COLLEGE COURAGE The Lessons That Shape Me BY SARAH JENKINS
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here’s something about birthdays that make us all reflect, me especially. Another lap around the sun indicates another 365 days of our residency on planet earth and causes us all to look back on the moments and lessons that have shaped us into the version we are at the present moment. My curtain call for 21 came in March of this year, beckoning in my 22nd initiation of the 365 days to come. As I sat with myself the night before my birthday, I looked back on the year and considered the characters within chapter 21 of my life. I pondered those the year brought me but couldn’t help but notice the recurrent ones more – those who entered my world far before the year previous, having stuck out 5, 10, and even 20 years by my side. In looking through that lens, the character that came to mind in my reflection was the one who has known me the longest. Every lesson in life I could ever look back on came first from her lips, seeing that she is the one that brought me life in the first place. The person I’m speaking of? My mom. Julie Terese Jenkins serves as the Vice President and Teaching and Curriculum Leader for Women World Leaders – all fitting titles because she now teaches others the way she always taught me. The principles that drive my life were ingrained in me by my mother from March 11, 2000 on. From my first breaths, I was taught how important it is to treat others with respect, work diligently at all tasks put in front of me, celebrate with chocolate cake (always), and save tissue paper by flattening and folding it for the next occasion.
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She taught me how to love those around me and enjoy every moment of my life in full abundance. She taught me the inevitable sacrifice of things you love for the people you love – she taught me servant leadership and unbridled care for others, always. I could attribute each lesson to her personal journey and growth, but she’d even tell you that’s not fair. Each time my mother has taught me something that’s changed my life, it’s come straight from the Word of the Lord. In the moments where she encouraged me to put more effort into the work ahead of me, she’d cite Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV), “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
