Chapter 8: Intro to College

The summer after high school was amazing.  I spent the whole summer on the white sands of Daytona Beach, soaking in the sun with about 100 college students from Campus Outreach.  We were there for a Beach Project, which is a summer of intense evangelistic training.  It was just what I needed to prepare for college life and jump start my Biblical Studies degree.  I had chosen to attend Belhaven College in Mississippi to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies/Christian Ministries and minor in ballet.  I knew I would get the education and preparation needed for the missions field at this Christian college filled with professors who had spent time on the missions field.  My freshman year was so much fun.  I made awesome friends, did tons of road trips, and really embraced my independence away from home.  I became involved with Reformed University Fellowship, took piano lessons, participated in every ballet class and performance I could, helped form Belhaven’s football “Superfan” club, went to every school dance… basically put academics on the back burner while focusing on college life.  It was a blast;)  But at some point in college, you begin to grow up.  You are faced with things that force you to become more responsible.  That point for me was the summer after freshman year.  I committed to another summer in Daytona Beach at Beach Project.  The difference was that this summer, I was a room leader.  It was not care-free like the previous summer.  I was a leader, held responsible for the lives and actions of the three girls in my room.  This was a first for me, and it was eye opening.  I learned the definition of hard work; doing things you may not want to do but have to do.  Dealing with people you may not want to deal with but have to work with.  I should have seen this summer as a warning sign that sophomore year would be different, but it hit me like a truck…