"I Will Guide You." Psalm 32:8

Hello all you beautiful people!

Oh my goodness, it has been far too long since I have posted. With senior year drawing to a close and college decision deadlines steadily approaching, I felt that it was time for me to finally post this, so here yah go! :)

Over the past few months, I've been thinking a lot about college. As a result, being the indecisive person that I am, the idea of having to choose a place to live, learn, and love for the next four years of my life stressed me out a bit. :P (lol it still does)

I am the kind of person that loves to plan everything out and have everything go according to that plan. College wise, I had two main schools in mind. One of these schools I didn't think I would get into so I kind of made up my mind on going to the second school. Then, low and behold, I got into the first school. Cause for celebration, right? Wrong. I completely stressed out. I actually was a tad bit upset because I had started to plan on going to the second college so much that I had ruled out the first college and moved on.

For a good few months, I talked to close to a hundred people. (Okay maybe not a hundred, but it felt like that many. :P) I never was able to find the answer I was looking. I wanted someone to just come out and say, " Isabelle! College A is clearly better than College B, go to College A." But, to my disappointment, no one said that. I got a lot of, "Oh wow, you're so lucky to have such great options. Good luck deciding!" Definitely not what I wanted to hear.

I received the same kind of answers from a lot of people and became a little discouraged. I decided the only way I was going to be able to choose was if I made a chart of all the pros and cons of each college.

After making a sheet of various things I liked and disliked about each college, I was still just as torn...Seeing how the sheet making seemed to be of little help, I decided to visit my top two schools again.

I scheduled the two campus tours and hoped for the best. When I finally got around to actually visiting my colleges for the second time, I tried to keep an open mind. (The best piece of advice I received during my college search was that being an open minded person is essential to accepting what God's will is for your future.)

After having visited the two colleges, jamming both visits with as many meetings with professors and various other campus activities, I came home.
Let me tell you, those two visits made the world of difference. At the first college I visited I enjoyed every second of it. From the classes and daily mass to playing soccer with a college group my friend started, the entire trip was a complete success. There was just something about the atmosphere that made me feel as if I was home. It's hard to explain. I felt like I had found my niche. I loved the people that surrounded me and I loved the way their priorities matched up with mine.

 My second visit did not go as well. The whole time I felt nervous. My stomach was all in knots, my throat was dry, and I just felt on edge the entire time. Not only was I not as impressed with the overall atmosphere at the second campus, I couldn't help but shake this feeling of me not belonging. I felt so out of place. Again, this is really hard to describe. To be honest, I don't have a clear idea as to what I was feeling. However, I could tell then, and even more so now, that everything that I was feeling was telling me how I truly felt about the colleges.
I realized that I was feeling a certain way for a reason and that maybe, just maybe, this was God's way of trying to tell me something.

So, after visiting both colleges, praying...a lot, and, weighing out the pros and the cons, I was able to finally come to a decision. But let me tell you, this was probably one of the hardest decisions that I have had to make thus far in my life.

Being the super indecisive person I am, I was still having doubts even after I had officially made a decision on which college I was going to attend. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm pretty dense. God was probably shaking his head thinking, "What have I got to do to get across to this girl?! Hit her over the head with a Bible?"  Ha. Ha. That's basically what he had to do.

I was in confession one day and I was just talking to the priest and telling him how I was worried about college and making the right decision. After a bit of ranting on my part, the priest pulled out his Bible and read me this verse:

"I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8

After that, I felt like God was trying to tell me something. (No duh, Belle)  At that point I had already sent in a deposit to the college that I had decided on, but I was still feeling worried and sometimes questioned my decision. However, after hearing that verse, I felt like God was trying to tell me that I was making the right decision. The amount of peace and joy I felt was amazing.

(As a side note, my goal in life is to know the Bible as well as that priest did...)


I wanted to write this post for anyone out there who was/is in the position that I was in.
Choosing a college is a huge decision that should be made by you and no one else. At times it can seem like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Don't worry. Trust that God will help you see which path he has prepared for you. I realize this sometimes doesn't come off as comforting as it's meant to be. If that's the case for you, I guess my biggest piece of advice is to  PRAY, PRAY, PRAY. No one said doing God's will would be easy...but guess what. It's pretty hard to do God's will if you don't try and build a relationship with Him daily. The peace and joy that you'll receive from fostering a relationship with Our Lord through daily prayer is amazing. I must have said this close to a thousand times these past few months, but I honestly don't know what I would do without daily mass and the sacraments. Make an effort to really try and build that relationship with Christ. Or, if you feel that you already have that relationship, try and strengthen it! There is always room for improvement. Through making an effort to grow and strengthen your faith, you'll be surprised how God will make Himself known to you in your everyday life. It's after you learn to rely on Him and trust Him that your heart will be at peace.

If this is helpful to at least one person out there, I'll be happy.  In closing, I want to share a verse that has been a personal favorite of mine recently. If you have any personal favorite Bible verses, post them down below!

"My strength and my refuge is the Lord, and he has become my savior. This is my God, I praise him; the God of my father, I extol him." Exodus 15:2 


-Belle <3