New Student Orientation

It's kind of neat seeing campus teeming with life again. Today, they are (for the most part) new students. Freshmen. With that terrified, "deer-in-the-headlights" look. Just hoping that they won't get lost and that someone will be their friend.

Those butterflies. I remember them all too well.

And now. Flash forward 5 years later. I'm on the other end. A senior. Getting ready to start my last year. The start of the end. It's so weird. But . . . it's good. Really good.

I'm glad to be on this end.

But I'm glad for the start, too.

And the journey. The growth. I am so glad that I never have to go through the experience of being a freshman again. Not because it was bad. Because that time of life is important. And I learned and grew from those experiences.

But just . . . I guess it's because it's like I'm one hundred feet from reaching the top of the mountain. The climb is almost over. And although the beginning of a climb is great because it's exciting to embark on a new adventure and it's fun to see the scenery, there are times on the trail when you wish you'd never started. And there are times when you look back and you are soooooo glad that you don't have to climb those rocks again.

I'm standing close to the summit now. But the beginning of the journey is crucial. The end--well, the end is rewarding. And just like I looked forward to the beginning, I'm looking forward to that accomplishment . . . and new beginnings, too.

nobody said it was easy, 
no one ever said it would be this hard. 
i'm goin' back to the start.