In honor of the final three weeks of school, for the next three weeks I will be compiling "Lord of the Rings" material to get you through the end of the semester. The last few weeks can get rough, and as college students, we need every bit of encouragement we can get. This week, I have compiled 10 ways to thrive in these last few weeks of classes and "Lord of the Rings" quotes to back them up.
1. Have hope in the hard times
"The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places, but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater."
-J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
2. You have been given a purpose
"Home is behind, the world ahead, and there are many paths to tread. Through Shadows, to the edge of night, until the stars are all alight."
-J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
3. Waiting is worthwhile when better things are ahead
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken
A light from the shadows shall spring.
Renewed shall be the blade that was broken.
The crown less again shall be king."
- J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
4. Use the time you are given wisely
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo."So do I, said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that has been given to us.
-J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
5. Carry on, home is around the corner
"Roads go ever ever on,
Under cloud and under star.
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen,
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green,
And trees and hills they long have known."
-J.R.R Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
6. Don't worry about the future
"Do not trouble your hearts overmuch with thoughts of the road ahead. Maybe the paths that you each shall tread are already laid before your feet, even though you do not see them."
-J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
7. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to help others
"I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love."
- J.R.R Tolkien, The Hobbit
8. Don't give up when life gets hard
"Go back?" he thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!" So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter."
-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
9. Sometimes, nothing you say or hear will make sense
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like half of you half as well as you deserve."
- J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
10. Have faith even in darkness
"Faithless is he who says farewell when the road darkens."
-J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Don't sweat the small stuff. In the midst of the busyness and stress it can be easy to lose perspective, but be encouraged that even the biggest failures can turn into greater successes. Sometimes, hope is what you hold onto, and when you can hold on until the end, that part of your story ends better than you would have hoped.
All quotes are by J.R.R Tolkien and can be found here.
