Hey guys!
So for some of us, school will be starting soon whereas others have already gone back.
By the grace of God, I'll be going into my 3rd year of uni! It honestly feels like yesterday when I started first year. Fresher's week, making new friends, trying to settle into uni life. Oh how time flies.
For today's post, I wanted to share a bit about my 2nd year experience; about my highlights and the lessons I learnt. It's funny how I've kind of used this blog to document a lot of my experiences this past year. After all, I did start blogging at the beginning of 2nd year. EuniqueBlogs is actually going to be one year old at the end of September.
This might be a lot of info so I've decided to give you guys a part one today and a part two next week. So without further ado, let's get right into today's post, shall we?
Academics
At the beginning of 2nd year, I really tried to set a lot of goals and get my priorities in order. Having learnt from my first year, I knew I needed to try to figure out my strengths and weaknesses. It wasn't easy at all. I do feel like 2nd year was the year I questioned myself a lot; if Civil Engineering was even the right degree for me. There were so many people around me who I thought seemed smarter and seemed to enjoy our courses way more than I did. It was as if they understood the materials taught in class so much better and faster, then there was me who was still struggling with the basics.
I did feel uncertain of my abilities a lot of the time and it felt like, no matter how much effort I put it (mind you, I know personally that I could have tried way harder at times than I did), I just wasn't getting what I was doing. It was also the first time I can remember that I've ever had to resit an exam for failing.
Not to brag or anything, but I've been an above average student for most of my life. I can't remember ever failing a class. That was, until 2nd year knocked me off my pedestal.
It kind of humbled me though. I guess it taught me that I'm not always going to be in the top ten. I will fail at times and I should be prepared to work harder and learn from my mistakes. Plus there's absolutely no shame in resitting an exam. Just try not to make it a constant thing.
Spiritual
2nd year really pushed me into leaving things in God's hands and trusting Him more. There were so many times when I doubted myself and felt like I wasn't good enough. But God gave me the strength to carry on when I felt like giving up. I had this sense of peace whenever I found myself in troubling situations and I learned to put my trust in God to see me through everything.
I also came to realise that with my doubts regarding my degree, God wouldn't have put me here if He didn't want me to study my course. I always had trouble figuring out what I wanted to do when I grew up so coming to the decision of studying Civil Engineering wasn't easy. But God paved the way and helped me through so many things just to get into this degree programme and to bring me this far, so there's no way He'd want me to give up now. That's one thing I learned and that I'll take with me even as I go into my 3rd year and for future years too.
Plus, my future isn't set in stone. What I may be studying now may not be what I end up doing in maybe ten years time. So I'm just putting my trust in God to see me through.
In terms of my walk with God, there were many ups and downs. Things I continued to struggle with and things I wanted to do more of but let my carnality have the last say instead of listening to the Holy Spirit. One thing I want to work more on is talking about God with the friends I don't usually do that with. There were one or two instances when I had the opportunity to talk about God with some people but I don't think I did it justice. This year, I'd like to have more talks with my friends centred on God and my faith in general.
So lessons to be learnt from my academics and spiritual life:
Learn how to prioritise and manage your time effectively
Remember that just because you've been the best in the past, doesn't make you immune to certain failures.
Failures aren't a curse, they're a blessing meant to help you learn and grow.
Let God be your anchor and don't fret, because with Him in the boat, you can smile at whatever storm comes your way.
When in doubt about who you'll be or what your future holds, speak to God, trust that He's working everything out for your good and that His plans for you are to prosper you.
Take every opportunity you can to share Christ with those around you.
So, I hope you learned a little something from the first part of my 2nd year experience. Stay tuned for the Part 2 next week and feel free to share your experiences from the last academic year too. I'd love to here them and who knows, you may end up giving me much needed advice. Have a great day lovelies!
Stay blessed and stay a blessing.
