The Last Semester

Well, hey there! It's been a few months, but I'm still around, still thinking. Still living life.

So I thought I would blog about my last semester in college, since that's what's been going on.

Now, the last semester of college can be a positive or a negative experience, depending on your attitude and what's going on in your life at the time. Personally, the circumstances surrounding my last semester have been fairly turbulent, so I could think of it as a totally negative experience. However, it's my last semester, so I'm trying to live it the way that I would like to remember it.
Actually, when I'm having fun, I imagine myself in the future looking back on the memory and that kind of distracts from the moment.
But anyway...

Yes, it's been rough. Long story short, when I started college, I was under the impression that I would receive an accredited degree via an online school. However, that online school decided to close up shop a year early, which left my class out in the cold. So we complained. Then the bigger school that swallowed up the online school decided to gratify us with giving their own prestigious diploma. We were very pleased.
However, when the ambassadors from the big school came to visit, they looked at my class' audits and determined that most of us would have to take another 30 credits in order to fulfill the requirements for their diploma, since they are a university and we are merely a college.
As you can imagine, this did not go over well for many of my classmates. Each of us had a slightly different situation, mine being one of the better deals because I've been at school for so long and have already nearly finished all my credits. I had the option of just going for the original degree from the online school, since I was under a previous arrangement, so I will be finishing by this December.
However, others did not fare so well.

As a result of the accreditation changes, several students left, many of them good friends of mine.
My closest friends went away on their practicums, and another friendship imploded due to external pressure. It was all for the best, though.

So yes. Some rough times there. I'm twenty four now, so it's not a huge deal (at least I'm telling myself that), but I will admit it does affect me. To what extent I'm not really sure, because I'm still in shock.
...Ok, I guess it was a pretty big deal.

However, since I'm now kind of cramming my last few classes into this semester, I don't have a whole lot of time to socialize anyway. Or think.

So, over the last few years, I have learned a few things from life experiences.

- Often times, the overtly spiritual people aren't really that close to God
- God will always provide for what you need if you trust Him
- God is different than anyone you've ever met
- You can't talk about depression with someone who's never been there
- In fact, trying to cure chronic depression with spiritual methods doesn't really work
- The sweetest people are the ones who are hurting the most
- It's ok to trust people who aren't like me
- It's not ok to trust people whose mission in friendship is to change you "for your own good", whatever spiritual reasons they give. (It's really for their own benefit.)
- You can do anything you have to do, until you can't anymore
- It's ok to fail
- An epilator will not kill you, although it might feel like it's going to
- Stay away from people who are never pleased
- It's ok to not be strictly vegan all the time
- It's also ok to tell someone when they hurt you. If they don't acknowledge it, that's not your problem; it's theirs. Let go, and don't date them.
- It's ok to take care of yourself - most likely, no one else is going to
- Confidence and kindness can compensate for beauty any day
- The ones who act like Jesus are often the ones who say they are not Christian
- God loves you all the time, even when you do not deserve it
- Don't trust someone who says they love you but acts differently
- Sriracha sauce is good on basically everything
- Good sleep is just about the most vital component of health

and lastly,

- You are a valuable and loved person, no matter how others treat you. Their actions are a reflection of themselves, not you. God loves and values you. Girls, your worth is not based on the type of guy who is attracted to you. You don't have to settle. You want a man who will pursue you with respect and dignity from an unselfish heart. If such a person exists, he's worth waiting for.

That's some of the extra-curricular things I've learned while in college. I'll take them with me into the next phase of my life, and learn even more as I go. What are some life lessons you've learned during college?