Ode to Taylor

Four years ago this weekend God lead me to Taylor University for four amazing, life-changing and lovely years! Oh, how I miss Taylor and all the people who impacted my life while there.

This summer for me has been a huge time of reflecting, grieving and anticipating new things; reflecting on the last four years of my life, grieving by leaving a place a called “home” and anticipating life after graduation.  It has been a time where God has drawn me closer to His heart and has shown me His faithfulness in so many ways.

One day this summer I was reflecting in my journal on the different impacts that I believe Taylor has had  on my life and then yesterday I was reading through them again and realized that these impacts can be applied to my life right now as I transition. I strongly believe that God prepares each step of our journey on earth and I am so thankful for that.

The journey that God has brought me on since I was born has truly been amazing. I am so thankful for growing up as a missionary kid, and having a supportive family.  And as I reflect I am reminded that in our journey there will always be ups and downs, but we have the chose to embrace each phase with either a happy heart or dissatisfied  heart.  As I talk about Taylor and how I have loved all four years of being there I want you to know that I am not being naïve. I know that there were definitely ups and downs throughout my years there, but I believe the downs changed me just as much as the ups. Taylor is by no means a perfect place, but it is a place that has had a huge impact on me.

So here are some of the impacts/lessons I learned while at Taylor:

…deep friendships with friends, mentors and professors…  these people impacted my life through care, support, prayers, funniness, laughs, cries, runs, teachings, listening ears, and memoires that will last a lifetime!  From these relationships I know that in Korea I desire to develop some deep friendships and be accountable to a mentor. My relationships from college will not be replaced, but with a welcoming heart I want to embrace “new” friends in this new season of my life.

…healing… Taylor was placed God used to bring healing to my life in the death of my aunt (who I was very close to) and a broken heart.

...a desire to worship and hear truth… being surrounded by so many amazing examples of Christ was humbling.  My faith was challenged in a positive way and I learned how to make my faith my own. The privilege of having chapel three times a week and attending a church where truth was spoken from the Bible fed my faith in many ways.  I anticipate this growth to continue as I live in Korea and teach at a Christian school, attend a church and surround myself with other Christians.

…God is faithful in all things… there are many stories that I can share about God’s faithfulness throughout my time at Taylor. And God has already continued to show me His faithfulness in Korea. He daily shows me that He is my friend, my provider, and all that I need. He has placed small blessings in my life that have touched me in many ways.

…how to rest and have fun… Taylor was a place where I got involved in many awesome things, but it also taught me to rest and have fun. This was a hard lesson to learn especially my first three years of college. My senior year my housemates really challenged me to take more time to have fun (man, did we ever- we baked, went on fun road trips, watch Taylor soccer  games in the pouring rain, stayed up late and did so many crazy things) and a mentor who challenged me to rest. These are two things that I am quickly realizing that I need to practice again in Korea. I need to set down my school work to have fun and I need to spend time of just resting and not feeling guilty about it. This is definitely a goal of mine this next year.., to rest and have fun!!! J

My time at Taylor was an amazing journey of ups and downs.  There countless more things that I could say about Taylor, but I have decided to make a digital scrapbook to remember all the memoires instead of blogging about each one! Now I anticipate and eagerly wait to look back on my journey in South Korea someday. I know that God has me here for a purpose and I can’t wait to see the impact and lessons I learn.

If there are any freshmen reading this I want to tell you one thing and that is  to enjoy the journey of college… it flies by so fast!!!

Love, Daniella

A few pictures to capture some of the moments (it was so hard to chose... I wanted to put all 1,000+)

My college housemates who taught me to have fun!



My college housemates who taught me to have fun! {I couldn't find one with all us together :( }

A mentor, Sara James, who showed me how to rest!

Elementary Education friends who kept me laughing through all our "work"



A mentor who poured into my life and played many games of dutch blitz with me!!

A friend who gave a listening ear whenever I needed one especially freshmen year!

One of best friends who ran and prayed with me all through college!

Awesome friends who encouraged, and challenged me!

 

 And like I said I wish I could share so many more photos with you, but I guess if you want to see more you can come find me and look at my scrapbook of Taylor sometime! :)