Uncharted.

My current music obsession is Sara Bareilles, and specifically her song "Uncharted." It reminds me of my all-time favorite poem The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost. The common concept between the two pieces is the excitement that comes from looking forward to an unknown future.

College is completely new territory. It's scary, it's exciting.... it's college.

But when during this time of metamorphosis do we stop thinking about ourselves and start considering others? Seriously, like, all the organizations I chose to joined only benefit me. Even the one hour a week I volunteer at the middle school was to add a spark of volunteerism on my resume. So, my question of the week has been: how can I truly make a difference?

I firmly believe that our lives are based on one goal, and that is to serve God. You may or may not agree with me on that point, but you probably will follow me on this: the relationships we make with others define who we are as people. Life is not about making money or having an impressive job: it's about the way we treat one another. I consider myself lucky that I have realized this concept fairly early in my life, and that I am able to remind myself to appreciate my family and friends.

With the drastic differences that the college life offers, it's hard not to get wrapped up in ourselves. We sometimes forget that rough times are apart of life and that THOUSANDS of college kids have felt the exact same way we are. This week I took a moment and chuckled to myself. I finally stopped to realize how silly the amount of time I spent thinking about myself and my "problems" every single day. And yes, I know this is a time in our lives when we need to be a bit selfish and concentrate on ourselves. It's a necessity to figure out who we want to be. However, we should not have to lose sight of the balance in our lives and what our purpose is. In the next four years we will be making some MAJOR decisions that are life-directing, not to mention quite expensive. Therefore we must continuously keep asking God, "Is this the plan you have for me?"

In the everlasting words of J.Biebs in his song "Pray":

But I know there's sunshine behind the rain

I know there's good times behind the pain

Hey, can you tell me how I can make a change?

I close my eyes and I can see a brighter day

I close my eyes and pray.

I will think of these words tonight as I read my devotionals before bed. Hopefully I will have the faith I need to give God my "plans" so that He can use me to actually make a real difference instead of being just another student attending the biggest party school in America.

...and on a separate note I want to give a shout-out to my mom who's coming to Athens for parents weekend! May we endure the hills and bask in the glory of the dining halls all weekend long! :)