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The end is only a new beginning

By  Jean Ko Din, Youth Speak News
  • August 23, 2013

I am standing at a crossroads in life. Life only gives you a handful of these, so I intend to soak it in while the moment is still here. This year is a particularly special one because the word “last” pops up a lot.

This is my last summer vacation before I graduate. When this summer ends, I will be entering my last year of journalism school. By the end of 2013, I will be closing my last year as a youth leader at St. Paschal Baylon Church. A chapter is ending and I’m forced to look back and assess my life so far.

When you have a lot of expectations for your year of “lasts,” there will be things that you don’t finish, like your New Year’s resolution of learning a new saint every day or the handful of books that you said you wanted to read or your homework. It reminds me of that saying that if you wanted to make God laugh, you’d tell Him your plans. I guess I wanted to make God really giggle this year.

Looking back at all these experiences that are coming to an end, it mostly makes me feel tired. I think about all of the stress I’ve had to fight through, having to juggle my school life, my home life and my Church life. I would pray to God and ask Him to just give me an easier day. I looked at my friends and I thought that it wasn’t fair that they didn’t struggle as much as I did. Now I realize that maybe God thought that I had to struggle more, simply because I needed it more.

God chose to use my stress and my hardship as tools to mould me into a stronger person. More than anything, these trials have forced me to pray harder and more often. I sought answers in the Sunday Mass and I searched for inspiration in Scripture. I learned to value important virtues like inner strength, patience and wisdom. Most of all, I learned to be thankful for the hidden blessings in everything. After all, this year has also been a year of “firsts” for me.

This year, I worked my first reporting internship with The Catholic Register. For the first time, I’ve connected with someone across the world through social media. I went rock climbing, took a yoga class and created an account on the social media platform Instagram, all for the first time. This year is also the first time I failed a class, the first time I dreaded my birthday and the first time I fought with my best friend.

All in all, I guess I can’t complain. God has led me through every single one of these moments. Looking into the future, there is only one thing that I know will stay true. I will pray. I will continue to bring God through this journey.

He will guide me through tough times and He will show me how to rise to the occasion. My faith will be my drive, as it always has been.

(Ko Din, 22, is a third-year journalism student at Ryerson University in Toronto.)

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