Life is full of halfway points. Whenever I'm on a long trip, it's a relief to hit the halfway mark and know I'm finally closer. When my mom was four-and-a-half months pregnant, I was halfway to meeting my little sister.
Now, here I am at the end of my sophomore year of college. I'm halfway to my bachelor's degree, meaning I am already halfway through my time at Corban. Halfway! I can't believe it's gone by so quickly.
In two years, half of my allotted undergraduate time, I have found incredible mentors in my professors. In two years, I've been blessed with amazing friends I would never have expected. In two years, I have learned how valuable my relationships are that I had forged before I went to school.
In just these two years, I have experienced more spiritual and emotional growth than my entire first eighteen years of life, or at least that's what it feels like. Halfway through Corban, and I have already trusted God with my future career and my future relationships.
I haven't the foggiest idea of what God will use the remaining half of my undergraduate years for. I'm sure that it will be a surprise, whatever happens.
Every halfway point is significant, for once you cross it, you are closer to the end than to the beginning. What had at first glance seemed impossibly far off is suddenly within reach, so close you can see it.
For example, I'm now closer to forty years of age than I am to my birth. I just recently passed that halfway mark, and it's so bizarre to think about where I might be in another twenty years. Being a real grownup with a job and a family isn't so distant anymore, yet I'm still can't quite comprehend it—thank goodness I don't have to plan it all out!
While it is exciting to be at a given halfway point, I can't help but feel a twinge of nostalgia, or even regret, for the time that is gone. Even so, there I always remember why it's good I'm no longer in that stage.
I'll never be as carefree as I was when I was five or seven years old, but I've learned to care for the needs of others. I'll never be as idealistic as I was at thirteen or fourteen, but I'm learning how to deal pragmatically with the world as it is.
Going back to the theme of college, it hurts to realize that I don't have a ton of time left. I love Corban so much; it's another home to me. Although it is good to reach a goal, like my degree, I don't want to get there so quickly that I miss the journey. I want to savor the experience.
Thankfully, two years is actually quite a bit of time. I still have more of the journey to enjoy, more of the journey to grow in countless ways, more of the journey to share with the people God has placed in my life.
After all, I'm only halfway there.
