College & Making Friends

A vital part of human existence is about the relationships we build and the influence we have on one another.

We are meant to be social creatures, like in Genesis when God said that it is not good for man to be alone.

I've learned that friendships in college, however, make or break your character as a person.  Isn't that scary?  College is such an interesting time of development where we exert independence, but we aren't really fully independent yet.  Sure we act like it, but in reality are we really fully independent and not just in the material sense but also in the emotional and psychological sense.

As a freshmen, I have SO much to learn to continue growing.

This mindset of learning not only in school, but also socially is seen differently from different people.  I've seen people my age on campus who have taken less care for their scholastic experience and more care for their social, which is a problem.  They are consumed with partying and flirting and the drama behind their lifestyle is so ugly.
And, on the other hand, I've noticed people who don't socialize enough and need to take a break from the pressure they put themselves under in school.  I understand the desire to make good grades and do well, but as social humans we also need to take the time to care for ourselves as a whole person and not just our mental facilities.  

How do we find this balance?
Being active in a wide variety of groups and organizations allows you experience different perspectives.  to surround myself among different friends.  Experience with dealing with both the "nerds" and "jocks" helps make my social experience more wholesome because I am encountering the real world.  In my work circle,  I am most likely going to face opposing views and have to spend more time with others to understand their views.  I'm OK with this, in fact, I find it very interesting how different people bring different qualities out of myself.  I am still myself, but I will insert certain phrases and sayings to relate to the social group I am around.

I've also noticed the people who seek this same balance as myself.  Qualities I see in them are that they are still focused on school, but they can also relate to a wide variety of people their age while having core friends to turn to.  They aren't giving up true friendships to trade for less real ones, but, as Christians, Jesus ate with taxpayers and sinners.  A problem I see on campus is being able to see the other side, the opposing view.  I need to be able to relate to people my age, even though my friendships with them might not be as deep as others because it is not centered on God.  The effort to relate to the other side, however, I've noticed is laking at my school and I'm still learning how I feel about this.  Charity and loving all people is important, but it doesn't mean that I have to be friends with everyone.

I do know that I've been blessed with friendships at Belmont Abbey.  It is so important to surround myself around good people who strive for holiness because, then, we can support one another towards the same goal.