Unlikely Connections

Unlikely Connections

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Do you ever look back on seasons of your life and people you met there thinking "there is no way we would have ever met, gotten to know each other or have ever been friends if it hadn't been for ________" ? 

As an Introvert (not that I am making excuses, it is just a fact of my personality) it is often hard for us to make connections with other people, to get to know them, grow together in a common goal, and have healthy comradery. This is often the case because we don't willingly put ourselves in public or group situations that warrant us opening up, getting to know strangers with similar interests, and grow together with like minded people who all encourage each other. 

Throughout my life I have never stretched myself to be in settings with lots of people, mainly because I don't like large groups or new things....unless there is no getting out of something and it is required. When that is that case I might enter into the situation apprehensive, slightly negative minded, and might not think I will grow or come out better for it. However, sometimes life (and God) has a way of surprising me and showing me that there is more to who I am and more to people when I let myself get to know them and open up about something I am passionate about. 

As many of you know, I majored in Family and Consumer Science, but my minor was in Education (I am starting my first year of teaching in the fall). However, if you are not familiar with how many University Education programs work, you often go through a semester or more of education classes before starting your student teaching (at least that was the case at my University). 

Every university is different when it comes to how they present classes, but when I took all of my main education classes it was during the spring of 2017 and it was called Methods. During this time I took I think 3-4 different education classes taught by two teachers (one a doctor and one a professor) in a classroom at a high school (where we completed field experience) along with about 15 other education students. We met two days a week for 4 hours. That might not seem like much, but after you get to the High school at 7:00 am two days a week and have field experience until about 12:30 and then meet with 15 other people for 4 hours it's hard not to get close with those people. 

Going into Methods I had no clue what to expect, and I most certainly didn't know what to expect in regards to a classroom of strangers who wanted to become teachers. However, throughout those spring months we didn't just learn how to be amazing teachers, but we talked about what we saw in classrooms, our highs, our lows, our challenges, our dreams, taught lessons to our peers, worked on group projects, went to seminars, ate lunch together, you name it! 

I remember our two teachers (the Doctor and Professor, both of whom impacted me greatly themselves, as talked about here) telling us that the people around us (taking methods) were the only people who would know exactly what we were going through, and would go through in the future, therefore making them very important in our life. I can't tell you how that spring changed my perspective of Interpersonal Relationships and being open to getting to know new people. We shared many jokes and funny stories in that class, we celebrated with each other when great things happened, we carpooled places, met up for lunch, it was crazy (in my mind) but amazing! Getting to know the group of people in that classroom two days a week helped me grow as a person! I learned to be confident in myself around people, to start conversations, encourage others, get to know what made each of them unique, and look to them for advice, critique, and encouragement.

The crazy thing is that I think for the first time in my life I was in a situation where my "peers" noticed me.......I know that sounds weird, but so often I have a tendency to fade into the background, wishing to be invisible rather than seen (sometimes it is my doing and sometimes it is others), but in that class I was seen and people openly chose to get to know me as a person and future teacher. The funniest thing is that because the class was focused on something I was passionate about I was actually SUPER talkative and interactive (shocker, I know)!! One day one of the guys even looked at me and asked "are you doing okay today, because you seem quiet, not like the typical Madison." I had to laugh at his statement because most of the people in the class didn't know me as a quiet introvert, and I looked at him with a laugh and said "This is actually the typical Madison, you just don't see it in class often." 

Those group of fellow Education students and future teachers became so special to me during that spring semester, which was my next to last semester of college. The cool thing is that after our semester and class ended, because of the connections we made most of us stayed in contact. Many of us follow each other on Facebook, keeping up to date with each others lives, and even the next semester when we had to go to meetings and seminars for student teaching we would always make a point to grab lunch together (it was like a big family reunion). I never in my life thought I would meet a large group of people I could be comfortable with, get to know on a mature level, converse with, laugh at, eat lunch with, and know that they understood what you were going through because you had all been there and knew what the other experienced. We may not all be Best Friends, but that spring taught me that people have the capacity for being more than you think. We all have the ability to connect with strangers we never thought we had anything in common with and create bonds that could last forever. 

So I challenge you, whether it is willingly putting yourself into a situation that is new and maybe uncomfortable or entering into something that you don't have a choice about, going into it with an open mind because you never know how much you could grow, how much you could learn from others or the relationships and unlikely connections that could be created there. 

- Madison

I GRADUATED!!!!! Now What

I GRADUATED!!!!! Now What

Saturday, December 9, 2017

Is this real or is this a dream? I seriously can't believe this day is here! I feel like the last 3 years of my life have both crept by and flown furiously. (Oh, and if you are wondering why I say 3 years, it is because I went into college with a LOT of hours so I got to graduate early) But seriously, if you have kept up with my other posts about college or happen to have been following along with the adventures of Minnie Muse for 2-3 years you have probably heard a good bit about my college experience. 

It has been both the hardest and most rewarding 3 years but the payoff is worth it because today I am GRADUATING COLLEGE! That is still crazy to say:) 3 years ago I wouldn't have been able to comprehend that yet another chapter of my life would be ending as another awaits beyond the horizon, but yet here I stand, looking out over the valley that is my future!

So....now what? What is next for me? Well.....I majored in Family and Consumer Science (which is what most people know as Home Economics or as some jokingly call the true the "Mrs. Degree"). Apart from my major, I minored in Secondary Education which means (after I complete all my certification tests) I can teach Family and Consumer Science (which is what I did this semester during student teaching). While my degree is broad and there is definitely I LOT I could do with it, and much I am interested, my plan right now is to become a Family and Consumer Science teacher at the High School Level. However, I don't want to jump into getting a teaching job right away.

You see, the thing I have come to realize over this last semester is that everyone (mostly) always seems to be pushing you to dive right into a job or career or to get an actual teaching gig right away.....but you just spent the last 4 (or 3) years of your life in classes, studying and taking tests to get a degree....you need a moment to just be. To just be a person, not a college student......so I need a moment to just be Madison. Now, I am not saying this in a negative way. Many of the people I went through Methods and Student Teaching with have gotten jobs or plan to in the next month, and I am so happy for them, but I knew for me I needed time before I dive into teaching full time. With that being said, this doesn't mean I am going to sit around all day watching Netflix (only on Friday nights) but it does mean I can pursue the things I didn't have time to in college and also work a part time job. I get a moment to breathe and see what the world has to offer for a few months without the looming expanse of GRADUATION. 

Thus, my plan for the spring is to study and take my tests to get certified as a Family and Consumer Science teacher. Sub at various schools in the school district I eventually want to get a job at next fall, and also pick up my old part time job working at a local tea room. So I am not completely without a plan, and honestly no plan would probably stress me out, but there awaits a future of unknowns, possibilities, and infinite opportunities and I cannot wait to see what God has in store!

-Madison

Surviving College as an Introvert

Surviving College as an Introvert

Monday, November 27, 2017

Looking back on college I am constantly surprised that I survived in a sea of people! I knew college would be a stretch for me, but I don't think I knew quite how much of a stretch until I moved in and it all became a reality. The strange thing about my personality and college is that when I started I only knew I was a quiet and shy person, but I hadn't yet discovered what that really meant for me. I didn't yet know the expanse of what it meant to be an Introvert and that the word "Introvert" completely captured every emotion and feeling that went on in my head. 

Through being at college I not only learned so much about myself and what I was capable of, but I learned so much about my personality, specifically what it meant to be an Introvert (INFJ) in a heavily "peopled" place and how to survive in a sea of people. 

As an Introvert (if your are like me you can relate) we are people who thrive being alone, doing things by ourselves, dislike talking to people we don't know, and avoiding social events or large groups of people at all costs! So looking at a college campus from an Introverts perspective EVERYTHING basically goes against what we are feeling, thinking, and saying in our mind. Let's see, there are dinning halls with many students every day, you sit in class surrounded by 30-50 strangers, you are put in groups to work on projects with classmates you don't know, everyone around you is involved in clubs and organizations, the "thing to do" is go out on Thursday nights, football games are a common occurance for college students to be surrounded by fellow students yelling and cheering at the top of their lungs, tailgates are tradition, and on campus events draw crowds of students who are usually just there for the free food and Tshirts.......did I miss anything? College for an introvert is everything that makes us uncomfortable, anxious, stressed, and retreat into ourselves. 

So how does an Introvert survive? I think for me, the thing that helped me survive as an Introvert was discovering myself. I discovered who I was, learned about my personality, and came to realize that the way I was feeling was perfectly normal for 26%-50% of the population (and the 1% of us INFJ's). I learned that my need to be alone was normal and I accepted that as a part of myself. When I accepted who I was through my personality, it made me feel more at ease in a world that could be a bit overwhelming & crazy. Fore example, I remember taking a book with me to breakfast and lunch every day my first semester.....there isn't anything quite as nice as dissapearing into a book while surrounded by people, it gives you your own world to thrive in and I loved that. I even continued this book reading tradition into my other semesters and even started bringing a book with me to class and reading while I was waiting. 

Looking back at college, I am still dumbfounded at the things I did! Knowing so much about my personality now I always wonder if I were to go back, would I be as sucessful as I was? Sometime I think being so naive about my personality for so long helped me push myself beyond my comfort zone? Other times however, I think it was the recognizition of my personality that actually helped my push myself beyond my comfort zone to try new things (like become an RA). 

Whatever the case, I believe the one thing that helped me survive college as an Introvert was accepting who I was. Being in a world of people who were constantly doing things, constantly meeting new people, going places, and being involved with clubs an organizations, I learned to accept that I wasn't like everyone else. Sure, I eventually became an RA and got involved with my staff team as well as an on campus small group and Bible study, but beyond that I was just me. I didn't go and do all the "things" the "typical" college students did, but I was okay with that. 

I had discovered a few years before starting college that I was different than a lot of people my age, mainly because of how I dressed. However, as the years went by I discovered that wasn't my only difference from other college students. Not only were my views of relationships, fashion, modesty, language, actions, and hard work different, but my view's of "fun" were to.....it was confirmed (as I had already known) that I was VERY old fashioned! 

Call me a grandma, crazy cat lady, whatever you want, but for me those terms encompassed who I was and the way I spent my time outside of class (or in class)...LOL:) With that, I had one Best Friend in college who I met my first day (she was a blessing & God send) and she was also an Introvert so we did a lot of stuff together whenever we were not in class. Honestly I don't know what I would have done without her? I think we would both agree that we would have become hermits if we hadn't met, so it's a good thing we did. 

That's the second thing that helped me survive college as an Introvert, having someone that understood me. Not everyone understands Introverts, but fellow Introverts always understand (for the most part) and that helps you feel like you are not alone. Most days I was perfectly fine going back to my room after class to study, or staying in on Thursday nights with a movie and Icecream, or traveling home on the weekend, but when I was feeling like I should probably talk to another human, she was always the person I turned to. We had standing lunch dates during the week and always had a schedule we stuck to so we knew when we would see each other and when we both needed time alone....it was great! 

So here's my GRAND takeaway.........embrace who you are! You know the Dr. Seuss quote "why fit in when you were born to stand out!" that is 100% how you should approach college as an Introvert. If you spend your time trying to fit into the typical "college life" and "college routine" that everyone else falls into when they go to college you will find yourself lacking, feeling disconnected, loosing yourself, and probably having a severe case of anxiety or panic attacks, so don't do it to yourself! As an Introvert we view the world differently, and therefore college for us is a whole new world in itself, but it is a world we have the ability to thrive in and conquer. BE YOU! Embrace your quirks, habit, and nights in, because that is who you are! Find someone who understands you, you don't have to have a TON of friends, all you need is one and you will both be there for each other when you need it! 

While college was a HUGE STRETCH for me as a person and as a Introvert, I wouldn't change the experience because I learned so much about who I am. Because of my experiences in college, I know why I feel the way I do at parties with tons of people I don't know. I understand why staying at home in my room with my cats and a movie or a book is my favorite pastime. I can laugh and make fun of the fact that I only ever went to one football game in college and didn't live your typical college life. However, embracing me, embracing my introverted personality is one thing I am proud of and will forever make me a more confident person (as odd as that sounds).

Were you an Introvert in college?

What were your tips for surviving college as an Introvert?

-Madison 

My 20 Tips for college success

My 20 Tips for college success

Monday, November 20, 2017

1. Be PREPARED but be FLEXIBLE: As much as I would like it to be, life isn't perfect, and as much as I frugaly plan things ahead of time they don't always go according to plan. Being prepared and planning ahead helps me not to be stressed or get anxious, but I also realize that things don't always go according to plan so I have to be flexible when things dont work out or go my way. 
2. Your Planner is your best friend: Visualizing my daily schedule helps me stay on track and writing out my class schedule and events in my planner help me make mental notes and see what all is happening in my life. With everything you are cramming into your mind in college you barely have room to keep a mental schedule. 
3. Don't study past 10:00 pm: I think I am the only one who feels this way, but after 9:00pm my mind usually shuts down and no matter what I do I won't be able to focus, study or remember things. I would always try to get my work or studying done earliar in the day, and with this approach I was able to go to be earlier or could spend my evening relaxing or reading a book. 
4. Manage your time wisely: This goes back to making sure you know what is happening every day and planning extra activities around it. I knew so many people who would immediately agree to hang out with friends or go somewhere forgetting they had to study for a test, or thinking it wouldn't take that long. Studying should be first priority and taking extra time with friends or for outings should be second.....it's already in my nature and personality to say No when I have work to do, but there were times that I had to make a bigger effort. 
5. Take a break: This is VITAL to your sanity! If you are in the midst of a major study session and feeling totally overwhelmed take a break! This can be as simple as getting up to make a cup of coffee or listen to music, but it's even better to get up and go on a walk, jump up and down, do some yoga, or whatever else will help you refocus and relieve stress.  
6. Set an alarm and wake up every morning: I knew to many people who would sleep their life away at college. Okay, so yes, college is tiring and yes there will be some late nights, but if you manage your time you should be getting a decent amount of sleep, and I hate waking up late because I feel like I have lost so much of my day. Therefore, the best way to start your day off right is to actually set an alarm for a decent time (no later than 8:30) and faithfully wake up every day. This starts your morning off productive. 
7. Find what makes you confident and LIVE IT: College is a world full of stress, pressures, and overwhelming lifestyles, so in the midst of the craziness you still need the ability to feel confident. For me, my confidance came through my style, because my style is self expression of my personality. Maybe yours is something different? Whatever it is, find what make you confident and faithfully live it every day! 
8. Don't let yourself become someone else: I saw to many people change in college. I saw people become different people to fit into a certain friend group, I saw girls compromise their values and beliefs to make it into a group or organization, and I saw people easily let go of living their faith because it wasn't considered cool. 
9. Find a friend who supports you: Having someone who is there for you, who understands you and supports you is what will help you succeed and get through the hard times. I don't know what I would have done without my college roommate, because we both helped each other when times got tough. 
10. Get connected: I think this was the hardest part for me in college, but once I got connected with my staff team through being an RA and also joining an amazing small group college definitely felt different. I am definitely not someone who needs a place to belong, but it was great having people around you who understood what you were dealing with and who could support you. The best thing I ever did was start attending Chi Alpha which was a weekly worship night/Bible study that definitely helped me connect with God and other believers more. 
11. Pick a night each week to have fun: As an introvert I loved staying in my room with a pint of icecream and a good movie, but most nights you are busy studying so make sure to set aside one night each week to have fun. When I say have fun I don't mean go crazy (that was everyone else in my house and on campus) but I mean this in saying that when everyone else goes out dancing or goes to the bar on Thursday nights you stay in and have your own party, invite a friend over for a movie, paint your nails, do a craft, etc.....you need to take personal time for yourself! 
12. Have something to look forward to every day: for me this was a project, getting done with a test, making a bulletin board, creating door decks, or even just brewing a cup of coffee. 
13. Set reminders on your phones: YOU WILL THANK ME LATER!!!
14. Leave extra early for class: It might seem ridiculous, but trust me, if you leave early for class and then get there only to realize you forgot your calculator for the chemistry test you will still have plenty of time to run back to your room and won't be nearly as stressed as you would if you had left five minutes before class:) TRUST ME! 
15. Always bring a book with you: This is what I call my "Rory Gilmore moment" because she always brought a book with her everywhere and I loved that! In college I would always carry a book with me and read a few chapters as I was waiting for class to start. 
16. Set a weekly schedule: When I say set a schedule I mean know when your classes are and plan your life around them accordingly. My college bestie and I had a set schedule every week of always meeting on certain days for lunch, going to yoga on Tuesday nights, and attending Bible study on Thursdays.
17. Find your stress relief....yoga, running, reading, drinking tea, etc. 
18. Your room is your home, so make it homy! I had banners, an entire gallery wall, Christmas lights, rugs, flowers, you name it in my room and people always commented on how cute and cozy it was! That was my whole purpose in decorating it how I did, was to make it cheery and inviting since I spent so much time there:) 
19. Never say no to opportunities & believe in yourself! .....because you never know if the person you meet ends up being your best friend, or the job you apply for ends up being the best thing that happened to you or that you are able to accomplish more than you ever thought you would! 
20. Coffee is your best friend (at least for me and 95% of all other college students)! 

- Madison 

The Decision That Changed My College Experience Forever

The Decision That Changed My College Experience Forever

Monday, November 13, 2017

Shirt: c/o Four:Eight Shop

Skirt: The Skirtery 

Everyone goes into college with ideas of what it will be like. Sometimes those ideas are lofty and far reaching into great achievements, new friend groups, on campus organizations, and a boat load of fun. However, I was never one of those typical college bound girls....my ideas of what college would be like consisted of classes, studies, projects, surviving without my family, traveling home on the weekend, the uncertainty of new friends, and no real desire to get connected with on campus happenings or Thursday night shenanigans. Nevertheless, college proved to be so much more than I had imagined. Not so much in the way of it being to much to handle, but rather that God had another plan of what he wanted me to accomplish in an unfamiliar place and boy is he the craziest!

If you have been around here for awhile you probably can recall me mentioning that I was an RA (Resident Advisor) while at college. I got the job half way into my second semester and kept it up until my last semester of college (this fall) when I moved home for my student teaching. However, while that might not seem like that big of a deal to you, it was a HUGE deal to me because I never could have foreseen getting a job on campus, and much less being in charge of students who lived on campus.....the whole timeline and occurrence was truly ordained and destines by God to grow me in more ways than I could have known and put me in the midst of the biggest opportunity for witness I had ever experienced!

I still remember the day I received the email which said "We are pleased to offer you a Resident Advisor position beginning immediately!" And while getting the job wasn't all that much of a shock it was the process that was CRAZY! You see I randomly decided that I should apply for an RA position on campus (I think I just took a leap of faith and didn't even know what I was doing) which meant submitting an application and going through two rounds of interviews which included a panel interview with 3 people and a group interview for half a day (that in itself was not a typical Madison thing to do...talking to people I didn't know.....WHAT!). If that didn't push me out of my element enough, the fact that I immediately got one of the vacant mid semester openings a week later did.....oh, and did I mention that my RA placement was in a sorority house (insert wide eyed and shocked face emoji here)!

Here is the background on all of this:

1) I was (and still am) the person who didn't understand the need for sororities. I thought they were a waste of money, changed and conformed girls, sometimes put them in bad situations, and thought the idea of hand signs and chants was bit ridiculous. 

2) The RA positions I was interviewing for were for the next spring, but I was offered a position to start IMMEDIATELY which meant skipping all the training that new RA's typically go through to prepare them for the job and just being thrown into the midst of it! 

Now that you know a few facts, you can see how getting the job and then finding out where my job would be were all HUGE surprises and pure humor on God's part. So after completing my paperwork I started the job, which in itself had a lot of responsibilities, but responsibilities that nonetheless helped me grow:

RA Job Responsibilities:

1) Hold daily office hours.

2) Enforce the university rules and policies and make sure all resident follow them. If they fail to do so you are required to document and/or fine them based on the policies broken. 

3) Attend staff meeting ever week and all staff meetings once a month. 

4) Plan events with your staff team for all of the residents in your area. 

5) Complete rounds on your assigned night(s) with another RA. Rounds consist of walking through ever house in your area (our area had 8 houses....4 of them were sorority houses), both upstairs and downstairs. Rounds during your assigned shift were at 9:00pm and 12:00am. 

6) Respond to any calls on the duty phone while you were on call (this means 2:00 am phone calls about broken toilets).

7) While on call you must report any major policy violations (drugs or alcohol) or unsafe situations to the University Police, wait for them to arrive on scene, and stay close by to write a report. 

8) Handle roommate, suite mate, or resident complaints and disagreements. 

9) Complete safety and maintenance checks every month within your house. 

10) Hold floor meetings two times a semester for residents to go over policies and checkout procedures. 
11) Make fun and creative door decks with your residents name every month
12) Design and make a fun and creative bulletin board for your house every month. 
#11 & #12 were my personal favorite parts of being an RA :) 

Maybe you are still curious about how this decision changed my college experience forever? Here's the thing, getting the job as an RA put me in a place where I was daily outside of my comfort zone. I was no longer just the random college girl who lived two doors down, I was the RA of the house and knew all 25 girls who lived under my roof. I had to daily challenge myself to say hi to my resident, talk to my co-workers, and acknowledge the many faces I now knew.

Not only that, but I joined a staff team, surrounded by over 9 people that I didn't know, and for this introvert that was something I never had worked through before. I had to learn to work with new people, get to know them, plan events with them, back them up when they were on call, ask for help when need be, express my opinions, and at the same time be completely different than everyone else around me. I don't think I ever expected to know that many people at college, but after becoming an RA I not only knew people on my staff team, but I got to know other RA's who worked across campus.

I no longer walked to class seeing faces I didn't recognize or know, because I now actually knew people.....by name (I think my mom is still shocked by this). I knew my fellow staff members, my residents, and even my team members residents. I actually hung out with people other than my ONE friend at college because as an RA we would have "staff bonding" days, dinners, all staff events with all the RA's on campus, and random grocery store runs.

With all of that being said, I still today believe that this all happened for ONE reason! God ordained this to do something in me that I never would have allowed him to do otherwise. He ordained it to STRETCH my introvert self beyond my limits, instill the confidence in myself that I really could do hard things, gave me the courage and strength to talk to new people, the wisdom to deal with difficult and hard circumstances, and the boldness to share my faith. I think if anything he allowed me to become an RA to give be a platform to be a positive influence. He took me (Madison), this quiet and old fashioned, high value, strong moral girl and placed her in a Sorority house where I daily had contact with girls who lived much differently than me. He took me (Madison), this quiet and sometimes ridiculously nervous girl and placed me on a staff team of which there was only one person who shared my same faith (until another girl joined us two semesters in) and thus gave me the BIGGEST stage for witness......whether that witness was in sharing my faith with fellow staff members and my boss, praying with a resident, sharing my relationship views with the girls in my house, or even just living a different life in the choices I made and expressing my views on a few occasions. Through being an RA I learned BOLDNESS and I learned how different I was from the world and nearly every other college student on campus, but I also learned that as an Introvert I could still thrive in an environment filled with people.

If my decision to become an RA taught me anything, it taught me about the REAL MADISON. It showed me the courage, strength, and boldness I possessed that I didn't even know I had. It showed me that God can do the unimaginable in your life and grow you exponentially more than you could have ever foreseen. It showed me that by being yourself, people respect that as being a unique part of who you are and that being yourself is the best thing you can ever offer the world (or college for that matter)!

Sure, I was exposed to more "college life" than I had originally expected by becoming an RA (I will forever be able to bust people for smoking marijuana....yes, you read that right), but I also got to do a lot of cool stuff and use my creative skills as part of my job. And sure, there were times that I didn't make the most of the opportunities that I had, but in the midst of it all I know that the opportunities I did take were defining moments in my life that forever changed me and changed my college experience. I could seriously write an entire book on this topic (as you can tell from this long post) but I will end it here, because through it all God taught me to see the open doors of opportunity around me, muster the courage to walk through them, and trust that he would keep them open for more of his crazy plans.

I always believed God has had CRAZY plans for my life and college was just many of those plans rolled up into one that reminded me that when I think I have control over the future, it is never really me, but God who succeeds!

- Madison

Dear Younger Me,

Dear Younger Me,

Monday, November 6, 2017

Dear Younger Me,
            You have NO CLUE the crazy path and journey life is about to take you on, so hold tight and get ready for the unimaginable, the unexpected and the sheer hilarity of God's plan for your life! So you just graduated high school, closing one chapter of your life and turning the page to another with untold stories waiting to be explored. So much has already happened in your life and yet so much hasn't happened.....you have no absolutely no clue what the future ahead hold, but just know without God the future is going to be impossible.
             You have dealt with you fare share of trials and test of faith, but nothing thus far can measure up to the journey and utter tests of faith that God will give you in the next four years. College is a whole other world, so remember when you had your own views of what it would be like (based on books and movies, etc.) its about 85% accurate. Sure, you already have the college work load conquered for the most part since you have been taking college classes for the last two years, but juggling a full college load, being away from your family, having no connections and being in a new place is probably something you haven't quite wrapped your head around yet, but just remember "paperclip promises" and trust that God will be with you every step of the way, and you will learn to rely upon him more than you ever have thus far.
              Throughout the next few years you will learn what it means to take sheer leaps of faith....blindly leaping into the unknown, the only thing that keeping you from completely freaking out is the knowledge that God will not let you fall, and with that you will learn that when you take leaps of faith you really can fly! You will learn that nothing happens by accident, because God really does place people in your path for a reason, whether it is to share your faith with them, be a positive influence, or simply be the friend they need (and they become the friend you need also). No neighbor, roommate, coworker, random college students, Bible study member, or professor comes into your life by accident.....they were all ordained centuries ago by God to be there and you were placed on this path in life for such a time as this!
               Attending a college void of any common acquaintances or friends is a leap of faith in itself, but you know that, so just know that God took that into consideration and placed a new bossum friend two doors down the hall from you and both of you will help the other survive college:) However, even with a dear friend to rely upon, at times you will feel alone. Maybe even the most alone you have ever felt in your life, but just know that when you feel alone God shows up and is fully present in your life.....so much so that even though you are alone (and might go an entire week without any real conversations with people) you will always have God to talk to and he will fill you with strength, comfort, and restoration to rely and grow in him for that season.
               Remember when you think that you will never really get to know that many people at college, well think again! Because God will not only place a dear close friend in your life but you will spontaneously apply for a job on campus to be a Resident Advisor, get the job immediately, and join a staff team of strangers who in a few short months turn out to be amazing people you never expected or would have met if you hadn't taken a risk. In that group of coworkers you will meet your small group leader, be invited to a Bible study that helps you grow in God, share your faith, impart different views of life to people from a variety of backgrounds, be a positive influence in the lives of others, talk about God with your boss, give someone a Bible, pray with a resident, be the first to welcome a new member of your staff team with a smiling face, shock people by doing things they didn't expect, and all the while stay true to who you are
               Throughout this journey called "college" you will develop and find yourself....you will find the "true Madison" the girl who can easily laugh and make fun of herself because she knows in here small corner of the world there are not many (if any) girls like her and she is okay with that! You will discover that your differences and "oddities" make you who you are and you will accept that the Madison you see in the mirror every day is exactly the person she was meant to be...with all of her differences, quirks, odd laughs, old soul, party of one, and so much more!
                In some cases, while college might seem every bit as it should, or every bit not what you imagined, in some instances it could let you down. Sure, you aren't going to college to find a new group of friends or get super involved on campus, and while you did meet a number of people you never would have imagined you would meet, you still won't meet "the one" (or at least so far as I know none of the gentlemen you ran across in college have arisen as part of God's plan for your future). Okay, okay, so I know you are not going to college because you are desperate for a boyfriend or husband, but I know you :) and I know that deep within your mind you have thought that "maybe, just maybe I might meet someone at college?" But just know that probably won't happen. Sure, you will come across your fare share of handsome faces, dapper styles, and inspirational + sold out Jesus followers, but none of them will be anything more than that. You will learn that your future (by this I mean a guy) is really in God's hands and you will learn to let go of doubt and thoughts of missed opportunities knowing that the right opportunity hasn't yet presented itself.....but if anything you have simply added more things to your LONG list and know that the future wives of those amazing guys are very lucky:)
                With all this being said, I will close by saying that you will become a dedicated and studious student who tries her best in every class, and because of that your professors will take notice. You will be praised for your dedication, even though you never did it to gain praise or attention. Your professors will see your bright future and because of their strong belief in you, you will be even more determined to do great things.
               The future that awaits you is crazy! If you were to watch the movie trailer to the next few years I'm sure you would be left speechless, laughing, and not believing that you (Madison) would be able to do half the things that you will do.......and that's just it! Your future will be a testament to God's faithfulness and plan for your life and your faith in him will be what sustains you, what carries you through hard time, what comforts you when you feel alone, what allows you to persevere through a test, what gives you the courage to be BOLD and share your faith, to be different than everyone around you, and to daily take leaps of faith into unknown waters knowing God will give you the ability to walk on the waters of a world you never saw yourself succeeding and growing so much in!
             Younger me, you future awaits and with it a sea of endless possibilities and opportunities that will leave you speechless, chuckling, and smiling up at God!!!

xoxoxo
Sincerely,
Older Me
Madison M.