When telling people outside of my university that I'm a Christian Ministry major, I always seem to get one of two responses. Either people say, "Oh, so you're in college to become an expert Bible reader," or they twist their faces into an uncomfortable scowl and question what career will be available to me in the future. Here's what it means to be a Ministry or Theology student.

1) If you didn't like reading before, you better learn to love it now! Ministry and Theology students have to read constantly. Most classes require 2-3 textbooks which will be completely read by the end of the semester. My freshman year I recall a night where I had 90 pages to read before showing up to class the next day. I was never much of a reader, but now I've learned to appreciate it and do it efficiently.

2) There are always super tough writing assignments. I didn't know what a tough paper was until I wrote my first exegetical paper. An exegetical paper is a paper typically 8 pages long that deals with interpreting Scripture. My first time experiencing one of these papers was one of the scariest moments of my first college semester since I had to write 5 pages on Malachi 5:10. Also, get used to Turabian format because it is all you will use.

3) Our professors are tough, but they're also gracious. I feel like people always associate my major with sitting in a circle on the floor singing kumbaya. That is probably the biggest misconception from the outside looking in. Some of my toughest professors are Christian Studies professors, but they do extend grace upon their students and make us more eager to put maximum effort into each assignment. Grace in this sense doesn't mean that they just give us an A average and watch us skip down the yellow brick road. While I have found them to be gracious in extending deadlines and curving test scores, our professors challenge us to excel in our studies as well as in our lives.

4) The students challenge one another. While we are all after a ministry career, not all of us agree on doctrinal issues. Some of our classes are dedicated to us debating these doctrinal differences and asking tough questions that can really raise questions on personal beliefs. Having to state your beliefs and support them with fellow believers can be more difficult than doing so with those who don't believe at all. But these debates are usually held respectfully (though they do sometimes get heated, I mean, we're only human) and we all learn from one another and challenge one another.

5) Our Greek life provides more unity and terror than any other Greek life. You may see "Greek life" and think of a sorority or a fraternity. When we see "Greek life," it's almost always followed by one of two thoughts: "λυω" or "ω, εις, ει, ομεν, ετε, ουσιν." Learning the ancient Greek language is so difficult, but it's also strangely satisfying. While we all die a little on the inside on test day, we all do encourage one another and even tend to rant together. It oddly teaches us to do life together because we struggle together and we rejoice together when a concept is actually grasped. It's amazing.

6) While it isn't an easy topic of study, it's the easiest major to love. If I weren't a Christian Ministry major, I wouldn't be nearly as happy as I am. I love my classmates and I love my professors. The topics require so much thought that it challenges me daily and always has me learning something incredible. I can't imagine a more joyful major than the one I have declared, and I will stand by that for the rest of my life.