What I learned during my first semester of College

 

First semester, you have been a ride. Honestly I’m between feeling like it’s still August and like I’ve been in college my whole life. I have grown in ways I didn’t even know I needed to in these first couple of months and have learned so much about what it means to take care of yourself. I’ve learned it’s so important to spend time with God. I keep a devo by my bed and It’s the last thing I look at before I go to sleep. This has been such a source of light and I love this new routine. I’ve learned to be thankful for a home cooked meal and a shower at home. I’ve learned I like cleaning more than the average person (lol) and that cookie dough ice cream is a life saver. I’ve gotten bacteria from the community showers, had the windows of my room crawling with ants from the outside palm trees, gotten bitten by more mosquitos than I could count and made a fun little trip to the doctor for it, and had my whole arm electrocuted after unplugging my Christmas lights. Truly it’s been a ride. College is crazy in so many aspects so far but I am increasingly thankful for this season of growth in my life. Sometimes I still miss sleeping in my queen sized bed under the same roof as my family and sweet puppies. Sometimes I miss afternoon car rides with my mom, and hanging out with friends I’ve known my whole life. It’s still such a big adjustment and I’m letting myself just feel all the feelings. I think a lot of the time we have this mentality that we immediately have to click with a new situation and that’s not always true. It’s ok to miss the old while simultaneously growing to love the new. I’ve made friends I don’t know how I went all my life without knowing and stepped out of my comfort zone in ways I didn’t know I could. College is an adjustment. I wish I could shout this from the rooftops. You aren’t going to start thriving your first day, week, or maybe even semester. It takes a little bit to make friends, find you way around, learn what ways you study best, and simply just adapt to all the change you’ve just been thrown into. You’re constantly learning better ways to do things and growing from the mistakes.

 

I’m not a big fan of the unpredictable and college and honestly life are full of that. It’s something I’m getting better at but still strongly dislike. I prefer to have everything under control, however most of the time everything is not. In this season of my life I have had to be intentional about giving the control I so badly want, to the Lord. I’ve had to put my full trust in Him and surrender my want to control the hard stuff. I’m learning the plan God has for each one of us, wasn’t meant to be controlled by us. It’s not our path to guide but instead our path to follow. I’m learning to give up the want to control my situations and replace it with trust for the one who created them.

 

I’m also learning that life should not be lived through social media. For so long, and to be honest, sometimes now, I put a lot of worth into social media. I spent hours of my life comparing myself to an image presented through a collage of pictures. Comparing our hard times to someone else’s best times is just never going to work. Social media’s a great place to share your happy times but it’s not always an accurate representation of life. Life is the happy and hard. Life is the nights you have plans and the times you feel lonely. Life is a fun getaway and time off spent watching movies on the couch. Life is the times you felt confident and the times you spent crying in front of a mirror. Life is making mistakes and becoming better from them. Life is walking side by side with the Lord, and getting better every step of the way.

 

Life is often looked at as a race.  People are constantly trying to cross certain finish lines first. To press the gas and fly through life. However I’m learning to look at life like a Sunday Drive. I’m learning to take it slow and immerse myself in my current surroundings and to be thankful for all the happiness and blessings I have been given. I’m learning that maybe I don’t need to be holding on to the steering wheel so tight, because I’ve got the Lord as an auto pilot and I’m learning that’s he’s pretty good at it. If there’s one thing my first semester has really taught me it’s that life moves so fast. I can’t believe that August was months ago. I’m holding on to the promise of a plan far greater than mine and taking in every second of new friendships that feel like old ones, challenging classes, tough situations, and ice cream for every meal (oops). College is all things hard, happy, and new. It’s a chance to grow and a chance to learn what it feels like to truly walk with Jesus.

 

I’m thankful for you first semester, craziness and all. Here’s to the next one and all the unexpected that’s to come!

 

All the love, Annie