I’ll start with this: if there’s one thing the Circle of Life is horribly bad at, it’s making people feel left out.
Now for the story. If any of you have ever been to the Casper Center “Dungeon,” you probably noticed the large Circle of Life symbol painted on the wall. But you might or might not have noticed is “Circle of Life” — the words — written on the wall as well.
Three years ago, Briana Baker (former student at St. A’s, currently at Bellarmine) offered to do this paint job to make the youth group room more our own. And she really did a magnificent job — the letters are perfectly proportioned and just the right size. The only problem was that it was left uncompleted. You couldn’t read the white words on a pale yellow background. But her life pulled her in a different direction and she left the group.
Flash forward to May 3, 2017. I bargained on coming to the Dungeon and letting John and Shane do their little middle schooler thing while I, armed with five sharpies, two rulers, and a protractor, outlined the words on the wall.
“Why’d you bring so many sharpie markers?” I can’t tell you which of the kids said this because I’m sure it was more than one. I took a lot of comments on how many markers I brought — but semper paratus is a good motto for everyone.
Well, their “little middle schooler thing” and my “draw-on-a-wall thing” ended up becoming the same thing. Huge thanks to Amber (St. R), Stephanie (St. A), Nathan (St. R), Daighre (St. A), and John for making it such a fun and quick event.
We got the whole job finished in under half an hour, even amid classic Circle of Life distractions (read: screams, laughter, deep conversation, too many ‘your face’s, and a spontaneous dance party). And of course, my description wouldn’t be complete without mentioning James’ wonderful DJ skills – just think frantic video game music and looped Spongebob to give you an idea. (By the end of it all we wondered why he was allowed an iPhone, but it’s not like we had any better music to offer).
So thanks again, everyone. That’s how a project three years in the making finally got completed. 🙂
You can read it now! *little party*
The Circle of Life 