Oh the things I have learned

This past year as been a huge growing experience for me. First off God's plan is way better than ours. I think I always say that but I think we all always learn it or experience it in a new way.  I personally experienced it when my roommate and I  were originally supposed to live on campus one more year and got super mad when we got kicked off campus.  However, in the end, it was way better for us to not live on campus and get an apartment. The apartment was a big step for us, but it was a great thing for us.  {EVEN IF, HE IS STILL GOOD} and a part of this lesson has to deal with relationships or in my case the lack of one.  I also learned friendships and dynamics will change and that's okay.  You should always try to step out of your box and meet new people. Sororities can be good and make you grow. You never know what the future holds. Hard work pays off. If you go to class and do the homework you will have good grades. However, life isn't always fair sometimes you will put in 100x the effort and not get the grade you want. B's are okay, I did not receive one but I had to accept the possibility and be okay with it. New and unexpected friendships are the best and sometimes become the best friends you never knew you wanted or needed. One of the best things you could do is keep a weekly friend date. It will be a great way to get away from the stress of school for an hour and even if it has to be during a meal time. Plus it is a great way to grow a friendship and have accountability within your life. The earlier you get up the better, even if you don't have class till late. The earlier you get up the more you can do. Appreciate the little things in life, especially foods. I had gallstones and my gallbladder removed so I could not have a lot of foods and made me appreciate them so much more.  Coffee is amazing and thing and is its own food group!! I am slowly learning to drink with less milk and sugar. Some things don't happen till you least expect and sometimes they will the be the complete opposite of what you hope for and be the best for you. Living with people can be challenging you must not have to high expectations and you must communicate with each other especially when you are having problems. I learned you can't always be a hermit. Also, people are fighting battles you never know about, so be careful, but also take the time to really listen to people and make sure they are okay. Talking goes both ways and so do relationships, but also make sure to be available to listen and not talk all the time, which for me can be difficult ;) You can not survive without amazing solid friends. My friends mean the world to me and without them I would not have survived this year. I especially want to thank three of my friends who helped me grow, encouraged me, took care of me, and lived life with me: Megan D., Kelsey Davis, and Sydney Holmes. The future and life are scary but it's okay but we can not constantly be consumed with that. I also need to give my future and singleness over to God with my palm down and not try to take it back. It's okay to be single. Being a single is a gift from God and so is marriage but both are hard and have advantages and whatever stage you are at needs to be used for the betterment of His kingdom.  God will give us food in due season(Psalm 145:15) , therefore His plan is perfect and while we want something does not mean it is the time for it.  We need to be thankful for our health, family, friends, electricity, and everything we have because they are all blessings.