lessons

After the end of my freshman year at the University of Maryland, I intended to write a blogpost of what I learned from my freshman year and my experience as a commuter. I never got around to it and now I'm in the middle of my junior year/beginning of senior year. I have seen several blog posts that share the life of a commuting students that were relatable and hilarious. So rather than just sharing tidbits from my commuting life, I want to share my experience and the lesson that I learned since I began college. I would say that going to college taught me a lot more about life (it's not just about studying - surprise). I hope you can relate to them!

Here we go:

1. Buy rain boots! I don't know why but I waited until the summer before my sophomore year to buy rain boots. I personally hate wet sock. Just the thought of cold, wet socks + shoes make me feel uncomfortable. And it just ruins your whole day! It tends to rain a lot in Maryland (it rains whether it's spring, summer, fall, or winter) and because there are so many hills and crevices on campus, your sneakers are bound to get wet! The Hornbake Plaza gets flooded whenever it rains. So if you're ever walking through it, your shoes are bound to get wet.
2. It doesn't matter what other people are doing. Unlike high school, when everyone is on the same level and on the same track, in college, everyone is doing something different. Being pre-med, I often felt overwhelmed because it always felt like I was behind. I wasn't studying hard enough, volunteering enough, researching enough, doing enough extracurricular activities, etc. And then I came to this conclusion - it doesn't matter what other people are doing. But it does matter how I am living my life. Am I following God? Am I becoming more like Him? Am I doing what I need to do?
3. It doesn't matter what you do. It matters who you are. This past semester, I was just so busy day after day, week after week. Then I stopped for a moment. And I realized I had not asked anyone - "how are you doing?" in quite a long time. Not like a casual "how are you doing?" "I'm fine" but like the "how are you really doing" question. As I thought about how Jesus did his ministry, it hit me pretty hard. Jesus always stopped for the one. No matter how busy he was, he intentionally went on about his day to stop for one person. How crazy is that? He went out of his way to meet the Samaritan woman. In the parable Jesus illustrated, the shepherd went after the one lost sheep when there were ninety-nine other sheep around. In this moment, I realized that I was doing so many things, but I was not satisfied. I was serving God in so many ways and doing so many things, but I was left feeling empty. I wasn't becoming more like Jesus. Rather, I was consumed by doing one thing after the another and I was becoming ungrateful. It's quite different to know what someone does and to know who he or she is. For example, people say "Grace, I really like your pictures!" but it's quite different if someone tells me - "Grace, you are insert a characteristic here." The first person knows what I do, but the latter person knows who I am. I believe that God created people to know and to be known so I believe there's something special about knowing someone really well. I suppose it all ties into what God has been teaching me about spending time with Him and coming to know who He really is. I suppose this is why many will come to Him and say "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive our demons and in your name perform many miracles?" (Matthew 7:22). Although they will do things, they will not know God or really, His heart. I pray that we will really come to know who God is - because he is so kind, loving, powerful, and SO good. (Sorry this point ran a little long. I have a draft blog post called "Stopping For One" that I intended to write but it became this instead, haha.)
4. Did you know you can buy hot water at the coffee bar or at any cafes around campus for 27 cents (including tax)? Why buy tea when you can just buy hot water? I usually carry around a tea bag just in case I feel like drinking something hot! Also tapingo's a new app that I like to use to buy coffee (thanks Hannah for introducing it to me). You tap + go (clever). You order your coffee online and just pick it up! Also I should have started using Terrapin Express earlier (because you don't have to pay tax at certain stores like Chick-fil-A). It's super easy to refill your Terrapin Express online! I also heard that there's a free printing on the 2nd or 3rd floor of the chemistry building if you bring your own paper, but I never actually found it.
5. As a commuter, your life will look different. And it's okay. Freshman year was really tough for me. (I think I just have a more difficult time than others in adjusting to new things. But then after I adjust, I end up loving it.) Although I knew a lot of people from high school that went to UMCP, it was still different. I didn't get to have a crazy roommate or experience any of the "college" things such as moving in, making new friends in the same dorm, and do crazy college things. But now that I look back, I am so thankful for all that God taught me through it. Looking back, it's pretty funny, but at the moment it really wasn't. My mom would say one thing and I would burst into tears. But through it, God was sorting out things in me. In the beginning, I struggled to find my place in such a big campus, but God taught me a lot. I didn't realize that I wanted to be independent from my parents, but by living at home, I learned to appreciate my parents in greater ways and to really develop a strong relationship with my sister.
6. It's okay to not have everything together (here's a secret: no one really has it all together). You're officially an adult (or should be soon) and I felt a pressure to have things together. To know what I was going to pursue, to know when I was going to do what, to know how to cook, to know how to fill in the blank here. But I realized it's only the beginning. Rather than looking at this time as the end of the teenage years, I realized that it's more hopeful to look at it as the beginning of my twenties. There's plenty of room to grow in the years to come. Be humble and be constantly willing to learn and become better at whatever you do.
7. "You can do anything but not everything." Growing up, my mom would say that I have a lot of 욕심 (yok-shim), which means greed (although it may be used in a different context than the word greed is used in English). I do have a lot of things I want to learn and do, but yes, you cannot do everything. In order to become good at something, you have to forego trying to be good at everything.
8. It's okay to say "no." I have a hard time saying no, so this was a bit difficult for me to learn but you cannot say yes to everything. Or else at a certain point, you'll feel like you're being pulled into million pieces.
9. Know your worth. This one is harder said than done, but know who God is and know who God says you are. It will affect the decisions that you make and what you accept from people. As the famous quote says "We accept the kind of love we think we deserve."
10. There's a season for everything. Sometimes you'll do things only for a season and some people will only be there for a season. Other times, you'll do things for a life time and some people will stick around for a lifetime. As I was sitting in on my sister's violin lesson today, I realized how important playing the violin was during high school. I really enjoyed it. Also I really enjoyed playing piano for the praise team in high school. Although I loved playing the piano and violin, I don't get to as much as I did in high school. And it's okay (and as #7 says, you can't do everything).
11. Invest in people (not on like 50 people, but on a few). Get to really know them. You should spend time with people wiser than you and learn from them. You should spend time with people you're running with. But I also believe you should be spending time mentoring someone younger than you. I see now more than ever how important it is for an older person to reach out to mentor someone younger than them (whether it's 1 person or more). It really does make a difference.
12. Take care of your health! This means physically as well as mentally! Mental health is as important as physical health. I never experienced so much stress until I went to college. Although I can never make it to the gym regularly, I learned that it's important to try to sleep 7-8 hours every night and eat regularly. There's no "lunch time" so sometimes I would skip lunch during my freshman year when I was too busy, but oh boy, that was not a good idea. I had a lot of acid in my stomach and got really sick. So now I make sure I eat lunch every day!
13. You are not defined by your grades.
14. Spend a little more and buy clothes you really really like. I would often buy things "because it was on sale" but I wouldn't really like it. Guess what happened to those things. Nothing. They sit in my closet because I never wear them. So even though I bought them "on sale," I just wasted money. Now I don't buy something unless I really like it. :)
15. You don't have to be friends with everyone. Be kind to everyone you meet, but you don't have to tell everyone everything. Be wise in who you surround yourself with because you're going to become more like them.
16. God is Sovereign. As the Fall 2015 semester began, I heard these word repeat over and over in my head for a few days - "everything has changed" in tune with Taylor Swift's song. I believe it was from God. Although nothing changed outwardly, there was a change in my heart. I had been working so hard - to meet all the requirements to apply to medical school that in the midst of all the hard work, I forgot it was God who called me to be a doctor. This is not for my own glory. Rather, it's for His. I became very anxious freshman and sophomore year, but as the semester began "everything changed." Even though Mamm Phys was hard and I didn't get an A, I was okay. Because it was God who called me to be here. And it's God who will take me to the medical school he wants me to go to. I have newfound confidence that God will guide my steps every step of the way as long as I trust Him. It's no longer "I want to be a doctor" or "I might be a doctor." But in God's time, I will be a doctor. Honestly, it's a crazy journey and as I said in #3, it doesn't matter what you do but who you are. 
17. Value what you have in God. What you have in God is far greater than anything this world can offer! It's true!
18. Don't buy books from the school book store. Unless you have to (like a lab book). Oh, and there are always old exams esp. for chemistry classes! College changed the way I studied...

These are all that I could think of at this moment. Phew, I finally wrote it! I know I've been blogging more than usual. I finally have time to sit and write out the ideas that have been on my mind for a few months now. Also I changed my blog layout. :)