1.Packing the car to come back from college
2.Unpacking the boxes in the car to put everything in my house
3.Unpacking the boxes in my house to fill my room with the environment I've been so used to living in for the past year.
4. Getting crafty with sentimental things like seashells and gluing them to delicate picture frames that hold so many memories
5. Sorting through a massive box of family photos from my childhood, being reminded of so many memories, and so much I've learned from my brother and sister
6. Appointments-accupuncture, dentist, tooth being pulled tomorrow.
7. Meetings with bosses planning my schedule for the summer.
8. Feeling like a potato. (Sorry, I'm just hungry)
9. Lifeguard recertification studying that I haven't started although it's May 30th. (I still have 8 days, so..... 182 hours, wow that took way too long, well I have been at Pratt, there's no math classes, bro.
10. Planning baby sitting for the first week in June- aka getting paid to eat snacks, pet a dog, and hang out with the coolest 9 and 7 year old I know.
11. Relaxing
If God's taught me one thing for my freshman year at Pratt, it's to relax. And lately, even though I have so many plans and things I have to do, right now I'm taking a necessary yet stationary vacation. I worked my butt of at Pratt, learned so many new concepts about art, dealt with so many kinds of people- good and bad- ate new food, ate bad food, found a home church away from home, JHOP, (woowoo!) experienced what real mediterranean food tastes like, completed my first ever internship, was sick for four weeks, God never left my side, was in the hospital 2 consecutive days in a row (8 hours each day,) experience my first cat scan (there was no meowing,) laughed A LOT, cried A LOT, had my first ultrasound on my arm (I always thought my first ultrasound would be on my stomach when I'm married and have my first set of twins-yeah, I'm pretty specific with my future, and also maybe kidding about the twins,) road in the first wheelchair that could fit three of me, had people throw things at me, threw things at people, experience the first mouse that crawled all over my things in my room, realized how much I hate mice, ran a marathon on January 12th, experienced true grace through EVERYTHING. Man, I should have made another list. Tangent. I also learned how to learn that word from Hall council. OH YES, I joined hall council, joined a sorority (Theta Phi Alpha), learned to draw with my left hand, learned to play frisbee with my left hand, became an RA.
So many things have happened in my life this first year at Pratt, and I've realized how much coming out of my comfort zone did for me. Leaving home was probably the hardest step for me, but once I got into the flow of Pratt, everything fell into place. God's timing is always so right and perfect. And his plans for your future are even greater than anything you could possibly imagine. This past week, I've been clinging to this verse in Proverbs 16:1"We humans make plans, but the Lord has the final word." I've realized all of the plans I've made throughout my life, my senior year especially; what college, what housing situation, what roommate, how, when why what-everything.
I literally was doing everything I could to follow my dream of going to art school, of going to Pratt, that I became so confused and stricken by fear. Fear of the future, of if my potential was good enough, basing myself off of what people thought I could do, where they envisioned me instead of where God envisioned me to be and his plans for me. I kept questioning if what I was doing was where God wanted me to be because of the struggles I had to face to get to where I am today. But now that I took that step out of my comfort zone and stepped out on the waters where God has called me-despite what people said to me-giving God my dreams and allowing him to give them wings-I've realized how much God blesses those who entrust him with everything they have. I'm seeing so much blessing in one year, and reminding myself when I don't know where his plan is that if he can bless so much in a year, imagine what he can do in a lifetime! I'm still learning, don't get me wrong, but being away from home, in a dazzling city of New York, completely apart from PA, being in a college environment with people who truly understand who I am, putting myself out there for people, telling people my story, encouraging, being in a hospital with a crazy situation for the first time ever, truly being independent- all of these things, despite their differences, imperfections and risks, they all lead to one thing. They lead to knowing that there is so much comfort and blessing in relying on God's plan. That trusting him and leaning into him is worth it, and creates a plan within itself that is greater and crazier than you could ever imagine, but it is completely worth it.
