Introducing: Real World Survival Tips!

It's that time of year again. A time when one thing is about to end, and another is about to begin. A time of melancholy for the thing that is passing, and a time of joyful expectancy for the things that will soon come to pass. A time when you feel like laughing and crying all at once.

School is almost over.

For many of us the school year is coming to a close. I finish in roughly four weeks, but with it I do not just finish the school year, I finish school as I know it, and must prepare to move on to a new leg in this journey called life. In four weeks, I will be an official highschool graduate (whenever I say that it makes me feel old, especially considering I have friends in eighth and ninth grade). The safety of home will soon be stripped away from me and I will be thrown, helpless, into the yawning abyss of *The Real World.*

Okay, okay, it's probably not as horrible as it sounds, at least I hope it isn't. While it can be a bit sad to think about leaving home and moving to a far away city (in my case, half-way across the country) I am nevertheless excited about the work that the Lord will do in my life, and the countless ways that I will grow in my faith through this experience.

For all of you who are about to face the great unknown of The Real World, as I am, I want to join together to encourage and uplift you, and myself. ;) Beginning next week I will present several posts highlighting ways that we can survive The Real World, whether that be college, a job, or both (yikes!). Now, I know what you're probably thinking right about now. How would she know how to survive The Real World? She hasn't even encountered it yet! Yes, I know I haven't, so these survival tips are gleaned from observing my older sister's run-in with The Real World, and all the ways in which my parents have prepared her, and myself, to survive it. I'll also throw in some "theories," or things that I believe could act as survival tips, and will be experimenting with when I move to The Real World.

Leaving the comforts of home is not always a happy thought, but when we take with us the things we learned in the safe haven of our home we have a better chance of survival outside of it. May the Lord bless you all as you venture into The Real World with Jesus Christ by your side.

"In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world!" -Jesus (John 16:33)