Something About College

It’s the same for everyone, every year. You get back home and the first question you get everywhere you go is, “How was school?”

Driving home I was thinking about my summer plans. Where I was going to work, where I was going to travel, who I was going to see. Who was going to be asking me this question and how was I going to answer? I wasn’t sure. All I knew is I needed to be honest. First with myself, then to everyone else.

If I had to choose one word to describe sophomore year, it would be chaotic.

The conversation, obviously, starts with the COVID crisis. From Atchison County almost shutting us down, rumors of a possible two-week quarantine in the dorms, a total of 33 days in quarantine, athletic and campus events modified or cancelled, to constant temp checks and COVID tests. All this frustration and fight for Atchison County to dismiss the mask mandate, and for BC to do the same.

*A quick shoutout to President Minnis and Benedictine College for fighting for us.*

Then after a long debate with myself, my chaotic sophomore year moved to a changing of majors. Second semester I said hello to Fink Hall. There was a lot of change in general. There were new relationships that taught me strength, hope, love, and adventure. New relationships that taught me about old ones, wrong ones. This called for dropping toxicity, adding love. Dropping masks (literally and figuratively) and adding truth.

When I started thinking about my junior year, I didn’t know where to start. By asking you what comes to mind when you hear the word “college,” I agreed with a lot of answers. Words like friendship, trials, responsibility, togetherness, community, and becoming. All of these fit, but none of them could hit the thought of junior year on the head.

This was a year of the highest of highs and lowest of lows. While I experienced the clearest of loves, I also experienced the darkest of evils. Having a year full of ups and downs made it clear to me that I never know what tomorrow is going to hold. So, who is to say they know what to expect in the next year? That being said, if I needed one word to describe how I feel about being a junior in college, I would use mystery.

I’m halfway through my college career and don’t get me wrong, I love college. But it is almost overwhelming when I think about how much I have changed since the start. That’s a pretty typical thing to say and I think everyone says that every year, but life is getting real. Then when I take a step back to think about it, this year has been the most influential.

Little incoming freshman Maddy was so excited to get away from home. I was excited to live on a college campus. I would meet new people, hear new stories, experience a whole new life.

Then BAM. Life punched me right in the face. I thought I had a clear idea of who I was before I stepped on Benedictine’s campus. Oh man, was I wrong. Independence taught me a lot about who I am.

Thanks to this change, I was able to start living in the moment. Worry about the future vanished and the focus was on creating a life I wanted to live in college. Realizing that there will always be another test, another chance to work, I confined myself to the present. There won’t be many more chances for that party or that road trip. College is going to end and life gets more real. You are going to leave your friends and spread out across the nation, maybe world. Live life now for the experiences, don’t narrow your focus to working for the material things.

Some things to take away… if you know me, you know I love lists. So of course, I wrote down all of the big lessons I learned this year. It looks a little something like this:

1. Know how you give and receive love.

2. Independence is control over your time.

3. Focus on what you really want, not what you think you should want.

4. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

5. Don’t allow mistakes in other peoples’ judgements to influence your sense of self-worth or identity.

6. So many people look down on change… but aren’t we supposed to change?

There’s a few lessons that you shared with me, too. Those look a little something like this:

1. Drama is not worth the time.

2. Live a happy life no matter the circumstance.

3. Everything is a lesson.

4. Win or lose, you celebrate.

5. It is so important to have an interior life so you can overflow God’s love for others.

6. Hug your friends tight and always say I love you.

So there’s something about college. Is it the people? Is it the independence? Is it the balancing of fun and work? Is it the spontaneous road trips? Is it learning about your passion? Is it the mystery of what the next day could hold?

Whatever it is, it goes by fast.

Stay golden,

M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ertny_shKNo