I love the guitar!!

I learned my first real song!!!

And afterwards, I had a little crisis…

You see I’ve always known that I love biology, and I that want to study biology and specifically genetics.  But what I haven’t always known is that biology, and even simply genetics, is HUGE!  So as a result, I’m finding out about all of these choices and paths I can take in the biology field, and it’s kind of overwhelming sometimes.

Like last night when I played around with my degree audit and realized all of the possibilities, all of which I want to do, but realistically can only do one MAYBE two of, it kind of put me in shock.

There’s also the fact that I like to have a plan, a road map, a destination.  I want to map out my time here at Northeastern, figure out when I’ll be in class, when I’ll be on CO-OP, when I’ll study abroad, and what classes I’ll take in what order to fulfill my requirements and interests.  This, I found out last night, is very difficult to do.  I want to have a mission*; I want to know where I’ll end up before I get there.  In reality however, I can’t really see into the future past the end of my nose.

So after a stressful night of debates over biology vs. biochemistry, BS/MS program in biotech vs. actual grad school, doctor vs. researcher, environmental science vs. business minor…  I went to bed.

When I awoke the next morning I already had a plan.  I would meet with 3 or 4** of my advisors to talk about my options.  I would weight out the pros and cons and figure one thing out at a time, and I would not lose any more time.

And so I went to my first advisor, and the next available meeting wasn’t (and still isn’t) until February…  And so I went to my second advisor, who basically told me that I needed to talk to the first advisor and the third advisor…  And the third advisor’s office wasn’t open.  Humph.

And so I called my mom.  And she reminded me that I DON’T in fact have to make all of these decisions tonight, I DO have two or three years still, and even after that I can STILL change my mind if I want, I’m not locked into a profession for life.

And then I remembered God.

And everything changed.

Because God is here, leading me, directing me, exposing the path that He has already laid out for me.  All I need to do is follow.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” ~JEREMIAH 29:11

And there is no need to worry, because God has met and will meet all of my needs.  He will take care of me, because I am His child.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap no gather into barns, and yet you heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life span?  And why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil or spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.  But if God so clothed the grasses of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we wear?’  for it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.  Today’s trouble is enough for today.” ~MATTHEW 6:25-34

And because of God, I have been given gifts to use on my journey; the drive to answer questions and help people, the desire to explore and discover new things, and the capacity to recognize that the complexity, wonderment, and awe of life is so much more than I will ever be able to understand.

“We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.” ~ROMANS 12:6

And I am so thankful, that God is in my life.

And then I picked up my guitar again, and I played through that song one more time, and I actually listened to the lyrics this time around.

Another turning point a fork stuck in the road,

Time grabs you by the wrist, and directs you where to go

So make the best of this test and don't ask why

It's not a question but a lesson learned in time

It’s something unpredictable but in the end it's right

I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs and still frames in your mind

Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time

Tattoos the memories and dead skin go on trial

For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It’s something unpredictable but in the end it's right

I hope you had the time of your life.

It’s something unpredictable but in the end it's right

I hope you had the time of your life.

It’s something unpredictable but in the end it's right

I hope you had the time of your life….

And it’s true.

*This should have been my first clue…

**It’s kind of ridiculous that we have so many advisors, but then again they’re all helpful in one area or another!  I have my academic advisor, my honors advisor, my CO-OP advisor, my study abroad advisor, my faculty advisor and a few others.