Things I Learned During My First Year of College

I haven't written anything in quite a while. I guess I haven't really been doing much, so I haven't had a craving to write about my life. But I've realized some things that I learned over the course of two semesters of college and I'd like to share them.

1. So, you've been wanting for two years to participate in something. Don't automatically expect God to let you do it when you want to do it. I have been interested the PacRim Semester Abroad since I first heard about it. When I was majoring in Spanish, I couldn't really justify it. I would have been expected to go to the DR and I don't think I could have fit all of my classes. Once I dropped that major, I realized that I could to the PacRim trip. I was thrilled. I decided that if the musical next spring wasn't "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," I was going to do the trip. The musical is "Cinderella." Here's the problem with this: I made the decision. I was interested in the trip. Why? Because who wouldn't want to go to New Zealand, Australia, and China? *buzzer noise* Wrong answer. I should have wanted to go on the trip because I could feel God leading me there. At the moment, I have doubts about the trip. But I also have doubts about my doubts, so it's going to take a lot more praying and a conversation with a friend who has already said that he would try to talk me into the trip. I might still do the trip next spring, I might just be postponing it, or I might not do it at all. I am certain that God will call me to some sort of overseas travels during my college years. And I am certain that I will have no doubts about His call.

2. Just because you are in the FYE Block that is known for producing couples, don't expect to be half of one of those couples by the end of your freshman year. In the 16 years that Brother Tim and Maralee have been teaching Block 3, there have been something like 17 marriages and over 20 grandchildren. That is something that we learned in our very first meeting as a Block. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who looked around the room and wondered who I might end up with. I didn't end up with anyone. And that's okay. There have been hundreds of students through Block 3 in 16 years. And less than 40 of them have ended up together. I don't have to be one of them.

3. Don't decide that you're going to meet your future spouse during your freshman year. And when you meet someone you think is pretty awesome, give it some time before you start dating. Get to know how the person behaves in lots of situations. Of course, I didn't date, or almost date, anyone this year. Which was totally fine. And please, I beg of you, don't say "oh, we're not dating" while you're holding hands and making out all over the place. That's just not pleasant.

4. LEARN HOW TO GET YOUR WORK DONE BEFORE 3:00 IN THE MORNING, she says as  she's writing at 4:30. (I started writing this the other day.) I ended up in the hallway in the wee hours of the morning far too often. And it always came back around. Sleep is important. Sure, 12:00 will start to seem early. But when no one else's iTunes library is available and you have watched the list of people on facebook chat dwindle to four or five, you start to feel all alone in the world. That is not a good feeling. Your friends will understand if you don't say yes to hanging out every time. They have homework, too.

5. God really does have a great plan for your life. You just need to let Him take control. You don't actually have any control; you're just trying to have it. We ask God for His will to be done in our lives, all the while having an idea of what His will should be. We think that God's will for us will always be comfortable. That's just not going to happen. If God's will was always comfortable, we wouldn't know much of anything about the Waodani (Auca) tribe. Those five men wouldn't have been killed as they tried to make a connection with the natives. (I watched "End of the Spear" and "Beyond the Gates of Spendor" last month. It's a beautiful story.)


This list is far from exhaustive. I'm sure I will add to it as the summer goes on. And I'm hoping that I will have more to write about. I'm pretty sure that I will.

Buenas noches.