Four years later

Graduation is only about a month away, and I can't believe that my four years of college has gone by so quickly. It seems like last week that I was moving into my dorm and trying to find classrooms on campus. Here I am now, about to enter a new phase of my life where the immediate future seems so unknown and unpredictable.

As I look back on my four years, I recognize I have changed a lot as a person as well as in ways I approach my faith. Freshman year I was more insecure and unsettled, and I put my faith in the corner as there were so many other things to try and experience. It was great to have freedom from home and to be given the control to do as I pleased. I also tried extremely hard to impress people and come off as someone who was very put together. My ultimate goal was to be the best in whatever I did and overcome the fierce competition present at Berkeley.

Throughout my college experience, I eventually realized that there were much more important things to be sought — things like lifelong relationships and times of building my relationship with God. I truly believe that college is a very special time when people can really grow in their faith and take ownership over Christianity, yet so many students fall away from the church. Thanks to some great friends and church leaders, I was able to avoid this fate. Instead, as I come out of college, I can honestly say that I have found friends that will last a lifetime and had memories that I consider more valuable than gold. Sure, there were the times of studying and stressing over midterms, but the fact that I did it with my friends makes those times very precious to me.

I have also taken my faith much more seriously than I ever could have imagined. This year, I have been leading some freshman girls in devotionals four times a week and have also been leading two girls in Course 101, a curriculum set up by my church that explains the basics of the gospel to non-believers. I never could have imagined doing something like these things four years ago, yet I was able to be molded into a disciple of Christ through small actions of commitment and faith.

Although I am sad I will not be a student anymore, I am also excited and anticipating what the future holds for me. This is now the beginning of the rest of my life and I want to live it in a way that I was meant to live my following Christ in all I do. College was a place that turned my heart around and set the trajectory for my future. I am really thankful for every single person who had a stake in my life, and I ultimately thank God for being faithful to me by regarding me as a beloved child.