The idea of life being a journey is as old as sayings can be, but there's a reason for that. It's probably the best analogy for life. Within that journey is college, an adventure in itself. Most adventures come with a preliminary game plan that more or less gets thrown out the window once you’re actually traveling.
When it comes to planning, I’d definitely consider myself more of a Type A person. My calendars are all color coded, and so are my folders and binders for each class. Over the years, I’ve learned to go with the flow when needed. However, when possible, I like to have at least an outline.
I’ve always liked the structure and clarity with having a plan. Having a plan means I know what’s in my future and where I’m going. Even before high school, I started planning my future. I thought I had everything figured out, and it was going to be great.
But God changed all that when I went to college. Little by little, He redirected my steps toward a different path. Ever since deciding to attend Lipscomb instead of staying local, He has been softening my heart to His plan.
Now let me preface this by saying that I don’t believe God has one will for us that we are able to “miss,” per se. However, within our ability to choose a path, He gives us His Spirit to guide us in a direction that allows us to best use our gifts for His glory. Throughout college, God has done just that. He opens some doors and closes others. Sometimes it seems random and inexplicable, but that’s all part of the journey. And it happened again recently. Let me take a step (or two) back to explain.
In high school, I heard all these statistics about people changing their majors at least two or three times before they actually settled on one. Every time I heard this, I thought, “that’s not me” because, like I mentioned earlier, I’m a planner. Changing my major would go against the plan, and that’s just crazy, isn’t it?
Despite my foolproof plan, or what I thought was foolproof, I kept questioning my major and even thought about changing it multiple times during sophomore year. Why didn’t I? Because of the plan. What’s the point of having a plan if you don’t stick to it, right?
After much consulting with friends, family and advisors, more personal reflection in one week than I usually do in a month and also a whole lot of praying, I recently decided to change my major and drop education from my degree. Instead, I’m now pursuing a double major (Spanish and French) and double minor (Education and English).
My initial reaction was a strange mix of terror and giddiness. I’m not the type of person to make that kind of decision, but since choosing that path about two or three weeks ago, I’ve had time to process and really come to terms with it. I feel so at peace with this change that I’ve even surprised myself.
If I’m learning anything through this, I’m learning about faith. In doing this, I’m learning what it means to rely on God for direction and clarity, among other things. I no longer have one thing I’m working toward, and I’ve realized that that’s okay. I don’t need to have the next ten years of my life planned. I don’t even need to know what I’ll be doing when I graduate. I’m exploring my options and prayerfully waiting to see what new doors God opens up. That’s probably the most exciting part.
If anyone else reading is a Type A person, I’m sure you can relate to the struggle between planning and having faith at the same time. My future is something I have to constantly give back to God because, more often than I care to admit, I’m down here trying to plan it myself.
It’s a good thing I like adventure because this is one journey I definitely don’t want to miss.
