HA HA HA.
Okay... so I wasn't expecting THAT much out of graduating high school, but my expectations were pretty high for the summer and the year ahead of me. This year has brought so many lessons and trials and victories and little joys, I can never express the fullness of it through the written word, but I'm here to share a couple things that it's taught me.
Disclaimer: I'm probably not qualified to be sharing any advice, but I'm going to do it anyway. So without further ado...
Find intentional community. This has probably been the biggest lesson. I know that I wrote a post on it a year or so ago, but I didn't truly understand what community was. Community is having people that you can count on to have your back at all times. They're committed to loving you through the good, the bad and the ugly. They aren't going to leave you if you say something wrong or if you blow it. If I were going through something at this very moment, I know for a fact that I have a group of girls & guys that I could call or text and ask for prayer and I'd immediately have it. If you don't have that in your life, you don't know what you're missing out on. Find the people that will do life with you. Find those that are willing to know every part of you and still love you. Find someone that will walk with you through the tough stuff and not give up on you. Don't let fear of rejection keep you from being honest with those people- it's hard but it's worth it. SO. WORTH. IT.
Realize that you aren't going to have it all figured out. For some reason, I thought the year the you graduate was the year that you figured out everything. In case you're wondering, that's not true. For me, I think it was the opposite. I'm more confused and unsure about the future than I've ever been, but that's okay. It's annoying and oftentimes it's downright terrifying but things are going to work out. Keep pressing in to what God has for you and He'll keep guiding you, whether or not you know where He's leading you to. Don't be afraid of what's to come and rest in the fact that He has a plan. Remember: you're still young. You don't need to know what you want to do with the rest of your life when your whole life is still in front of you. (This whole paragraph was basically just me trying to convince myself of all of this... I still have no idea what I'm doing. Moving on.)
Don't look down on people because they're younger than you, but don't be intimidated by those that are older than you. You know when your mom told you that the friends you have in high school won't be the friends you have after high school? Yeah... she's telling the truth, but it's for the better. When you get out of high school, you and your friends might start to drift apart. But you know what's cool about friendships after you graduate? Age doesn't seem to matter as much. When I was in high school, most of my friends were in the same grade as I was. Now I have good friends of all ages and it's AMAZING. Stop being afraid of the older college kids. Stop looking down on the younger one. You all have a lot to learn and you can all help each other. Get out of your friendship bubble and go make new friends.
Jesus needs to be first. Make quiet time a priority. Read your Bible. It's so easy to let your Bible study habits slip and get so busy that you either forget or neglect that time. Don't let it happen. It happened to me multiple times this year and I can tell you that keeping up with your devotions is incredibly important. Get accountability for it and stick to it. Go to church, be in community, pray... keep Jesus at the forefront of your mind because HE should always be the MOST important thing in your life, regardless of how full it gets.
Take a lot of photos... preferably selfies. Okay, okay, maybe I'm trying to justify my group selfie (groupie?) obsession with this one, but *YOYO. I'm not saying that you should take and post a bunch of front-camera photos of your face to clog people's instagram feeds on a daily basis. PLEASE don't do that. What I AM saying is that you're going to want to remember the things that happen and sometimes the best way to capture it is with a silly iPhone front camera. If selfies aren't your thing, then take a photo with the normal camera.
*You're only young once
Don't be afraid to stay out late. I mean, I don't think any college-aged person is afraid to do this, to be honest. BUT I just wanted to put it in here. Some of the best memories and conversations take place in Applebee's late at night after most of the restaurant-goers have gone or on a church stage with the clock nearing midnight while you're all babbling and laughing about some photo you found on the internet. Just sayin'.
To sum this all up: don't be afraid of living life. Don't take yourself too seriously. Surround yourself with encouraging, faithful people. Love a lot, laugh until you cry and keep the Main Thing (Jesus) the Main Thing. This life is but a blink of an eye- live it well.
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