As we speak, college students are starting to sound like broken records. In just days, I, for example, will sound like this:
"My name is LeighAnn Wolle. I am originally from Springfield, Illinois, but I recently moved to Nashville, Tennessee. I live on 3rd South English. I am a sociology major."
To the majority of people in your class, that is who you are, all you are. Your name, home, dorm, and major are what they know. They don't know your passions, talents, fears, or experiences. They don't know the stories that make you who you are. To many, you are just the math major in the second row or the girl that sits next to me in a class.
But, sweet friend, you are so much more than your major.
God has given you incredible gifts that stretch far beyond the boundaries of your major. Maybe you are an accounting major with incredible art skills or a pre-med major with a love for acting. There are a million different things you can do that stretch far beyond the limits of your major.
Remember all those clubs you were in or sports you played in high school? Keep those things a part of your life. Join similar clubs on campus and get involved in intramural athletics. If you love doing art, take time on the weekend to do a project. If you have a passion for serving, find places that can utilize your skills and abilities.
I know some of you are thinking, "At least those people have something to define themselves by. I don't even know what my major should be." That is a scary feeling to have. I realized a few weeks before finals of my first semester that the major I had chosen was not for me. I ignored the signs and nudges from God. While trying to complete my finals where I had to talk about the future career I was working towards, I found I couldn't do it. There were a million reasons why this career path wasn't for me, but only a few small reasons it was.
Through a lot of prayer and conversations with those who know me best, sociology may be the right answer, but I really don't know. It fits a lot of my passions and gifts, but so do other things.
I keep this Brennan Manning quote always in my mind: "Define yourself as one radically loved by God. This your true self, every other self is an illusion."
The Lord does not give you a single gift, but he blesses you immensely.
Don't allow those special parts of yourself to fade away in the busyness of the semester
