College is a time to grow mentally, socially, and spiritually. You build relationships, live (semi) independently, and mature into the young lady and young man you hoped to be when you were in elementary school. This upcoming school year gives you the opportunity to grow and make goals for yourself. Ten things I want to do once I get back to campus and verses that encourage me to do so are…
1. I want to love others more than myself.
When you’re off at school you get in this bubble where you become so focused on your goals. You become your biggest priority. But this year I want to spend more time in the Word and living it out than serving myself.
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
2. I want to be a friend to the friendless.
You were once that scared freshman who was worried that they would not be able to make any friends. I want to reach out to these people because I know what it is like to be in their shoes and I know how great it felt when upperclassmen befriended me.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
3. I want to make specific times in my schedule to study.
I want to be diligent and focused this school year because we are actually at school to learn. I want to make time in my schedule to study every day so that I am not feeling overwhelmed the night before a big test.
Proverbs 13:4 “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”
4. But, I also want to be less stressed.
Stress doesn’t help. It doesn’t make you feel more certain in your classes, all it does is make you want to eat more and become so overwhelmed that you give up. I don’t want to look back on my time at school and regret the hours I spent being anxious on matters that aren’t important five years later.
Philippians 4:6-7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
5. I want to spend more time building genuine relationships with my friends.
I love seeing my friends almost every day, they’re only minutes (or seconds) away! So this school year I want to spend more time building solid relationships with them and loving them. How great it is to have friends who encourage me to seek after Jesus and trust in Him.
Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
6. And I want to spend less time on social media.
I want to spend less time perusing my social media accounts and looking at random people’s photos. I want to use that time to see the people that I care about, fulfill the needs of others, and spend time with Jesus.
Proverbs 15:19 “The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.”
7. I want to keep in touch with my friends from home.
This next school year I want to keep in touch with my friends from home who go to schools all over the country. I loved my time spent with them this summer and I want to continue to be a part of their lives. We may not be able to see each other for a few months, but that doesn’t mean I can’t FaceTime them or call them to see how they are doing. They have supported me and I want to do the same for them.
Romans 15:2 “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”
8. I want to be more intentional about talking to my family and coming home to see them.
Like I said earlier, we get in this school bubble where we forget about the needs of others. I want to be more intentional about calling my parents when they are available and doing thoughtful things for them that show them how much I love them and miss them; maybe that is simple like sending a gift for their birthday or coming home on a free weekend.
1 Corinthians 13:8 “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”
9. I want to spend less time eating and more time working out.
College is full of fatty food. Oftentimes, the unhealthy fried foods taste better than the frozen vegetables. But this school year I want to eat less of the bad food and spend more time running and in the gym.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
10. I want to get more involved in my church.
I love the church home that I found at my home away from home last year. I want to get more involved there once I am back at school. I want to make time to get involved with a Bible study there or serve regularly.
Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”