Life's Lessons

I'm reaching a journey's end, but its not the end of my journey. New doors are beginning to open and I'm ready to take a leap. I took my first college class 7 years ago and now all I have left standing between me and my bachelor's degree is a 480 hour internship. I took my last exam, turned in my final paper, and breathed in a big sigh of relief. It has been a very long road these past 7 years, but there is nothing I would change. The lessons I've learned have taught me so much about myself, about God, and about what this life is really all about. I've learned a little bit in the classroom and out of the textbooks, but most of my education I've gained through my trials, my happy times, and everything else in between. Here are a few of the lessons I've learned these past 7 years as a college student:

-The greatest test of your character is the way you treat the people in your life that you do not need.

-If there is something in your life that you have always wanted to try or do, then DO IT! It doesn't matter if you fail, at least you tried! (And most of the time you'll realize that you will not fail, you just let your fears tell you that you would). Just last week I learned how to do a backflip on the trampoline, which is something I've always wanted to do but was way too scared to try. Now I can do it!

-Do not donate plasma if you have a tendency to faint or an uncontrollable bladder....or both! (Learned this one the hard way).

-God does answer prayers: in His own way and in His own time! I'm so glad He is in control. If I got everything I prayed for, my life would be so much different and so less exciting!

-The movie "Goonies" was not filmed at the studious in Wilmington, NC. Do not scream out "GOONIES!" while on tour of the studios, they do not like that.

-You can not make everyone like you and at some point you will hurt someone you love, whether you mean to or not, and it will feel horrible. But don't give up on the relationship, healing will happen and forgiveness will come, even if you have to wait for years and years, it will come.

-If you coach high school basketball and you tell a referee that he is pathetic, be prepared to receive a technical foul and for your team to proudly cheer you on for getting your first technical.

-The best place to go to feel God's love is the Temple, or the top of a mountain, where there is nothing else standing between you and heaven.

-If you are a girl, and you work out, and you sweat, you have about a 90% chance of getting SWOOB, and there's not much you can do about it!

-If you want to see my Dad have a laughing fit, just tell him that my sister Ashley is going to play on your basketball team. It gets him every time! It must be the mental picture he gets of Ashely running up and down the court.

-One of the most important skills to learn while you are young is how to manage your money! You really do not need much to be happy. Living on less will make your life more fulfilling. Live SIMPLY!

-If you go cliff jumping in Hawaii, don't let your 300 pound roommate jump off. You'll grow an ulcer worry about whether or not she'll pop back up out of the water. On that same note, if your best friend in Hawaii tells you she can't swim, don't let her jump either, thats just asking for another ulcer.

-It is possible to live 30 days without your precious cell phone. You will not die. In fact, your quality of life will most likely improve because you will not have that piece of hardware attached to your head or any other part of your body.

-The FAMILY is truly the central part of God's plan for all of us and my family is the central part of my life. They are my foundation, my strength, and my hope to be with ALL of them for eternity. It may be dysfunctional at times and there are painful challenges that occur, but the really good days (like building Legos together or dinners in the backyard) are like small glimpses of what heaven will be like.

-Friendship is about give and take. Its not always just about you! If you are selfish, you will find that your friends will not stay around for long. A friend is someone who shares, someone who listens, someone who trusts you enough to come to you when they are struggling and need help. True friends are there for the good times, and stick by your side in the bad times, even when you try to push them away. Trying to be a true friend to someone else is following in the footsteps of Christ. He is the truest friend there could ever be.

-Three weeks in the wilderness of Alaska, hundreds of miles from civilization, carrying your whole life in your backpack, sleeping on the ground, wearing no deodorant, blazing your own trails, surviving the weather, feeling so close to God, is the most liberating and humbling thing to experience. Everyone should try it.

-God loves you! No matter who you are, what you've done, where you've been, God loves you!

These are just a few of the life lessons I've learned along my journey so far. I can't wait to see whats waiting beyond this bend and along this next segment of life. There is still so much to learn and do!