It’s that time of year- graduations! My little one just graduated from preschool and seriously, time does fly. It seems like yesterday, I was rocking him to sleep and now he’s about to be in “big boy school.” My 20th high school reunion is this year- now I feel really old. As I was thinking back to the Class of 1999, I thought about how scary graduation was for me. Yes, it was an exciting time, but I was terrified of the future. Probably because I had no idea what it would look like (I’m a planner and love the predictable.) So I thought I would write a letter to my 18 year old self.
Dear Ashley,
Well, you made it to graduation. You’re terrified and excited all at once. That’s okay. You’ll survive the first week of college, even if you were in tears most of the time. You’ll make that frantic phone call to your mom saying “I don’t look like I should be in college. I don’t feel like I should be in college. Why am I here??” You’ll go to free lunch at the BCM that first week and burst into tears when two girls ask you how you’re doing. Those 2 girls- they’ll become some of your closest friends in college and you’ll make so many memories. The first semester will be ROUGH- full of change, loss and trying to find your way. You threaten to quit so many times but by the time you get to college Algebra- you make an A and secretly thank Mrs. Williams for making you take Algebra II twice. You begin to have a relationship with Jesus that is yours- it’s not riding on the coattails of anyone else’s faith. You’ll have experiences first hand with God that will forever change your life. You’ll discover your calling for social work and adoption in an unlikely place- the summer that you deemed the ‘worst summer of your life.” That list of goals that you made right before you graduated- you’ll reach every single one of them but it’s not easy or quickly. Some are years in the making. It’s worth it, I promise. You’ll fall in love with missions and see ministry as a lifestyle. You’ll meet some people that will pour into your life and you’re never the same. You’ll graduate college with honors (but you had to learn how to study!) and you’ll have no idea about where you’ll go to grad school- you’ll see God clearly reveal it and open doors. Walk through them. You’ll eventually live with in a house with 6 other girls and swear that you will never have roommates again. You’ll take a random subway trip in Boston to watch the Red Sox and yankees play. You’ll laugh and cry and laugh some more. But here’s the thing: you’ll survive. You’ll make it. You’ll figure out exactly what it is that God has for your life one step at a time. Just remember to wear really comfortable shoes on your first day of college- those cute sandals are going to kill your feet!
Love,
Ashley- 20 years down the road.
