Freshman Flashback

Tomorrow is OBU's move in day. It is so hard to believe that just eight years ago I was moving into to good old WMU and by old I mean super old, and starting my journey at OBU. Let's take a moment and just all have a collective scream that it happened eight years ago and not yesterday. Those four years were the craziest, busiest, and one of the greatest times in my life. As much as I loved my time at OBU I wouldn't trade in this journey and this chapter in my life for anything. But there are just a few things that I wished I knew back then.

Dear Freshman Meghan,

Welcome to college! It will be great and scary and awesome and fun and stressful all at the same time. Just a few little things you should know:

1. Being a music major. Abbandon any of the ideas that you have built up in your head about being a music major. It won't be like hours of high school choir. Let's just say you will spend hours in the libary, hours in the practice room, hours looking over symphonies and determining chords and form, writing fake lesson plans for your methods class. You will streached and you will be become better. You are blessed to be studying with some of the best professors in the world. Don't take that for granted. Don't forget their lessons. Spend extra time with Dr. Todd and drink lots of coffee with her.

2. Coffee You will no longer hate it. I promise. I really really really really really really really promise.

3. Friendships You are about to meet some of the greatest people in the world. Some of them will only be in your life for a season. They will bless your life in that time and even eight years later they will be there for you when you need but they won't be apart of your everyday life. However there are some friends that will stay with you way past graduation. You will all laugh together, cry together, travel together, teach kids together, and have fun group text conversions. These ladies will be there for you no matter what, no matter the distance, and no matter the time since you last saw each other.

4. The ARA. You can eat cereal and ice cream with every meal. It is awsome. The rest of the ARA...not so much.(Okay you still eat cereal and ice cream for dinner, but it is okay you are an adult so you can do that).

5. Maybe Teaching High School Choir Isn't What You Want You will be surprised by what age group God lays on your heart to teach. Shocked. And you will love it. Totes love it.

6. The Walk. Treasure those precious moments. Remember every step.

7. Nickname. You will start answering to the nickname MegLo. It may seem silly. But it will become a part of you. Because the person that gave you that nickname said it was because it made your name more fun and reflect that joy that you have for life.

8. Ring By Spirng I know that you are thinking "hey it's OBU, I'm going to meet the love of my life, get engaged, and get married three weeks after your graduation." Hate to spoil it for you, but it won't happen. And it is okay. In fact eight years later it still hasn't happened. And it is still okay. You know why it is okay, you can take up the entire bed, watch whatever you want to watch on Netflix, and you don't have to share your cereal (that is a big one for you). You will struggle with it. You will have days when it seems like that desire of your heart won't happen. But this journey, this gift of being single is one of the best gifts ever. Embrace your place, embrace this time. You won't regret it.

For the Love,
The 26 year old you about to start your fifth year of teaching.
P.S. You are still awkward. You still trip over stuff and run into glass doors.

Like I said before, I wouldn't trade in this season of my life for the world, but I do have moments when I wish I could go back to those days of Bison Hill and maybe do things a little differently. Spend more time with friends, have lots of fun, and okay maybe practice a little bit more.

God Bless OBU.

Because putting black eyeliner on your cheecks and jumping off benches in front of the steps of your dorm, is totes a Freshman thing.