Last night, I spent almost an hour with my friends, driving around Bryan/College Station trying to decide what we wanted for dinner, while complaining about all the studying we had left to do, while jamming out to High School Musical.
Have Your Voice Heard: Become an Odyssey Creator
In that moment, I remember looking up at the stoplight in front of us, singing loudly to “Everyday” from High School Musical 2, laughing, and thinking “this is what college is all about.”
People are always saying that if you can go to college, you should. I am a firm believer in that. Not only do you get to further your education in order to help you pursue your passions and achieve your goals, you are also promised an experience that will impact and shape your life. Although people have all different kinds of college experiences, many of those experiences are good, and most of the time the good outweighs the bad. There are so many different great colleges around the world and so many different degrees you can receive. There is so much to learn about our universe and college gives you time to do just that. No matter which college you end up at or what degree you are striving for, you are furthering your knowledge in so many areas that will important towards your future.
One of the biggest things college teaches you, I think, is how to people. Coming from a small private Christian school, college has exposed me to new people and so many new ways of thinking and understanding. I absolutely love the biblical education background I have, because it has taught me to take what I am learning and try and see what God has done or can do with it. I love that when I learn things my first thought is to compare it to biblical truth. That being said, it has been really cool to learn with people who have not been taught to think that way. Often, there is a completely different perspective to have when you take God out of the equation. I don’t think there is a right or wrong way of thinking and learning, but I do really appreciate all the different backgrounds college students have and seeing how others may take in and look at information differently from you just because of their past education.
Although education is so important, college is not just about the school. The hours that I have spent hanging out around my room, dancing at Harry’s, eating meals, singing loudly to favorite songs, driving with the windows down, countless shopping trips, every home football game, and sitting in Starbucks studying with friends have made a much greater impact on me as a person. I love to learn, I honestly really enjoy school and going to class and doing homework. Even though I enjoy learning with all of my heart, learning the hearts of my friends this semester has brought so much more joy into my life.
My parents have always considered me a “people-person” and introvert was never a word they would use to describe me. From my college experience thus far, I have learned that I really am a people person. I enjoy getting to know others and hear their stories and listen to their feelings towards their hometowns and high school lives. My sweet roommate said just the other day, “I love college. Every week things change and you never know who you are going to be friends with and hang out with the next weekend. It’s so exciting because I never know what’s going to happen.” She was spot on. All of sudden, you aren’t with the friends you’ve had your whole life and there’s an element of surprise that goes along with that. With one semester of college under my belt, I am realizing the rest is going to fly by. Spending different weekends with different people is fun and helps you discover who you do or don’t want to be friends with. This is a time where many people are looking to build deep and lasting friendships, and it’s great to spend time with different people in order to see where your core group of community will come from.
After finishing my first semester of college, I am loving it. I love spending so much quality time with friends and learning more about who they are as a person and who they dream of becoming. I also really love learning and am excited to help others see how much fun learning can be. College is such an important thing, I and truly do think if you are given the opportunity to go to college, you should take it. There is so much left to learn education-wise as well as about other people. I am so excited to have finished my first college semester and say I did it! At the same time, I am kind of sad that I’m one semester in and only have 7 left. Reflecting on how fast high school flew by, I know this experience will also feel like it’s going by at 100mph. I am excited to go home for Christmas break, but I know I will also be looking forward to coming back and spending every moment of the day with friends who have quickly become some of my favorite people. This is college, and I love it! I am so blessed to have had such a wonderful experience so far, and I can only hope my next 7 semesters are as great as my first one.
