When I left for college I recall my mom telling me to remember who I was in Christ. Growing up going to church I had heard this my whole life, was she not aware that I wasn’t interested in nor did I want to follow these old-fashioned rules of the Bible? She did, but she wanted more out of me spiritually than I did.

Upon arriving at college, I had the mindset that it was party time and surrounded myself with people who felt the same. After all, this was the first time I would actually be away from home and could set my own rules. I didn’t have a curfew and there were no rules saying that I couldn’t drink. Many teenagers head off to college looking to find themselves and that’s exactly what I wanted to do. In reality, I wanted to be the person others wanted me to be, the popular party guy.

On move-in day, I remember being drenched in sweat carrying car loads full of clothes and other belongings to my room. During this physical challenge, I happened to meet my neighbor. What I saw at first glance was a gym rat who was in a fraternity. I wanted to be that guy. The guy who no one seemed to like, but all the ladies loved. We said hello to each other, but I never thought anything more of it. That same day I headed off to my first college party where I began my alcoholic endeavors. It only took me two beers to get drunk, but I was already four in and trying to make friends with everyone in this stuffed apartment.

After weeks of living in what I thought was the “college life” (getting black out drunk and then puking violently), I eventually ran into the guy from across the hall again. This time, we actually talked to each other and surprisingly this guy was not at all a jerk, but a genuine dude. We exchanged phone numbers, but I never thought we would hang out or really talk again. To my excitement, he invited me to throw Frisbee with his roommate in the courtyard later that day. All three of us ended up talking about Jesus in their suite for most of the night. I had never had such a genuine conversation with anyone. These guys made it so easy to talk to because they were the same age. I wanted what they had. I wanted a relationship with my personal savior.

I was a “Christian” who grew up in church, but I never spent time with God or prayed to Him when outside of that building. These guys who lived across the hall had all of these books that were about Jesus. They seemed to know everything about the Bible. The more time I spent with these guys I was able to meet their friends. These mutual friends also seemed to have something different in them, something pleasant that made me want to be around them more. Soon enough I found out all of their friends had met Jesus and made a commitment to follow Him as well.

Meeting all of these religious people was nice, but I still wanted to party. I would talk about Jesus during the day to the people living beside me and then go get drunk with my roommate later that night. I mean this was college, the best four years of my life and I didn’t want to waste that time reading a Bible or following strict guidelines. I told God He would have to wait until I was done having fun before I would follow Him.

Every morning I would wake up and take a shower. In the shower, I would ask myself if what I was doing was beneficial for me. The problem here was that I was asking the wrong question, I should have been asking God what He wanted me to do for Him. The first two months of college consisted of me puking my guts up and falling asleep on crusty couches. I was in the darkest place of my life and I wanted out. I asked Him to forgive me of these stupid actions of mine and that I wanted to follow His word. He sent His Son to die for my sins, so the least I could do was live for Him.

Being close to Jesus was not an overnight event. I didn’t wake up the next morning telling everyone about Jesus and what He did for us. Slowly I began reading my Bible and writing down prayers in a journal each night. Before reading I would just ask God to soften my heart so that I could understand His word. In my prayers, I would tell Him that I wanted a deeper relationship and that I didn’t want to be alone anymore.

God found me in my darkest moments when I wasn’t even looking in the direction of Him. He surrounded me with followers so I could see examples of what it meant to actually be a Christian. It eventually all clicked in my head and my heart was softened to see what living for God really means.

College made me want to see what I could do for myself, but soon I desired to see what I could do for my Father in Heaven. Now I am eagerly waiting to work in high schools around the UNC Charlotte area to minister to guys who need to hear about Jesus. Maybe there is someone out there who just needs to see an example of a Christian like I did. Maybe I can reach that person and introduce them to Jesus.