Tonight, we are young.

So you know how everyone says that as people get older, they are wiser? Well, I'm only 18, but I think I've learned something that's made me a little bit wiser about getting older. I used to think that changing from a child to an adult meant that you went from one completely different mindset to another. However, now I don't think that's the case. Take a house, for instance. I used to think that our thoughts and beliefs were the foundation and each stage of life was a different level starting with childhood, but now I have learned that childhood is the foundation, and our thoughts, beliefs, and deepest emotions stem from there and grow as we move through life. We still feel like children sometimes, even when we put on a suit and go to a job interview, or become parents ourselves, not that I've had that experience yet, but I've seen it in others. We just do the best we can with what we started with as children and have learned since then. I guess the reason why I've figured this out is because I visited my family over thanksgiving and I realized that, even though I had a good time, holidays are different when the magic is gone and when you can actually interact with each member of your family. It sounds sad, but it really isn't. My cousins and I have grown up and we can now have real conversations with each other and our older relatives. We're not just kids that get the stories sugar-coated. However, even though we've all grown up, I still feel like the little kid I was sometimes. That's why it's hard to grow up sometimes, even though the future is exciting. Anyway, this was definitely super random, but I felt like writing.

CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS!!!!!

For this Christmas, it took me awhile to decide what to give my family and friends.  Due to my college budget, I don't have much to offer when it comes to gifts.  Also, I've always felt that more personal gifts are so much better.  So, I've decided to write a letter to everyone I love to tell them just how much they mean to me.  Now, why would I blog about this?  Well, first I just felt like talking about it, which happens pretty often because I like to talk about things even if they aren't so interesting.  Mainly, however, I just wanted to talk about two things I've learned in the process of writing the letters. 

1) It feels good to take time to think about each person in your life that you love as individuals.  It really is beautiful that God carefully thought about how and when to place them in your life and what impact they will have on you.  There are reasons why people are in and out of our lives at certain times.  God chooses the perfect time to place them there.  Sometimes we ask ourselves why we couldn't have grown up with a friend we become closer to when we are older.  Think about it this way: if we started life with everyone we were going to love already in our lives, how would we grow and change with the fluidity of our relationships?  We become the person we are intended to be because of how we follow Christ in various situations and relationships.
2) Because I'm writing a letter to each person, I find myself paying extra attention to the things they do that I appreciate.  I want to include every possible thing I am thankful for about that person in their letter, so I really have started to notice how special each person really is to me.

Anyway, it has ended up that writing these letters is a great way for me to appreciate my friends and family as gifts from God.  I highly recommend it.

Merry Christmas!

Home is where my heart is...

Because of a few recent events, I've realized a few things that I think are relevant and interesting enough to post. Now, I won't get into detail about why, but one of the biggest things I've learned about life is that sometimes you have to go away from things you are comfortable with and people you love to do what God intends for you to do. I'm perfectly fine with this, however, the most difficult part of taking that leap, in my case, college and growing into who I believe God wants me to be as an adult, is being away from situations you feel you are needed in. For instance, when a friend is upset. Have you ever had that friend that you are so close to that it physically hurts to be away from them? Well, when that person is upset it is extremely difficult to stay where you are and continue to follow your path. It feels selfish. Another thing that is difficult is just missing people in general. I'm really enjoying my college experience and the people I've grown close to in college, but I've recently been extremely homesick. This may be cheesy, but I always visualize having the people I love and miss in front of me and crushing them into my heart so that I can take them with me wherever I go. The same thing applies to mortality. When you realize that certain people you love are eventually going to die, you want to stop time and hold that person in your life so that you can keep them forever. We all know that that can't happen, but it's difficult that we can't. Anyway, the gist of this huge spiel of thoughts is that I've realized how pursuing what is right for me and thinking about my own path can be difficult even though it is the right thing to do. This might be because I absolutely hate thinking of myself. If I could, I never would and I would make sure everyone was happy without even considering me. However, God wants me to serve Him, so that is what I'm doing because that is part of trusting Him and giving your life over to Him. Even if a situation He leads you to is different and scary, it can become better than you ever could have predicted. I just haven't figured out how that is going to happen for me yet. Guess we'll see!