"What do you want to be when you grow up, sweetie?"

It's the infamous question. The one we have all been asked wayyyy too many times. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A process of self-discovery

Do I want the glamorous life of getting my hair and makeup done for me as a reporter? Do I want to theoretically change our country, but also be chastised as a politician? And most importantly, is there a career out there that I would absolutely love that I have never heard of?

I Left My Heart in Michigan

You never know how much pride you have for your home until someone challenges that notion. "Detroit is a bankrupt craphole." Excuse me................???? In college you are going to meet amazing people from all backgrounds of life. You will meet people from different Asia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Oregon, Missouri, and 

I have a friend on my floor who is also from Michigan and backs me up on many of my claims. 

Detroit is a beautiful city to be proud of. Remove people from the negativity of their own ignorane by informing them 

Ahhh.. the Academics

I love college academics. I love learning, I love being challenged, and I love using big words.

Start Preparing for College in High School

-Margin note

-Learn HOW to study- focus for long periods of time and what methods of studying work for you?

develop time management skills 

-discover your interests- make a list of the things you DON'T like. you are already half way to declaring a mjoy

-write a resume
-... And be prepared to revise that resume. Two weeks into college and I have already submitted two totally different resumes. I applied for a student government position along with a job teaching dance. Obviously the two are not looking for the same qualifications so I created a dance resume in addition to my traditional resume. This can be helpful in highlighting the experience you have specifically related to the position you are applying for. 

-develop healthy habits. you will definitely develop unhealthy habits in college, i dont care who you are. Let these new ones be your only unhealthy habits, not just addition to your old ones

- don't skip class! it's way more tempting to do so in college. if you are already missing a lot in high school you are bound to skip in college when there is no nagging parent. Remember, you grades in college are directly related to your class attendance. Somehow that gets looked over.
-learn about your relationship with God. when you get to college you want to jump right in making friends in religious groups. 

10 Things I've Learned as a Freshman

1. Go to every student org's information meeting that you can possibly fit into your schedule- This is vital for a successful college experience. Everyone comes into college with the motto, "no regrets." Well this applies as much to partying as it does to your involvement in student organizations. An information meeting will take 20 minutes of your time and will answer many of your questions. You don't want to be the senior saying, "Man, I wish I would have joined club x, y, and z as a freshman." Remember, "no regrets." Just last night I went to an info meeting for a co-ed service-based fraternity that I thought I would potentially enjoy. Turns out I have no interest at all in joining. I found this out by GOING TO THE MEETING! There is no harm in learning more about a group before deciding to disband the idea of joining. Tonight I'm going to a meeting for the organization Women in Business. I am not a business major nor do I really even enjoy business. Yet, I want to learn more before I decide against this club.

2. You don't have as much free time as you are lead to believe. I am in the classroom more in college than I was in high school. WHAT?! You mean college isn't one giant free-for-all where you happen to do homework occassionally? That's right.

3. If you are lost as to what you want to major in, buy yourself some time by taking 18 credit hours like I am. At the University of Iowa, the maximum amount of hour you can take is 18, and here I am at that max. Upon hearing my peers were taking closer to 15 or less I heavily considered dropping a class. The idea of having less free time than everyone else is daunting, or it was to me at least. Don't cave to the pressure. Instead, you will be the one with more free time your senior year when you are not packing your schedule to fulfill all of the requirements of your major. Taking 18 hour is keeping me busy... very busy. But now I have some wiggle room that puts me at ease. Say I drastically change career paths- I now have built up enough credits that I can take new classes and still graduate within the highly desirable 4 years.

Christ in College

Establishing a relationship with Christ is no easy feat. Being a teenager doesn't make this daunting task any easier. The desire for peer acceptance often prevents teens from ousting themselves as a follower of Jesus to their friends because somewhere along the way, being a follower became moderately taboo. The good news is that in college you are celebrated as a Christian believer.

Since arriving on campus I have had multiple eye-opening, magnificent religious experiences. On Sunday I went to church at Veritas, which is a church service held in the Marriott Hotel. The church has no affiliation with the hotel, but it utilizes the space since the money has not yet been raised to build a structure of its own. Attending service in a hotel ballroom was a fine example of how with a strong body of believers, Jesus can be worshiped anywhere. 

Secondly, I attended my first-ever official bible study. I desire to know more about the teachings of the bible as I am not all that familiar with the specific work. I hope that through this bible study I will learn more about the bible, Christianity, and my own faith.

Finally, tonight I attended my first Cru large-group meeting. It was an amazing mix of worship, music, preaching, and fellowship. I love the people I have already met through Cru thus far and look forward to developing more friendships. I also really enjoyed the worship band. It is amazing how music evokes such a strong emotional reaction. I teared up at one point... not sure why, but something in the music overwhelmed my heart with the varied emotions of joy, sadness, and hope. 

I was eagerly looking forward to college worship and my expectations have been met. Being supported in your religious journey by your own peers is one of the most comforting feelings I have yet to experience. I can't wait to discover the path that my faith creates for me over the next 4 years. 

+Peace

Kickoff at Kinnick!