Look into the future

• Sorry I haven't wrote in a while. It's been crazy busy this past month. I still feel skeptical about staying here in Rochester, so my new friend Seth asked if he could talk to me about what was happening. This is what he told me about the whole thing. He pretty much hit the head on the nail. Thanks Matt for introducing me to him! 

  
  

  "Well, let me say this Rachel. In my experience, many people come to experience what you are experiencing at this point in life (most during their first year in college). I had this experience when I was in Texas in 2006. I wanted to pack up and leave because it wasn't exactly what I had expected it was going to be. And that would have been the easiest thing to do, but I pushed through and was rewarded with one of the most rewarding pursuits of my life. I had a similar experience in my first job, but I took the easy road out-sometimes I regret this decision.

  All this to say, I think where you are currently isn't something totally uncommon to most. Granted, you need to be convinced you need the education you are pursuing or commitment will be quite difficult. But you have to ask yourself, are you feeling this way because being in Rochester is a little less comfortable and a little harder than what you are used to? If the answer to this is yes, it's possible that you are looking for the 'grass is always greener' exit.

  I think the point you are right now in life is one of the most important moments of your life so far. I'm serious about this. As I think back to my friends who took risks and sometimes pushed through difficult times, they are the ones doing the most good right now in their life ventures. Life is difficult and requires perseverance sometimes, but this is what develops character. I'm not trying to sway you one way or the other, but I do feel strongly that sometimes the toughest decisions in life require us to trust God with where he has placed you now, and simply take life one step at a time until you know what is next.

  I remember feeling the way you do now during that first year in Texas. Most of the time, this feeling came after Christmas or Thanksgiving break and being back home. It came after my friends came down to visit and I wished I could be with them. Remember this: the great times you have when you are around friends and family over breaks aren't the way real life is on a day-to-day basis. And as you get older, these friendships will fade, so although relationships are important in life, don't make your big decisions in life with the assumption that those relationships will be the same when you return home.

  I don't mean to hound you with advice, but I truly empathize with your situation because I feel I've been there. And I really feel that this point in life will have a lasting ripple effect into fostering your character for years to come.

  Alas, I am my cousin's cousin...can you tell? "