My name is Zachariah Johnson and I am brand new to the Odyssey as I made my account just a few days ago and have begun to write for the IU community. Since I'm new to the Odyssey, it seems fitting to give a brief statement concerning who I am and some basic information about myself.
I am from Borden, Indiana, which is very small town in southern Indiana that is known for little else than its strawberry harvest and high school basketball. Borden is about 30-40 minutes from Louisville, Kentucky. I attended William W. Borden High School and graduated in 2015 with a 3.9 GPA. I attend Vincennes University where I am double-majoring in Homeland Security & Public Safety and in Philosophy with a Concentration in Religious Studies. After I am finished at Vincennes University, my dream is to someday earn a doctorate in theology at a seminary somewhere in America, preferably somewhere like the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. Also, I have already earned an associates in science studying Conservation Law Enforcement, also at VU.
When I first went to college, I wanted to be an Indiana conservation officer because I love public service and I also love the outdoors. However, it wasn't long before I lost interest in pursuing that career and also began to feel a call on my life to serve as a pastor. The advice that I received before I started at VU was to get my associates degree in Conservation and then make it a bachelors degree with Homeland Security, which is what I ended up doing. Although I want to be and someday will serve in pastoral ministry, I will most likely need a second job and that is why I am still studying in a public safety field.
To just give a little bit of information about myself, I am a massive fan of University of Michigan football and basketball; I am and always will be a wolverine. Also, I am an avid reader and writer and my favorite things to read are books on theology, Christian apologetics, and philosophy; my favorite author is John Piper. I hated reading in high school, but shortly after my conversion and after I began to pursue my call to be a pastor, I fell in love with books, both reading them and writing them, and became a relatively severe book worm. I'm quite the coffee drinker as well as a committed outdoorsman, as hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping are among my favorite things in life. I enjoy playing sports, my favorites being football and ultimate frisbee, and I am a relatively serious weight lifter as well.
My favorite things in life essentially pertain to enjoying God, enjoying His Word, and enjoying His world. I am a student of theology and of the Bible, a book worm whose appetite for knowledge is never-ending, a lover of the woods and of science that simply marvels at the beauty of the world, and a lover of music, the arts, and of community. I'm decidedly an introvert, yet I love people and I love being meaningfully plugged into the lives of others. I'm a little odd for a millennial probably, but that is more than fine by me. Some other interests of mine are traveling around the world, studying political science and other arts, formally debating, and just getting to know people of other backgrounds and cultures and having discussions with them.
All in all, I'm very excited to get into writing on The Odyssey and sharing ideas and thoughts with you all. God bless!