It's no secret that I've left every college I've ever attended. Call it pathetic or lazy or idiotic, but that's my journey so far. I guess I find it difficult to dig my heels in the dirt when the going gets tough. In other words, when I didn't like how a college felt to me in the past,

I packed up everything and left. I'm not super proud of it, and I'm also not saying that those colleges are bad places at all, or that they're unfit for higher education.

What I am saying is that I've never forced myself to stay at a college before, but now I finally am.

Maybe you're thinking, "well it's her junior year of college so she wouldn't be stupid enough to transfer again, so what's the point of this article anyway?" For starters, just because it's my junior year doesn't mean that I technically have to stay at this college.

I mean, I've transferred twice before—what's keeping me from doing it again? And furthermore, the point of this article is that maybe the problem was me this entire time, and maybe it's my job to fix it.

My resolution for 2018 is to stay at this college and find contentment. To stay put and adjust to my surroundings for the first time in my life. To soak it all in and find my happy place. When I graduate at the end of this year, I want to look back on everything with a big smile on my face.

All my life, I've always thought that if I didn't like what I was doing or where I was living, I could just relocate and find instant happiness elsewhere. But maybe life isn't about leaving when you've lost all hope—maybe it's about sticking around until hope shows up again. Maybe it's about adapting to the here and now.

Before I transferred to Iowa State, I hated college. Actually, I still do—but things have improved tenfold since I made the switch. I became involved with Odyssey, adjusted to apartment life for the first time (turns out I love it), and said "yes" to marrying my best friend in the entire world. Maybe those things have nothing to do with the school I'm attending, but maybe they do.

I'm a firm believer that God uses people wherever they are, no matter the circumstances. As someone who has held multiple jobs and lived in three different university environments in the past three years, I can testify that God is present always.

He gave me a purpose at both of my past two colleges, and He's giving me a purpose now. I know that He is using me for His purposes here at this college, and I want to honor His plans by trusting in this crazy, awesome, and breathtaking journey.