So I go back tomorrow...

I go back tomorrow!

I’m excited….

I think.

So I start my second year at Furman University soon, and I so hope it’s everything I’ve been looking forward to. I’ve fought this summer with everything in me since April, and now I’m not sure how much good it’s done. When I came back to Maryville late May, I felt like I was dying. I was soooooo homesick for Furman. As a certain boyfriend of mine can attest, I cried pretty much all day every day for the first week. Terrible I know. I wanted my friends, my beautiful home, my freedom, and my “church.” I just didn’t want to be where I was. I felt like I had changed beyond understanding for those I was close to in Maryville, and I was afraid that there was no way I could be myself around them anymore.

Well a couple weeks into the summer I went to Amanda’s (a best friend from home), and we just started talking. She told me that she had seen a change in me and was pretty sure it was similar to the way she had changed in the past year. I almost hit the floor. We talked for a long time about faith, our home church, and how all of our friends fit into this. It was pretty amazing.

If a new and different relationship with my best friend were the only positive outcome this summer, it would have been worth it.

Through the middle of the summer I was in and out of town constantly, and didn’t really have much time to think about anything to be honest. I still missed Taylor and all my friends from school terribly. It seemed like the summer would never end. I’ve been home more in the past month though, and yes, it has been boring. Except for one thing…. God revealed something major to me I think. It’s kind of scary, but insanely exciting. Sorry, but I can’t release details at this time. A press conference will take place in the future.

Last night at church I said goodbye to everyone who was still left in town, and it was harder than I thought it would be. While I was just wanting the summer to get over, I neglected to see how my relationships at home were changing. Everyone was telling me they loved me, be safe, all those things adults say, but they meant it. A man from my church was talking to me and proceeded to tell me that he had seen a change in me this past year. I (supposedly) am much more outgoing and friendly, and the smile on my face is somehow different than it used to be.

Has Furman made me truly happy this past year? Perhaps. Or maybe it’s the relationships I’ve built with the people around me. And maybe God has given me more to smile about. You’ll just have to wonder.

So I go back tomorrow…