As of yesterday at approximately 11:05 a.m., my first semester as a college student at Bethel University is complete + in the books. I knocked 17 credits out of the way although the process was long, laboring, and at times quite bleak. I have so much to say and recap that I simply don't know where to begin. What I want to document most and never forget is that (as always) God has been faithful to me and has blessed me with immeasurably more than I could ever think or imagine. From studies to health to friendships to growth in my faith, so much has changed about my life...and oh how grateful I am that it has.

When I moved into my dorm this past August, I had no idea what I was in for - good, bad, ugly, (or sometimes) something in between. I didn't know what an actual mental breakdown during a stressful week felt like. I didn't know how much funnier everything seriously gets at 2 in the morning when your roommate turns an old t-shirt into a do rag and starts running rampant through the halls. I had no idea how much I'd miss my mom's cooking. I had no clue how much I'd miss my best friend leaving for school in Missouri. I couldn't have imagined becoming insanely close with so many of the girls on my floor. I didn't anticipate I'd be having hip surgery today. Heck, during midterms and finals, I wasn't even sure I'd survive.

But, I learned. I experienced. Firsthand and often brutally, I would say. There were times I thrived and there were times I fell apart but no matter what circumstances I found myself faced with, I could look to my left and to my right - in front of and behind me - and find myself surrounded by people who love and support me fiercely.

"Associate only with positive, focused people who you can learn from and who will not drain your valuable energy with uninspiring attitudes. By developing relationships with those committed to constant improvement and the pursuit of the best that life has to offer, you will have plenty of company on your path to the top of whatever mountain you seek to climb."