by Sarah Brashears, Co Editor-in-Chief
Over the course of the last year, I have often done a lot of reflecting.
To be honest, maybe too much reflecting at times.
When I look back over the part of my college experience that has passed, especially being a year out from graduating, I can’t help but feel a quiet ache in my chest.
It feels like I haven’t lived it the way everyone says you’re “supposed to.”
I don’t go to the parties, I haven’t built a big friend group, and I don’t have those spontaneous adventures people talk about years later.
Honestly, most of my days are spent in a quiet routine – studying, working, go to class, go to the gym, come home.
I watch from the sidelines as other people make memories that look so full of life.
Sometimes I can’t help but wonder what is wrong with me.
Why don’t I have that story? Why can’t I fit in?
That’s when the sadness crept in. I convinced myself I have wasted time.
That I have missed out in something I can never get back. That maybe I don’t belong anywhere.
And for a while, I have let those thoughts settle into my heart like heavy bricks.
But today, in an unexpected and gentle way, God reminded me that He does not write the same story twice, ever.
He whispered to my heart that my path is mine for a reason.
That while I am sitting here comparing my journey to everyone else’s, He is quietly building something deeper in me, something that could never be captured in photos or social media highlights.
The truth is, God’s timing rarely matches our own expectations.
We want things to happen now. We want to feel included now.
We want to see progress now. But God works in the unseen.
He uses the waiting seasons, the quiet seasons, the lonely seasons; not to punish us, but to prepare us.
I realized that in my solitude, God was teaching me how to rely on Him first, not on friends, not on validation, not on experiences.
He was shaping my heart to find peace in His presence before I found it anywhere else.
And maybe that’s why things didn’t unfold the way I planned.
Because if I had been busy chasing every moment, I might have missed the still, sacred ones.
The ones where I truly heard His voice.
Sometimes, God’s “not yet” isn’t a “no.” It’s His way of saying, “Trust Me. I’m working on something that’s going to make sense later.”
I think about all the nights I stayed home feeling left out, not realizing that God was using those moments to draw me closer to Him.
I think about how I used to beg Him to change my circumstances, and now I see how He was changing me instead.
When I stopped trying to measure my life against someone else’s, I finally began to see the beauty in what God was doing in mine.
My story may look different, but it’s mine and it’s unfolding exactly the way it’s meant to.
So, if you’re reading this and feeling behind, unseen, or like your life doesn’t look the way it’s “supposed” to, take a deep breath. You are not late. You are not forgotten.
You are not missing out. You are right where God wants you to be.
The path He’s leading you on might not be flashy, but it’s holy. It’s purposeful.
It’s preparing you for things you can’t even imagine yet.
Trust His timing. Even when it feels slow.
Even when it feels quiet. Because one day, you’ll look back and realize that every delay, every disappointment, and every detour was actually divine direction.
And when that moment comes, when everything finally begins to make sense, you’ll thank Him not just for what He gave you, but for what He withheld until you were ready.I’m still learning, still growing, and still trusting.
But today, I’m at peace knowing that my story is unfolding exactly how God intended, one day, one prayer, one step of faith at a time.