With love, Carly

It’s been a minute.

The last few weeks have been crazy busy, hectic, and I had made writing here seem like a chore. So I took a few off from the deadlines I had put on myself because I felt like everything I tried to create was forced.

I was far past the time I had planned on taking off, continually pushing my next deadline farther and farther. I felt like I had nothing to say and was in a creative rut. The other morning, over coffee, when I was explaining that I felt stuck, a friend told me to just keep going. Simple words that made me wonder why I hadn’t sat down to write in months. Today, feeling more inspired, I am excited to be back and to reflect on the past year as I enter summer. It’s about time.

This school year, I was stretched and pushed in ways I never have been. I learned a lot and did a ton of introspecting by looking into my past and the state of my heart. I went through a lot of big life changes, from moving out to cutting 9 inches off of my hair. I had some incredibly joyful and abundant moments and I also experienced a lot of pruning, waiting, and planting- in expectance of a harvest I have yet to reap but am patiently awaiting the fruits of.

I am incredibly grateful for this year that has introduced me to so many friends that the adjective “new” no longer seems fitting for. I am so glad for the coffees and laughs that have been shared. The conversations and books that have shifted my perspective and the This year has been hard, crazy, stressful, and confusing but it has also been home to the most growth, healing, love, and excitement I have experienced. I had already packed most of my things the last night I spent in my dorm. I sat at my very empty and sad desk and jotted down some of the most important things I learned this year in my notebook, which was one of the few things I had yet to put in a box.

1. Change is good- you learn the most when you are uncomfortable.
2. Life is about relationships- with this I am learning how to love well, to listen intently, and to be present. It is a challenge but so glorious and worth it.
3. I am an introvert in the sense that I unwind and relax in solitude. Alone time is sacred and worth carving out. Go for a bike ride, read a book, take a bath buy yourself some flowers.
4. The Lord’s calling for your life is higher than your biggest dream. Stop worrying about what you are supposed to become and just focus on whose you are and the desires that are written on your heart because of it.
5. You cannot do it all and do it well. Commit and then pour out but do not spread yourself thin. There is no shame in saying no.
6. Kindness is always cool.
7. You are young. Do not take life too seriously that you forget this.
8. All shall be well. The sun will continue to rise. The Earth will continue to spin. And all will be well in the morning. The morning will always come.
9. Invest in love and there will always be hearts for you to call home.
10. Oh and always make your bed. It makes the room like 10x cleaner than it is.
11. Just do the thing that you want to do. Buy the shirt, take the picture, go to the concert, text the boy, get coffee with that friend you’ve been meaning to reach out to, chase the lion. I would rather try and get shot down then never try at all and always wonder. I have found that I regret the things I did not do exponentially more than the things I did do— so go out on a limb and do it.

I have learned a lot in this small sliver of my life. And as much as I delight in reflecting on what I have been through, I am excited to get the choice to move forward and onward in many aspects of my life. Cheers to this life!

With love,

Carly