Not everyone was meant to graduate in four years from college. In fact, most students today graduate with a minimum of five years under their belt. Going into college, I was determined that I would not be that - I wanted to graduate in four years time, start in the workforce at the ripe age of 21 (I have a late birthday), and begin my life immediately. After all, I graduated third in a class of 375, took several AP classes and aced all of them in high school, and was considered somewhat of a brainiac by many of my peers in high school. So why shouldn't I succeed?

Life has other plans.

I ended up transferring. I decided I wanted to double major, because there is so much that I want to do in this world and so much I want to offer. I spent many sleepless nights in tears and asking God why I had to make these choices and why I had to do so much to reach my goals. It broke my heart the day I spoke to an advisor at USM and she told me there was no possible way I would be able to graduate when I was supposed to. I realize how right she was, now, as I have another full load for this fall semester and one pending in the spring. It threw my life's plan into such a panic that I wasn't sure where to go next, and I just wanted to break down.

Then I let my faith in God take hold, and put all of my trust for the future in Him. I looked at everything around me- the friends I was able to spend more time with because I would be here an extra year, the experience I was gaining that would already put me one step ahead of so many my age in my career. The maturity I was gaining as a person when I actually took the time to step back and stress a little less about being a model of perfection that no one expected me to be but myself. When this past school year came to an end and the time passed when I should have graduated, I realized that I wasn't ready to go. There was more I wanted to learn and more that needed to be addressed before I could feel comfortable out in the world on my own.

Some people are ready in four years. Some people are ready in less. But for those of us that need a little more time (especially if you are a music major, because that takes time... believe me), it doesn't mean that you didn't try as hard, and it doesn't mean that you have failed in comparison to your classmates who you feel are moving on without you.

What is most important is that you took the leap to get your education- the first step to your success. It is a journey of decisions, mistakes, and celebrations. If you are making your victory lap... or you are making your victory lap for the fifth time, sit back and enjoy the process- soak in the information that will be beneficial to you for the rest of your life, and thank God that you have the opportunity to be at an institution of higher learning at all. All of your goals will come to fruition in time, but sometimes God's plan isn't quite what we initially had in mind.

Trust. Let go. Be patient. And most importantly, grow from the process.