It finally happened.
After the majority of the semester has rolled by me, over me, and through me, I finally have come to rock bottom: I have nothing to write about. With five weeks of school left, and presumably four columns left, my brain is officially taxed. No more topics in dating I want to return to, no more nostalgic memories or feelings about past or present, and certainly no criticism belongs in the month of Thanksgiving.
University Day brings back memories
The great (and frustrating) part of this week is having University Day students run around. As a student ambassador last year, I got to go through the joys and perils of helping hundreds of students run around with the “deer in the headlights” look bulging from their eye sockets.
Personally, I never went through that process. I applied to nearly a dozen schools and visited one — Biola. Like so many others here, I walked on campus and knew, for better or for worse, this is where God was going to place me. It went from being last in my mind to the only thing I could think of.
As my first year of college passed, there wasn’t a lot of reflection about how I’d grown up; but, as I’ve hit my stride this semester, I realize there is a dramatic difference in who I am today versus who I was even a year ago. That probably rings true for most of us here with at least a year of college under our belts. I can’t even imagine what it’s like being a senior and knowing it’s all going to wrap up soon.
The college challenge: finding yourself
The greatest learning experience of college has been to find who I am today and to be that person until tomorrow calls me into another season of change. In retrospect, the funniest thing about the first year of college is watching everyone get comfortable with who they are, and realizing that as people come out of their shell relationship dynamics change.
That’s my challenge to all of you — find yourself, find who you are, what you stand for and believe, and most important what your core is. Find what makes you, you.
I love watching friends who haven’t quite figured it out. Things always feel so stale and uncomfortable — like watching your aunt or uncle trying to wear a form-fitting turtleneck. It just isn’t pretty.
Striking the right balance
More and more I realize that wearing your heart on your sleeve isn’t always the best idea… but more and more, I also realize that putting on a facade to try to fit in isn’t good either. People worry about acceptance; we all have an innate desire to be loved. Yet, our greatest mistake is thinking we need to become what others will love.
This may be cliché, and it surely may be the most overstated thing since we hit the dreaded era of puberty, but for some reason, it doesn’t seem to click. We need to grasp this — life gets a lot easier when you do.
There is too much vanity involved with fitting in, and it’s so fruitless to do so anyways. The things of this earth are no greater than the dust beneath our feet. It will all pass away one day. Until we figure out who we are, we can’t completely carry out our calling — and yes, each and every one of us has one.
Carrying our callings forward
You don’t want to look back after three kids and a suburban lifestyle and think, “College was the life. Those were the golden days. Sure wonder what everyone else is doing.” You don’t want to only have memories. If you keep trying to fit into a mold you aren’t meant for, that’s all that will be left. Happy endings? Forget about that.
I was just telling my friend that I believe a problem we have is looking for the happy ending. I don’t want a happy ending — I want a continuation of my story. That doesn’t just include my future wife, but it includes my friends too.
Memories? Memories are remembered around a campfire with nostalgic terms.
Legendary stories? Well, as the “The Babe” once said to Benny Rodriguez in the beloved Sandlot:
“Remember… legends never die.”
