Never Give Up!

Whenever I arrived at UNC two years ago, I was in for a rude awakening. I was fresh out of a high school where if I studied hard, I got great grade. As I sat at my freshman orientation in the summer of 2011, a man stood before us and said, "You were valedictorian or in the top 10% of your class? Good for you....so was everyone else here." Ouch.

I carried over the same study habits to college as I had in high school. I still remember the first exam I ever took. It was for my Biology 101 class, and I had studied hours for the exam. A few hours after I took the exam, I checked online to see my grade: it was a 67. I remember being upset, crying my eyes out, and questioning how I was going to make it through four years at UNC if I couldn't even get a good grade in an introductory course!

Galations 6:9 says: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Whenever I did not receive the grade that I desired on that first exam, I could have let that defeat me. In fact...I almost did! I remember calling my sister crying and telling her I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it at UNC! However, God grabbed a hold of me and blessed me with the attitude and gifts of perseverance and optimism. Following this, I studied as hard as I always do in school; and by the grace of God, I did well in the class!

Now, I don't always receive as high of grades as I would want while at school; but, I can say that I do my best. And whenever we do our best, all we can do is leave the results up to Him. So, as long as you are obedient towards what God is asking of you, you can find peace in your perseverance....because our God is the God of faithfulness.