Column: Lessons I learned from the kids this summer

Note: This column was originally published in The Chanticleer, the student newspaper of Jacksonville State University, on Thursday, August 29, 2013. 

As any of my friends will testify, I am a little bit of a neat freak, especially when it comes to my car. I feel like I'm always vacuuming and washing to keep it looking clean, and I never, ever, under any circumstances, eat in the car.
But this was the summer of all-Kara's-rules-were-meant-to-be-broken. While cleaning out my car over the past couple of months, I have discovered, hidden under and between the seats, a Kindle Fire, a picture of Justin Bieber, a beef jerky wrapper, a pair of socks, and even a live cat. I learned how to steer with one hand while using the other hand to dig through the console, find a napkin, and hand it to someone in the backseat with a bloody nose or a dripping ice cream cone.
This summer, I was a babysitter. And as strange as it sounds, I feel like spending time with a bunch of kids made me more of an adult in some ways. Those kids taught me some pretty important lessons.
One thing I learned from my kids this summer was not to sweat the small stuff. There were times when I would break up a fight or listen to a dramatic he-said she-said story and stifle a laugh. To children, it's the end of the world if they have to be Player Two instead of Player One on the Wii, or, heaven forbid, if someone touches a book or toy that belongs to someone else. But as adults, we realize how petty these "problems" are. I couldn't help but think God probably thinks the same thing when I freak out over little things that seem big to me at the time: I spilled dye on my favorite shirt or my hot water heater is broken so I have to take cold showers for a day or two until it can be fixed.
These aren't the things that matter. What always matters is that in the end, no matter what conflict, difficulty, or inconvenience these kids handled each day, they always had each other. For every "I hate you," there were two "I love yous." The drama was over, everyone was friends again, and life moved on.
The second lesson the kids taught me was to shoot for the stars. I enjoyed the conversations I had with them about their dreams and plans, and admired the way they think that nothing is impossible. One of the girls is sold on the idea of being an actress and living in Paris. One of the boys is convinced he has a career in major league baseball. Even though very few people can actually make their living doing those things, their enthusiasm reminded me that I should always strive to be at my best.
Perhaps the most important lesson I learned this summer was that sometimes, life gets messy.
I realize that everything in my life isn't going to go exactly the way I plan. At some time or another, someone is going to come along with muddy shoes or a juice box (who invented red Kool-Aid anyway?) and make their mark on my perfect little pre-planned world. But that's okay. Some messes can be quickly attended to and forgotten, while some can leave a permanent stain. But behind each mess is a can't-help-but-love-them child who caused it.
I've met lots of people during my time at JSU, and now as I am on track to graduate in 2014, I am learning to appreciate every one of them.
Not that I'm comparing my friends to stains in the floorboard of my car, but so many of them have made lasting impressions on me.
In every phase throughout our lives, people will come and go. Some will leave lasting impressions: some positive, some negative. But each person who leaves their mark on you while you are here at JSU is helping to shape you into the person you will be after you graduate and make your own mark on the world.