Where Am I Going?

Learning to Follow where God is leading me | Jeremiah 29:11 | Caleb Torgerson

I always knew I would go to college. I had good grades throughout school (for the most part). College always felt like the next step after High School, for me to get a degree and work a job for the rest of my life, like most people. However, my view on college began to change when I got to High School. 

As I entered my Freshman year of High School in a new state. I started to explore some interests and dig into how I could utilize certain skills to make money online. At that point in my life, I was fully into being a music producer. I took a piano class and began making music on FL studio with a computer I borrowed from my dad. Through that time, I discovered many ways to make money online through music production and wanted to try all of them. But with the little experience and skill I had in music production, I couldn't make anything of my music. In discovering ways people were making money online through music, I started to develop more of an entrepreneurial mindset. As my interests changed and I continued learning new things, I began to think about how I could live the life I wanted to live without college being a necessity. And with my newfound love of video production/video editing and an entrepreneurial mindset, I no longer wanted to attend college. 

Fast forward to the Summer of 2023. I went to a big Nazarene Youth event called NYC (Nazarene Youth Conference) in Florida. It was one of those life-changing experiences that will leave you thinking about it for a long time. For now, all I’ll say is when I got back, I received a package from Olivet Nazarene University. Inside was a letter that said I was getting a full-ride scholarship for four years of college starting in the Fall of 2024. 

So there I was with the mindset that I could achieve the life I wanted without college on one hand and on the other hand, a scholarship that offered such a great financial blessing and the opportunity to meet so many people. 

But what do I do? 

First, I need to pause and make sure you notice how I was thinking. I was very focused on what I wanted and how I wanted my life to be, rather than listening to what God had planned for my life. However, through the NYC event and other experiences in my life, I've grown and am trying my best to follow where God wants me to go and how he wants me to use my skills for His glory. I won’t lie, I still have a desire to make money using my skills, but the desire to grow in faith and share my faith is so much stronger in my life now than before. 

Back to that decision.

I wanted to know I was making the right decision, I spent a lot of time thinking and talking to God where he was leading me. I eventually decided that attending Olivet was the next chapter of my life that God was calling me to. After just going to orientation a few weeks ago, I don’t regret my decision to attend. I know God is placing me in this college for a reason. I may not know what exactly that reason is right now, but as I continue on this journey, I believe I will know someday. 

I encourage you when big decisions and changes are occurring in your life, to listen to God. He has a plan for your life that's greater than anything you could think of. I’ll leave you with this verse from Jeremiah 29:11.

 “For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”

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