When you ask people what their favorite thing about Biola is, they'll most likely include the community in their answer. It's a big cliche that everyone knows, but it's not wrong.

Biola was my last choice when I was deciding on a university. Coming from a large public school I always thought I'd go to a large public college. High tuition, Bible classes, chapel, and an undergraduate population the size of my high school did not sound appealing to me. Not to mention I would be moving across the country to go to Biola. I didn't think I'd be able to handle it, or make any friends.

There wasn't a college that I had applied to that I really wanted to attend. I wasn't in love with any of the campuses or academics of any of the schools. I had never even visited Biola or Southern California before I had made the decision to come to Biola. My parents really wanted me to go to Biola and promised that if I had a bad experience I could transfer to a different school the next year. I was hesitant and afraid. But one Sunday morning, my mom was listing to me all the reasons I should go. I was half-listening, mostly because all her reasons I should go were the exact reasons I didn't want to go. We got to church and the pastor's sermon not only used one of my life Bible verses, but literally said, "Are you willing to leave Texas to go wherever God may be calling you?" "Are you willing to go follow the passion God put in your heart no matter where it takes you?"

I had never been so convicted or had God speak to me so loudly. The next day I put in my decision to attend Biola, forgetting about the anxieties and worries that kept me from making that choice sooner and getting excited about what God had in store for me.

Now I'm almost done with my freshman year, and I can confidently say I do not see myself anywhere else but Biola. I am not the same person I was when I came in August, and I am not even the same person I was last semester. I've grown so much in my faith and in who I am, I can finally be vulnerable and 100 percent myself.

It's the community. It is so special to praise God, pray earnestly, learn about who God is, go on mission trips, and share about life on a deeper level with those around me.

So this is just a reminder when you hear someone say the community is one of their favorite parts about Biola for the 5,000th time, remember how blessed and cool it really is!