It’s the summer of 2k16, folks. For those of you bright-eyed seniors who have freshly graduated high school, congratulations! You are going to be a freshman in college! And also insanely in debt.
I kid. But only partially.
Hold on tightly.
HOWEVER, I digress. There are many exhilarating things to look forward to other than the debt you will voluntarily compile over the course of your college career. I know this because I once was a freshman in college, when everything was a fresh start, a new beginning and so much from which to choose. Which major do I pick? Who will eat at Alex’s (the dining hall) with me? Will I make friends in college?
Well, wide-eyed and slightly terrified freshman, let me say this: you may have to experiment around a little bit to find the major that is fitting for you. And that’s okay! You’re young; you don’t need to have your whole life planned out this very second. Secondly, of course someone will eat with you at Alex’s! And thirdly, YES, you will make (many) lifelong, wonderful friends. Heck, if worst comes to worst, I’ll be your friend and eat food with you. It’s a win-win situation for us all. Okay, now: inhale, exhale.
There will be a time when your freshman year has passed and you become what the great philosophers of this world call a “sophomore.” Perhaps you’ve heard some stories. Does the “Sophomore Slump” ring a bell? For me, it rings many bells, if you will.
A lot of the people I know had a wonderful sophomore year. Myself, personally, did not. One could basically summarize the entire year as one, big slump. I lost my appetite entirely, some of my grades slipped, sleep regularly escaped me in the night and I often felt out of place, lonely and lost. Months came and went, yet nothing seemed to lift. I found myself trying to find other outlets to relieve my loneliness, but in doing so, I dug the oh-so-infamous slump deeper.
You see, the issue with this “sophomore slump” is what I soon found. I discovered that the slump I found myself seemingly too far gone within, strangely enough, had nothing to do with being a sophomore and everything to do with my heart, walk with Christ and my surroundings. I quickly found that this could happen in any season of life.
And that scared me.
It scared me that this feeling of utter aloneness could last forever, even beyond sophomore year. I was paralyzed with the thought of the Year of the Slump becoming a forever-occurrence.
And sure enough, come early June and summer break, I found it sure as heck did. I found myself dwelling on things that were not necessary and all of my worries and concern revolving around the grave of a slump that had been formed throughout the entirety of my sophomore year of college.
One day, however, I stumbled -- no, fell flat on my face -- upon the realization that the slump is only what you make of it. That’s right, Hannah Montana said it first.
Do circumstances sometimes stink? Absolutely. That’s the brutal and hard-to-grasp truth. But let me tell you something, dear friend; over the course of time, this has taught me that if one thing holds fast, it is Christ. Deuteronomy 31:6 tell us to “Be strong and courageous. Don't tremble! Don't be afraid of them! The LORD your God is the one who is going with you. He won't abandon you or leave you."
You see, I didn’t do that. I got so caught up in my slump that I forgot my Christ, my stronghold and constant. It’s such an easy thing to do, to slip into things of this world and lose yourself in this process. I am forever thankful that my identity doesn’t have to be the slump I’ve been through. I am Christ’s and He is mine.
Looks like it’s the start of a new year.
