I always try to live by the quote "Everything Happens For A Reason". Cliche? Maybe. If you really, I mean really think about it, it is so true. Life can be so stressful sometimes and when you think about all of the little things that led you to be where you are now, or hope to be in the future it is crazy to think about if one of those little things didn't happen you wouldn't be where you are now. Darius Rucker once said, "For every stoplight I didn't make, every chance I did or I didn't take, all the nights I went too far, All the girls that broke my heart, All the doors that I had to close, All the things I knew but I didn't know, Thank God for all I missed, 'Cause it led me here to this". Wow. How crazy is that?!

Job

I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. None, like it was tragic because I was a sophomore in college and everyone knew what they wanted to do and here I was freaking out not knowing what I wanted to do for the rest of forever. If I didn't happen to go on my third mission trip to the Dominican Republic to serve others not thinking I would get anything out of it for myself because I had already gotten saved and baptized. Little did I know if I didn't go on that trip, my pastor, Rando wouldn't have told me to "Step out of my comfort zone and help lead the VBS Ministry" and without him doing that I would never have gotten the confidence to teach children and realize that that was my passion. I am now a senior and college and just got my first teaching job and couldn't be more excited! What if I didn't decide to go on that trip that year? What if I decided to stay home and take the easy way out because raising money for your third mission trip is almost impossible. What if I didn't take that leap of faith? I would have never known what God wanted me to do.

With this being said, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone! Be bold! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." - Proverb 3:5

Friendships and Relationships

Going to college was a stressful situation, as it is for everyone. I didn't know if I wanted to go to play volleyball or to be a normal student or to go where my boyfriend wanted to go. Well, after a year and a half of dating, we ended up breaking up in the early Spring of my senior year. Of course I was heartbroken and didn't know what to do. I'll be honest, I kind of turned into that girl who only hungout with her boyfriend and ditched her friends while dating him. So, when we had broken up I was completely lost. Of course my true friends were still there for me even though I hadn't been the best friend. We were planning on going to the same school and I wasn't going to continue my volleyball career. Since all of this happened, I of course ended up going to college on my own and I was able to play volleyball at the collegiate level. I now go to LaGrange College where I played volleyball here for two years and made some of my now forever friends. I thank God for not answering my prayers four years ago because I ended up at LaGrange College (in the middle of no where Georgia) where I made some of my best friends and met who I'm supposed to be with. If I wouldn't have come here, we woulnt have met. Crazy right? I met Jon in volleyball class where he was this tall, attractive, really athletic and intimidating senior. It is 100% crazy to think that we've been together ever since and couldn't be happier all because I decided to come to LaGrange College, then decided to sign up for volleyball work study, then decide to actually go to work study that day instead of taking a nap and then for my coach making me help out in volleyball class that day. God works in mysterious ways.

Literally everything happens for a reason whether you realize it at the time or not. Live every moment like it's your last and don't have regrets. Life can get hard, really hard but don't let that overcome you. Without your struggles, you would not be the person you are today. Everything you go through leads you to where God wants you to be and sometimes when it seems like God is not listening, he really is just give Him time.