I just finished my last class of my first year of college. I went to the campus coffee shop, because what is a better way to celebrate than with an iced Americano and a blueberry scone? As I was sitting and sipping my Americano and munching on blueberry goodness, I was thinking about change. Thinking about how change is scary, and how change is needed. How we get bored without change, and how we fear even the slightest change when it makes us feel uncomfortable. We live in a constant cycle of change. Always have, always will. So why do we push change away? And why are we desperate for it?

We need change. I would go absolutely crazy without change. I'd be stuck doing the same monotonous thing the rest of my life. Do you ever just feel like you need to break the mold and just burst into something new? I do. That was part of my reason for attending a college 2,200 miles away from home, to get a change of scenery and new experiences. Leaving home and doing things for myself has changed me. I'm not saying the "old Tori" is gone and lost forever, because I'm still the same person, just with new experiences, thoughts and opinions. Everything we experience changes us whether we know it or not.

When things don't change we get bored. We live in a world that is constantly changing. Take the government and the iPhone for example, we get bored with what we have. We like to shake things up. I think of change as a good thing, however, maybe we can have to much of a good thing. When things are constantly upgraded and are "new and improved," we never stop to realize how incredibly fortunate we are. We take for granted what is in front of us. This is one thing that I can't stand about life, sometimes. We are blinded by new things being placed in front of us, one after another. I just want things to stop for a second! Look around you. Are you ever fully satisfied with all of this "stuff?" The answer to that is no. If you disagree, then OK. But if we were truly satisfied, we wouldn't be trying to obtain the next new thing or get on the next level. It's like we are living on an elevator. It moves up and down, constantly changing floors, but that's it. It only stays on the same floor for a short while.

Like I said, we need change, but sometimes change is a scary thing. I used to be terrified of change, but I've gone through so many changes that I've learned to love and embrace change. If you yourself are afraid of change, that's totally okay. However, I challenge you to do something new. Or the next time you experience change, and you are doing everything in your power to push against it, I encourage you to take a step back and look for something that excites you about the new change. The scariest of changes will always have something in store that you can learn from. In my experience, the scary changes -- nine times out of ten -- have been for the better, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

So, let's embrace change together. No one is alone in this world. No one. It's okay to change as a person and try new things. Try sushi, try a new style, try talking to someone that you maybe have never talked to before, dance around. Heck! Dye your hair purple! Just know that change is never meant to hurt you. No matter what you think, you are in God's hands and he says, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."