Three months ago, I would never have imagined attending UTS. But I felt that I needed something new in my life, something fresh. I thought about it, I prayed about it, and UTS fell into place just when I needed that something new.

Of course, I had challenges in coming to UTS. I was going to immerse myself in a study that deep down I felt was unpractical, dry, old, and unnecessary -- I loved God and the church community, but I didn't think I needed theology or religion. Somehow, I still felt pulled here.

What probably most inspired me to come was the consistent affirmation from the letters, pamphlets, and recruiters; that UTS faculty and staff and church leadership were committed and inspired to have this as a place of personal discovery and empowerment for young people and a place of change for the Unification Church movement and the world.

The Young Oon Kim (YOK) program was substantial proof of that to me. The American Movement needs American leadership and inspired young people using their passions and talents to move the world in every arena (spirituality is not just at the pulpit). I saw with UTS' YOK program, the decision and means (on many necessary levels) to make this change.

Like anything, what students put into their time at UTS is what they will get out. If I use this large and history-rich building, resources (library, classes, knowledgeable and committed staff, clubs), nature, surrounding artistic and spiritual community, great people inside and outside the movement, and fellow students to discuss and debate with, UTS can be a wonderful laboratory in which to experiment and discover.

I still look forward to this "experimental" time in my life in which to realize what I can do in this world and what God wants me to do. But, I knew I would enjoy and benefit from the self improvement process of exploring artistic interests, meditating and exercising in nature, etc.

What has taken me more by surprise is that, actually, much of my time has been spent absorbed by issues I ironically (considering I am getting a Masters in Religious Education at a theological seminary) thought I did not need (or want) to think about anymore -- theology, my faith, and the big questions of life.

Theology is not abstract, dry Sunday School studies of the Bible and Divine Principle (DP) that I thought it to be; it is a constant analysis of what God was trying to tell everybody at every time, of what is so amazing about the DP that brought my parents, my aunts, my uncles, my new teachers, and the many photographed faces on the hall walls here to join the movement.

It has only been two weeks but I am already feeling the cathartic aches and pains of growth and realizations that come with letting my guard down and allowing God to work and teach. Specifically, I do not know yet how I am going to use my UTS education in the future.

Generally, though, I know that it is going to help me solidify my beliefs and the beliefs I pass on to my children, to have a more empowering and mature vision for my life, and to help me understand, empathize with, and communicate the world situation better.

So… i guess here's to (almost) four years of study, internship, tears, joy, frustration discovery, realizations, many Asians, forest walks, NYC trips, exciting growth, and writing papers about life, the universe, and everything late into the night.