Beginning Again

The renewing of the school year; I cannot believe I am a sophomore in college. I cannot believe I have made it this far.

Thank you to all who have brought me here.

This coming semester I have so much I am hoping to learn and to accomplish, not only academically but personally as well. My hope is to do this gracefully, and while I will aim to do it perfectly, I will likely fail or muck up at least once. I hope for the patience I will need when this occurs.

I hope to become more and more a woman of God. I hope for Jesus Christ to be the love of my life and the one on whom I depend. (Not a boy, not myself.)

I hope to be more present in where I am, less focused on where I am going or what is to come. I hope to trust even more in the God who is proving over and over He is worth and desires my complete trust.

I hope to remember the truest forms of blessing are not things (material possessions).

I know I cannot be perfect. God knows I will try and desire to be.

I know I have amazing opportunities. God knows I may forget and need to be reminded of this.

Please pray for me this year if you are reading this. That may seem quite forward of me. But I believe and trust in the power of prayer. And I would love to be even more interconnected to other human beings by just this writing.

Goals for this coming year...

-Going to swing dancing more frequently.

-Making my bed every morning. (This is actually a habit I sadly have not developed. When I had a top bunk it wasn't worth it.)

-Eat mindfully. (Eat when hungry, stop when full. Savor the flavors.)

-Stay active.

-Make time for relationships, for fitness, and for rest.

-Take care of yourself. (Dress nicely, have self-respect, nap when you are tired, know when to take a break, know when to say no and be willing to say yes, be gentle.)

-Make church a priority.

-Appreciate your imperfections as your beauty and/or your humanity. ("Perfection is annihilation. It paralyzes us from working from the heart. Humans by nature are not perfect and imperfections are what make the world beautiful.")

Blessings and my best to you,

Erin E Duffy