For all living things, it is a biological expectation that we will mature; that we will grow both in a proverbial sense and in more abstract, less obvious ways. While physical maturation is incredibly apparent, only in hindsight does growth in more internal ways become obvious.

After only being in college for a semester, I have come to the conclusion that I learned more things about myself than I did academically. Now, this is not to say that I didn’t learn many things which have already furthered my academic path, because I did. It simply means that along with lessons on Latin and Chemistry and Anthropology, I learned a lot about life.

This semester, I learned that sometimes, the best you can do is the best you can do; that there is a difference between expecting yourself to climb a mountain and expecting yourself to climb Mount Everest. I learned that there will always be people who have more material things than I do and that it is important to catch myself when I begin to let self-comparison cloud my mind with jealousy.

I learned that absence really does make the heart grow fonder, and that some people are entirely worth the wait. I learned through some severe cases of loneliness that God really does work in the most mysterious of ways and that He makes sure to remind me that I am His work in progress.

I learned that people usually aren’t what they appear to be, that they are normally much greater. To look for this good in people, to look for the good that I know to be there, is more a favor to myself than it is to them. I learned that I make terrible first impressions (especially with waitresses) and that being gluten-free in college is the most horrid thing that could ever happen to a poor soul.

I learned that my parents have always been on my side, even when it looked as if they were rallying troops against me. I learned that “home” is a migrational concept, because “home” is the places and people with which you leave parts of your heart. So while college leaves great confusion as to where I call “home,” through letting myself love such a wide range of people, I have created for myself many places to go home to.

I learned (don’t worry, I’m almost done) that in order to fill others up, I have to surround myself with people who will fill me up in the same way. I cannot fill myself up, and God doesn’t expect us to. That’s why he so graciously sends us little angels who do big things that help us all along the way.

In conclusion, I would say that the most important thing that I learned my first semester in college is that angels come in all shapes and sizes. They are given to us so that we may be helped with the expectation that we will help others. They are each beautiful in their own ways; some are in the business of yelling those things which they will teach us and others signal to us with a quiet whisper. Whichever kind of angels you have received, there is no doubt in my mind that we all have them. They make us realize what we have learned and leave us waiting impatiently for the next great adventure.

So, shout out to all my angels; you know who you are. I know that I have so many more lessons to learn, along with which will come so many more angels, and I can hardly wait.