In eleven days, I will be a college graduate. Wow. I feel excited and terrified and sad and hopeful, all at once. I am grateful for the ways that God has used my time at Indiana Wesleyan to shape me. Thanks to Jesus and a lot of fantastic professors, mentors, and friends in this community, I am not the same girl who arrived in Marion, Indiana three years ago.
“New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.”- Lao Tzu
Here are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned and hope to take with me as I prepare to say goodbye to this season and step into a new one…
- Go to get donuts at 1 am with your friends. No one looks back on college and remembers the nights where they got enough sleep. Be spontaneous and always say yes to trying new things. Even a trip to the grocery store can be an adventure when you’re with the right people.
- Community is painful but beautiful. Love is worth it. The pain of being vulnerable and sharing life with people is worth it. “Community is a wonderful place, it is life-giving; but it is also a place of pain because it is a place of truth and of growth- the revelation of our pride, our fear, and our brokenness…Community is not an ideal; it is people.”-Jean Vanier
- Be friendly to everybody, but don’t be friends with everybody. It’s just not realistic. Invest in a few people who you can count on to cry with you and also celebrate with you.
- Be willing to look foolish. I’ve eaten in the cafeteria dressed as a unicorn, carried fake trees across campus, and went bowling in my pajamas. The people who are willing to look silly have a lot more fun, guaranteed. You do you.
- Life is hard. Acknowledge it. Don’t pretend that life is all good, all the time. Come alongside friends who are dealing with painful things and agree to walk with them through the valleys.
- Rest. Make time for a Sabbath. You won’t regret it.
- Invite people into your space. Whether you live in a dorm room or a quaint apartment, there is something special about offering hospitality to both friends and strangers alike. Invite people in just to talk and have tea; you never know what kind of friendship may come out of a simple invitation.
- Invest in your relationships with Jesus and with other people. These are the things that will last. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you don’t have time for the things that matter. If something is really a priority, you’ll make time. Your work expands to fill the time that you give it.
- Getting mail is even better than finding extra laundry quarters. So send mail to people you care about. Hand out encouragement like you’re one of the free sample ladies at Costco. And who wouldn’t want to be one of those ladies? Everybody loves them 😉
- Don’t be afraid to change. Change majors, schools, or expectations for your life. We often don’t end up where we expect to be. When I started college, did I think I was going to be graduating right now and getting ready to leave for the World Race in September? No way! God changes your plans all the time, but His plans are always better. Proverbs 16:9
- All good things come to an end. College flies by. You might think this wonderful season will last forever, but it won’t. Don’t forget that your time in this place, and with these people, is limited. Live accordingly.
