Jayden completed her college in 3 years and one semester. It is quite an accomplishment to graduate one semester ahead. Add in caring for horses and a dog, running an online business, and college rodeo, that is really impressive. College has been an interesting ride for Jayden, not at all how I thought it would go. I imagined she would travel with a solid rodeo team and have a good rodeo experience, meet lots of great people, learn breakaway and get into roping more. I hoped she would be on the stands rooting for her teammates and likewise them rooting for her. I hoped she would make new friends from classes and clubs and always have people to hang out with. I had hoped she would get involved in the church and meet people there too and attend small groups. I had hopes that college would be a great experience of learning and growing, finding a path that led her to big things. I am not saying I am disappointed in her college years, it is just very different than what I thought it would look like. College went very different and I am not sure what Jayden will say when she looks back on it. Did she learn much? She is a smart girl and can pass a class without much effort. She is an amazing test taker and can write advanced papers, so well that she has had many people pay her to write a paper. She spent most of her class time learning about cattle, something she already had a good background in. She also spent a lot of class time in classes that in her mind were wasted time, such as soil science and crop analysis. She regretted her major being that of Ag Business. She also had to take many of her classes online because they were not offered at her college, which seems silly. When she transferred to NWOSU, her coach questioned why she would transfer from a prestigious University ISU, to a small college like NWOSU. She may not have gained as much from the actual college classes as she did life lessons. She grew so much in her college years. Some from good experiences and some from bad. For many reasons, part of me wishes she had another semester to graduate with the majority of her classmates and friends. Also to finish in the spring when it makes hauling horses and furniture much easier, and having Jayden move home in a nicer climate where she can do things such as ride horses and enjoy a nice Iowa spring. Since she really doesn't have a plan, I have been encouraging her to continue her education, get her masters or PhD. There are endless opportunities with her knowledge and ability. I keep telling her she would make an awesome professor, she is so smart and could handle it. She could choose so many different routes, economics, animal science, marketing, business, the list goes on. A professor teaches a few classes a few days a week and gets summers and holidays off. This girl has the potential to do big things and great things. I hope she sees the sky as the limit and doesn't get stuck somewhere she doesn't want to be. I pray for her often and trust the plan, as it says in Jeremiah, God has plans for her to prosper.
Comments