A week of school down and I feel like I’m getting the hang of college life for sure!
Coming from a public high school, Biola feels like jumping into a pool of holy water. Teachers pray before class. YES!

Every seminar, chapel and class has been exceptional so far! Plus one of my teachers looks like Dumbledore from “A Harry Potter Musical.” (Haha) And speaking of YouTube videos, I have found my out-of-class time is mostly dedicated to waiting for videos to load on the tragically slow Biola network. I’m not homesick yet, but if I could count the hours I will spend waiting for a video to load, I may become so.

I like what one freshman said at the Saturday night communion service—that when you’re going to college, everyone treats you like you’re dying. So true! Though it seems like you’re dying to others, the truth is just the opposite. When I packed up my boxes and Kombi (my yellow bike), I was expecting an adventure, looking forward to my life starting. And it has! Despite my dad repeatedly starting conversations with, “I remember the day you were born…” (Come on Dad. I’m not terminal.)

I am dorming in Hart with two roommates, who are both fantastic—Abby, adventurous and fun; Sam, quiet but remarkably intelligent. We were made to room together. As Abby says, “It’s a God thing.”

Another exceptional event was eating in the Caf for the first time. It was probably the greatest experience of my life. Never have I felt more like a college freshman than when I wandered in at what appeared to be happy hour at Biola (lunch time). I felt like relatively successful getting violently jostled around from station to station with my roommates, figuring out what to eat and finally finding a place to sit.

I did have a moment, however, that reminded me of the endless lessons I have yet to absorb. I saw a girl with a plate full of food and no place to sit. But instead of offering her the blatantly empty seat across from me, I watched her pass by as if this were high school. As if reaching out was an embarrassment or meeting new people meant you were desperate.

But I’m here at Biola University! Meeting new people is a necessity, and reaching out is a calling of Christ. Though my human heart allowed this opportunity to slip away, my heart in the Holy Spirit summoned me to change. I know God is going to be changing me in my time at Biola.

I’m so blessed to be here, and I don’t plan to waste the opportunity I have been given.
Do I hear an amen? Tell me your favorite thing about your freshman year so far, or what it was when you were a freshman.