I must confess, I don’t really know how to write a biographical sketch, but if a bio were to simply describe my current occupational condition, I would describe myself in this way: I am a man, broken and sinful, who by God’s grace in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was saved and released from the bondage of sin and now strives to glorify my God. I am a student, studying computer science at Northeastern University. I am (somewhat) a photographer, who enjoys making visual art, but cannot draw. I am a developer, who loves to make websites and write programs.
But as it were, I hope that my identity is found solely in the first item of this list–I hope that I rely wholly on Christ and live not apart from Him. I think that is where I can say, “story of my life,” which, I think, is a decent biographical sketch of me–while I may study computer science, take pictures, and make websites, I want most to follow Christ.
Thus, I am reminded of a long, cross-country road trip as a child. “Are we there yet?”
I’ve come to see that the more you talk to people, the more you understand things (reading lots of books also helps). It seems obvious, I know, but personal experience has taught me a lot. For some reason I have an odd obsession with the subject of love. I used to hate seeing the word ‘love’ everywhere, but recently just thinking about God’s love, Christ’s love, and the concept of unconditional love in general has brought my mind to life. I’m pretty sure I comment or post way to much about it, I just consider it a lot. On a less abstract-sounding note, I like art, and music, writing, and coffee: I’m a pretty stereotypical artist in that aspect. I’m currently working toward a BFA in Graphic Design at the Art Institute of Austin, and I love it. I believe that life is meant to be lived in community and that there is nothing more important than love: Love for God, love for others.
Much like our resident scholar J.R. Sheehan, I’m fascinated by and interested in a lot of different things. Thinker, musician, athlete, poet, nerd, writer, theologian–all could describe me in some sense (although nerd is probably most fitting), and I find my time very unequally split amongst pursuing those different things. There is one desire that drives me in everything, though, and that is the pursuit of Truth: both to know what is true, and to be true. My life’s aim is to bring glory to my Creator, because that is the purpose for which He created Man. And so everyday is a battle to learn how to do that better. I’m just a noob at this whole thing, something I’ve come to realize more poignantly the more more I’ve grown, and I suppose that’s how it will be my whole life. But by God’s grace, I will continue to press on, further up and further in. May the words I write inspire you to do the same.
Feel free to garner anything else you want to know about me from my recommendations.
Riley Sheehan
I’m a dabbler in many different things, a thinker who says too much, a geek who tries to be cool, and a guy who desperately needs the Gospel every day. I have many interests; some of them I can put my arms around, and some of them I can only claim to have attempted. I love to read, love to learn, love to discover, love to make music. Part of me enjoys being a dork and a jokester, while part of me enjoys quiet solitude and deep reflection. Part of me loves to create visual and musical creations, part of me enjoys study in books and logic.
“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never know it till now. The reason we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in!” by C.S. Lewis (Jewel the Unicorn) The Last Battle
Mere Contributors
Eric Chin
Zach Horst
Trey Weise
Riley Sheehan