Coming out of high school, as a young, seventeen-year-old adolescent, I was faced with many new and unique decisions. Some were decisions that affected my immediate future, and others were decisions that had a drastic impact on my entire life and things in the distant future. Certainly I had made many important decisions while still in high school, some that may have been well beyond the decisions that many of my peers were being faced with, but these decisions seemed different.
Graduating and moving onward with life after high school not only affects those people who were already used to making tough choices, but also those who have been - more or less - spoon fed throughout their everyday lives. Circumstances that may have always seemed predetermined for young students, like how to spend your extra time (school sports, youth groups) and even the classes you take in school (requisites and prerequisites).
An easy way to phrase such changes is by saying that a student moving on to college or another lifestyle is, likely, becoming much more independent. You lose the stability, or at least some of it, that you once had and begin to become much less dependent on, not only your parents, but all of the comforts and relationships that you stand accustomed to.
For some, the transition is more shocking than it is for others. It could be a new financial independence, having to pay for the vast majority of your schooling and living expenses; Or it could be a new social independence, finding yourself split apart from the people that you had become so familiarized with in the past years spent laughing, joking, and sharing life. There are so many variables that may be changing - So many aspects of a person's life that are potentially compromised.
For some, the transition is more shocking than it is for others. It could be a new financial independence, having to pay for the vast majority of your schooling and living expenses; Or it could be a new social independence, finding yourself split apart from the people that you had become so familiarized with in the past years spent laughing, joking, and sharing life. There are so many variables that may be changing - So many aspects of a person's life that are potentially compromised.
Coming to college, joining the workforce, entering the military, or becoming a video game-playing, couch bum are all huge decisions in themselves - Decisions that allow individuals to reinvent the way he or she lives, how one spends his or her time, what one does for fun or enjoyment, and a bounty of other lifestyle aspect through subconscious and conscious decisions.
I find the most important aspects of these decisions is that the options chosen by an individual show what that person holds in high regard. Said another way, decisions that are made after high school accurately show what aspects of life we believe to be the most important.
I find the most important aspects of these decisions is that the options chosen by an individual show what that person holds in high regard. Said another way, decisions that are made after high school accurately show what aspects of life we believe to be the most important.
Now of course, the decisions that we make at any point in our life give an impression of what we hold to be important, but I find that the decisions made post-high school are far more reflective of these personal ethics.
I found that coming to college provided me the option to reinvent myself through the way I made decisions. I was no longer bound by the routines and rituals that had seemed cemented in my daily life. No, I had a fresh start in a place where, practically, no one had a preexisting relationship with me or knew who I was. I entered a new home, and a new world. Sure, I could have chosen to rely on the habits of my old lifestyle and to cling to the things that I cherished, but I realized that I should not want to hold on to some of the things in my life.
Instead, I chose to actively seize the opportunity that was presented to me; to eliminate the bad, and replace it with good. Voluntarily, I forced myself to refocus my life, and to recalibrate the way that I was living. The transformation that occurred was solely due to the conviction that I did not want to waste my life. I want to live a life with purpose. One that passionately shows this purpose in everything that I do and, overall, how I live my life.
Instead, I chose to actively seize the opportunity that was presented to me; to eliminate the bad, and replace it with good. Voluntarily, I forced myself to refocus my life, and to recalibrate the way that I was living. The transformation that occurred was solely due to the conviction that I did not want to waste my life. I want to live a life with purpose. One that passionately shows this purpose in everything that I do and, overall, how I live my life.
So I ask you, what do your decisions say about your life?
What does how you spend your time and the choices that you make show about the things that you believe to be most important?
(What are you trying to accomplish? What do you do in your "free time"?)
Can you identify something that your decisions point to?
(A specific purpose or motivation [happiness, making money, retirement, winning respect, etc])
I have not made great decisions in my life. I am a slow learner. In high school and college I allowed myself to be heavily influenced by others. It took life experience to overcome that and become my own person. Maybe that's not so bad since I know many, many people who NEVER become their own person.
I was adrift in my career for many years. I made good money, had position, but was unfulfilled. Now, I am retired. I wish at an early age---just out of college---I had just done what I loved doing, regardless of the income. But, back then, I always went after the money. I think it was a mistake.
About the time I was 55 years old or so, it started to come together for me. I found Jesus, even though He was not lost. Ha. And I have pretty much trained myself to allow Him to guide my life. I'm much happier than I have ever been. I want Him to use me as He sees fit. Aye, there's your answer. Great post. I can't believe your maturity at your young age.
@Clint, Awesome ending to your story... or should I say, what an awesome new beginning!
@AJ, I'm so happy that you are thinking about and wrestling with these things! I've known (and probably do know) so many people that continue to put that responsibility off and choose just to live it up. I love that you are accepting the pressure and thriving under it!
I experienced much the same thing and thought many of the same thoughts during my senior year of high school and when I was fresh out. Haha, I threw myself straight into the fire of responsibility by moving 1,500 miles from home and paying my way through school!
It was well worth it though! Like you said, the decisions that you make can have long-range effects that we really don't know anything about. If I had stayed in WI to go to school, I probably wouldn't have been married to my amazing wife for the past 15 months!
The thing of it is though, you can't be paralyzed by decisions, because we really don't know the true ramifications: only God does. Some things must just be left up to his sovereignty!
I love you bro, thanks for this awesome post!
Clint,
It's thrilling to hear of the change that occurred in your life, regardless of age! I am so glad that you have experience new-birth in Christ and that I can call you a brother!
I am constantly struggling with different questions, thoughts, and ideas. Time and time again, I see that when I seek answers to the questions that I have and work to appease the different thoughts that consume my mind, the answer always points back to Christ. Without Him, where can we find meaning? Who knows what life holds for us tomorrow - Which of us can number our days? So what do we do with those days that really matters?
Greg,
Your life constantly serves as an encouragement to me. I'm ecstatic to see how you have grown in so many ways and eternally joyful to see how our relationship has matured. The camaraderie that we have developed and that we continue to develop is one that I hold in extremely high regard. To know that that you, right along with Summer, are striving to live with Christ as priority and not yourselves brings some serious joy into my life!
The transformations that occurred when you went off to school must have been intense! Life is an adventure, especially in your case, eh?
I'm so glad you can look back on it and say that it was all worth it! To know that is to know that you are living life with the right cause in mind.
As radical as it was, I totally agree with you! We cannot become caught up in the decisions that we are forced to make and that we choose to make. If we let those thoughts plague our minds and consume our lives, we miss out on the meaning and purpose that we should be searching to acquire in life. I'm so glad that we have that and that I know we are living for something with lasting impact.
Namely, Christ's kingdom!
I love you too man, whole-heartedly!
AJ