Growing up in a small, private Church of Christ school, I had grown accustomed to hearing how corrupted I would be if (and when) I went off to a big, bad, scary state school.

Some people in my class had their sights set on much smaller, more conservative institutions than my personal choice, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Among other things, UT has grown famous for its parties, large campus, Greek life, and SEC football in a stadium only fit for the goliaths that dominate today's game. UT has its religious institutions, yes, but in a world in which we as public university college students are encouraged more and more to be "inclusive," the religion aspect is clouded more and more every day. But that doesn't mean my spirituality has to be.

Let me start by saying I'm not against the Freed-Hardemans and the Lipscomb Universities of the world. I'm really not. If you need an obligatory spiritual tie to keep you from running wild in your early twenties, more power to you.

But to the ultra-Conservative teachers who warned me against my own orange-tinted fate several years ago, have more faith in your own spiritual teaching than the lack there of that I'm receiving here. Don't tell me they're all Atheists. Because they're not. Don't tell me they're all anti-Christian. Because they're not.

Are there some of these? You know it. You know what else? I'm happy to have them here. They force me to dig deeper into my own faith in order to politely combat the arguments they make should we engage in any sort of back-and-forth.

To the kids still in high school, know that going to a state school will be one of the most challenging experiences of your life. But isn't that the point? To not sit in your spiritual comfort zone?

Don't get me wrong. Jackson Christian did more for myself and my family than any other school my mother could've chosen, and I'm forever indebted to the coaches, teachers and friends I made and had while there and continue to keep in touch with now that I'm six hours away. Their teaching, especially that of my senior sponsors right before I left, helped me to establish a more-than-solid foundation.

By the same token, however, UT's lack of mandatory chapel meetings and/or church services has forced me to dig deeper in my own relationship with God than I ever had or wanted to do while at Jackson Christian. I loved JCS, and I always will.

But when you have no one telling you to go to Bible class or memorize a verse, you realize how truly important your own faith and your own relationship with God really are. You find out what people mean when they call God their friend AND their Father because He really is the only source of peace for all the relationship, homework, and adult life stress that you are now forced to endure.

You realize how important this relationship is, and you hold onto it for dear life because it really is the only thing keeping you grounded.

You have to make your own morality, and you have to make your own life.

Believe it or not, that starts with stepping out of the comfort zone that your previous life provided.

You learn to rely on yourself, and you learn to rely on God. And when it's all said and done, you realize that those two things and family and friends are all anyone really needs.