I should probably take this time to introduce myself (if anyone is actually reading this thing) to those who don't really know me. Well, my name is Britt Bolin, for starters. I am a pre-med sophomore at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a lifeguard from a very small town called Lawrenceburg in Tennessee and if you aren't sure where that is it is totally okay. This blog is something I have been thinking about for a few weeks now and it is really just a place for me to get my thoughts out and if people read it then so be it. You may disagree with me on things, but oh well, people aren't made to agree on everything.
For those that know me (if any of you are even reading this), you probably know that school is a pretty large portion of my life (see above about being a pre-med major). That being said any ideas I had about my second year of college being as easy as my first went out the window of my apartment building the second week of classes. My class load is double what it was last year as far as homework and assignments, and next semester looks just as malicious. I am juggling to maintain classes along with lifeguarding around 20 hours a week-which is more tiring than one would think- and volunteering at a local hospital while trying to make it to December. You may, or may not depending on your classes or life, be thinking that that sounds like a lot to handle, and it is, but I try to take it in stride and keep a smile on my face (the key is to consume a lot of coffee). Other than coffee though, I turn to God when the stress gets to be too much, and the rest of my first post will be the explanation of a breakthrough I reached in recent months and it will include God, so if you are not a believer or God makes you uncomfortable you might want to just not read any of my blogs because Him and I are pretty tight, but that being said I hope you DO read and are enlightened.
Since I have not mentioned it yet, I am Catholic and proud to be. I was raised in a Catholic home and have continued to be part of the Catholic Church in my adult (am I really an adult?) life. I'm the first to admit I am not in any way perfect as much as I try to be, and I know that I have made plenty of mistakes, especially in high school and into my first year of college and I will continue to make mistakes until I die because I am human. That being said, I know that I am a child of God and that He loves me even if I am not perfect. Time for a story now; I spent my summer in Chattanooga working and taking a few summer classes, and during this time I had great friends and was really happy with my life. BUT I knew that I was missing something and something in my life wasn't quite right (which I will not go into details to explain). As I have said, I continued to go to church and keep my relationship with God, but I knew I wasn't doing all I could and I knew what I needed to do to turn that around. I started praying harder and opening my ears (and eyes) more during Sunday morning Mass and I started making small changes in my life that I'm not sure people even noticed. Finally, around July I started really seeing changes in myself and I was genuinely happy with the person I was and every day since then I have worked harder to maintain my relationship with God and be a better person in all ways. With the new school year I was glad to see old faces like Cassidy and Hannah and Briley and so many others, and when school got tough I just continued to pray and keep a tight relationship with the Big Guy Upstairs. I'm still not sure if others see the changes that I do or if I've really changed much, but last weekend when I was home my cousin looked at me and said, "You've gotten happier since you went to college." That hit me in a big way, and maybe I am reading too much into, but to me it means that people can see how happy I am now that I have made my life more for Him, and less for me.
I know this is heavy stuff for a first post, but it's stuff that has been on my mind for a few months. Now time to go study since it's back to the (kinda) real world tomorrow.
Until next time,
xoxo B
You are an amazing child of God and I am so proud of the woman you've become. You've always been very special to the Bensons, we love you B! All things are possible through Christ. Blog away!
ReplyDeleteYou are amazing! I, too, have grown closer to God since I retired. I joined a Ladies' Bible Class and became involved with our food pantry. I never knew how sweet it is to help people who are in need. Also, I do senior water aerobics and senior yoga with some terrific ladies. So, be sure to take care of your body during this stressful time. At the top of my list are all of my church family and sweet friends. You are in my prayers, Britt.
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