Advice to College Kids

Get Involved

I may not have always been great at this, in fact most of the time I was opposite of involved. After being super involved in high school I was ready for a break and I feel like there were things I missed out on in college. So go do stuff with people!

It's okay to say NO
While it's great to be involved, don't feel like you HAVE to do everything. It's okay to say no sometimes and watch a movie in your dorm. If you start saying yes to everything you'll be exhausted and nothing will get done. So pick and choose what you want to be a part of. Also, if any part of you thinks that something is dangerous or illegal, DON'T DO IT, because it probably is and at some point in your life you'll probably regret it.

Go to a friend's house for a holiday
Being from a different state I wasn't always able to go home for Thanksgiving or Easter. I think visiting another family for a holiday can teach you a lot about different family dynamics, about who you are, and what you appreciate about your own family and traditions.

Call your parents (and grandparents)
While you may be just fine, your mom might not. Or maybe you're a wreck and you don't want your dad to worry about you. Well guess what, your parents are definitely worried about you and many don't want to "intrude" on your new found independence at college. Call them anyway, even if its just for 5 minutes on your way to class. They'll appreciate it, and odds are, you'll feel better too. (Same goes for grandparents. They're not going to be around forever and once they're gone you'll regret not spending more time getting to know them.)

Take a random class
Learn about something new! My sophomore year I took one quarter of Greek. Do I remember any of it? Not really. Do I really need to know Ancient Greek? Probably not at all. But it was a good experience and now I can say, "Yeah one time I took Greek in college..."

And most importantly...

Be a good friend
This will look differently for everyone, but college is a great time to truly get to know people. And its the only time in your life when you will be living with your best friends. Be there for them. Love them. Pray for them. And most importantly be good to them, just like you would want them to be to you.

2008- my first roomie and one of
my best friends

Can I also just say I'm very thankful that we all grow up and don't stay 18 forever? Who thought those double braids were a good idea? yikes.

Happy back to school, college kids!

Careful what you wish for...

The last month or so I have been very ready for fall weather to arrive. I was ready to say goodbye to my shorts and flip flops to greet my boots and scarves with open arms. Last week people were still in capris, maybe wearing sandals, holding on to that last bit of summer-ish weather. And bam! I'm not sure what happened, but WINTER arrived this weekend. We skipped right over fall and went straight to COLD. Its been around 50 degrees, which is not crazy cold, but when it was 80 very recently that is a big change. I suppose I got what I wanted because I'm able to wear boots and a sweater, but it seemed like an awfully drastic change.

Isn't that how life is though? You look forward to something for a week, a month, maybe even a year, and then all of a sudden it's there. And you're left wondering wait, what just happened? Wasn't it just a week ago that I was doing this or that?

Today the new SPU students are moving into the residence halls across the street and I feel old being so far removed from that stage in life. It was 6 years ago that I moved into Emerson Hall and started my journey at Seattle Pacific. Now I'm an "adult," paying rent and going to work every day. (I put quotes around the word adult because I still don't quite feel like one...I'm waiting for the moment where I don't feel like I'm playing pretend being a grown up. Although a 4th grader told me I was too old to say "dude" last night and guessed that I was 30....)

Now my question is, what's next? What am I wishing for? What change is going to sneak up on me like this cold weather? What's my next step?

I'm so thankful for the different seasons of life, but they also terrify me. Unlike the weather changing or holidays arriving, I can't always prepare myself as well as I'd like to for those big life stages. Thankfully God is with me no matter where I go or what I do, and I should always lean on him in those circumstances. But I'm still learning how to do that. How can I not think about, worry, stress over, or just be scared of what the next step is?

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

fall is here

At the beginning of every season I'm always excited for something. When it's spring time I'm excited to see more of the sun and all the beautiful flowers blooming everywhere. When summer comes around I can't wait to wear flip flops and lay out in the sun endlessly reading books. When winter comes...well, I love Christmas so winter is good because of that (however, by the end of January I'm at a loss for things to like about winter). And then there is fall. My favorite of all the seasons. What's not to love about fall? Cooler weather. Boots. Leaves. Scarves. PSL. Fireplace. Thankfulness. Candles. Oh and pumpkin {everything}.

Right now my house smells so lovely ~ coffee beans in my kitchen table centerpiece, new apple ale candle, and pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal bars baking in the oven. Any time I can use pumpkin, molasses, and fall spices in the same recipe I am a very happy girl! My parents are coming to Seattle tomorrow and the whole family will be here for dinner so I'm breaking out the crock pot again to make a pot roast. Crock pot cooking isn't all that fun when only one person is eating (or I end up with a million freezer meals of the same thing!). I can't wait to have people here to cook for and to eat with. My home feels empty with just one or two people. I crave a crowd.

I blame my mother for this feeling I have. Growing up there were always people in our home- after school, coming over for dinner, holiday meals- everyone came to our house for these things. It wasn't until middle school that I started to realize it wasn't normal to have people over for dinner three or four (or more) times a week. Feeding people is both my mom's love language and her spiritual gift, and I feel that I have inherited these things as well. Making someone a home-cooked meal or bringing treats to work is my way of blessing those around me (and also feeling blessed myself). Why not make someone's day a little bit better if I have the time and ability to?

"...Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35b

missing out

I'd like to host a dinner party about every other day. I think life is delicious, and I want to gobble it up in big bites, eating, drinking, reading, talking, traveling -- everything. I want everything. I'm hungry for everything, all the time. Bookstores make me ravenous, as do city streets and airports and glossy fashion magazines. So much to see, taste, touch, try, do. I can feel myself come to life, eyes open, taking everything in, fingers running over textures, ears pricked for sounds. I feel like life is so genuinely interesting, that there's so much to be tasted and tried and discovered.

We all have a kooky set of fears and loves that makes us do what we do. For me, I love experiences, and it makes me scared to think of missing out on anything at all. So that fear drives me and takes over my life, pushing me to do more, buy more, eat more, try more. But I don't want to be ruled by fears. There will be more life to experience tomorrow. And the next day, and the next day. And I don't have to be running after it all the time. Breathe, rest, practice the idea of enough. Practice the idea of living well, and a little more slowly. Practice believing that it will all still be here, waiting to be devoured freshly, after a good night's sleep.

Excerpt from Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist

Thankful for the seeds.

Ch-ch-ch-changes are happening and I am choosing to be thankful. I am not the first person to admit to liking change or even welcoming it without a fight, but I am learning {finally} that change is a part of life and I can't do much to stop it. The first change is that summer is coming to a close. Boo. However, that means there are lots of wonderful things about fall coming....pumpkin spice lattes, scarves, boots, beautiful leaves, scented candles, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and eventually Christmas! Many stores already have their Christmas things out for sale, and while I think it is a little early, it does make me excited for my favorite time of year.

Changes are happening at work. We've just graduated 13 (mostly) potty-trained kiddos to the next classroom and are getting 9 (not potty-trained) new ones on Wednesday. I am preparing myself for the work that is ahead, but I'm excited for a fresh start and new kiddos who are excited to learn more independence in my classroom.

Changes are happening at church (which is also sort of my work). We're starting a new year- kids in new classes, new schedules, new teachers, Wednesday night church, etc. I've actually been missing a lot of these things lately which means I know I'm ready to jump back in with both feet.

Changes are happening with my friends. Getting married, getting engaged, having babies. I am so happy to be a part of all these experiences with them and look forward to more of it happening in the next year.

Changes are happening with MY life. I've thought and prayed a lot about what my next step in life is. Where do I go? What do I do? I've told God, give me a direction and I will follow. This song by Sidewalk Prophets describes my life perfectly right now. Even if it scares me or worries me, I will trust that God is leading me. I'm preparing myself to leave Seattle next summer and move back to California and attend grad school. School? Work? Friends? Church? All of those things are up in the air, but I feel okay about it.

A few days ago I was reading Ann Voskamp and she was writing about how God has provided every plant and tree and fruit we would need, but it doesn't start out that way. Things start out small, like a seed. She prays, Lord, what would happen today if I saw all the not-enough, too-little in my life to be but a seed? All the hardly-things could be holy-things -- small somethings You are growing into more glory for You. Cause me to believe again: All feasts begin as a seed.

Wow. What if I saw my life this way also. All the small things that I think don't matter. All the frustrating moments where things don't go my way. My kiddos at work are these seeds. My plans for the future are still seeds. My life is merely but a seed at this point, growing into the feast that God has planned for me from the start. Today, I am thankful for the seeds.