Dreams. They are why we went to college in the first place. We wanted to be world-changers, to find someone special and to make something of ourselves. Dreams are also our driving force when we leave college. We want that dream job, a fulfilled future and life with purpose.
For some, dreams quickly come true with a ring by spring or a job lined up before graduation. For others, dreams keep on being dreams a little longer.
After graduating from John Brown University four months ago, I found myself moving back in with my family and struggling to find a resume-worthy job.
My dream of moving to Nashville with an amazing job waiting for me has been left unfulfilled, and my reality of being an unemployed college graduate stings a little bit more each morning as I open up my laptop and search for job openings.
For me, life after college means doing what I said I would never do and facing my biggest fear: failure.
I was very adamant during college that I would never move home after graduation. I didn’t want people to think that I wasn’t good enough to get a good job or that I didn’t work hard enough during college.
Moving back home symbolized that I had failed as an adult. After moving out and going to college in another state, working hard to earn good grades, and learning what life was like living on my own, I couldn’t do the one thing that would guarantee my success as an adult: finding a full-time, degree-related job.
I made the tough decision to move back home after I realized that it was the financially responsible thing to do.
By moving back home, God was allowing me to face this fear of failure and realize the lie that I had been telling myself. I was not a failure, but I did need to learn to more fully trust in God’s plan for my life and trust in His timing.
I don’t know what my future holds, where I will find a job, or if I will ever move to Nashville, but I do know that God will bless me where I am in my life, and that His plan for me is far better than mine.
Maybe you are facing life after college in ways that you least expected, or you are about to graduate and are afraid of what the future holds for you. Maybe you just started college and are struggling in this new setting.
Whatever stage you are in, I hope you are reminded that failure may be a big fear, and the future may look like a big question mark, but God is bigger than all of the unknown.
Sometimes it’s okay to go home. It gives you time to rest, time to realize the truth and time to get even closer to God. It reminds you of why you started dreaming in the first place.
Sometimes, home is what you needed all along.