life lessons and gray (grey?) hair

I just found a gray hair. On my head. I think that means I'm getting wise.

And... then I plucked it out. I don't know what that means...

But since I'm suddenly feeling wise, I think now would be a good time to share some wisdom. You see, somewhere in the midst of flying from Peru back to the States, I graduated from college... officially graduated from college. And I never really thought about it because I was busy transitioning and getting a job and living life. But now that I think about it... oh man! I have graduated from college! I learned many many wonderful things in college... I learned about the intricate mathematical beauty of seashells and the psuedospheres of hyperbolic geometry... and I learned some life lessons. And I'm going to share them, because maybe the things that God taught me during college can also speak to you somehow.

I learned to love learning. Really. Learning is SO FUN!!! Late in my college experience, a fellow math-loving friend and I decided that we would make the most of learning and give each class a chance. We were taking a particular education class together that we had heard lots of bad things about and no good things about. But we decided that we would give this class a chance from the start and not be swayed by what we have heard other people say. We wanted to like it. And... we loved it! This class was awesome! Our classmates didn't think so, unfortunately. But we honestly really liked this class. We got so much more out of it than other people just because we did not come into class on the first day already knowing that we wouldn't like the class.

People will complain about everything. If you look for it, you can always find something to complain about in a class. My challenge to you is... love learning. Or whatever you're doing. It is a choice that you have to make. It won't necessarily happen automatically. You have to consciously choose to try to love it and have fun with it. And, I guarantee you, if you are in college and you decide that you are going to try to love learning... you are going to enjoy your classes and your education SO MUCH MORE.

I learned to be content being single. I was single throughout college. Not by choice, really... just because that's how life went. I was never looking for a relationship, and I never found one, and I am perfectly fine with that. My friends and acquaintances were more concerned about this, though. There were (many) times when friends, some well meaning and others nosy, would ask me how I'm doing with being single. The conversation would start something like this...

"Hannah, tell me... how are you, really? I mean, with, you know, being single and all..." their voice would get softer and softer as they went, as if they didn't want to utter the word "single" too loud... Maybe they thought that being single was some contagious disease that they could catch if they said the word out loud.

Sometimes, I completely ignored the question. But usually I answered politely and didn't say what I was thinking. What makes you think that my relationship status is your business? You're annoying me and if I wanted to talk to you about being single, then I would have brought it up already, but I didn't because I don't, so please leave now.

I know people were trying to be kind and thoughtful and most of them seemed to genuinely think that I must be experiencing serious inner turmoil due to not being in a relationship. The truth is... being single is cool. I have struggled with other things... like transitioning from college--there's a big one. But as far as being single goes, I'm enjoying the stage of life that I am in. If someday I am no longer single, I'll enjoy that, too. But I'm not living for that moment. My future is in God's very able hands and I trust His plan.

I learned to take a break. Sometimes, you need to put down the text book that you're reading, forget about the LONG list of assignments, projects, research papers, and readings that you have to complete, and go to Dairy Queen. Or the beach. Or apple picking. Or fishing. Or on a road trip to Washington D.C. I did all of these things during college, and they were all worth it. Less than a year after graduating, it isn't the studying and writing and reading that I remember when I think of college. It's the breaks that I took to do things with friends that I remember. Sometimes they were long breaks. Sometimes they were short breaks. But they always meant putting down the work and doing something else. Even if you work ALL THE TIME and NEVER TAKE BREAKS, you probably won't be able to finish EVERYTHING in college to the best of your ability. There is too much. You must prioritize. And taking breaks needs to be a high priority. The rest of your study time is much more productive when you take breaks, and life is richer and funner and awesomer. Breaks are worth it.

I learned to do silly things. Jump in frozen ponds. Play soccer in dorm hallways. Have shopping cart races. Run in puddles. Do silly things. It makes life funner.

i learned!

Today, I was at home alone doing some laundry. For me, doing laundry mainly consists of doing some shameless dancing and singing to wonderful classic songs from my childhood... and fold some clothing along the way. Today, the CD of choice was Steven Curtis Chapman, and the second song that popped up was "Dive", one that I haven't heard in a long while, but I remember VERY CLEARLY belting it in the car with my mom when I was about... 9 years old. Hey, it's a good song. And, like many things tend to these days, it reminded me of my time in Arequipa. Here it is:

I'm not completely sure how my thoughts went, but it was something like this... I'm diving in, I'm going deep, in over my head I'm gonna be... Hey! That reminds me of Peru! I learned something about that in Peru... you know, I should make a list of what I learned. So I don't forget what I learned... Yeah!

So here's that list!

1. Dive in! While I was in Peru, I did some things that are quite wacky! I climbed an active volcano! I went swimming with wild sea lions! And I spent countless hours spending time with awesome awesome people, which isn't at all wacky, but much of it was very spontaneous. The hours that I wasn't spending with awesome people, I spent walking around the city of Arequipa or teaching math in Spanish at un colegio que me robó el corazón. I got places in taxi and in combi, I found some great panaderías and ate raw fish saturated in lime juice. All of that to say... God taught me to just dive in. Have fun! Do things! Learn! Make mistakes! Get lost! It's okay! Being spontaneos, doing wacky things, having the adventurous spirit that drove me to walk around the city alone and ask for directions when I needed them, to learn how to negotiate with a taxi driver and to navigate the city on a combi... I thank God for pushing me to do those things and for giving me the desire to get as much out of the semester as I could. God taught me to just dive in. And He went with me and it was great! I didn't always know how things would turn out. But God never left my side, and I have no regrets! 

 

2. God loves me a TON! Oh man. I met so many people who were amazing. They knew that I would be leaving in December. But they still spent time with me. They still wanted to get to know me. They still shared themselves with me. There was no reason for them to do these things. But they did. Every single day, God showed me His unconditional love for me through them.

 

3. Trust. This is a big one. When I first got to Peru, I knew... no one. Literally. I recognized the Calvin people from the plane ride. But I didn't really know anyone in the whole country. And on top of that, I had to communicate with people. In Spanish. And I was NOT comfortable with that. Oh no. My computer wasn't working. And I didn't know what was going on... most of the time. I didn't always understand what people were saying to me. I just really didn't know what was going on! I was clueless most of the time! I didn't know how to print out my homework! I didn't know how to buy shampoo! I didn't know how to greet people correctly! And God just telling me to trust Him. He taught me to slow down and to stop worrying. He reminded me that He was in charge and that He had my life in His hands. He taught me to take life a day at a time. A moment at a time, actually. I never knew what was coming, but He taught me that that is okay. He taught me that being uncomfortable is okay. And He never ever let me go! I lived moment by moment, trusting God, and He proved Himself to be so faithful and amazing!!!

 

4. Futbol and dancing are fun!! Who knew? Now I do!!! And I'm not going to stop doing these things just because I'm in the States!

 

5. Share. During the short time that I was in Arequipa, God used the people that I met to teach me to share myself, to be vulerable, and to speak my mind. In general, my friends in Arequipa showed me what it was like to be open. They shared themselves with me. A few moments stick out in my mind when individuals were particularly transparent and honest... and it was so beautiful.