Two Years Later

A Reflection of My College Experience

I heard somewhere that your first day living on your own feels like the first night on a new Minecraft world. On August 12, 2024, I would have agreed with you. Everyone who helped me move in had left, and I sat on my bed, unsure what the next two years would hold.

Today, as I look back, remembering the lonely nights, stressful days, friendships, and celebrations, I am extremely grateful and can see how God was growing through every step.

Loneliness and Adjusting

In freshman orientation, I was excited and hopeful to make some friends. I met a girl who was in my group and stuck with me that day, but I never saw her again. Not deterred, I remained hopeful that I could become friends with the people I shared an apartment with. Unfortunately, they just stayed in their rooms and kept to themselves.

My time with God in the mornings

As the semester started, loneliness started to settle in. I didn’t know anyone and felt out of place. I felt like I had to be mature and perfectly responsible, but I had no idea what that looked like. I was trying to be organized and stay on top of work, but it became overwhelming. At the time, I also couldn’t drive, which just made me feel even more alone.

Despite all the struggles, I fought to not let myself stay there. I spent mornings reading my Bible, took walks around campus, and worked on crafts in the evenings. I was stressed, anxious, lonely, and overwhelmed, but I was taking it to God. Not as consistently as I wanted to, but I did. So in the midst of all the feelings, I had a peace that gave me the strength to keep going.

Learning to Grow Outside My Comfort Zone

My classes pushed me out of my comfort zone. I had to work on sports games, which are not my thing. I had to plan, schedule, and record interviews and produce news stories, none of which I felt comfortable with at first. They stressed me out, but over time, I was able to learn from them and see them differently.

My friends and I working on a basketball game

God was able to help me change my mindset about stressful situations. He showed me that I can either focus on how much I don’t want to do something, or allow them to help me grow. If I complain and have a bad attitude about it, then I will be miserable and not get much out of it. Alternatively, if I try to make the most of it, then I have the chance to maybe enjoy it and can learn something. By the end of my first year, I was feeling more independent, responsible, and confident.

Finding a Community

Slowly, the friend side of things started to look up. A few classmates and I started talking after class. There were days that I would stand around talking with them for hours, about class, about jokes, and about life. In my second year, our group started growing, and we added more people. We even started a D&D group. Granted, most of us had never played before, but we jumped right in, and we had a great time every week.

Our D&D group at a free pancake night

In my second year, I moved into a new apartment. My new roommates were much easier to talk to. I would go to warm up food and get caught up talking with one of them for two hours sometimes. Comparing this year to my first semester, I was incredibly grateful for the friends I have made. Two of them are going to be bridesmaids at my wedding. I felt like I had found my people.

Archery

Archery was also a large part of my college time. Starting on the team was very intimidating; I didn’t know anyone, and I was the first barebow. The tournaments were a struggle; whether it was a mental battle or bad weather, it was not easy. But, they still grew on me. I learned to push through and focus on doing my best.

Shooting archery at WVC for the past two years has been a great experience. Traveling to tournaments, improving my scores, and eventually placing at some of them reminded me not only to work hard but also to grow my confidence.

Final Semester

In my final semester, I had to find an internship, and that was intimidating to say the least. I didn't know

A photo of me from my internship

what I was looking for, or what I would find somewhere good. I had one place in particular that I wanted the most, but I sent out multiple. I was so nervous that I wouldn’t get anything, but I took my worries to God and trusted that he would take care of me and put me where he wanted me to be. I got a response from one saying they weren’t looking for interns at the time, and one that just didn’t respond. Then I got a response and an interview at the place that I wanted. I got so much valuable experience, and the people guided me so much. I feel much more prepared for future jobs because of it. I am honestly not sure that I would have done an internship if my program didn’t include it, but I am so glad that I did.

My final semester was stressful. I was trying to balance classes for half the week, my internship the other half, and wedding planning on the weekends. It was busy. Through it all, I was once again reminded just how important it is for me to trust God. I don’t know what the future holds, but he does, and I can trust that whatever it is, he has a plan for it.

Looking Back and Looking Forward

WVC Lake

College has not been easy, but I have grown in so many ways. Looking back, I see that most of my growth did not happen all at once. In the moment, it was hard to recognize how God was working, and there were times I felt completely alone. But now I can see that He was teaching me to trust Him, not because everything was easy, but because He was with me through it.

Similar to when I was sitting on my bed, not knowing what college would look like, I am there now. I am graduating, not knowing what finding a job will look like, what marriage will look like, or what life will look like. Regardless of what the future holds, I know that I will be ok and I will grow in whatever happens. I am taking everything I learned in the past two years and jumping in headfirst into what the future holds.