Bedtime Thoughts from a College Sophomore

I. Faith

1. People should not think or live like their salvation depends on them. 

3. God has everything; He is everything. Yet, He sacrificed His only Son so that wretched sinners could have eternal life with Him. One cannot begin to grasp the love He has for His children. 

4. God does not only care about His children’s salvation; He also wants them to live joyous lives and be confident in Him. 

II. On Life

5. “Beauty is the gateway that we use to understand the good.” Josh Fullman

7. It is impossible for someone to know every person in the universe. The world is huge, and we are so very small.

8. Everyone is a little bit crazy. Some people simply hide it better than others. 

9. Sisters are lifelong friends who partake in one another’s trials and joy.  Christina Rossetti aptly demonstrates the powerful bond that they share, saying that “there is no friend like a sister / in calm or stormy weather; / to cheer one on the tedious way” (Rossetti 16). 

10. “‘You’ve heard it said—fix your stupid before you try to fix someone else’s stupid.’ That’s Biblical.” Dr. Jacobs

11. When attempting to navigate the future, one should pay attention to the past.

12. Social media can be a helpful tool to stay in touch with old friends and share one’s life with others. However, without moderation, it can steal a person’s joy, distract him from the important things in life, and evoke feelings of jealousy. 

13. One cannot control his circumstances or the people around him. The only thing that he can control is how much he dwells on his thoughts and how he responds to the situation and other people. 

14. Why do humans remember what they want to forget and forget what they want to remember?

15. “Wealth is a good thing if it is earned and used ethically.” Dr. Plunkett 

16. Worrying is a way for the enemy to rob a person of his joy.

20. Anxiety can be a lifelong struggle—a struggle one has to fight everyday. Although it might seem easier and more appealing to stay at home and allow anxiety to win, it is imperative that one continues to challenge the hold it has on him.

22. As seen in Molière’s The Misanthrope, honesty and tactfulness are both important in life. One should not be content with just one of these ideals, like the characters Alceste and Philinte. A person needs both of these characteristics in order to live well. 

25. “Turn or burn.” Dr. Sokoloski

26. Eighty or ninety years seems like a long time. However, that amount of time is incredibly short in the grand scheme of things. Life is fleeting. The days seem long, but the years are short. 

III. On Death

28. It is disturbing how someone can leave the world in an instant and just be...gone. And then, somehow, their loved ones are supposed to move on with their life and learn to live without the deceased—even though that seems impossible. 

29. When a loved one dies, his family members and friends long to talk to the one person who can make them feel better. But, he is gone, and his beloved must learn to be okay without his encouragement and comforting hand.

IV. Trials

30. When an individual works through the difficult projects in life, he feels the most accomplished and proud. Most of the time, he discovers that he has learned the most. 

32. One can always improve in the areas in which he struggles, but he should not compare his weaknesses to someone else’s strengths. 

34. If an individual is doing the best that he can, then he cannot blame himself when he does not receive the desired result. He should give himself grace, learn from his mistakes, and try again.

V. Happiness

35. So many people pursue happiness, yet very few are actually happy. 

36. Money makes the unhappy more unhappy.

37. Christians should be concerned with being joyful and holy instead of happy. 

38. Happiness is based on circumstances while joyfulness comes from God and is a deliberate choice. 

VI. Writing

40. “If you write incredibly well, Christ is demonstrated.” Dr. Jacobs. 

41. A good writer does not write a story or essay perfectly the first time. A good writer struggles with his writing, deletes weak sections in the text, and constantly revises.

42. Not only can a writer create imagines with his words, but he has the power to evoke strong feelings of trust, happiness, despair, and connection from his readers.

46. “We want to demonstrate beauty in our art—in our writing—so that we can point people to God.” Dr. Jacobs  

VII. Reading

47. When one reads a book, he is having a conversation with the author. Not only can readers see what the author is passionate about, but they get a glimpse of how the author thinks, what he believes, and how he views the world. Writing is an intimate practice, one where the author bares his soul to strangers.

48. An avid reader’s to-read list never decreases. When one actively reads, he is always willing to learn and grow, thus, he constantly seeks new books to better himself. 

VIII. Education

62. How well one is doing in school should not only be measured by the A’s and B’s he receives. If he did not receive the grade he desired but learned a valuable lesson, then his newfound knowledge is better than receiving an A and learning nothing.  

63. Knowledge is vain if it cannot be used to help and serve others. It is not good enough to possess knowledge. One must apply his knowledge.