Expectations. Everyone has them; each a different mix of how that person lives, sees the world, and values life. Expectations are dangerous, they can go easily unsaid or unmet, or can be just as quickly a disappointment to the person who holds them. But expectations are something that, if consider thoughtfully and carefully, can bring to that person experiences, a view into the differences of this world, the uniqueness that life offers. Coming to Beirut, I regretfully had expectations, how could I not? Expectations of the city, the culture, the people, and expectations for myself, my life, and my future. Letting these preconceptions and thoughts go has and will continue to be difficult, but it is a life lesson, a crucial one at that. Leaving these notions behind of what I believe Lebanon should be like, how life should be, and how I should react to it only gives me freedom. Without the confines of expectations I am free to see the world that God designed, with the bad, the good and the beautiful, along with the ugly, the different, and the unknown. I have almost five months until I will be enrolled and starting college, and with that time, if I can be free from expectations, I can explore and learn and grow from this adventure that I am a part of. Will it be challenging, absolutely, it already is, but can I come out a year from now or decades from this time in my life and look back, blessed, completely. This movement, this ideal of seeing the world or situation for what it is, and absorbing and learning and growing from it; this is not a widely popular or easily accepted idea. But the challenge is worthwhile, especially with the knowledge that this is what change comes from. This is the thought process that is conducive with a life filled of purpose, of meaning. Yes, that fulfillment comes in my life through my faith in God and my relationship with Jesus Christ; but that alongside this mentality of learning and listening over speaking and putting up barriers to adversity, I can only look ahead to a future filled with possibilities, opportunities, and experiences.