Advent is busy for everybody.

But as a college student, it is often just chaotic, balancing multiple papers, exams, end-of-the-semester shenanigans, and the usual gift-purchasing, light-seeing, movie-watching chaos of the secular Christmas season.

In years past, I became swept up in the chaos.

This year, I added another element to the spiritually unnerving cocktail that is life: coming to terms that I now had one semester remaining of college.

For weeks, this realization had been overwhelming me by the unknown that May and beyond hold.

I expected to be consumed by these thoughts in the days leading up to Christmas, determined to figure out life so I could proudly tell Grandma that “I have everything figured out” when she inevitably asks me about my plans at Christmas dinner.

But I forgot an important factor: Jesus.

When I sat down for Mass on the First Sunday of Advent, a question popped into my mind: What if I took Advent to not obsess about next year, but instead use it to prepare a gift for the Lord, the gift of my heart?

When I took this to prayer, I began reflecting on the story of the Magi, Matthew 2:1-12, and how the Magi journeyed to Bethlehem, where they found the Christ Child, “worshipped Him” and humbly presented their gifts.

I read this passage again, and again, and again, struck by the humility and actions of the Magi — and I realized that each of us find ourselves in similar circumstances as the Magi, having to “interpret” and read the “signs” to determine where to go.

We, too, must journey — it is a season to journey to Jesus and to prepare ourselves to present our gifts to him.

What can we give?

We have our hearts, our livelihoods, our lives — all that he has given us.

If you are anything like me, your heart is not ready to be given as a gift. It is broken and wounded.

But Advent is the perfect time to prepare our hearts as a gift, to take time to pray about and allow Christ to enter those wounds and heal them.

When I began praying on this concept, offering up my insecurities, I realized that if I wanted to give my heart as a gift, I had to give everything, even the mess, uncertainty and undue pressure I was placing upon myself with thinking that I had to have everything figured out and that it had to be perfect.

By giving all of that to God, he has given me peace about next year, reminding me that he will take care of everything.

All I have to do is give the year — and my heart — to him as a gift for the Christ Child.