Today I took some time to reflect on the past DECADE. Wow, it’s crazy (exciting!) that not only a new year is approaching, but a new DECADE! At the beginning of this decade, I was only 8 years old! (And at the end of this next decade I’ll be 28 ah!:O) It’s crazy to think how far we’ve come and how many ups and downs we’ve experienced!
To reflect on my decade, I wrote out each year and sort of wrote out some memories from each year and lessons I learned (also to look back at later :’)). Just writing out the different years (which for me are pretty organized in terms of grade since the bulk of this decade for me was going through school :) it’s crazy to think that in the upcoming decades my years and reflections might be structured quite differently heh!) made me realize how much I’ve grown and how far I’ve come! :O All glory to God! So grateful for the ways He’s been working in my life and growing me and allowing me to serve Him.
Here’s what I started out with (and then I filled in bullets below each year with memories and lessons, etc.):
2009 - 2010 3RD GRADE
2010 - 2011 4TH GRADE
2011 - 2012 5TH GRADE
2012 - 2013 6TH GRADE
2013 - 2014 7TH GRADE
2014 - 2015 8TH GRADE
2015 - 2016 FRESHMAN YEAR OF HS
2016 - 2017 SOPHOMORE YEAR OF HS
2017 - 2018 JUNIOR YEAR OF HS
2018 - 2019 SENIOR YEAR OF HS
2019 - 2020 FRESHMAN YEAR OF COLLEGE
I would encourage you to do the same or something similar (or any sort of reflecting!) when you get a chance (just sit down and set yourself to it:))! And no matter what, take a moment to appreciate how far you’ve come! Wherever you are on your journey, whether you’re high on life or at a lower point, know that you’ve experienced so much these past 10 years that have helped you become the person you are today! And trust that God has a plan in the upcoming decades and more! :’) Wow so proud of us for getting here and excited for us all for what’s to come!
In this blog post today, I wanted to take the time to write out a couple of the lessons I learned this past decade. :) To be specific, I will be sharing 10 lessons (heh cause a DECADE get it?:)). These are just a couple of lessons that are coming to mind now that I thought I’d share (and yes, I know some are sort of cliché heh).
1. Don’t be afraid to try something new and put yourself out there! You never know where one event or conversation or decision can bring you (where you bring life)! :)
I think something I’ve realized is that you can take life in so many different directions. I never would have thought I’d be studying business in a city school, but literally little steps, one after the next, and here I am! I also remember running for Secretary freshman year of high school and not getting it, but still deciding to serve on Class Council. I eventually re-ran and was blessed to get it, but looking back, I totally was taking a step outside of my comfort zone. Each time I ran, I was nervous and scared to put myself out there and campaign. But Class Council ended up being one of the biggest parts of my high school experience and something I learned so much from and truly enjoyed. :) I really loved serving my class, getting to know people, and working and bonding with the amazing people on Class Council. :) And senior year of high school, I worked a desk job at my local ice rink and really loved having enough of my own spending money for fun events and gifts for friends (I would only spend the money I earned), and this was all because of one conversation with a friend one afternoon the summer before senior year! :’) Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, take risks, and try something new! You never know where you’ll take life (embrace it!). :)
2. Don’t put so much of your happiness and fulfillment on other people. Know where your self-worth comes from!
I think there have been countless times where I’ve put expectations on people and have found myself feeling down or lonely. And admittedly, there have been a couple of times where I have thought perhaps about a boy too much and really regretted allowing him to take so much of my thinking time. I also think I learned a lot about self-worth through synchronized skating. Especially one season, when I was really confused about my coach’s decisions and was just doubting myself, I realized that my self-worth doesn’t come from my coach (who I very much respected!) or my teammates (who I loved dearly!) but from the person I was (being a good, kind, hard-working person). And this leads me to my next point…
3. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. :)
This is connecting back to sophomore year of high school, when I had a rough year in skating. I truly remember going on Thanksgiving break and having a little break from skating practices and just being so, so grateful for my family and their unconditional love from me. And thoughout the year, I was so grateful for the other clubs I was involved in at school. I realized how nice it was to have other communities when one activity that I spent so, so much time on was bringing me so much sadness and confusion. I think it’s important to push through and learn and that investing our time into one thing is important and can be really good, but I think something I learned here was that having different projects and things going on could truly be a blessing. But I guess this leads to my next point…
4. Remember ultimately that we find fulfillment from God and that our worth comes from Him.
So I guess it is okay to put all our eggs in one basket, because I know I want to put all of my worth in God and really go to Him through all things.
I think this is one way that I’ve grown since sophomore year. That year, I realized more that my self-worth came from my self, not others and their views of me. But this year at college, I’ve realized more that truly, ultimately our worth comes from God. I know I mentioned this in another post, but I will always remember when a friend was asked “what’s your best quality?” and he answered “I’m a child of God.” I so, so agree. :’)
And in terms of FOMO and feeling left out and stressing out about perfect grades and getting a job, etc. → I always want to remember that ultimately we find fulfillment from God and our identity comes from Him.
5. Don’t be afraid of confrontation. (As long as it comes from a heart of love!)
I think I’ve always been someone who’s avoided conflict. I always try to practice kindness and show love to people, and generally have been blessed to not really have that much conflict in my relationships. But I think in high school, especially towards the end, sometimes there were bumps in relationships and I was pretty confused. Either I wasn’t sure what was wrong (and I’m quick to apologize if I mess up), or I just felt hurt by a relationship. I’m going to delve into the latter example right now. I had a friendship with someone, but felt a bit hurt, and at that point (end of senior year), I decided I would just take a step back and still be friends, but not reach out as much because I found myself quite confused and hurt in our relationship. He ended up reaching out and we had one of the most down-to-earth and honest conversations I’ve ever had. We talked about our feelings and what had happened so we could move forward in our friendship, and to this day, he’s one of my closest friends. I think I’ve learned that it’s okay to be honest in your relationships because if they matter, you guys will want to have these conversations. I think I’ve learned that it’s important to always be kind, but this doesn’t mean you can’t bring up if something hurt you or if you’re confused, as long as you come with a heart of love! (If you’re not there yet, I would wait maybe and reflect a bit more. But otherwise, feel free to reach out in a loving way!)
6. Have a positive mindset. :)
I have always thought of myself as a positive person, and in high school I started a club called the Power of Positivity (which was about positivity and kindness) haha. :) But I think sometimes I felt a little scared and hurt cause I remember once someone told me that they questioned whether I was being real. I can assure everyone that I go through so many ups and downs (I have my tough moments), but hearing this made me almost afraid sometimes to be a bubbly person! I think in college I’ve felt so much more free to be myself (and it wasn’t a huge deal before, but just something I was a little self-conscious about), and hearing a sermon by our college Pastor really helped too. He talked about how, as Christians, we have so much to be positive and to look forward to. Because one day, God will come back and make all right. And wow, just so much to be positive about! :’) In general, I really believe in the power of positivity and having a positive (but also realistic!) outlook! :)
7. Everything isn’t as big of a deal looking back later. Remember that now. :)
I think this is something I still struggle with, but truly, I’ve realized how in the moment, I can get so stressed about a quiz or test, or about what I wear for an event, but during the actual thing I was stressed about or a bit later, I realize how it wasn’t really a big deal. I remember making packing for college such a big deal and wanting it to go as “perfectly” as I could, and I remember being so stressed about the Wharton club culture (like getting into clubs), but looking back, everything really wasn't as big of a deal as I was making things to be. And I want to remember this, and what truly matters (glorifying and growing in Him!). :) I’ve definitely come a long way from my more “perfectionistic” tendencies, but still have a long way to go.
8. Life is going to keep going and if you want to make changes you have to make them.
As we turn the decade, I realized that if I don’t make changes to the parts of my life that I’m not happy with, I’ll find myself, year after year, in the same headspace. So here’s to taking action and making changes! Remember every small thing counts. Trust the process. :)
9. Be uncomfortable in your growth and embrace tougher moments that will grow you.
This semester, I am embracing “pain” so-to-speak so much more, and am trying to train myself to allow discrepancy between wanting to stop and choosing not to (like when I jog and I want to stop but it really is a mental thing - like I think about the saying of how growth happens when you’re not comfortable and are like in pain - if you’re actually injured definitely stop though but like if you’re pushing yourself push through!). I think we aren’t called to live easy lives, and so I’m working on this. Happy that I've come to this realization and am growing in this way. :)
10. Center your life on Him. :’)
Wow. Truly, this has been the best decision of my semester and my life so far, and has significantly enhanced the quality of my life. So happy for where I’ve come in terms of my Faith and growth as a child of God this decade, and excited for the next and many more! I would really encourage you to try going to Church one Sunday (bring a friend or ask a friend to bring you!) and see how God might be speaking to you. Here to talk about this too. <3 Just start somewhere ya know hehe. :)
If you’ve made it to this point, you are truly a trooper. :) So excited for the turn of the decade because while we should always be setting goals, it’s an opportunity to have a fresh new start to achieve our goals! Let’s make the most of it! :’)
Wow. Here’s to reflecting on the past decade and welcoming the next! :)
Saved by grace, through faith.
With so much love,
Joyce
Bible verse connection: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Jeremiah 29:11 Trust in God’s plans! Trust in Him! :’)
P.S. This photo is from when I went to Barcelona with my Mom, Dad, and one my best friends! :') Another example of something I never would have expected (getting to travel abroad with family and my best friend!) but just embracing where we take life ya know! :) I'm ~looking back~ on the decade in the photo. :P
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