2 Weeks In

Two weeks ago I moved into college. In some ways it feels like I’ve been here for months, but in other ways it still feels very new. But it’s been a huge answer to prayers that I feel home here. I feel like I belong. These two weeks have been a time of crazy-busyness, excitement, new experiences, sleep deprivation, and growth, and these are a few things I’ve learned:

1. Relationships and Community are Important: Going into college, one of my biggest fears was that I would have a hard time meeting and making friends, but upon arrival I forced myself to be as sociable and outgoing as possible, and I’ve found an already-close group of friends. I’ve formed communities of friends on my dorm, in my classes, and in various extracurricular clubs and activities that continually remind me the importance of being surrounded by others who can build you up, encourage you, and challenge you. It’s also important to keep in contact with family and friends back home, and I’ve tried to be intentional about checking in with my high school friends who I don’t see on a daily basis anymore.
2. Learn to Say Yes: The first week we were here, Welcome Week, was packed with activities ranging from lectures to seminars to dances to carnivals to game nights, all designed to help the freshman class get to know each other better. While the activities weren’t mandatory, they were strongly encouraged, and I decided to go to every activity, even though I didn’t always want to. Though this decision meant I had almost no downtime for the first few days, I am glad I did it because I was exposed to a number of opportunities, and met many people, that I would have missed out on had I not gone to the events. When it came to signing up for clubs, I said “yes” to as many as I could (because you didn’t need to commit yet). Though I’ve only ended up following-up on two, maybe three, of those clubs, I wouldn’t have even heard of them if I didn’t first say “yes” when they asked if I wanted information.
3. Learn to Say No: Something else that is very important is the ability to say “no” to some things. I’ve quickly learned that, in college you don’t have time to commit to as many things as you did in high school. There were several campus ministries and clubs I wanted to join, but I had to say “no” to simply because there isn’t enough time in the day for me to do everything. Instead, I found a couple organizations I was super passionate about and committed to them. It’s better to commit fully to a few things, than spread yourself too thin.
4. Budget Your Time Well: I’ve been pretty busy these past two weeks, between learning all the new information for freshmen, going to events,. attending classes, and doing homework. I’m a History Major, which means most of my homework is reading…a lot of reading. Some nights I have 100+ pages to read in various textbooks. The nice thing, though, is that I have large stretches of time to get everything done. Much of my homework the first week was simply recording all my syllabi and organizing my schedule for the upcoming semester. One of my biggest faults in high school was poor organization and shaky time management. These past two weeks I’ve had to learn how to set aside blocks of my time to get things done, and to be proactive rather than procrastinative (is that a word?). I’ve had to recognize that things aren’t going to get done unless I do them, and that, unlike high school, I am the one solely responsible for managing my schedule and my homework.
5. Make Time for Rest: Though I already knew the importance of rest, these past two weeks have really reinforced it for me. I didn’t fully appreciate what it meant to take a break from something. Earlier today, one of my friends from down the hall walked into my room and said, “Stu, you’re always reading. Take a break! Just give yourself fifteen minutes!” Those are wise words from a wise friend, and I listened to him. I took a nap, and I’m glad I did! Budgeting time to get work done is important, but so is budgeting time for rest. Similarly, my entire life I’ve avoided doing homework on Sunday, the day of rest. I had to decide if I wanted to continue with that in college, and ultimately I decided that I wasn’t going to do homework on Sundays. I need a day I can dedicate to rest and to the LORD, and I need to have faith that my tasks will get completed some other time. Giving myself that day of rest gives me the motivation to finish my tasks, knowing that 1) I have limited time and 2) I’ll be able to have an extended break. I’ve also learned again the important of making time for devotions, prayer, etc., because just “finding” time rarely works out.

I am looking forward to the upcoming semesters and years, and I’m eager to see where God takes me and what I learn, both academically and otherwise. I’ve been keeping up with my writing, though not at the pace I was able to before, and I’ll probably post an update on that in the near(ish) future.

---