Wow.
Wow. Wow. Wow. It's been over a year since I've even logged onto my blog. I feel as if I've abandoned my blog but it was on my heart heavy to blog tonight. I'm truly missing my love and passion for writing but I guess we all change...
As of now, I'm in the middle of my junior year of college (wow again, I'm gettin a little old!). I couldn't be more anxious, happy, sad, nostalgic, and every other emotion one can think of! I'm looking to finish on time and from there, who knows!
But I didn't come here to talk about school or my plans after I graduate from college. My heart was heavy tonight. I'm not entirely sure why, but I just felt the need and the urge to write.
I feel that since my last blog post, I've grown and learned an insane amount about, well, everything. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm still learning and will never have a desire to stop learning or gaining wisdom, but some of the things I've learned have changed my perspective on what seemed to be a permanent ideology. I just wanted to share some of my "life lessons" on here:
1. Love unconditionally.
I put this one at the top because I think it's the most important; I'm also learning this and applying to someone or a situation every single day. We must never stop loving people and showing them the love of Christ. If we don't do anything for someone, just love them. Trust me.
2. Do not find your confidence or self-worth in temporary things.
I feel that this is something that many teenagers and young adults struggle with. I know so many people that find validation or confidence in how many followers they have or how many likes they get on a picture, but that's just entirely too unrealistic. Our value and worth should come from our identity in Christ, not in temporary, worldly things. So put down the social media and do something for yourself. You'll thank yourself in 10 years.
3. Not everyone is meant to stay in our lives forever--and that's okay.
Ironically enough, I struggled with this my sophomore year of college; many people came and left and seriously made me question how my relationships. But I learned that people come into your life for one of two reasons: they are either a blessing or a lesson. Neither of these require that the person stays in your life forever, and that is okay! In my sophomore year, I lost a significant other and a best friend. But I learned that some people in our lives are just passerby's and we have to learn to cope with it, no matter how difficult it is when they leave.
4. Forgive without holding grudges and never expect an apology.
This one pretty much speaks for itself, but I will elaborate a bit here. With loving others, comes forgiving others. But forgiving does NOT condone a person's actions, but rather it frees you from their actions having power over you. Holding grudges is just middle school--don't do it. Finally, with an apology, never expect one back. Trust me, life is a lot easier when you learn to accept an apology that you never got.
5. If you're a student and your best friend breaks up with her boyfriend or your boyfriend wants to have a spontaneous movie night, but you have a big test the next day, go be with your friend or boyfriend.
This seems a bit specific, but I have a good explanation for this one! It's actually rather simple: people matter. In 15 years, you won't remember that history test you failed, but rather your memories with the people that meant the most to you. Don't miss an opportunity to make memories because your professor wants to give an impossibly hard test. Do your best in school, but not at the expense of your relationships. Lots of money doesn't keep you warm at night, your friends and loved ones do.
6. Sometimes we outgrow people, and that's okay.
If I've had to learn any truly difficult lesson in life, it's that we will consistently outgrow people and friends, but that doesn't always have to be a bad thing. Sometimes, people even outgrow our company, but that doesn't mean that something is wrong with us either. People grow and develop at all different rates and sometimes people are only meant to be temporary pieces in this huge puzzle we call life. This doesn't mean that we won't stumble upon this person again and they may rejoin you on your journey, but hey, you know what they say: if you love something, set it free; If it comes back, it was always yours, if it doesn't, it was never yours to begin with.
7. Forget the stuff.
A simple, yet connotatively difficult concept.
LIFE IS NOT ABOUT MATERIAL THINGS.
Let me say that one more time for the people in the back...
LIFE IS NOT ABOUT MATERIAL THINGS.
This is an overstated, yet misunderstood concept. People will swear on everything that they own that they don't care about material things, but these are the same people you'll find on Black Thursday (gotta love cultural relativism!) fighting with another lady over 10% some overpriced item that they do not need. There have been studies that show that people who choose to spend their money on experiences such as traveling are happier than those that spend it on collecting material items. Guys, trust me. Take it from a girl whom everyone has tried to buy with everything under the sun, STUFF DOES NOT MAKE YOU HAPPY--people and relationships do. So, go take a day trip to see a new city with your best friends. Have a coffee with your friend and discuss the fullness and the love of the almighty God. Just, please, don't seek happiness in material objects. You'll never find it.
8. You can never say "Thank you," "I appreciate you," or "I love you" enough to your parents.
I don't really have much to say about this. Never stop expressing your gratitude toward your parents and make sure that they know that you love them. You'll understand when you're a parent or maybe even sooner. Just do it, always. Trust me on this one...
9. Don't treat others the way you want to be treated; treat them better.
With having a mother that requires a great deal of patience, working with the most impatient group of guys on campus, and struggling with impatience myself, I have learned this lesson ten times over. I already stressed the importance of loving unconditionally and this is part of it! Sometimes people treat us with less than something than we deserve--but that doesn't mean we shouldn't show them the love of Christ and love them more. My last "significant other" or whatever you kids call it these days, taught me this every day. There were days where I wanted to treat him the way he was treating me and vice versa. But whenever I wanted to fall into that temptation, I reminded myself that life is too short to show any kind of hatred towards others and that no matter what, I needed to love him unconditionally. Things were never perfect between us, but I feel confident in saying that he will be able to honestly say that "she loved me with everything she had and I appreciate that eternally." It boils down to just loving people without conditions and being the lover that Christ was.
10. Finally, be yourself, love yourself, and never forget where you come from.
In the words of Forrest Gump, "that's all I have to say about that."
Welp, that's it for now! These are just some "life lessons" I wanted to share! Feel free to take these and add on to them or change them as you please! My life has been altered drastically by remembering and understanding these lessons. I just hope I can help or even inspire someone with these. Until next time....
God Bless.
Taylor J.
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