Junior Year

I started my junior year of college today and it had a surprisingly different feel than my first day of sophomore year. There’s always been people who wave to me and say hi when I walk around campus, but this year there was a noticeably larger number of them. As I walked from class to class is seemed like I knew everyone I saw, even if I wasn’t super friendly with them. The multitude of familiar faces wasn’t the biggest or most noticeable difference for me either.

The comfort with which I moved around campus surprised me. I wasn’t nervous about starting a new class, meeting new professors, or getting to class on time without getting lost. Even during my sophomore year I was more nervous and concerned than I was today.

Another difference, albeit a silly one, was my attitude towards getting ready in the morning. The night before I had a resident rush into my room asking for help with what to wear the next day. Of course I helped her out, but it made me realize that I could care less about what I was going to wear to my first day of classes.

It’s kind of interesting to me, the way I reacted to the first day of my junior year, and it made me more comfortable and excited for the months to come – not to mention the first day of my senior year!

Do you have any thoughts or stories about your first day of classes? Any comments about the year to come?

Last Days

Last days are so bittersweet. I’ve had a lot of different types of last days in my short life, but they’re almost always bittersweet days. There are the less monumental ones, like the last day at a job that you didn’t really like, or the last day of a season, or a month even. Then there are the last days that we’ll never forget, the ones that stand out in our memories. The important last days are things like; the last day of a grade, or even the last day of high school/college/grad school, the last day of a job you loved, the last day living in a house you spent many years in, or the last day that you’ll ever see someone.

You might wonder why some of these last days could be considered bittersweet, especially the  last day that you’ll ever see someone. If someone close to you is heading home to be with God there actually are reasons that it could be bittersweet. Most of the feelings you might have on that last day are bitter ones about things you wish you could have said, and days that you wish you hadn’t wasted. You can also look back on the time that God gave you with that person and remember all of the good things, all of the sweet memories.

This week is filled with last days for me, and it feels kind of tough. This will be my third year going away to college, and every time I leave it seems to get harder. This trip off to school will definitely be the hardest yet, for a number of reasons. My mom will be traveling in Alaska for the first few weeks that I’ll be in school so I can’t even call her when I get homesick. I’ve also come to appreciate my family in a way that I hadn’t before. I think some of my newly gained maturity, and my renewed faith in God has given me a deeper love for my family.

My summer has been a busy one, filled with two part-time jobs and a part-time internship in the Global Impact department at my church. Tonight was my last night at the bar/restaurant that I’ve worked at for two summers in a row now, and I’ve become really attached to my coworkers and some of the regulars. Being free of a job always feels fantastic, but leaving people that have a special place in my heart, and that treat me well, makes my last day kind of hard, especially this year. My internship has also been a wonderful experience for me, and I’ve come to truly love going to work three days a week to see the people who have fostered my growth and learning, and really encouraged me this summer.

It’s going to be a tough 24 hours, but one that I’m going to enjoy as I look back and marvel at what God has put in front of me these last few months. To be truthful, I’m incredibly grateful for these bittersweet last days that I have because if I can feel bittersweet about something then there must be something positive in it, or something that has affected my life somehow. The last days that I get to experience are ways for me to look in the past and see what God had planned for me during my time that’s coming to a close, and look forward with excitement, reverence, and commitment to whatever God has planned for my future.