I am almost 2/3 of the way done with my freshman year of college. It’s insane to see how fast this quarter flew by. Winter quarter for me was very eventful and unexpected and it definitely kept me on my toes. While a lot of unfortunate things occurred, it was also a really amazing quarter and I made a lot of sweet memories. So, I’m going to use this blog post as a place to put the top things that I learned this quarter and also recount some of my favorite memories :))

Top Things that I Learned this Quarter:

1. no risk, no reward, no rejection

So we’ve probably all heard the phrase “no risk, no reward” but I want to append that with “no rejection.” Rejection is an inevitable aspect of putting yourself out there, trying new things, and going for it. So while rejection might not feel very good in the moment, it’s a signal that you had the courage to do something that you knew you could get rejected for. There are going to be plenty of times where you do things and NOT get rejected, so you have to take the good with the bad. However, if you try to avoid the rejection, you avoid the risk, and yeah, you avoid the reward. This quarter I feel like I just went for a lot of different things and I definitely experienced both.

2. You choose your lens

Like I said, I definitely had a lot of really crazy things happen to me this quarter. I had some challenges and there were times where I found myself getting really pessimistic and negative. In those moments, I had to stop myself from thinking that way and refocus my thoughts and change the meaning of what was happening (look at me using the things I learned in PSYCH 110!). Through doing this, I often times realized that a lot of the negativity that I was thinking was in my head. I was making it up. So sometimes, we just need to get out of our heads and spend some time with other people that make us feel good… which leads me into my next thing.

3. I’M REBRANDING

lol. This is what I’m calling the result of the realization that I had this quarter. That realization is that I’m not an introvert. I have labeled myself as one for so long and I think I misunderstood this whole time what an introvert was. The definition according to google is “a shy, reticent person.” And that ain’t me. I’m not rebranding to an extrovert. I think I’ll be an ambivert for now, which is basically just a mix of the two. I think that I can be shy at times and in certain settings but most of the time I think I’m pretty lively,🤪 but I def need that time to myself to recharge. So yeah, ambivert it is.

4. Rest is so necessary

I was very busy this quarter and my classes were a lot of work and sometimes I couldn’t take a day for rest, but I definitely felt the consequences of that. Between this quarter and last, I’ve learned that being sick in college SUCKS, and when I wake up healthy I’m always so thankful. So while I knew the importance of rest, I was definitely reminded of how vital it is and was reminded of how amazing it is to be healthy. 🙃 (let’s all take a second to appreciate that we can breathe out of both nostrils right now)

4. Insecurity is a plague

I actually already knew this lol (please see my 2022 sermon at TGP NYC ahahahah) but I think that this really became evident to me through being surrounded by so many college aged people (girls specifically) who are still learning how to be sure of themselves. I have really worked on my confidence over the last few years, so I don’t find myself being insecure that often. In the rare case that I am, I try very hard not to project it onto others. However, being around people who don’t feel that way about themselves is hard and their projections makes it even harder. I’ve found that it’s really tiring to have to constantly reassure someone of themselves or to defend my own decisions to them. A lot of this comes from a place of love because I don’t want them to think things about themselves that aren’t true but when it’s starting to affect me… something’s gotta change. So something that think I want to work on next quarter is how to build a little bit more of a bubble around myself to protect my own peace ✌🏽😗 and to learn how to respectfully address comments that I don’t think are appropriate hehehe. clap clap for goal setting.

5. I LOVE LOVEEEEE

I’m not talking about romantic love. I’m just talking about loving others and the presence of other people. I’m so thankful for all of my friends at college. I definitely felt very loved this quarter and a lot of my friendships grew deeper and stronger. I have loved getting to know people more and as a result loving them more. I learned this quarter that LOVE exists wherever you want it to, you just have to find it or create it with the people around you. (big thoughts, big words, big feelings 🙃) If any of my friends are reading: thanks for an amazing quarter!!

Favorite (and not so favorite) memories from this quarter!!! (all out of order)