That’s right. I said it.

I hope you hit rock bottom.

Why? Because I’m here now. And it’s best place I’ve ever been.

When I was in kindergarten I thought I had to show all of my teeth when I smiled for a photo. It didn’t matter what clever technique my mother tried to use, I wasn’t going to grasp the concept of a natural smile. Needless to say, she didn’t have to worry about spending a ton of money on school pictures that year.

But as I got older, I actually became pretty good at smiling. Scratch that. I became great at smiling.

In fact, I became so great at smiling that I eventually decided it had to go hand-in-hand with my Christianity. I believed in God with every fiber of my being, and I knew He saved me. So how couldn’t I smile?

If I wanted others to know this God, they needed to see how happy He made me…right?

Then freshman year of college hit.

And my world fell in on me.

It was pouring outside and the temperature was dropping so I knew I needed to get on the road soon, but my roommate and I couldn’t seem to stop chatting. I blew off my dad when he called and told me the weather forecast and that if I was going to make the trip to Ohio I better go now.

I figured I would get on the road in a minute.

An hour later I finally made my way to my car to begin my two-and-a-half hour trip to see Brandon. Long-distance dating was the worst.

I drove on that same highway like I had driven a million times before, but this time was different.

I guess the temperature finally hit freezing as I was passing that semi. My car suddenly spun out of control and I saw myself heading sideways into an 18-wheeler at 70 mph.

My grandfather is a minister, my father is a pastor, and I’ve worked in a church.

I’ve seen dirt.

After living in four cities and being a part of three church-splits, I have felt my fair deal of pain. I have felt the confusion when friends begin doubting church leadership I have trusted. I’ve felt the anger when people leave the church without explaining why. I’ve felt the world tip sideways when a pastor’s secret life is exposed.

I’ve felt a lot.

But I don’t have to tell you that. The reality is if you are a Christian, you’ve felt a lot too by now.

I have now officially been in the “real world” for four years (as opposed to my first 21 years which were apparently fake).

College was rough in some aspects, but it also was the most incredible years of my life. I don’t regret anything to the point of beating myself up over it, but I do think if I had to redo the experience, there are 7 things that I would do differently. Hopefully these can help a young college “Jordan” out there (AKA a Type-A student that reads blogs like this to add to their “To Do In College List”).