When I first saw the walls of my dorm in Louisville Hall, I had only one thought on my mind: wow this dorm is small. But little did I know the lessons I learned my freshman year would shape me more than my prior seventeen years of life ever could have. When I went into my first year of college, the last thing on my long, arbitrary, list of fears was the idea that college would pass right before my eyes. I feared things like change and staying afloat amongst the assignments and a complete change of scenery and pace.

While those fears did appear to emerge as issues at times, I quickly began to shift my views of these "problems" to lessons that I would time and time again encounter through my first year. This year I am beginning my Sophomore Year at the University of Louisville, and this time around I am greeting this semester with a smile. Now my largest and most perplexing fear is that I don't have enough time.

So hello Sophomore Year. Since we are first meeting there are a few rules I need to lay down. In this year I cannot and will not look back to the past with 'what ifs', this year can not be a year that I doubt myself or miss the chances I'm given. While being afraid of failure and insecurities are inevitable, this year I will not let that hinder me. I will look to the new possibilities to have a voice and make a difference as opportunities and not obligations. I am realizing that some things that take the most time and effort spurn the greatest differences and outcomes.

This year I will focus on myself. For a long time, learning to love and accept myself for who I am was nowhere near the top of my list of necessities. There were school supplies, and back to school clothes from all of the popular name brands, but these did little to insight a positive feeling towards myself. Making myself and my mental health a necessity is the only way I can imagine making all of my goals feel worthwhile. Without the confidence necessary to go out and make a difference nothing will ever be enough. This year I will be enough.

Lastly, this year I will grow in my faith. Without Him, I would not be anywhere. In all situations, I will learn to let my faith outweigh my fear. Through God, I can learn what it is that I am meant to do. He has given me gifts and a voice,all of these this along with wonderful opportunities I could never have imagined. It is important that not only I but all people never lose sight of who we are. No matter where Sophomore Year takes me, through all times I must remember who I am and embrace growing that person, the way He intended.