I have been thinking lately about how crazy it is that it is already 2019! This past year went by so quickly. After reflecting on the year I had, there was one thing that stood out to me the most: my relationship with Jesus.

There were a lot of ups and downs this year, but my faith was one of the more constant things in my life. After having a rough start to college and struggling to find where I belonged at school, I finally found my place with Cru.

I chose to spend my New Year's Eve in Baltimore, MD with people from Cru. I went to a thing called Winter Conference. This was a highlight of the year. I ended 2018 and started 2019 with people that I love who love Jesus like I do.

Going into the weekend, I wasn't really looking forward to what awaited me. None of the people who I am closest with were going. I didn't know what to expect and that made me really nervous. I am not a regularly nervous person. I am very extroverted and love talking to people. These qualities definitely helped me a lot this weekend.

This conference was all about learning more about Jesus, learning how to share my faith, and growing closer with people from my school. I feel like I achieved all of these things this weekend.

For most college students, spending the weekend before New Years at an event like this doesn't sound fun. It was hard to explain to my non-christian friends what I was doing and why. Usually, I would have shied away from telling all the details about something like this. After the conference, I told them exactly what I was doing in Baltimore.

New Year's Eve was an awesome day! At night, the entire Maryland Cru ate cheesecake together and talked about our favorite moments from the weekend. Later on, we finished out the year with a giant dance party. Everyone that was attending the conference was there, so about 1,000 people.

This dance party reminded me of a middle school dance. There were glow sticks and colorful lights. It was awesome, but I also love dancing. After the countdown to 2019, we spent the next hour worshipping and praying for the new year. This was such a perfect way to start the year.

Since this conference, I have been truly happy. This is how I want my entire 2019 to be. Granted, it has only been a couple of weeks. I know that I am going to have tough times, but I am going to try to stay positive.

Overall, my goal for the year is to be bold. I want to be bold in my faith and always being ready to share it with people. This includes being intentional with how I talk to people. I want to be bold in my friendships. I want to be bold in my confidence. I don't want to shy away from circumstances when I could be myself and show my true character.

To recap: I love the terps, I love Jesus, and I love this life I get to live with some of the best people I know. I am so excited for everything this year has to bring me!