Wow! FIRST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE DONE WHAT!?
Here it is—the much awaited (or maybe it was just me waiting for myself haha) reflection on first semester. Wow, God is so, so good. I truly am so grateful for the blessing that this first semester has been. It is honestly still a little weird and crazy to me that I am a freshman in COLLEGE at Penn and WOW. Just wow.
I think, similar to my lovely beautiful best friend Grace (love ya! :)), I am going to split this reflection into sections. I think my previous post about the best decision I’ve ever made sums up my entire semester pretty well (TLDR - centering my life around God and growing closer to Him has made this the best semester yet).
I feel like I’ve learned so much about myself and others and the world and have grown as a person and in my Faith. So very blessed by the ways God has been working in my life.
Here goes nothing!
Faith
I think I’ve learned so much in terms of what it means to be a Christian and what it means to live life for and with God. I’m so grateful that I’ve prioritized God and made Church a non-negotiable and have gotten plugged into a Christ-centered fellowship. I think the sermons, talking to people, and reading the Bible, have all been so so good for me (in growing towards and serving Him). And being able to go through life with brothers and sisters in Christ has been such a blessing. :)
I think this semester, the phrase “by grace, through faith” took on so much more meaning for me. I had heard it before and saw people using it, but now I feel like I understand it a lot more and think that speaks to how God’s been growing me.
I also started and committed to reading the Bible everyday with one of my brothers in Christ (so thankful for you!), and it has been so, so good. We’re currently going through a plan that goes like chronologically through the Bible, and it’s been so good to read stories I’ve heard before and new ones and put them in context in my head and to hear God speaking to me through them! I’m super excited to hopefully reflect more on the sermons I’ve heard and the parts of the Bible I’ve read during this break and to grow more in my Faith! :’)
People!
I am sooooo soooooo thankful for all of the amazing loving people I’ve met so far in college.
Grace, so infinitely grateful for you! It’s crazy to think how far we’ve come since we first met and decided pretty much on that day that we were going to blog and room together! :P Wow, I’m so grateful for who you are and how we grow together towards Him! I love you girl! So excited for our friendship and the good times (lots of exploring and fun!), tough times (that we’ll get through together!), and growth to come! :’)
I am so so grateful for Renewal Presbyterian Church and Renewal Presbytarian Fellowship (RCF!). I guess this ties back to my Faith section (doesn’t everything?;)), but it truly has been such a blessing to have brothers and sisters to grow towards Him with and to keep each other accountable and to just show His love by loving each other. It truly feels like I’ve found “my people” and it’s crazy how much I love these people and how much love I can feel from them (we all just love each other so much I feel like hehe). Thank you all so, so much.
Okay, in all honesty, I could go on and on about the amazing people I’ve met and who I am SOO grateful for hehehe (AKA YOU)! I am so so grateful for everyone I’ve met, whether through a club or mutual friend or just walking through campus. If you’re reading this, it’s likely that we’ve had a conversation and maybe many many more :) and I just want you to know that I am SO grateful for you! Thank you for being in my life and for teaching me so much! Excited to continue to meet and grow in friendships! (I want to keep reaching out and meeting people and YEET!) :) THANK YOU!!!
(One thing I also want to work on more next semester is maybe scheduling in a time to always Facetime my family! I definitely talked to my parents throughout the semester, and my family Facetimed a couple of times, but I want to talk and continue to grow closer to my family even as my brother and I are in college. Just noting this here as well. :))
(I also want to quickly note here that I definitely struggle with feelings of loneliness and FOMO but feel as though I’ve come a long way and am super happy about that! I am excited to keep working on this too and ultimately finding fulfillment from Him. :))
What I Want to Study (And Do I Guess:))
I think I still haven’t fully figured out what I want to study exactly in business (at Wharton rather than major in something we choose concentrations!), but I think I am really happy with my current mindset towards this issue (wait no, not issue, but rather opportunity!:)). I think talking to seniors and upperclassman has given me a lot of perspective, as well as hearing my peers’ views and ideas, and I’m really grateful for this. I think I want to do a lot more reflecting on what I want to do with my education and what I’m passionate about and how I can use my education to create positive change. I know this is all very vague, but at the end of the day, I just know that I do not want to blindly be going through school (or simply “sell out,” as the expression goes). I want to find passion and purpose and think big. And even if I decide I want to do a more “typical path,” I want to make sure I am intentional about my steps and am always thinking about what I want to do and why and how I can always be glorifying and serving Him in my work. :)
Academics
I think in terms of the classes I took, I didn’t challenge myself as much as I would have liked to. I think it was good to take first semester a bit easier, but I’m excited for a hopefully more challenging second semester. Someone shared with me the idea that “we’re paying too much to just take easy classes,” and I so agree with her. She advised to our group that we rank our classes by professor quality rather than difficulty when looking on PennCourseReview and I really agree. I think I’ve realized I want a balance of classes that are challenging (but not overloading) and interesting. I want to feel satisfied in the learning that’s happening from the classes I’m taking. And I think at the end of the day, who teachers the course and how they teach it, what the subject is, and most importantly how much effort and interest you put into it really matters.
(Also! I’m super happy about how I stressed less about academics/grades in a healthy way in college! I think it’s because I really prioritized God and ah it’s been so, so good. Definitely still working on this but yayayay for some good healthy improvement. :))
Health
I think I started off college at a real peak in terms of health. I was eating healthy and good portions, working out, sleeping at more reasonable times, and just all around feeling much more comfortable in my skin. I think I’ve figured out a few tricks about how I work in college (like in terms of eating—having a time where I don’t eat after like 9PM like Grace mentioned in one of her posts also really helps me because I think most times after 9PM I’m typically stress eating or eating without actually being super hungry). I think not stress eating and eating good portions is something I definitely want to work on (and am!). Wow, there’s so much I could reflect on and write about here as well. But I guess looking back, I’m super grateful that I began half-marathon training! I’ve come to a point where I do enjoy jogging (I think?:)) and I’m so happy about that! (Admittedly, this week has been a bit tough after being sick last week.) I’m really excited to keep working on improving my health (while also being careful not to find fulfillment from and place my identity in my body image, etc.). Being healthy always makes me feel better for sure! :)
I think in terms of mental health, I definitely had some tougher points this semester, but I’m really happy with how I’ve come more at peace with being on my own and growing on my own. I of course still go to people if I need help or want advice and believe there is a lot of value in this, but I’m happy that I’ve become more self-sufficient and am trying more and more to turn to God and rely on Him.
All in all, I am so grateful to God for these past couple of months and the ways that I’ve grown towards Him. I am so grateful for all of the blessings I have in my life, from the ability to get an education and go to college and Penn to the people in my life to so, so much more. I think (and hope!) I will be doing a lot more reflecting on my own, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts on this past semester (also to look back at later:)). I would love to hear about your semesters and the ways you’ve grown in Faith and as a person and what you’ve been up to! :) Wow I’m excited to reflect and take action and set goals for the upcoming semester and more! :)
Saved by grace, through faith.
With love,
Joyce
Bible verse connection: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30 I know I reflected on this verse in an earlier post, but I think it really has been on my mind for much of the semester, so I wanted to leave it here in my reflection on first semester post. :)
P.S. I took this photo at some point during the semester! Wow, beautiful sunsets (and sunrises—I just am not always up in time for these haha) always stun me with their beauty and I’m just reminded of how beautiful life is (God is so, so good!). They also give me ~reflective~ vibes. :’)
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