Stranger

Normally, I don't feel too out of place at Concordia. It's a lot like Grade 2 was for me: a bit of a loner during "recess" (spare periods), a few friends (none particularly close), get along well with people, academically smart. All of which is true...

Today was interesting, though... Thanks to English being divvied up into groups for a presentation on Friday, I was a bit more social than usual, and possibly because it's the third full week back, and I'm used to the whole "spare periods" thing (first semester of my life I've had them), I was feeling the most "at home" I have at Concordia yet.

But culturally... I felt WAY out there...

The main incident occurred when I was broadsided with overhearing a conversation I would have heartily rather avoided. It went something like this:

Girl One: "Don't mind me, I'm having my period. At least I'm having it though. I was so relieved to take the test, and come up negative."

Girl Two: "Yeah, I was two weeks late... it was scary, but we didn't have to do anything."

I'm confidant the conversation continued for a while in this vein, but this is where I left that area and headed over towards Tegler, a taste of "blegh" in my mouth.

Now, I'm well aware that I'm a true-blue anti-abortionist, pro-abstinence-until-marriage. I'm not out to defend myself so much as to reflect on just how deeply this runs in me. It wasn't the topics of the conversation that got me (though they have their reasons why they could've), so much as the casualness of it. It was so... routine...

Concordia's a pretty Christian place. It should be, as a Lutheran college with a considerable religious emphasis. Obviously, we're not talking a conservative Catholic institution, but still... I don't think I realised before how "one in a million" I am not. And I don't mean that in a self-pleasing, egoistic sort of way, but in an almost accurate statistical way. Probably it's more like "one in five thousand" or something... but still... we're a rare, rare breed, people like me.

Seminary never felt more like home, or more dear, than this afternoon when I got back.