah"), but those can wait for another time. I had a great trip, learned a lot, and like where I'm ending up. I just hope all goes well from here on in. But some advice: if you're a Bible nerd and are in Atlant, make sure to see all of those pretty first editions in the Candler library, but they won't let you check them out since they're written by German-folk...I just WWII still hits home there or something.