I remember this day too well. The heat and the moving and the awkward and the excited. It's surreal, isn't it? You are at college. Take a minute and let that sink in. I'm guessing that you're somewhere between wanting to curl up and cry and wanting to meet and know everything and everyone in this new place as quickly as possible. Or you're alternating between the two at lightning speed. But, I don't know you, so who am I to say?
I don't know where you've been or what your story is or where you're going or what you're hoping to get out of college. Though I wish I could buy you the caffeinated beverage of your choice and find out all of these things, my time at Hope is done. I don't know you, but I know the place that you are at, and I know what happened to me and my people during our time at Hope. This is probably more for my own thoughts than anything else anyways, but here you go.
Jesus. This guy. If you don't know much about Him, find out some more. You'll hear about Him a lot over the next few years. If you already know Him, find out more. There's always more to know. Whoever you are, He loves YOU (yes, you!). Whatever baggage you might have, look again. Give it another try. There's no time like the beginning of college for a fresh start. And the awesome thing about God is that there are unlimited fresh starts, whenever, no matter what.
The people always define an experience don't they? Find your people. Find people who love you for who you are and challenge you to become that person more completely. Find people who are pursuing what you're pursuing. Don't settle for being treated as less than the valuable and important person that you are. Better yet, consider others as better than yourself and treat them with the dignity and respect. Some advice from the wise guy in the last paragraph. But anyways. You have my word that there are some awesome people in the grades above you who are so ready to love, know, and walk with you. Get to know them.
There's so much that I want to tell you, but here's one more point. Don't ever, EVER, pretend to be okay when you aren't. We have a human tendency to want to always prove the best of ourselves to each other don't we? Trouble is, when everyone only shows one side of themself, we start to think that everyone else is happier than us, so something must be wrong. It's impossible to be happy all the time. Don't live into this lie. Don't compare. No one wins. College is often a really awesome time, but sometimes the best growth comes out of really hard things and sometimes really bad things just happen. Be honest. Be the friend who speaks truth to the friend who can't hear it for himself.
What a great adventure you have begun. Make it great. Get involved in things that matter. Push beyond your comfort zone. Seek Jesus. Personally, my move in weekend was less than spectacular, but it got better. It gets better. I promise that the panic in your soul right now will fade with time. I promise you that it will be hard. I promise you that it will be worth it. And while you're at it, stay up late and laugh hard with the people that will become your family. And if I were to meet you today and then see you again a few years from now, I hope that I wouldn't even recognize you. I hope that you become who you are that much more. You picked a really good place to make that happen. Welcome to Hope, 2018. Welcome home.
Sincerely,
An Overly Sentimental Hope Graduate, aka Karen Harvey '14
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| You may or may not have your life together on graduation day |
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