lessons learned

I was reading a post on H.net today about a girl who had accomplished so much in her 5 years since graduating from high school. It made me think, "what the bleep have I accomplished since I graduated?"

It's now been 2 years since I finished high school with honors grades and 2 International Baccalaureate Certificates. Since then, I have:

• Worked P/T at Swiss Chalet for a year and a half as a server.
• Did a year of Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Science @ The University of Alberta, only to find out halfway into it that it really wasn't my cup of tea.
• Worked full time at a manufacturing office for 8 months and LOVED it.
• I took ACCT 106 through NAIT's Continuing Education Program while working full time as a head start into my Accounting Diploma.

On November 12, 2008, I blogged:

Despite the fact that I'm not in school, I'm still learning every single day: I'm learning more about MYSELF than ever before. I'm getting to know the person that I am, things that I have overlooked for years, things that a University degree could never teach me. And I'm glad for the opportunity God gave me to learn such things about myself at such a young age.

I am amazed that I recognized this change in myself so early into my year off from school. As I look back on this year, I realize that I grew more than I could have ever imagined. 

• I learned to place more importance on my faith not because it was the "right" thing to do, but because I fell in love with Christ all over again and it was my desire to be more like Him.
• I became more involved in youth ministry and successfully coordinated a youth winter camp along with several student leaders, where I saw many lives recommitted to Christ.
• I frequently help with the worship ministry in our West End church plant. I've found that a new church ministry can be disorganized and spontaneous... but even so, worshipping Christ in the midst of it all is always beautiful.
  
• Surrounding yourself with good people is essential; besides, "bad company corrupts good character".
• Friends come and go, but the ones who matter will stay. I went through a phase where I "filtered" out friends that had a negative impact on who I was; the process was long and extremely difficult, but I now know that I have good-charactered friends that can be counted on through thick and thin.
• I made mistakes and lost friendships because of it, but I learned that sometimes the only thing to do is to apologize and leave the rest up to them.
  
• I've learned to be honest with others, and more importantly, honest with myself. 
• My bills = my responsibility. This wasn't the case when I was in high school.
• People rarely know what they want to do with their lives straight out of high school, and it isn't a simple decision either. In October 2008, I realized that of my high school girls, only 1 out of 5 of us was in a post-secondary program.
• There is a fine line between "what my parents want for me" and "what I want for myself"... but there, in fact, a line; it's just up to you to figure out where that line is.
• It is important to take your parents' advice when it comes to growing up and preparing for the future, but don't place so much importance on what they say that you forget what you feel is right for you. Only you have the final say and can make decisions for yourself.
• We can't always have the answers NOW; sometimes it takes thought and/or experience to come up with valid answers to our questions.
• In some cases and some fields, sometimes experience can be just as important as formal education.
  
• Our plans are never concrete. 
• Lastly, I've learned to love and that has been a reward on its own.