What I Didn't Know

In church today, there were some freshman girls sitting behind me, talking about what they thought of the church and other things. It made me think of my freshman year in college; what I thought I knew then, and what I definitely know now...but mostly, it made me think of what I DIDN'T know four years ago...

• I didn't know that I would not get into the interior design program the first year I applied
• Related to the above, I didn't know that I would be in the middle of some Iowa cornfields for five whole years of school
• I didn't know just how difficult DSN 131 and DSN 102 would be
• I didn't know squat about interior design
• I didn't know how much I would miss Minnesota lakes
• I didn't know that I would not be studying abroad in Rome my senior (or in this case, super-senior) year like I had planned since high school
• I didn't know that I would ever find a boy so perfect for me
• I definitely didn't know that my final year of school I would be much more concerned and preoccupied with planned a wedding (MY wedding, of all things!) than with any schoolwork I might be given
• I didn't know that life would be so filled with ups and downs during these college years; almost nothing has been static during this time

Basically, everything that I ever wanted and planned for in college has been completely twisted around and turned upside-down. I was supposed to be done in four years, fully graduated with a degree in interior design, fresh from a semester studying abroad in Rome, before jetting out to the East Coast to work for a few years, and I definitely thought I was going to be single for quite some time (not by my own choice, but I just assumed). Instead, I had my dream of interior design taken away from me for one of the hardest years of my life, and then given back again; had my dream of studying abroad in Rome completely taken away, (that one is not going to be given back), and met my wonderful boy right after I became 100% fully content and happy with being single. God definitely has his own plans, and I have to say, they tend to be at least a little bit better than anything I could ever dream up for myself. :)