Staying or Going
March 2, 2016
There is a certain stigma that comes along with living in Lynchburg after graduating from Liberty. For some reason, it seems as though if you’re not moving somewhere and acquiring a full-time job the second your graduation cap falls to the ground, your choice is in question. Yet, I’m still here, and I’ve never felt surer of a choice to stay.
At the end of this past summer, I had two opportunities: one was to work in Washington, D.C., and one was to come back and work as an Event Supervisor for Student Activities. In the moment, it seemed like the most difficult choice of my life, but I think I knew all along that I had unfinished business here at Student Activities and in Lynchburg in general. As I moved back, I had to fight the fear of not having enough of these words: success and adventure.
Of course, “success” and “adventure” mean different things to different people. For me, both of these words mean not being stagnant. If I am always growing into a person that is more like the Lord, constantly being pruned and growing and then being pruned and growing again, I will be successful and I will be taken on the greatest adventure wherever I am at that point in life.
Yet, for some reason, it seems like D.C. or New York City or any other big city that I am so drawn to holds more “success” and “adventure” than Lynchburg does. It’s easy to idealize these places into something greater than they already are, making little ole Lynchburg seem somewhat insignificant.
When I graduated from Liberty, I did not know that my journey of growth here was not over. I needed to come back and endure a hard year in a place that is the same yet so different from what it used to be for me. Moving back made me realize that at this point in my life, this is where I need to be.
I’m learning that maybe it’s not the place that determines the degree to which you are experiencing success and adventure; instead, it’s your outlook on the place. A place is made by the community it holds and the growth that this community spurs you on to, and right now, Lynchburg is that place for me.
What is your “place” at this point in your life?