Blast from the past

tonight i got a little caught up in memory lane... i was going through old pictures, old journal entries, old things that i packed away, etc.

it made me really miss some things and some people. it also made me wonder, if i had to go back and live one year of my life over again -- which year would i choose? there have been so many good ones. and with each year, a unique challenge came along with it. it's hard to picture myself handling that same challenge over again, because that's what got me to where i am today.

however... just to play along i'll pick a year.

i don't think i'd want to go back to elementary school... as fun as it was to be so carefree and whatnot, i didn't actually know i was so carefree in the moment. i mean, third grade problems seemed pretty huge to me back then. ha.

definitely wouldn't want to relive junior high - yikes, no thanks!

high school was a ton of fun... but still. no need to go back.

i guess if i absolutely had to pick a year i'd pick my freshman year of college. i feel like even though that year brought me a whole lot of downs...it definitely made up for it with the ups. it was my first time EVER being away from home, from my family, from my friends. that was SO hard for me. i was/am extremely attached to my family, friends (my dog!). i feel like that year i really grew up - i changed a lot, became more of who i am supposed to be. i look back and actually drastically see a difference in myself from the summer before freshman year -- to the summer after. there was a lot of happiness in that year. a lot of heartache too. but happiness- for sure. also, i think that's when my faith took off for sure. i discovered God in a different way that i never thought i would. He blessed me with so many wonderful friends that are now family to me.

so yeah. i guess that's the year i'd choose. a lot of people say that each year of college gets better than the next. i think that's hard for me because my freshman year was so good, it's hard to top. but i guess i can understand it. i mean my sophomore year was really good too -- in different ways. i met some more wonderful people, had tons of fun, and some heartaches too. so i'm sure my junior year will be the same. completely different...completely new...completely unexpected.

we'll see what happens. i wonder if God is laughing at me right now. watching me sit and wonder where this year is going to take me when He already knows. hmm. not fair. :)