Personal Narrative: Do Hard Things

When I was little, I decided that I was going build a time machine and jump from age twelve to twenty because I did not want to be a teenager. From watching TV and observing my older sister, I thought all teenagers we required to be moody, yell at their parents, and wear dark clothes. I did not want to be that way. Slowly, I began to realize that my perception of the teenage years was a little off. In eighth grade my view of calling and what it meant to be a teenager was transformed when I read Do Hard Things: A Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex and Brett Harris, and it gave me the push to begin pursuing ministry as a fourteen-year- old.
Do Hard Things challenges teens to rebel against “The Myth of Adolescence.” The

Harris brothers
Fortunately, this changed as the church got to know me and saw my passion and potential. I was asked to join the Board of Christian Education, where my ideas and opinions were taken seriously. I was also able to start a girl’s group where I could empower younger girls with the skills and knowledge that formed me into a follower of Jesus.
I am no longer a teenager, but I am taking the lessons I learned from Do Hard Things with me into my twenties. I learned that calling and vocation are not about the future but about acting in the now with what God has given me. I can dream big and am not controlled by people’s opinions of what I can and cannot do. I am not limited to my current situation and can pursue people, ideas, questions, and resources to reach farther into the future’s possibilities. As a high schooler, this knowledge empowered me to create and lead ministries that I may not have had the courage to do otherwise. In college, it has continued to challenge me to not accept the status quo by spending three years fighting for a better recycling system, advocating for a stronger spiritual life team on campus, and realizing that children’s ministry is an