Yep, it's official

Today marks a very special day for me. About one year ago, I packed up my family's van, said tearful goodbyes, and road tripped to Texas from North Carolina. I would often get puzzled looks from people who found out I was from North Carolina and would always get asked, "What made you decide to come to UT?" And most of the time, I was a little unsure myself. Yes, my older sister did attend UT and that is how the idea was introduced to me. And yes, my family did once live in Texas before I was born so it wasn't completely random. But for the longest time I couldn't really express exactly what caused me to come to Austin. But today, after submitting my forms and supporting documents to apply for establishing Texas residency earlier this week, my official status no longer said "non-texas resident," but rather, "texas resident!"

to celebrate the occasion I got frozen yogurt of course :)

The excitement I felt was almost comparable to the excitement I felt when finding out that I got accepted to UT. And the best part was looking up my tuition bill which had DRAMATICALLY decreased! But this got me thinking about this past year. In order to establish residency I had to work part-time while going to school full-time, which was a difficult as well as good experience for me. I really learned how to manage my time and how to make time for the things that were most important to me. And when I consider my time here at UT so far, I feel like it has been one of the most enjoyable and most precious experiences I have had in my life. Not only was my first year away from home and in college very exciting, but my Christian life really changed in a positive way.

I really feel like my love for the Lord grew this past year and it was greatly due to my specific situation. For example, I had to work Friday's afternoons to evenings and Saturday mornings pretty far north from campus. So, if I were to commute both days, it would have been very tiring. But a family, who is connected with the Christians on campus club I am a part of, happened to live up North, very close to where I worked. They would invite me over for dinner Friday nights and let me spend the night with them so I didn't have to commute all the way from my apartment the next morning. This time I spent at their house was very special to me. Even though we didn't exactly have a formal time in the Bible or anything like that, their care for me in this way really touched me and caused me to love the Lord more.

Experiences like this, along with many others, is why I came to UT. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn't come. I am so grateful to the Lord for caring for me this year through others and strengthening my faith along the way.