What I Learned When I Blinked and Freshman Year Was Over

As I finished packing up my dorm this morning and said goodbye to the place I’ve called home for the past nine months, I experienced all kinds of emotions: sadness from goodbyes, sweet joy from memories, anxiousness for what the summer will hold, anxiety from the number of 40+ humans filling the hallways of my once ~young~&~hip~ building. But dominating all these emotions was disbelief at how quickly these two semesters had gone by.

At nineteen years of age I may not be the most qualified to make this statement, but life sure does go by quickly.  With each milestone I reach, time seems to be accelerating.

As I carried my final boxes to my car and wedged random items in every last crevice, Jesus showed up to teach me a lesson just as He always does at the most random of times.

The reason life seems to go by more quickly with each passing year is because this life we live on earth is a mere blip of our lifetime.  And before you tune this out as another “your life on earth is nothing compared to your life in eternity” spiel (though a very true and beautiful spiel it is, indeed), hear the truth and experience the craziness of it.  My freshman year seemed so short because compared to my ETERNAL (don’t even pretend to actually comprehend that) lifetime, it’s a speck of dust. I came into this world 19 years ago, but in 19 billion years, I will still be alive and better than ever.

We are made for eternity and the most tangible way to understand that is in the “I blinked and it was over” feeling.

In this lesson of understanding why my life seems to be passing by so quickly, I’ve also learned a few other truths.

Your time here is short. Don’t let a day go by that you don’t do something that makes your soul feel alive.  Have a sweet memory to reflect on at the end of every day.

Your time here is short. Spend most of it on building relationships.  You encounter the people that you do for a reason; value them, seek to know them, and seek to serve them.

Your time here is short. Laugh when you’re supposed to be serious, cry when you’re supposed to have it all together, and celebrate with pizza and chocolate even when you fail BECAUSE YOU CAN.

Your time here is short. Don’t let anything hold you back from making the best decision you could possibly make of following Jesus. Your time here may be short, but after this decision, your time absent of any hardships and in the presence of pure joy is NEVER-ENDING. 

(Photo Credit: my precious Brandy. RIP sweet Tut room 806.)