As an incoming transfer student, I felt more like a freshman. I think I literally clung to my roommate that whole first weekend whenever she would let me (I apologize for that), which really made me feel like a freshman. I was thrust into a brand new world so much bigger and different than I had been exposed to before.
My first weekend on campus I met a group of people that I had no idea would change the way I viewed my campus. Not only my campus but further down the road even how I viewed myself. It started off as a friendly exchange among a few people, which turned into a more detailed discussion later in the evening. It was then I should have known something was different about her. I am not a person who easily trusts someone, but for some reason I felt myself telling this girl so much more about myself than people who had known me for much longer.
Fast forward about two weeks, and I’m in her bedroom close to a breakdown. I’m baring my soul to her (remember I don’t trust too easily), but her words and comfort actually prevent me from breaking down. I share one of my deepest secrets, and it doesn’t scare her away like I had thought, and maybe even hoped, it would. It was a double-edged sword at the time. Here was someone I could trust and would listen as I talk, but she had broken down my inner barriers in two weeks. Two weeks. Two weeks was all it took, and a girl I barely knew quickly became one of the most important people to me on campus. There was something about her that made me want to talk to her and share parts of my life with her. She held me up when I didn’t know if I could do it myself. She loved me and followed up with me to help me figure out and navigate what I was going through even though she had no clue.
Looking back now, the school year almost over, I realize she actually saved my life. I was falling into a very dark place when I met her, and she made sure I never reached it. She brought light into my life, not just with her presence and friendship, but she introduced me to what it was like to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I thank Him for bringing her into my life and showing me the way my life could be lived, through her. He brought her into my life for a reason and that reason has been made clear to me. He used her to help me when I couldn’t figure out how to help myself for awhile, and also to bring me back to Him.
She is one of those friends you never forget even once college is over, regardless if you don’t keep in contact. I’ll remember what she did for me and how she helped me. She helped me see there was more than the darkness I was feeling and showed me what it was like to walk in the light and be changed. Thank you for helping me see there was so much more for me.
