Snapshot Saturday #3: College Life

So this post is going to be about college and a phrase I use three times in the following video:

Yes. I totally named that video "Be Encouraged!" exclamation point and all. Even though looking back on it, it's not the most encouraging video in the world... The point I wanted you guys to take from it was this: that we all feel lost and confused sometimes. That it can frustrate the heck out of us in the moment. But that if we pursue our dreams and our wants and our passions with vigor, in the end, we'll be victorious. We just can't be afraid to see the project through.

The phrase you heard three times up there and the phrase I'm using (cough, cough, coining, cough) to sort of embody and speak for this mentality is called being encouraged to not be discouraged. And I'm probably going to go a little motivational speaker on you guys as I go through this, but college life is a good example of this philosophy. Of not taking no for an answer.

REALLY QUICKLY -------->

The picture over there is a snapshot of the essay I'm writing for my mandatory class. It's finished, technically, but I'm a little upset the last paragraph didn't fit and there's random punctuation flowing throughout its veins. But ANYWAY, in this essay we had to think about something in our personal style that we "stole" from something or sometime else. I wrote about my pearls and how I wear them to project a "lady-like" image and also connote that I'm a modern Wonder-woman.

OKAY. NOW WE'RE ROLLING...

My sister and her hubby dropping me off first day

When you're in college, you literally have to make every decision for yourself. The easy ones like when you'll wake up, where you'll go eat, who you'll hang out with for the day, where you'll do it, when you'll come home, etc. are pretty much the decisions you're already making in high school, but they're amplified now that your parents are away.

View of the forest near my apartment

Now that you're completely in charge, you really get to explore the following questions: What do I want to do? Who do I want to be? Where do I want to go? When do I want to get there? How am I going to get there? Why do I want this so much? And what's going to either stop me from getting what I want or help me get what I want? The questions don't need immediate answers, but they're always in the back of your mind. I was lucky. I kind of had a pretty good idea of a lot of the answers in high school, but now that I'm here, things like what I want are becoming a little blurry and how I'm going to get those things, blurrier still. But that's okay. I know, now, there are people here to help me. And while all of them REFUSE to just hand me answers (which is what I went into the office three times looking for!), all of them continued to try to nudge me in the right direction. In my opinion, they weren't nudging hard enough. But there was a nudge--- I felt the push--- and when I just decided to let go of their hand and jump, I found myself feeling a lot better--- more confident--- and now I'm in classes I love and am excited to be in.

Place where a baby deer was until I pulled out my camera

I felt lost for sure. I felt out of place and like the total stereotype of a freshman. Almost all of my apartment mates know exactly where they're going, they know the shortcuts, and they're not afraid to get lost. But me? I felt like the deer in the headlights. Confused. Out of place. About to die. Okay... so it wasn't THAT dramatic. But in the moment, it all felt so important. Like it was a sign from the heavens above that I wasn't meant to get to that freezing class after all. And maybe it was. I know it was, actually. Because now I'm in classes I love and WANT to be in. And that's the key thing here. Doing things you WANT to do. Not doing things you think you HAVE to do.

The bridge that takes me home

I just want to encourage you not to lose faith in yourself. To see that fork in the road and confidently set foot on the path you WANT to take. Don't hesitate. Don't doubt yourself even for a second. Because the thing is, there's going to be a day where you get to call all the shots. Start owning every decision, every step, every breath you make and take. This is your life. Own it. This is your shot. Take it. These are your dreams. Live them. And this is all you. So make it happen.

"Take a risk, take a chance, make a change,"
-Deserae <3

P.S. CALLING ALL ARTISTS!!! I want a "Encouraged not to be Discouraged" T-shirt, but I can't design anything! So if you want to make a design for me send it to scillafrederricks@hotmail.com and I'll get a shirt made for myself and the person who made the winning design! Make it happen, folks!