Reflections Of A College Student

1SEP10

"When everything comes together the grass is greener, the sky a brighter blue, the stars shine brighter, the night air is freeing not stifling, and the muscles that help one smile begin to hurt because they're getting use. These are the moments that we should burn into our memory, the ones we should hold onto for a lifetime so that when things bite desert dust we can remember and realize that things will look up again in time." ~ALN

Things have really been looking up lately and I could not be more grateful. LU has become home, the people have become amazing confidants, dear friends, and ultimately— family. the grass truly seems greener, the sky brighter, my mind and my vision clearer than in a long time. My smile is brighter, wider, and more genuine. My laughter is clearer, less strained, and again— more genuine. it is easier to chuckle, to giggle, to all out laugh at things that I find funny, humorous, and even hilarious. I am more free now to be myself- as random or predictable as I want to be- than I ever have been, and it is becoming easier to be that person with every passing day that I am here— home at LU. The people, the place... all of it is so amazing. I don't know what I'd be doing if I wasn't here— where I would be. How I would be for that matter. I am so grateful to be here. I feel as if my days here are the start of something new, something big, something real, something right, something amazing. I am learning new things everyday. I am getting to know myself, other people, new cultures, new accents, new ways of thinking, of paying attention. I am learning to appreciate the rain that falls— both the physical and mental forms of it. Even the downpours are becoming welcome... reminding me that I am only human and that my feelings are valid and okay. I am learning to not care what people say, see, or think about me so long as I know I am in the positive realm of things— so long as I believe my behavior is correct and true to what I believe in. I am once again learning to appreciate people's minds, their thoughts, and their feelings without being critical or judgmental. I am learning to smile even on the worst of days, and I am learning my emotions are my own. LU and the people it inhabits are teaching me so much. The next years of my life that are spent here will no doubt be full of love, laughter, learning, and growth.