Recap.

Well its almost summer time. That means that before I become completely engulfed with the worries of finals and such, I will reflect on what has been probably one of the biggest years of my life so far.

Being a freshman in college is one of the most fun, scary, stressful, yet rewarding experiences. I have completely changed since coming and from where I am standing, none of that has been a bad thing. When I came to good ole Carson-Newman, I was a very young and even more naive 17 year old. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life or what freedom really is like. I never thought I would ever move into a dorm because my mom and I are so close. That in itself was huge in my family. Luckily, I was truly blessed with an amazing roommate and findng friends was a breeze! Classes weren't too terribly difficult either which is always good.

College has taught me to embrace all those things that we say "I wanna do that someday..." to. As of the end of my freshman year I have got a tattoo, pierced my ears again, gone to a concert, gone to a club, and done the typical "college" activites. But more than all of this, I learned to live to my standards, and no one else's.

Another thing I have learned is to not always think that people are going to be nice. I made that mistake consistently in high school. This has been the drawback of my year because, believe me, its a hard lesson to learn. First, it was being involved with a guy who had a big secret he wasn't telling me: a baby and girlfriend. Talk about being hurt. I was a little naive girl who had been tricked, and I had no clue how to cope. After this, I lost a few best friends for reasons unknown to me. That really opened my eyes to not trust everybody of the bat. Luckily, I gained some amazing friends out of that turmoil. Lastly, I had to let go to a guy who I really cared about. I had let him walk all over me for about 4 months because I felt I would never find another guy who had remote interest in me. All of these are tough things to go through, but looking back, I am better off now.

Finally, I have realized what I want to do with the rest of my life: teach. Everyone has always told me I would be really good at it, but I never really gave it a second thought. I really think it is my calling to be a Spanish teacher though. I think that is how I am supposed to help people because no matter how big or small it seems, God has a plan for all of us.

In conclusion, I wouldn't change one bit of my freshman year at Carson-Newman. Without the bad, there wouldn't have been the good. I also really think that I have changed for the best all around, and I am really shaping into the person I am meant to be. And...next year is going to be even better :)