On this day 11 years ago I was en route to Slippery Rock to say my goodbyes to a great man. It was a special day but a bittersweet and emotional day. My friend and fellow church member Gary Wakefield a few weeks earlier had passed away. He was 68 years old. 2024 would have marked his 80th birthday.
I met Gary as well as the pastor of the Slippery Rock United Methodist Church at the university on one of my first days on campus. I was looking for a church home and after briefly talking to them, found my place of worship.
Gary always valued a firm handshake and I always gave him one when we saw each other at church. I always enjoyed his company and his love of Penn State and of course, his love for the Lord. He was also an excellent Sunday School teacher.
In addition to Sunday school, one of my favorite memories of Gary was when he and his wife, Sandy, opened their home to a group of us from Campus Crusade for Christ. It was Super Bowl Sunday and we all got together to watch the big game. Before that we prayed and had bible study. Later that same month, he and other church members were involved in starting up a contemporary worship service on Sunday mornings. This helped to reach the college crowd at church.
Friends and family gathered together at the church that Saturday morning to pay their final respects to a great man. After the memorial service, lunch was served downstairs in the Fellowship hall. As the luncheon came to an end and everyone began to make their way home, I stopped by my alma mater. I made it an opportunity to take a long, brisk walk around the campus.
In the time it took for me to stroll around the university, I started to let everything sink in once again. I remembered how much I enjoyed being there as a student. I took in the sights and sounds of a great school I once called home back in the mid-2000’s.
You see, for a long time, college to me was more than just a place to learn. It was also my safe space (long before what we call a safe space now). I wasn’t running from anybody, I was running from myself. That goes for my time at HGA as well.
When I graduated, it was like something was taken from me. We all have to eventually grow up and get a job and begin the next phase of our lives, but I wanted to stay. For years, I doubted myself after going there and having nothing come out of it (my initial thoughts during my first few years out of college). I settled for working at Kings and I could have made something out of that, but I wanted more. I felt entitled.
I wasn’t happy working at Kings even though I was getting hospitalization. I thought about going back to school for another degree, even for something not related to what I studied. I didn’t care how much time it took, nor how much debt I would once again accumulate.
Thankfully, that attitude has changed as I’ve gotten older and appreciate what Giant Eagle has done for me and the opportunities that are there for me. Now, I am grateful for the experiences I’ve had, as they’ve shaped who I am today.
Without my degrees or work history, do I still join Toastmasters? Do I start my blog? Do I begin my fashion journey, break stereotypes, and go against the status quo?
On my way home I stopped for dinner at Eat’n Park and immediately began to reminisce about my Park Diner days. It was my first job and it was the right job for me. I loved a lot of things about that place, including the jukebox and the theme that first summer. The paper hats? Not so much. I came home sore every day but I learned the value of hard work from being there.
It still took me a few more years to really let the past go, but for a short time, I was able to realize that I was meant to be where I was.
Stylish 🍒 