Throughout our entire childhood, our brains have been filled with countless misconceptions about what the upcoming stages of our lives are going to look like. Ned's Declassified made middle school look like the most brutal world, iCarly made us think that high school would give more creative liberties than actual school work and as far as college goes, movies, books, and shows make it look like endless parties and sleeping until noon on a Wednesday.
The reality of college is substantially less glamorous. There is an entirely new set of stressors, pressure to make new friends and a constant need for deeper relationships. The slightly brutal fact of the matter is that relationships are extremely tough once getting to school. In most situations, your roommate or suitemates won't end up being your "end all be all" best friends. Now don't get me wrong, your freshman year roommate will be one of the most important people in your entire life, but as far as relationships go, your roommate doesn't have to be your only one.
In high school, I had never gotten very involved in youth ministry. I had ridiculous stigmas about YoungLife and without being a direct member of a specific church, it was impossible to feel connected to my (questionable) faith. As high school progressed, my strongest relationships convinced me once and again that pursuing a faith was a waste of time.
Fast forward to college, as great as my first few weeks were, I was constantly feeling partially empty. Frat parties were a waste of time and classes seemed to get harder and harder as the days went on. After feeling this way for a week or two I decided to break out of my shell and attend a YoungLife social event. In that one day, I developed more close relationships and had more deep conversations than the past two weeks in college combined.
As more time passed, I found myself surrounded by more and more incredible people and spending more and more time at YoungLife functions. All of the sudden, my college went from a relatively decent place to a second home. The relationships I had with my YoungLife friends grew stronger and stronger and my relationships with non-YoungLife friends became better as well.
The moral of the story is this, campus ministry doesn't have to be your thing. You don't have to begin attending church or start reading your bible to be successful in college. To be entirely honest, I'm not even sure what path I'm meant to go down as far as my faith goes. I do know one thing for sure, branching out from your "first-week friends" is a must. I am not, by any means, suggesting that the people living on your hall won't be some of the best people in your life. I am suggesting though, that the more people you know, the more you'll grow. Start making connections with your first step on your college campus, you have no idea how crucial they'll become.
