You know how some people say that high school or college are the best four years of your life? It wasn’t like that for me. I was awkward in high school and a loner in college. But at least I learned some lessons. And since many people are going back to school soon, I thought I’d share some of those lessons.
Starting with the greatest two commandments: to love God with all you’ve got and to love others as yourself (Mark 12:29-31).
Lesson one: be who God created you to be through love
Most, if not all, teens enter high school unsure of who they are, and they can still be unsure in college. So it’s easier said than done to be who God made you to be. But I learned that when I spent my time loving God, loving others, and loving myself (imperfections and all), then I didn’t have time to worry or stress or feed my insecurities.
When you love on God and on people…when you focus on His grace, extend kindness to others, and just genuinely be a loving person, then nothing else matters. You can make a fool of yourself, but all people will see is their friend.
I had people who made fun of me in high school for some things I did. Like, I had a tendency to lose focus on everything around me and start talking to myself out loud. I did it in Physics class one day and my classmate shook me out of it. He laughed, but not cruelly. Some people labeled him as this big geek, but I remember being friends with him even though we didn’t see each other outside of class. I didn’t let what others said about him influence me, and he snapped me out of a potentially embarrassing situation that could have gotten me in trouble with the teacher.
I made a ton of blunders in college. Lots of social awkwardness, falling asleep in class, and being alone a lot. But I went to a Christian college, and the people were loving. Imperfect, but trying to love each other just like Jesus commanded. So I was okay.
When we focus on love, we receive the freedom to find ourselves. Because then it’s okay to make mistakes and be awkward or be a loner. We don’t focus on those things in ourselves or in others. We don’t focus on the negative when our focus is on love.
If you’re still finding yourself, then start by focusing on love. Love God. Love others. Love yourself, awkwardness and all. And one day you’ll realize that you know who you are, and who you are is pretty awesome.
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