Class of 2017,

This year will be full of so many different emotions. There will be tears of joy, laughing, crying, and lots of stress. This is the point in your life where everything changes. People say you become an adult at 21, but that's not really the case. Adult life starts the day you graduate. That means finally stepping out of the comfort zone that is college. No more meal plans or campus housing. There are no TA or SI's for the real world. This is all very scary and exciting at the same time.

You have watched your friends apply for jobs, get engaged, apply for graduate school, look for apartments, and have babies and you may have even done some of these things yourself. All of these are steps that are being taken after graduation. The world outside cushy, furnished campus housing. The world where you have to pay bills every month, go to work at a 9 to 5 job that you hate, figure out how to do taxes, and finally learn to cook for yourself.

Most of us are not ready for that.

I will be honest and say adult life scares me and I do not know if I am fully prepared for everything that life is about to throw at me. But, I do know that I have God by my side - He got me through college and He will be there for post-graduate life. The professors, advisors, coaches, and maybe even some friends may not be there, but God will be.

As you are going through the stress of your senior year and you are dealing with getting turned down by employers, rejected from graduate schools, and the stress of finishing up the last two semesters of your college career, remember to pause for a moment and reflect on the number of times that God has been there for you and how He has gotten you through each and every situation and He will get you through this one. You may think it will be impossible to get a job because of the number of times you have been turned down, but that is not the case. God has a plan and if you just pause for a brief second He will reveal that plan to you. He will show you which road to take and the steps you need to take to get on that path. You may've had a plan set out from the day you started college, "I am going to get engaged my junior year, apply to a big name graduate school my senior year, get into said grad school, finish grad school, have my dream job lined up for me, start a family, and live happily ever after." But this may not be the plan God has for your life. He may want you to go on a mission trip or become a teacher, or something you may never have seen yourself doing. When things become too much this year and you feel like nothing is going your way, pause and listen to God because He has a plan for you and it is better than anything you have ever imagined.

Senior year is going to be full of excitement and graduation will be the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another. Live in the moment and do not let the stresses that come along get in the way of the plan God has for you. Enjoy your senior year and make it one that you will always remember. The memories you make in college turn into the stories you'll be able to tell your kids about in 20 years. Do not let the impending approach of adult life get in the way of making those memories. Trust God and let Him point you in the right direction. This is not a time to be afraid because He will provide if you let Him guide you and are open to His plan.

Proverbs 16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."