I was a senior in high school and graduation was right around the corner. My Sunday school teacher was hosting a breakfast for the senior members of First Baptist Church before a day full of honoring everyone in the class of 2016. I was supposed to be there at 8:00 a.m., but that didn't happen because I couldn't get my eyeliner even and I couldn't find the right shade of lipstick to go with my dress.
When I finally made it out of the door and to her house, I walked in and found my spot at the table with about 15 of my closest friends. Right when I got comfortable, I noticed that everyone had letters in front of them. Our teacher told us to open them, and upon reading the first sentence, my makeup was ruined. Each of our parents had hand written us a letter without us knowing. Everyone was so emotional, and I was so thankful for the words of love and encouragement. At the end of the letter in my mom's cursive handwriting was my favorite quote, "the best is yet to come." I loved it so much that I (halfway) joked about getting it tattooed, which my mother did not like. This quote meant everything to me, so why was it so easy for me to forget it?
My first semester of college was hard for me. I would even go as far as to say it sucked. I was comfortable in my small hometown. I loved coming home to my house and eating spaghetti or tacos at the table with my family. I lived for the weekends when I could do absolutely nothing with my best friends who had been my best friends since before Kindergarten. College was just different. It's hard to make a dorm room feel like home, and it's really hard to pay $15 for every meal on campus. It's even harder to be away from everyone you love for long periods of time. I was distracted and stressed with a relationship, classes were drowning me alive, and there was an awkward time where finding friends wasn't easy for me anymore. I made some decisions that I shouldn't have, followed by a string of bad luck, and I really just felt like my world was caving in around me. Everyone else around me loved college and everything that came with it, which made me feel even worse. Why was I feeling this way? Why was everything going wrong for me?
Time passed at the speed of molasses, and Christmas break could not get here fast enough. Being home for the break turned into another string of boredom, and I was surprisingly ready to get back to my cubicle in Hellen Keller Hall. This time, however, things started looking up. I found a group of friends who I fit right in with, making for a world of difference in my happiness. Seriously, this group of girls meant everything to me in a span of a couple days. Classes were going well and I was a lot less stressed. My family now keeps in constant contact with me, and I know that they would be willing to come visit anytime I asked. Now I finally remember that, "the best is yet to come."
I am so glad that I was reminded of my favorite quote because those words are so promising and exciting. I only wish that I had been thinking of them at the time in my life when I needed them most, not just when things started looking up. This may seem a little elementary. Everyone has been told to be positive during hard times, right? I forgot that, and maybe you need a reminder too.
My favorite part about this quote is that even on your very best day, when you have never been happier the best is still yet to come. You always have better days to look forward to. If that doesn't make you want to wake up every morning, I don't know what could.
