Dear Lord,

I want to say thank you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to go to school, and giving me the opportunity to challenge myself in classes that further my education.

I want to say thank you for all that — but sometimes, it’s hard.

Sometimes I curse my classes and think about how I’d much rather not go to school at all. I get so caught up in tests, quizzes, papers, and GPAs that I forget to stop and thank you and recognize that these things I complain about are things kids elsewhere would consider an absolute privilege.

Lord, I know you would never give me anything I couldn’t handle but I don’t like when you test me. I hate feeling like I should give up, the feeling of studying so much my brain hurts and wanting to just not try anymore and to just wing it.

I get so stressed up and caught up in worldly things that I later realize were not even worth it. I know one day I’ll look back and be thankful for all these opportunities but classes are hard and society has told me that GPA matters more than anything. Please, Lord, I pray that you can take some of this stress off my shoulders.

I pray for the students cramming until 2 a.m. at the library and those who I see leaving classrooms defeated will feel your comfort. I pray that You can guide them through their classes and show them the light at the end of the tunnel. I hope You can remind them that they are working for their career and their future. Lord, I hope you can remind me of that sometimes too.

I feel ridiculous complaining about such a blessing but I just pray Your light will shine through me and I can have more ambition. It is so easy to give up in college. Some classes only offer so many opportunities to succeed — or fail. That sometimes it is just easier not to try. The expectations of my family, the workplace, and the world is bearing great weight on my shoulders and I pray that this could be lifted.

I pray that I can get through the hardest of tests and the longest of papers. I pray that I have the strength to persevere through the toughest weeks and longest math problems. I pray that you will calm my heart and I can work harder as the semester continues.

Thank you for being someone I can rely on. Thank you for being a God that I can cry to and for being a God I can tell anything to. Your love overwhelms my soul and I can never thank you enough for that. But please give me strength this semester. Classes are hard and sometimes it seems easier to just give up and I need you right now. I pray this not only for me but for every other student out there struggling with this as well.