Read if you wish :)
A friend recently
asked me, “What are you doing with your life?” “You know,” I replied, “I ask
myself that every day.” And it is true. I have grand plans. I have big goals. I
set high standards. But, I have to focus on today in order to achieve them. Eventually,
I want to work as a Children’s Librarian in the public library system, get
married and have a family. But, before I can do any of that, I have to go to
school. I cannot be a librarian without a Master’s in Library Science, which I
plan to receive from the University of Texas once I finish my undergraduate
degree. For my Bachelor’s degree I am
currently attending Belmont Abbey College, a small, private, liberal arts
school in North Carolina. I love to read and write, so I am right at home
majoring in English as a student in the Honors Institute. I attend church
nearby and participate in Bible Study on-campus. I also edit for a Christian
girls’ magazine, Imagine. Primarily,
though, I love sports. I play on the Belmont Abbey Women’s Soccer team and am an
integral part of the Sport Properly Directed, an on-campus student organization
promoting the Abbey’s ideal of sport and virtue. Participating in all of these
activities enables me to spend an enormous amount of time with my friends, all
of whom I love dearly. Doing so many extra-curriculars has not only been fun,
but also taught me to juggle assignments and athletics, to manage my time, and
to prioritize. Also, I have realized that a job is not something one attains;
one always has a job. Right now, my job is to be a student. Perhaps honing
these skills or coming to this realization could be considered my most
significant accomplishment. Maybe I could choose improving my writing or
getting 10 times better at soccer than when I first set foot on campus. But I
do not think so. Instead, I consider my most significant accomplishment growth.
It does not sound hard. It sounds like surviving, plus learning a lesson or
two. But, as a Freshman in college it is so much more than that. I have learned
about rhetoric, philosophy, science, theology, sociology and literature. I have
lived with people I have never met. I have built friendships. I have broken
down walls. I have forgiven. I have had to ask for forgiveness. I have led. I
have followed. I have talked. I have listened. I have had to make hard
decisions. I have been uncertain. I have been stretched. Most of all, I have
prayed. I have learned to rely on God above all else when I face the challenges
life presents.
I am focusing on
the journey rather than the destination. I love my grand plan. I most certainly
love books and kids and the way I expect my life to go. But, unexpected things
happen. So, I am taking life one day at time. I wake up and ask myself, “What
am I doing with my life?” Then—I live it.
