Reflections on the academic December season

It's December. I've survived three academic Decembers before this one, all incredibly challenging on many fronts (academically, mentally, relationally, physically, spiritually), but this one is a little different than the others.

This time, I'm not only completing projects and papers for class, but I'm doing it in my last December in academia (as far as I know). And instead of a project that gets completed, graded and applied to my GPA, I'm working on a podcast-style capstone project that highlights my relationship with a loved one who has a severe mental illness and the Christian church's response.

This is the first time I've had the privilege to use academia as an excuse to reflect on a relationship so personal to me, without worrying about how it will affect my GPA.