Post graduation reflection

Hi everyone,
     Four years has come and gone like leaves in the wind. I still remember getting that phone call from my admissions councilor at George Fox saying that I had been accepted. Thank you to all of you for reading these monthly blogs. These blogs allowed me to reflect on my journey through college in addition to providing an update to those of you who I didn't keep in contact with on a regular basis.
     Going to George Fox challenged me in more ways then one but Im not even going to pretend that that was bad. Going to a Quaker school allowed me to learn about and somewhat appreciate another branch of christianity that I did not grow up with. I was able to intern at and then later fully attend a quaker church were I could witness what an evangelical Friends(aka quaker)church service looked like.Up until February, the church participated in as part of their service a time called open worship. At first I didn't fully understand or appreciate what this time was used for but then the more I attended and learned about their beliefs began to appreciate and enjoy this time of the service as a time to fully engage with God and let our minds and hearts process the message that was preached.
     Attending George Fox not only helped me to learn more about myself but about my cohort and the world around me. I feel like I was truly able to learn how to advocate for myself to people that didn't already know me or the needs that I had. I was able to learn in more depth about issues happening in the world around us such as houseless-ness, unemployment, and what it truly means to be a social worker in today's world.
     The Bible tells us that God will be with us wherever we go. Well, I have felt him more in the last four years then maybe ever before.  I feel as though I have become closer to him and that my relationship with God has become stronger. I have mentioned this before in a blog or two but I have a firm belief that God created a plan for each of us as to what will happen and where we will end up in each stage of our lives.As many of you know, I had decided last fall that I was going to apply to grad schools and attend right away. Well, that clearly was not his plan. What this taught me was that we may think we know what the plan is for our lives but despite what we think will happen. God is in control and I think that was the ultimate message and lesson that I learned during the last four years.
Thanks for reading these and for following me on this journey,
Allison😊