Why it’s so much harder to balance faith in college

I went off to college with the intention of not only keeping my faith, but using this new world as a chance to grow in that faith and hopefully share it with others. It didn’t take long for me to find a faith-based community on campus that I had been involved in throughout high school, so I was immediately surrounded by people who were willing to walk with me on my spiritual journey.

Being involved in an organization that seeks to spread the Gospel to lost high school kids has been what saved me from falling into the wrong crowd in college, but it also sheltered me from some harsh truths.

The standards I live by come mostly from my faith and the teachings I have grown up learning. These standards were rarely challenged in high school because most of my classmates and friends came from similar backgrounds and were raised to behave the same way.

However, that was not the case once I came to college. All around me, people were fully embracing their newfound freedom and were taking part in things I would never dream of doing.

It’s not “cool” to be the sober one in college. It’s not “cool” to reject a drunk frat boy who wants to take you up to his room. It’s not “cool” to wake your friends up on a Sunday morning because you’re getting ready for church. So if I’ve learned anything in college, I guess I’m not “cool.”

While it was difficult at first, I would rather make the hard decisions now and reap the benefits of those decisions later. Choosing to not drink on a Saturday night might not get me any further in my professional life, but it will give my little siblings a positive role model to look up to. My faith has taught me to care deeply about my family and I want to be someone who my siblings can look to when they are faced with difficult decisions later on in life.

Another challenge I had to learn to overcome regarding my faith was in my academic life. I was asked to read Every Tongue Shall Confess by ZZ Packer in an English class and I was surprised about how personally I took the message of the story.

While it was in no way criticizing people of faith, I found myself offended by certain digs at women and religion. While other people in my class may have held strong opinions about the story, I seemed to be the only one truly bothered and did not understand why my classmates did not have a similar reaction.

It was in that class when I realized I would not always agree with the people around me, but surrounding myself with people who believe in different things is healthy. My teacher was able to convey to me it is good to voice my opinion, even if someone does not agree with it, if only for the sake of discussion.

Striking a balance between a spiritual and social life in college is difficult, but it’s something I am working towards every day.