What I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me Before I Went to College…

I’ve been overwhelmed as of late.  I hear about student after student who is raised in church, goes to youth camp, reads their Bible, and then they get to college, and completely forget about God during their tenure there.  Some of them find their way back to following Jesus once they get older, but some of them don’t.

My passion is to see high school students graduate and go to college and grow more spiritually in those years than ever before.  At North Side, we have begun to pray and think through what kind of resource could be helpful to those about to go to college and those that are currently in college.  This may turn into a magazine, a website, or maybe even a book.  So your comments are going to be held in high regard as we start to develop this material.

So what do you think?  What do you wish someone would have told you before you went to college?   Click comment and share your insights.

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7 thoughts on “What I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me Before I Went to College…”

  1. If I could name one thing that had kept me close to God, it would be the group of guys and girls that I met through North Side. I know that getting involved in a church ,and I mean really getting involved, and surrounding myself with grils and guys that would hold me accountable, was the most important thing I did for my relationship with God. Also, before I left for college my youth pastor told me this, “Remember who you are and WHOSE you are.”

  2. I wish somebody told me that you don’t have to find yourself (emphasis on YOURSELF) within the first year. You need to find HIM, find His work and meet Him there. I agree with Travis, I wish I would have listened when people told me to find good christian friends. It’s alot easier to fight battles when you have Godly accountability.

  3. Obviously, I would have said the friends thing too, but since that has been emphasized, another thing I wish someone would have told me was to get involved in youth in middle school and high school. It really does help you out as an older adult to help other youth so that they can continue what you passed on to them. It really does help your relationship with God because you aren’t thinking about yourself a lot (not that that’s not important), but anytime you can lend a hand to someone who needs it (and we know that middle and high school students need help with many issues we faced when we were there age), then it will come back to help you in the end. No, that shouldn’t be your motivation (to gain somethnig from helping someone out), but it does help in the long run. So get involved in the church anyway possible. There are a billion things that need to get done throughout the week and you can be an asset to the church, which in turn, an asset to this world that needs people who really care.

  4. I think that the whole strong christian friends thing is a must for going to college!! Also, get involved in a christian ministry and a church that is growing. Find some growing christians that will hold you accountable and not let you go astray….thats the most important!!

  5. I wish someone would have reminded me to relax a bit. My high school did a great job of preparing us how to present ourselves and “be the best” and “look out for number one”, but being a secular high school, it told us nothing about trusting the fact that God is taking care of us the whole time, even when we forget about His greatness sometimes. My parents did remind me of this, but it took a while before it truly sank in. I think the first time it sank in was when I had four finals and eight papers due in one week, and suddenly realized I really couldn’t do it all on my own. I got down on my knees and prayed for a solid hour. After I finally stopped trying to impress everybody else instead of God, I was able to relax and get through that awful week. Sure, I could have gotten through college okay and been fairly successful, but why try to do it all on your own when God’s right there willing and ready? I try to tell this to everybody: Plan ahead, yes. But also relax! God hasn’t failed you before and He’s not going anywhere now.

  6. I think that it’s necessary to be said that you need to find ways of backing up your belief that aren’t just Bible verses. Most non-Christians don’t take it as an authority as Christians do, so you need to have different types of ‘arsenal’ for those sorts of situations. It’s also good to be prepared to be surrounded mostly by people who are not Christians, and know how to stick to your guns (so to speak). I do reiterate the getting involved in a Christian group of some sort, you WILL need the support often!

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