a place to call my own.

As many of you know:

It is hard to believe that the place I called home for a year is no longer mine. I sit here thinking of all the times I sat out on the lawn reading or studied in the library or ate at the pub or saw plays in the theater or walked down the hall of Lynd to see friends or met up with people at Bates for dinner… My heart breaks that I will never again be able to call Sarah Lawrence mine. I think of the snow days we had and the giant snow man Maddy, Erin, and I built, I think of sitting on Nour’s bed talking about life, hanging out with Odette and watching Bones, I remember my first trip into New York City—spur of the moment to Life Café the week of orientation. I think of baking treats in Hill House, and having small group in Zoe’s room. I remember our last small group picnic outside of Hiembold thinking to myself “I will be back here next year, I am not sad to leave for three months.”

But alas, God is so big. He does things that one can never see coming.

When I went to Haiti this summer I never thought that I would abandon my life in New York that had made me so happy. But God knew better. This summer made me realize how my heart yearns for missions. I tried to put out the fire with dreams like working for the New York Times or even getting back into acting… But again God came knocking. I know now that the only way I can live into my full potential is to transfer schools and take a year off for missions. I know that God needs me to get a biblical education in order to pursue what He has had planned for me all along.

So I am leaving Sarah Lawrence.

But I just want to say thank you—to everyone that made Sarah Lawrence great for me, to everyone that made SLC, SLC… I know that it wouldn’t be the same without all of you. I will never be able to stop calling SLC “mine” because when I close my eyes and I transport myself back to that beautiful campus I cannot help but breathe in the New York air and see the leaves changing colors and know that some part of my heart will always be home there. I will always love SLC. And I will never forget how much I grew there in so many different ways. My life would not be the same without you.

Thank you.