As finals season envelopes Campbell University's undergraduate students, we all seem to be praying that we just make it to break.

"Break." Christmas break!! Winter break! Semester break.

But before you know it, many of us begin to fall into living life always waiting for the next "break." Whether it be spring break, weekend break, summer break, or so on and so forth.

Hold on here with me for a second though because I am in no way opposing the relief that comes along with breaks, and I, for one, look forward to them too! But- maybe, just maybe, if we put on brakes, yes "brakes" on, instead then we would spend so much time hoping for all the other "breaks."

What do I mean by "put on the brakes," one may ask, so let me explain.

Within my first semester at Campbell, I finally gave myself the long overdue time to decompress the past 3 years of my life (as I transferred my education & residence 75 miles from the only hometown I had ever known to a boarding school when I was just 15 years old.)

I looked back on my life, and I began to cruise down memory lane as I unraveled my feelings on past events while looking to God as my tour guide. I began to re-direct my mindset back to the Man, who was never going to lead me astray- the Lord (Psalm 23:2)! I started "putting the brakes on" for things that no longer felt right in my life as I was striving to follow God more closely.

I "put the brakes on" looking to my peers for affirmation or guidance and began to look to the Word or come to the Lord in prayer. Before I knew it, the Lord was transforming my life for the better as I had read about in the Word (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23). A multitude of things within my life began to change, and trust me, I know how terrifying change is for most of us.

But that's just the thing about life- is seems as if the only constant in life is change.

I watched myself become renewed to the point that I felt like a new person, but it's not that I was a different person; more so, I was just an improved version of self. I hope that with each day I change for the better while keeping my eyes on Him.

People always say how college is all about "finding yourself," but why not make every day of your life a venture to LoKait the best version of yourself instead of wishing for all these "breaks"?