This past weekend I graduated from Messiah College with my undergrad in Social Work. The weekend was filled with excitment but also with sad goodbyes. It has been an emotional roller coaster between the excitment of my brother flying from Nebraska to suprise me and my last night in my apartment with my roommate/best friend.
Its a pretty great accomplishment, graduating a year early from college and I recognize that but what I didn't recognize was how hard it would be as well. Not the work although that was hard as well but the leaving part. Three years ago my mom and dad dropped me off 6 hours away from home in a tiny dorm and a place filled with new faces but little did i know that unfamiliar place would become a home and those new faces would become family. And I love them.
Saying goodbye was not easy and I still don't think it has really quite sunk in yet. It still feels like it will only be a couple months and Ill be moving back on to campus and seeing them again but this time thats not the case. Not only did I say goodbye for a summer, I said goodbye for over a year. And if that wasn't enough, it forced me to think about saying goodbye in september to even more people.
I was surrounded by all the people I love this weekend. My college family and my family family all in the same area, it was so great to have everyone around me but in saying goodbye to my college family it brought to mind how hard it will be to say goodbye to my family. Surrounded by my mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, great grandma, my aunt , uncle, my brother , and my 2 little cousins who are my life and probably have no idea that I am going on this trip and it feels awful to be leaving them all. A year seems so big sometimes, but look how fast my three years at Messiah went? so maybe its not so big. And like one of friends said the other week " if anyone can do it, you can lyss". I appreciated that so much. Because despite all the goodbyes I will have to make, it's going to be worth it all and I am so excited to see what God has in store.
So, even though I had to leave Messiah, know that you all have had a part in me becoming who I am today and helped guide me toward this mission. I thank all my Messiah family for that. Thank you for the support and the memories. And although sometimes it seems like it a year is not that long. Love.
we are the light of the world
