Semester Recap: What Did I Learn?

  The first semester of my World Race Gap Year has officially ended; as I write this, we had the final session last week. Instead of a teaching, we had a time to share testimonies, prayer requests, and a little of what we learned over the last three months. Since then, I’ve had some time to reflect on it all, and I just want to share a few thoughts. 

Trust

  From day one of confirmation, I’ve had to exercise extreme trust in God, first with the seemingly insurmountable task of fundraising, then in the knowledge that He might have other plans than I thought or wanted, then in that He had hand-picked the community I was in and that He wanted me there. I’ve had to trust that the joy of the Lord truly is my strength, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Through it all, I think I’ve come to a sweeter place of trust and resting in Him, and I cannot wait to grow in that trust.

Community

  Community was something I had vaguely started to understand last June and grown in somewhat throughout the summer, but boy howdy was the Race community different than anything I had thought or expected. To begin with, I have a lot of older siblings and have always naturally gravitated to people older than me when it comes to friends. Suddenly I was smack dab in the middle of a bunch of 18-20 year olds and I had no idea what to do with myself. Slowly I began to see a different side of my generation, one of strength and vulnerability, one of a willingness to see new points of view and to love first and disagree second; seriously, my squad is the most amazing group of people I’ve ever met. We strove for and became a community of love, honor, kindness, service, and fun. I can’t wait for the day we’re all together again (only 2 1/2 more weeks!!!!!).

Boundaries

  Before the Race, I lived a life devoid of boundaries; stay up till 2 am every night for like a whole week? why the heck not? I dove headfirst into situations and relationships that, while not strictly bad, were certainly unhealthy and did not contribute to growth. Once I was on campus, it quickly became apparent that besides the squad-wide boundaries we had set, I needed some of my own boundaries in order to maintain my own mental, physical, and spiritual health. For example, toward the end of month 3 I figured out that I needed to spend at least 30 minutes in complete solitude most afternoons, just to give my brain a break from all the constant stimulation that comes with living with 30 other people every single day. Journaling regularly and giving myself the freedom to verbally process with my team helped a lot in figuring out where my emotions were and what was causing them, as well as figuring out next steps. 

  In short, I learned a heck ton of stuff; this barely even scratches the surface of the tip of the iceberg. In the coming months I’m excited to continue in growing in what I’ve already learned and learn new things about God, myself, and the people around me.

  Love you bunches,

  Claire.