Many people find various clubs, organizations, or groups that “make their college experience.”

But I didn’t find any club, organization, or group. What I found is something much more than that.

I found a family.

I know I’ve written about Young Life multiple times. In all honesty, probably too many times. But here’s the thing: It has truly defined my college experience. It has given me friends whom I see as family, memories that will never fade, and a sense of purpose I desperately wanted for so long.

Going into college, I thought Young Life couldn’t be for me. I had the idea that Young Life was too much of a commitment. I myself was just a kid trying to figure out life… How could I be mentoring girls only a few years younger than me? I couldn’t fathom trying to balance someone else’s life along with my own. Yet, somehow, despite all these misconceptions about what Young Life was, I found myself at leader training with a flyer in hand, not knowing a single person in the room.

And looking back, I’ve slowly begun to understand why I held that flyer in hand and found myself at training on a Wednesday afternoon.

Because I wanted something more than going through college on cruise control. Young Life has caused me to stop, look around, and give thanks. To give thanks for a second family, and a chance to work for something much bigger than myself.

So, here are the three main reasons why Young Life completely changed my college experience. Why it didn’t just change it, but make it.

1. Young Life Gave Me a New Perspective

College can be a little self-centered sometimes, can’t it? Constantly revolving around our futures, our wants, our immediate desires. We become so focused on getting the best grades, getting into grad school, or getting the best job… We forget about getting a chance to make a difference. Young Life showed me that in the grand scheme of things, I will never find myself in any of those things. Not my grades, not my job, not my future.

When I became a Young Life leader, I thought it was about being “the cool college kid” and being someone high school kids wanted to hang out with. But in reality, this is the furthest thing from true. It’s about showing up. It’s about being there for a high school kid, no matter what. It’s about showing a high school kid how important their lives are, no matter how insignificant society may tell them they are.

Young Life has shown me that the best way to find yourself is by losing yourself in service to others.

2. Young Life Gave Me Real Memories

From fall weekend with a cabin filled with the best high school gals around, to leader retreat in the mountains of North Carolina…These are the memories I’ll forever hold dear. Yet, it isn’t just that these times were fun or filled with laughter.

There’s something so much more when it comes to memories in Young Life. Real conversations. We, as humans, crave intentional conversation. We want to truly know people—not just from the surface, but to understand their hearts. Young Life sets up a platform that underlines just this. Memories are made with real conversations that create a foundation for real friendships.

The real memories are watching one of my Young Life kids stand up and give their life to Christ. Or getting a call to come meet one of my girls when her parent went to the hospital, and simply be there to give her a hug. Or when all the leaders got together to pray over the high school. Real friendships, real conversations, and real memories. These are the memories I will forever hold close when I think of my college years.

3. Young Life Gave Me a Second Family

This is absolutely my favorite thing Young Life has brought me in college. I remember the day we all sat around a table in training, knowing absolutely nothing about one another. A year later, I feel as if these people have been my friends for a lifetime. They know everything about me: From my worst moments to the better, and yet, they love me unconditionally.

Finding friends in college is hard. Simple as that. Well, it determines what you mean by friends. If you want a group of people to take pictures with, eat a few meals with, and go out on the weekends? Sure, that’s easy enough. But finding a group of friends that love you no matter what, and will stand by you in anything? That’s not so easy. And Young Life gave me just that.

These are the friends who could sit in someone’s dorm room, with no plans at all, and somehow get me to pee my pants with laughter in a matter of minutes. These are the friends who will be by my side long after college years, all because of a foundation built on Christ, and this was all found in Young Life.

Young Life showed me what it meant to always come second, to make real memories, and to have friendships that would last. Young Life or not, serve others, make memories that will last, and find a group of friends who become family. With these three things, your college experience will change completely. Not only will it change, but it will define it.

Here’s to an organization that has changed my life completely, and many others’, and changed it for the better.