college.

I love this time of year in Milledgeville. School is winding down, the weather is perfect, and afternoon walks are frequent. I can walk down the street at any given time and I'm guaranteed to find my friends sitting on their front porch, talking or throwing a frisbee in the front yard. That has truly been the essence of my college experience- being surrounded by friends, disregarding schoolwork, and living walking distance to everything important.

It's hard to accept that my days left in Milledgeville are numbered, and that soon I'll be packing up my room and my favorite memories to go home and then on to Colorado. It's strange to think I've already been in college for four years and here in Milledgeville for three- and stranger to think that when I leave this time, I won't be coming back. It is bittersweet leaving this place. Milledgeville has become my home. I did not love it here at first, but I sure am glad that hearts change and how mine has grown to love this tiny town and the people here.

It is hard for me to put into words how deeply I love Milledgeville. How deeply I've loved my college experience. How deeply I love my community. How deeply I love what life looks like right now. But I think the best kinds of feelings are those that are hardest to put into words.

Someone asked me today how I felt about leaving this place so soon. And I quickly responded "I need more time." I need more time. With these people, in this place. Just a little more time. More time for conversations at Blackbird Coffee, more time for friendships to be formed, more time for pranks to be played. More time for nights spent sitting on the front porch listening to someone strum the guitar. More time for game nights where competition turns hostile and then back to fun. More time for movie nights on the lawn and belly laughs and Bible studies. More time living on the same block as all of my friends. More time to hang out when I should be in class.

More time to soak it all in. I just need more time. 

But if we are honest, this isn't the truth. I don't need more time because I've had plenty of time. An abundance of time. Plenty of time with these people, in this place. Enough time to realize what's important in life and what isn't. Enough time to grow and change.

Plenty and enough time to feel full and satisfied and ready. 

I wouldn't trade these years for anything- they say you "find yourself" in college- and I believe that to be true. But I think more importantly, I've found what I want my life to look like forever- a life full of good friends, a life with community, a life that is abundant. A life where good outweighs the bad. A life that makes me laugh, that is full of joy, adventure and love.

I know that life will look different next year and the transition won't be easy. But I am thankful that these years have shown me how life is supposed to be lived, and that I can leave this place with the best memories anyone could ask for.

I am thankful that I love this place so much that saying goodbye is so hard.
I am thankful that this town will always have a chunk of my heart.

I am thankful that I will never be the same after being here.

College went by in a blink.
What I would give to do it all again.

The Good Life

Six weeks of college left until graduation. What?! Oh, how good this year has been. I've changed and grown this year in ways I never would have expected. It has been a good year. And for that, I am thankful.

But as the end of senior year approaches, I feel like life has been thrown into full throttle. This chapter of my life is winding down and there's no turning back. The days left of college are numbered and I am struggling to focus on the present, as the future lies near on the horizon.

I recently watched a talk given by author Annie Downs. She is wise and I admire her raw honestly and genuine ability to relate to her audience. She talked about waiting for the future so much that we fail to realize the gift of the present. That night her words struck me in an uncomfortable way. I teared up as I heard her say this statement, convicted and sad that I haven't been living life like this recently- "We need to live in a chronic state of "THIS is the good life." This is the good life. What if this is the best God has for you today? Today, it is the best he has for you." She continued by saying "Live today, live tomorrow, live next week like 'THIS is the good life'"

She has a point. And a good one, at that. The good life is the present. The good life is right now. 

The good life is today.

The good life is playing "Just Dance" in a crowded room full of friends. It's long walks down familiar sidewalks, sitting on the front porch until the sun goes down. The good life is belly laughs and conversations around a table at Chick-fil-a. It is hammocks on the back porch, laughing with roommates instead of studying. The good life is weekends in the mountains, slow mornings, driving with the windows down. The good life is community, celebrating with friends, and new adventures. The good life is spending too many hours on the couch watching movies, rainy days with no agenda, and abundant sunshine.

The good life is a glimpse of eternal life. The good life is all around me.

Exciting things are approaching- graduation, summer in Atlanta, and moving Colorado in August (pinch me!). But those times will come sooner than expected, and I know I will quickly ache for the things that I'll leave behind with college. The future hold more good things that I can ever imagine. But when you look ahead, you miss out on what is happening right in front of you. And what a tragedy it would be to look back and realize that I missed out on a good life- the good life- because I was too busy looking forward.

Here's to today, and a good life. 

The good life. 

 "So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him." -Romans 12:1