New Beginnings

I love the first sentence of a book. It holds so much potential and promise for all that is to come.

As I was thinking about this the other day, I wandered over to the literature section of my family's little private library and started to browse some of the titles on the shelves. My parents are life-long readers and I also developed a love of reading throughout my childhood, but only recently have I grown to appreciate all of the beautiful leather copies of classic literature that are at my disposal. Anyways, I grabbed a few of my favorites, opened them up all up to Chapter 1, and read the first sentence in each......


"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

"When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only." Walden by Henry David
Thoreau

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

"When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable looking child ever seen." The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett


Ok. I lied. These are not all "classic literature", but they are all great stories that are beloved by so many people across the world. It amazes me that every great novel has to begin somewhere - with a single sentence.

I suppose that the reason why this has fascinated me so much, is that, figuratively speaking, I am about to write the first sentence in the next chapter of my life's story - college. In the fall, I will be headed off to the University of California, Berkeley, to study English and I couldn't be more excited and terrified at the same time. I have found myself worrying about the silliest things lately.... things like whether or not I'll have enough money to buy shampoo and conditioner if I run out, or if I'll have enough warm clothes for the winter, or what books to bring with me. But then again, I have also been worrying about important things as well....... Will I be able to compete academically at Berkeley? Will I find a healthy church community down there? How badly will I miss my friends and family? Will I be able to defend my relationship with God confidently if put in the situation?

Even though I don't leave for another two months, all of these things have been weighing on my mind.

But at the same time, I know that God is writing my story. The pen is in His loving hand. I look again at those first sentences from some of my favorite books and its apparent that not all of them are spectacular - the Hobbit's especially - but that turned out to be one of the best stories ever written. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that even if my first sentence isn't a masterpiece, my first few days or weeks at Berkeley are discouraging, that doesn't have the power to shape my whole college experience. God is going to fill the next four years of my life with joy and adventure as well as trials and hardship, but it will all fit together to create a beautiful and well-balanced tale that will ultimately reflect Him and His Glory.

I plan to use this blog as a way to keep all of you connected to my life and to what God is doing in Berkeley over the next few years. Again, I don't leave for a while but there will probably be more thoughts as I prepare for my departure :). I know that these next four years are going to be the hardest I have yet faced, but with God's guidance I am sure that I will walk out of Berkeley with so much more knowledge and experience and hopefully, a better idea of what God has for me in this crazy adventure called life.