Rachel Mikhail | 19 November 2019
Rachel Mikhail is an undergraduate student at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. She is studying chemistry on a Pre-Pharmacy track.
Wake up, get to class, go home, study, go to bed, repeat. This is just the average day for a college student, excluding days where we have other commitments besides academics that we must take care of. Any break we get or any class that gets canceled, giving us some time to ourselves, we usually occupy by sleep (everyone’s favorite), studying, or personal relaxation. Those seemingly never-ending weeks really cause us to focus on what needs to get done so we can finally relax. But what is it that we, as college students, need to really be focused on? Yes, homework, studying, taking care of ourselves by eating well and/or working out, and social life but what about the things that grant us stillness and joy with the life we have been blessed with? Think about it, amid all the chaos of school, we are blessed to be alive, have supporting friends and family, are fortunate enough to not have to think about where our next meal will come from, and receive an education that not everyone gets the chance to receive. It can be so difficult to appreciate all these things evidently because we hardly ever take the time to identify the factors that give us inner peace, an inner peace that leaves us feeling content with what we have, and what we don’t have.
Now, the question is how can we find this inner peace? What makes it so difficult to answer this question is that there isn’t really a formula that we can follow that will lead us to find inner peace at the end Factors such as our personal relationship with God and our willingness to take some extra steps to find inner peace will determine how easy or difficult this process will be. However, one thing that can work for almost everyone is taking small steps at a time; Thanking God every morning after we wake up, that He gave us another day to live, another day to live comfortably and happily with all the same abilities we had the day before. This not only helps us become more satisfied with what we have, but accredits God for these things because what do we have that God did not give to us? The colleges that we are at right now, the grades we receive, and the growth we have experienced is all on the path that God has paved for us. This helps us realize that God has a plan in action right now, and knowing that He could never let us fail gives us this inner peace we need to survive in such a chaotic world. Many days, we are tested with trials that lead us to question everything; these thoughts are normal, yet the practice of not dwelling on these times will also help us find stillness more smoothly. We all know that nothing good comes easy, but we must constantly carry a grateful attitude. Think that whatever situation caused us trouble also lead to personal growth, leading us to be one step closer to our end goals. God does not let hard work go to waste, but the ability to realize this takes a lot of practice. Carry a grateful attitude.
The ability to be content and to know that God’s plan for us will work out is easier said than done. It is not easy to see yourself struggling in a class for a whole semester only to get a B in the class and still carry that grateful attitude. We aren’t expected to rejoice over our misfortunes, but rather to trust where God will take us after that struggle. Even the concept of trusting His plan is difficult because we are afraid of the unknown. But if we practice the little things, these little things become habits and before we know it, our thoughts and actions have taken on the traits we have practiced. we need to try to thank God every morning and practice the art of trusting Him and His plans for us more than worrying now and doubting the plan God has already perfected for us. Carry a grateful attitude.
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