As summer comes to a close I am once again reminded of the
emotions that come along with the words "back to school." Depending on what going back to school means
to you, it can be either terrifying or so exciting. Now for me, I am excited because going back
to school means moving back to the Loveliest Village on Plains! (But that's
beside the point) The truth is both
these and others are understandable reactions, and I think if we are honest
with ourselves these reactions stem for the answer to the question "Who am
I?"
We live in a society
of labels, in high school it may be things like Jake the baseball player, or
Allie the girl on SGA or Austin the guy who only takes AP classes. In college it might be: Caroline the AXO or
Emily the student recruiter or Ryan the Plainsman. And even as adults the labels continue. Now these labels are not necessarily bad things, but we can't let a label define who we are. I believe that if we look we can learn that we
are more than a label.
Before I said that I
was excited about going back to Auburn, now this is not because I had the
perfect freshman year, with the perfect friends and just can’t wait to get back
to my perfect college life. Actually it
is far from that, let me explain a little...I like many of my
friends went to Auburn last fall to start my freshmen year; I was so excited. I had
dreamed of going to Auburn for years and it was finally happening, but I
was also so nervous. I, like most girls from the Over the Mountain area moved
in early to go through rush. Although I
was forced to quickly learn that sorority was not for me, that didn't come
easy. Some of my best friends were
already in sororities so I took all that happened personally. I went through some time where I felt
unwanted, even not good enough. For me
rush started a time where I had no idea how to answer the question “Who am I?”
I am by no means saying rush is not a good thing, some of my
very best friends love it, but I am saying that rush is a crazy, stressful,
emotional time that feels like the only thing that matters. But here's the truth, you are loved by the
most amazing God, and he calls you his. I
went through rush seeking the approval of certain girls and truthfully guys. I
thought that getting some letters at the end of the week would somehow make me
a better person. Sometimes I think it is
funny how God teaches us things. Going into to rush, well first I told myself I
didn't care what others thought of me, but the truth is that was all I cared
about. It took me a while to learn this,
but God is so faithful and he does not give us more than we can handle.
So earlier I stated
that I believe that the answer to our identity crisis can be found in a simple
question "Who am I?" But I
think that the truth is really found in changing that question a little. The
question we should be asking is "Whose am I?" God calls us his. Let
that sink in for a second...
The God of the universe calls YOU his. So with that being said,
does it matter what others think of you, does it matter if you make the team,
if you fit into that popular crowd, if you get invited to that party? NO.
Now I'm not saying that that will take all the hurt away,
but what I am saying is that you no longer have to worry about "Who you
are."
When we change our mindset to this we can eliminate the
labels that we put on ourselves and others.
"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and
daughters, says the Lord Almighty."
2 Corinthians 6:18
Anna, this is AWESOME
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