The Next Four Years

***As part of my freshman seminar class, we had to write an essay about what we expect from ourselves and Austin College over the next four years. Here's what I wrote.***

What I Expect From Myself and Austin College in the Next Four Years.

                Just a week ago I embarked on the final leg of that long journey between childhood and adulthood.  Like any explorer, I begin with a preplanned and well charted course.  I have had enough education and experience to plan much of this course, using bits and pieces of others’ experiences and knowledge to further prepare for the adventure known as “college”. Yet, like all explorers, I recognize that my planned course is subject to change.

                 This is uncharted territory after all. Unforeseen obstacles will undoubtedly force me to alter my calculated course, compelling me to look at my new world with new eyes.  As I discover new interests and passions, my course will change direction.  I may even arrive at an entirely different destination than I originally planned, but that uncertainty is what makes this adventure unique.

                Over the next four years, I expect to be challenged and stretched as I continue to explore and expand my world. I expect to review and reconsider what I have known, wrestle with the new and unfamiliar ideas I encounter, and, in the end, walk away with a broader, deeper understanding of the world.   

                Along the way I will acquire the tools and understanding needed to be a successful and active member of society. Not one who sits passively by, but one who actively engages in the world around them.  If, at the end of these four years, I reach my destination without discovering a way to make my world, the part I interact with everyday, a better place, I have failed.  What my major is, how many “A’s” I earned , where I get my first job—all of those things will not matter if I do not have the power to generate positive change around me.  

                At the end of these next four years, I will be a different person. My perspective will be different, my beliefs will be solidified; my passions revealed, my potential discovered. That is the real purpose of this journey.