Let’s take a moment to think back to high school. Oh, yes: the inconsistent friendships, the pretending, and the unbearably awkward social interactions. I’m immediately reminded of that one time that I was dropped by my dance partner and landed on my head in front of my entire team. Some stories like this will never be forgotten, but thank the Lord that for this period of time, the phrase “this too shall pass” rings true.

The average high school experience also includes a powerful fear of merging friends with your family. For whatever reason in high school, it is generally known that your family is exceedingly uncool. Having your family members present at any event with friends was considered sure-fire social suicide. We tended to use our time in high school to try and separate ourselves from the constant presence of our family and spend much more time with friends. That’s what is considered normal and acceptable, using high school logic, anyway.

Thankfully, this high school truth usually reverses in college. If you’re anything like me, and you decide to move hundreds of miles away from your hometown to attend a university, (a choice I would surely make all over again), your family suddenly becomes just about the best thing ever.

After high school, I began to develop a desire to introduce all of my friends to my family and keep them a part of my life. I no longer fill my parents in on my life’s events because I have to–now I really want to.

The times when I do get to see my family are so much more exciting, as it only happens every so often during a busy semester. This past weekend, my parents and brother drove down from northern California to visit. I couldn’t successfully contain my excitement as I heard their knock on my apartment door. Visits are now eagerly anticipated, as we get to catch up on life and I get to show them off to my friends.

When your family visits your university, you suddenly come up with thousands of possible things to show them. I always have way too many events placed on my agenda when my family visits, one of the first being a trip to Target to stock up on everything that I lack. Believe me, you never fully appreciate free deodorant until you have to get used to buying it yourself. When your parents buy things for you, like groceries and movie tickets and an off-campus dinner, it’s a marvelous treat. (Thanks, family!)

After the initial shopping spree and dinner out to Thai food, I was able to take my family to Laguna Beach, the giant antique shop downtown, and to my new church. I had such an amazing time that I can fully appreciate a separate world from my high school years. Showing my family all the things I have discovered at my new home and connecting them with my friends and their families is such a huge thrill.

College most certainly depletes the high school mentality and brings a new excitement for bridging two worlds together. I guess that’s one of the perks of growing up!

My friends, BEWARE. Mid-February is upon us, signifying the return of annual weeks of “give ups.”

College students all know what I am referring to. After the first of January, all of us are filled with passion and determination to maintain all of our New Year’s resolutions. As active, hopeful young adults, we truly believe for one fleeting moment that we will, in fact, get healthier, read more and stress less. Unfortunately, we all recognize the fact that many, if not all, of these resolutions do not last the year. By mid-February all resolve is forgotten, and many of us shrug it off saying, “Oh well, there’s always next year.”

Believe me, I understand the difficulties of keeping up New Year’s Resolutions as well as the next hopeful. I set high goals and am bummed when they are not fully met. Once classes settle into a comfortable routine, it is easy to scrape on by and neglect new priorities made early in the year. I believe, however, that if you want something to change in your life, there is no better time than the present to start working towards your goals.

Let this post be my encouragement to all of us students to return to our priorities and continue on this adventuresome quest of resolving to achieve our goals. It does not matter if we have perhaps missed the bar already. Let us start from scratch and work toward a more well-rounded and healthy lifestyle during this next year in our lives as students.

I’ll first cover a New Year’s Resolution that is popular on campus, especially among all of my English major comrades. This goal is to simply read more books for fun. This is vitally important to edify the spirit and enrich one’s repertoire. Reading at least one unassigned book every month or so adds to a richer college experience and gives students the ability to extend the learning experience outside the classroom.

My advice for keeping this resolution is to first start small. Too often I’ll reach for the books that weigh as much as a large brick and bring dense concepts as well as lofty style. The goal to finish it usually crashes and burns when I lay on my couch, get 10 pages in and snap it shut in angry exasperation. We have all been there. So, rather than experience this once more, I have decided to start with the books I typically refer to as “cotton candy.” These are the lighter works with lots of shelf-appeal that I pick up in a bookstore and easily devour in a matter of days. When you start small, it is easier to develop the habit of simply reading for the pleasure of gaining new insights.

A second, wildly popular new year resolution goal that usually ends abruptly is physical fitness. Oh, yes, I know that this is a hard one. This is the one in which I go to the gym once and try running on the elliptical. We all know what comes next. I tire after what feels like an hour but is actually just five minutes, then collapse on the floor groaning dejectedly as I become sore before even leaving the gym.

My advice for achieving a healthier lifestyle is pretty simple: find a buddy and make it a routine. We all need a little bit of accountability to form a more difficult habit. At California Baptist University, it is fairly easy to find someone to go to the Recreation Center with as it is a nice, brand new facility and offers a little something for everyone, athletic or not. Find a friend who will accompany you consistently, then develop the habit. Once you get used to going to the Recreation Center, find the exercise you enjoy, and choose to do that. To make the time fly, you can even bring a book to read as you run on the treadmill or cycle. (See what I did there? Merging goals is the way to go!) Once one habit is formed, other adjustments will soon follow, developing into a healthier lifestyle than ever before.

As always, I must emphasize that in order to maintain a well rounded, driven life. It is important to stop and smell the roses as they grow. Always find time to meet someone new, invest in an old friend, drink some coffee and be amazed at God. As you budget your time and fit in all your new habits, remember to enjoy life, embrace opportunities, and serve the Lord in all you do.

Time seems to be a temperamental character in my life. It goes quickly one season, entirely too slowly the next and then it switches tempo over the course of a single weekend. God must have designed our perception of time this way to serve a certain purpose. Changes in time throughout each experience reveals much about the way we handle events and what we view as important. As always, each week that passes teaches me to embrace each and every moment and even enjoy any little oddity that comes my way.

To illustrate what I mean by oddities and scattered occurrences, I will briefly explain my current dream situation. Lately, I have been having vivid dreams.

One such subconscious adventure included a camping trip with my family and a few friends from high school. We were in the wilderness of the Deep South, surrounded by swamp creatures and traveling circus performers. Each night, the performers at the campground provided entertainment for us, incorporating different swamp animals in their act. One evening, the lead actor announced his upcoming stunt featuring the largest, strongest and most mysterious creature in the entire swamp: the ever-elusive Bigfoot.

The details of my dream are fuzzy at this point, and I cannot remember the majority of what occurred after the show with the Sasquatch. I woke up just as my family and I finally made it to a different portion of the campground after avoiding capture with the help of an unusually friendly ‘squatch. I have no idea how we got there or what happened, but I most definitely wish I could have remembered our survival tactics so I could use these necessary skills in future camping trips that may go awry. After all, you never know when you will need to befriend or avoid a Bigfoot.

I will admit that this is not the strangest dream I have ever had (oddly enough), but this one did cause me to be reminded of how important it is to observe and cherish details in life.

Here, amidst the constant happenings of the college lifestyle, time moves by in scattered increments. It is easy to look at just the general picture and miss out on the details that pass you by. In between class, Woo Week, rock climbing at the new Recreational Center and coffee shops, I constantly fall into the mistake of living deadline to deadline and missing a few stops in between. This is why I constantly note the importance of building relationships both on and off campus, especially with fellow students and those in leadership. Once I stop whatever I am doing and break routine for a moment, I immediately see twice as much beauty than I had before. Conversations with a trusted resident advisor, reuniting with an old First-Year Orientation and Christian University Success Leader or simply conversing with someone new helps to open yourself up to new possibilities and enjoy the journey all students go through at California Baptist University. We surely are here for each other, and we should enjoy this unique time of fellowship as we strive to earn a well-rounded education.

As Christ lived a life aware of others and keen to advance the kingdom of God, so we as believers should do what it takes to observe life. Relationships, worship and service opportunities are all around, and it is a shame to miss out on any because of too much focus on routine. The time will come where we look back on life at CBU and think fondly on our friends and adventures, rather than that one paper you stressed over for a while. It is the details that we will remember; so let us embrace them now. After all, if the (unlikely) time comes where we all must learn to befriend a Bigfoot, the details are what we will want to remember.