tradeoffs, the bridge of little Jeremy, & a blogiversary

The nipping wind and my chilly toes every morning testify that November is almost here. It’s not a bad realization. We’re over half-way through the semester and each week that passes is one more that brings me closer to being home. There’s one thing about this fall, though, that keeps putting me off. There are no colorful leaves in SoCal. No maples bursting into flame, no vibrant trees along the lane. It’s like summer all over again, but draftier.

It’s a sad thought to realize I will have to live the next three autumns vicariously through pictures (and Pinterest). Almost enough to make my shoulders droop and my heart grow heavy.

I’m told these college years will never come again and I should treasure them. Tradeoffs, tradeoffs, as my economics professor would say. Life is all about choices and conflicts of interest.

But it’s worth it to me. I can trade four brilliant falls (along with family life + comfort + an enormous amount of money and don’t get me started) for four long years of study away from home. Four years dedicated to becoming a faithful, hard-working, God-dependent adult, equipped for the tasks ahead. Will it pay off? My theology professor, tilting his head and raising his eyebrows over his glasses, assures me it all depends on how much I’m willing to put into my time here. “Make the most of every minute you’ve got.” I aim to.

I wish I could say I keep up with that goal. I don’t—surprise—but I’m learning. Time has become a precious currency that I can trade for good or ill, for productivity, rest, or laziness. If I can help it, I’ll avoid the last one, thank you.

I’ve started bringing a book with me wherever I go. True, I read for school and love it. But I’m also making the effort to look beyond my classes and my grades, explore other books that enrich and broaden my perspectives—and yes, occasionally I’ll go for a comfort book. My desire for and appreciation of nonfiction is growing ever deeper, but I haven’t lost my love for fiction.

Perhaps one of the most thought-provoking and unique novels I’ve read during my time at college is Indrajit Garai’s The Bridge of Little Jeremy.

At first glimpse, it’s an unassuming story about a boy and his mother, trying to get by in modern day Paris. There’s not much action at the start, but the deep thoughts and peculiar wisdom of little Jeremy were all that I needed to keep me reading. Themes of friendship, loss, honesty, perseverance, and loyalty thread the story with warmth and poignancy. Along the way, the plot grows in richness and intensity, as little Jeremy grapples with living in a world that is broken, among people who are broken – and finds that fixing the brokenness isn’t an easy task.

Little Jeremy, we find, is a walking contradiction – wise and well-meaning in theory, but foolish in practice. He has lofty and noble ambitions, yet stumbles as he tries to make them reality. It was an odd feeling to watch through his eyes as his perspective matured out of the simple, narrow mind of childhood into the beginnings of manhood. I saw myself reflected in him—a wide-eyed idealist making mistake after mistake as I move into adulthood. Life is scary, decisions must be made, and no one truly ever sees the whole picture this side of eternity. I was amazed at how Garai captured the vulnerability of growth in his book and made it accessible through the innocence of childhood. It was beautiful and moving.

I wouldn’t call the book polished—it has its rough edges, to be sure. The tone is straightforward and unembellished. I found myself appreciating this simple style for the most part, but at times I felt the language didn’t flow smoothly. Yet somehow, it fit the artless nature of the story. Little Jeremy’s story came from the heart, and I could feel that as I read. To me, that’s worth a few faults in the end.

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Before I go, I should mention one more thing. As of last week, it’s officially been a year since my first post on Thoughts from a Stumbling Saint…

🎉🎉🎉

Before anything else, thank you for following along with me on this journey. Each of you have chosen to let me fill a spot in your overcrowded inbox every few weeks and share my thoughts. Many of you are friends. Some of you are family. Some of you I don’t know. I want you to know that I am truly grateful for each and every one of you, and appreciate your support and encouragement more than I can say.

So – short and sweet – to celebrate this milestone, I’m going to be unoriginal and host a Q&A to answer any of the questions (within reason) you might have about yours truly. Feel free to drop your questions in the comments or the Post Office, and I’ll type up my responses in a post sometime in the near future.

I also finally finished “The Library” (after a year of putting it off), and published it to go with my one-year blogiversary! That mysterious tab that no one could open before is now available to the public. You can find it in the menu at the top of the page where it awaits your perusal 📚

I believe that covers it.

And as I still have a paper to finish before tomorrow, I think I’ll pause my musings here.

What is the most interesting book you’ve read lately? Has your October been a colorful one this year? How have you been spending your days this fall?

Cover photo by Matt Duncan on Unsplash.