My name is Benjamin Crowley and I am a sophomore studying Biology on the Pre-Med track. I just had a couple thoughts to share about my college experiences:
College isn’t high school. Duh, right? For some people this seems like an obvious fact. But for many, it sounds simpler than it actually is. Many people have a hard time adjusting. I gotta roast myself for a minute. Little 18 year old Benjamin thought it would be like high school but without his lame parents. I started off my first week of college by visiting the churches in the area to see which one I liked the most. Central was the place I chose because it just seemed like the best fit all around. Scott seemed like a fantastic preacher and Sharp and T4C reeled me in. But, this time I didn’t have all of my old high school friends that I had known for years and years. I had to restart. I had to start off with a blank slate. If you don’t know me, I play tuba in the Million Dollar Band and during the first semester I was at a disadvantage. While everyone was getting to know each other and were quickly becoming friends during Get Tide In week, I was constantly at band practices or at football games cheering the Tide on. Don’t get me wrong, being in the band was awesome (maybe not losing the National Championship) but missing those first few big events was crucial. I’ve always been a guy who likes to have a few really good friends as opposed to many people that I sort of know. Quality over quantity, you feel? I digress.
I didn’t put forth the effort to make it to as many events as I could during the fall semester and I suffered. Don’t get me wrong, I would come almost every Sunday morning, night, and Wednesday night but since I didn’t know anyone but band people and friendships had already formed, I would usually end up leaving as soon as services ended instead of staying and trying to get to know people. So, further behind the curve I fell. I got to the point where I would make up excuses on Sunday mornings after games and convince myself that I had to sleep in to get my full 10 hours of sleep for that night. I would usually wake up feeling guilty, but it’s a hard habit to break.
By the spring semester, I stopped coming regularly and you can already forget about going to Monday night devos. That wasn’t happening. I just always viewed the situation as being “too late” for me. Friends are a key part of your Christian walk because if you don’t have any Christian friends and one day you just don’t feel like “churching” there is no one to hold you accountable but you. Because as soon as you stop going to church the sooner your walk with God will fall. It was no one’s fault but mine. I was the one who was too lazy to get up on Sunday mornings. I was the one who was too lazy to go to T4C events and make friends. I was the one who was too lazy to pick up my Bible every now and then and read it. It is sad to think about, but my faith started to deteriorate and so did all other areas in my life due to that.
It wasn’t until the next fall semester that I slapped myself in the face and convinced myself to start at least trying to get involved. I would advise any freshman or just anyone in general to make an effort to study God’s word on your own and at church and to make those connections with your church family that you will be spending the next 4 years with (or more for some of us). And I can honestly say that once I made an effort to get to know people I found that they were genuinely awesome. It brought me a sincere feeling of fulfillment to fellowship with people with similar goals. Rooming with 3 other church guys also helped in my second year. And another thing: college is no longer about your parent’s faith. There’s no one there to tell you to get up or to go to something. It is up to you and you alone and it’s up to you to decide how you want the rest of your life to be. Because the standard you set in college is going to set you up for the rest of your life. You have to develop your own faith and it can only be nurtured if you put time into it.
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