One Year.

The other day, I was thinking back over this past year.

I’ll be turning 18 in less than a month, and I was wondering: was my 17^th year well-spent? Did I accomplish things I set out to do?

If this was my last year on earth, would I be pleased with it?

Suddenly, an overwhelming list of the things I’ve accomplished since my 17^th birthday tumbled into my mind.

--I finished the editing/rewriting of Valiant Journeys.

--I submitted Valiant Journeys to a publisher. This means I researched and found a publisher, wrote my first query letter, and shipped it off to them.

--I reached the regional level in the ESU-US Shakespeare Recitation Competition with my monologue as Katherine from The Taming of the Shrew and sonnet. And I placed second.

--I reached the regional, state, and national levels of Poetry Out Loud, reciting Crossing the Bar by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Preludes, by T. S. Eliot, and Monet Refuses the Operation, by Lisel Mueller. (This was a great accomplishment—I have wanted to reach the national level since my freshman year, but only the 1^st place student in the state attends. And this year, I was that student.)

--I applied to, was accepted, and will be attending Patrick Henry College in the fall. (This included an essay on my faith, a writing sample, two recommendations, a thorough academic application, a phone interview, and a list of all the books I had read in the past four years. That list was 10 pages long.)

--I chose to follow God’s plan instead of mine, and will be on-campus at PHC in August.

--I found so many new friends, including many at PHC, and others not. (For example, Sky and I have become friends in real life, chattering away on Facebook about anything and everything.)

--I participated in my last piano recital, performing a medley of songs from Les Miserables.

--I received my full-fledged drivers’ license and have been driving solo on occasion.

--I self-published a few copies of Valiant Journeys to allow friends and family to read. For the first time, I truly held my book.

--I took the SAT for the first time.

--I was a National Merit Finalist.

--I had Hannah over at my house for a week and spent two days with Mirriam and her family.

--I gave the graduate address at my homeschool graduation to our class of nine students, their families, and the many friends who came to support us.

--I played the part of Mrs. Bennet in a production of Pride & Prejudice, and co-directed and will be performing as Marguerite Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel.

--I attended a Gungor concert with my dad and brother. It was amazing. I also attended a Tenth Avenue North concert with my entire family. It was also amazing.

--I went to a Rebelution conference with my dad, brother, and several friends.

--I had numerous medical tests to determine the cause of my ongoing stomach discomfort.

--I watched Sherlock for the first time, and by doing so, discovered my favorite television show.

--I acquired Jawn CumberMac. (My Macbook Pro.)

--I wrote lots of essays for scholarships.

--I continued to seek after God’s plan for my life, and began to truly understand what surrender is.

While to some these accomplishments might seem small or insignificant or trivial, to me, they are the summation of a year. 365 days.

And I’m proud of them.

Reminders of my soon-coming “adulthood” are all around me. I received my form to register to vote in the mail. Dorm supplies are piling up in large containers in our living room. Deadlines for housing and transcripts and such continue to march onward, despite my best attempts to stop them.

My life will be changing drastically in this next year.

But if those changes lead me closer to my Lord…

I embrace them.