Day 19 - My Legacy

I am coming to an end of one path and beginning a new one.  I have just 11 days left as an undergraduate.  I am moving to another state in just another 17 days.  Then I will start graduate school in just 2 months.

Just the other night I was recognized for all of my hard work as an undergrad at a ceremony by one of my professors.  I received the award for "Outstanding Student in Social Work."  My professor gave a five minute speech about all of my accomplishments as an undergrad.  She mentioned all the many things that I did as an undergrad from conducting a campus wide clothing drive for underprivileged children, to traveling to Cherokee, NC for immersion work with the American Indians, to volunteering at a local nursing home, to my character of goodness and kind heart, to my academic achievement of a cumulative GPA of a 4.0.  When I received this award my parents seemed so proud of me.  And it was a great feeling to be recognized for all of the hard work that I endured for the last four years of college.

But there was something missing...

I realized that I did not do all of this alone and could not possibly take all of the credit for all of the things that I accomplished.  I would not have been able to go to college without the financial support of my parents.  I would not have been so driven to volunteer without the encouragement of my friends that also volunteer.  I would not have gotten a 4.0 without my boyfriend's comfort on the nights I cried and stressed about writing my senior thesis.   And most of all,  I would not have done any of these things without God.   I would not have had as much passion or care for other people as I volunteered or in the classroom without the presence of God in my life.  What I want others to see when they look at me is not some person that is really smart or really cares about other people.  When people look at me, I want them to see that I have done all of these good works not for myself, not for others, but for God. I want them to know that it's not me doing all of this work, but it is God.

Have you ever had that person in your life that just shines above the rest?  Maybe they never accomplished anything this world would give an award to.  But they just stood out... And they left you wondering "what is it about that person?" Or "I want to have that passion that they have in their eyes."  Well, my friends, I want to be that person.  I want to stand out in ways that maybe the world will not recognize, but in ways that God recognizes.

As I'm graduating college, I can only pray that the legacy I have left at the College of Mount St. Joseph is not "that really smart, caring girl," or "that girl that won that award."  I hope that my legacy is written on the hearts of those that I came in contact with.