Category: College Life Lessons

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The Importance of Faith

Faith is something that most assume when coming to Grove City College is all around you in everything you see and do. Now, faith is a deeply integrated part of the Grove City community. But with that said, it is easy to let your personal faith slip because you assume with chapel and Bible studies that you are covered. As a senior, I can personally attest to the fact that your faith and relationship with Christ can easily fall to the back burner if you are not actively and daily pursuing The Lord. There have been times when I got to the end of a semester and realized I had not spent a single day with Jesus in quiet time or prayer. This affected the health of my spiritual, emotional, and physical life in ways you cannot imagine.

I have found that the only thing that brings me peace when I am stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious is spending time with Jesus every single day. As a senior this year, I took a look back on the last three years of my college career and how I felt when I was spending consistent time in the word versus when I was not. I do not mean to say this in a condemning way–as if you are a bad person if you do not spend time with Jesus every day. NO. Not at all. I am saying that, in my opinion, if you want a beautiful, healthy, life-fulfilling experience during your time at Grove City College, fix your mind on Jesus and His word as much as possible.

I have found that starting my day by reading one or two chapters of the Bible and writing out a prayer for my day has been the best way to start said day. With that being said, you ultimately have to do what is right for you. And your time with Jesus can look different every day, it does not have to be the same thing over and over again. Spending time with Jesus is spending time with Jesus.

As I write this post, I pray that your time at the College is full of joy, beauty, community, and faith. Faith in the unseen. Faith in the God who created you and has walked the path before you. The God who has won all of your battles, so you do not have to. When you come to college, keep your faith for He is with you.

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Things I Wish I Knew as a Freshman: Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of the “Things I Wish I Knew as a Freshman” series! If you have not read the first post, be sure to check it out for more tips. Here, I will be focusing on two more pieces of information I wish I knew as a freshman.

  1. Take time in your day, each day, to do something for you. Do not be worried about what anyone else thinks. If it is relaxing to you, do it.
  • I came into college worried about what others would think of me. I was also stressed out of my mind freshman year, so I truly cherished the moments I took for myself to relax. Even if it is just once a week if you feel too busy, take a break. Over the years, I have found that the things that relax me are going home on the weekends to visit my family, napping, watching New Girl on Netflix, or listening to music. Now, many people gave me a hard time about going home so often to see my family and for a while that really bothered me. But as I continued my time at the College, I learned that going home on the weekends brings me extreme peace, so I am going to continue to do so regardless of what people think. And I did that because I needed to recoup and be ready for the week to come. I wanted to share this tip with you, prospective student, because I want you to feel the freedom to do whatever you need to do to relax as you begin your college career.
  1. Be present. You never know when your time at the College will come to an end.
  • As a senior at the College, I have a newfound appreciation for being present during your time at Grove City. I know you will hear this from a ton of different people, but you will blink and be a senior before you know it. Or, you could be sent home from school due to a global pandemic and lose an entire semester. But that is a different story. That being said, please take it from me, a person who was not fully present the first couple years of my college career, wishing to go home sometimes, being so excited for Christmas break, etc. Be present. You only have four years to live with your closest friends and make beautiful and fun memories. Do not miss it.
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Things I Wish I Knew as a Freshman: Part 1

Are you or have you ever been nervous about going to college? Me too. And so has pretty much every other person to ever attend college. With that being said, here are some pieces of advice to hopefully ease some of your nerves.

  1. You WILL succeed in your classes if you put in the effort. They are not as impossible as they seem. You learned how to study and work in high school, you will be fine.
  • One of the things I was most nervous about when coming to college was the workload and the classes. I always heard that college was significantly more difficult than high school and that I would get a rude awakening. While Grove City has rigorous academics, the classes and workload are doable. I was so scared coming to college thinking that I would not have a social life or that I would not do well academically. Let me reassure you as a senior at the College, if you put in the work you will figure out how to best study for you and get the work done without working yourself crazy. You CAN do it!
  1. The professors are here to help you, not to scare you or fail you.
  • In high school, I remember my teachers telling me that my college professors would not be lenient with me (i.e. no late homework, schedule was hard set, no extra credit, no conversations when extenuating circumstances arose, etc.). This terrified me for college. But I can assure you that I have not had a single professor at Grove City who has not worked with me when conflicts arose for either class or an assignment. Every professor I have had at the College has always been the most understanding when I have reasonable excuses or a difficult situation that requires an extension or simply the professor to work with me individually.
  1. It is okay not to find your lifelong best friends your freshman year. You will find close friends.
  • When I first moved into my freshman dorm, there was this weird underlying pressure to find your best friends the moment you got to school. It was like if you did not find your best friends within the first month of school you were somehow never going to find them. I am proof that this notion is simply not true. Yes, for some, freshman friends or roommates do become the best of friends. And that is awesome! However, I did not find my closest friends or friend circle freshman year. I found it sophomore year with my roommate who I have now lived with for three out of the four years I have been at Grove City. Also, I found my group of close friends sophomore year when I joined a sorority on campus. My point is, it is okay if you do not end up being best friends with your freshman year roommate. You will find your group and you will find your close friends.
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Tips for Senior Year from Recent Graduates

It does not take long for anyone to see that Grove City College students typically find the College through their relatives. I am no exception. Both of my brothers attended Grove City College before me, and both have been out in the real world for several years now. Bill is 28 and currently works for the WebstaurantStore, while Sam is 25 and works as an accountant for RKL. Since they are older and maybe even wiser than me, I thought I would ask them what tips they had for seniors in their last year of college. Here is what they said:

1. It is okay to not have a job

As senior year comes around, you will become more aware and worried about how many of your friends already have careers ahead of them. When you start to see this, it begins to feel like your friends have somehow “got it figured out” and you do not. This can seem frightening, but it is important to remember that they are still in the same period of life as you and college is just a small portion of what is ahead. As long as you can make up some excuse as to why you are better than them and your dad can still beat their dad in a fight, you are good to go. Just kidding, but just remember that life is pretty complicated and almost no one gets everything right on the first try. In fact, most students will end up with careers later in life that have little or nothing to do with their major. It is okay to not have a job right away, but do not lose faith in the process.

2. Practice common interview questions

Although it is acceptable to be jobless for a bit, you do want to put yourself in the best position you can for a career. A great way to do this is to practice some of the most common interview questions so you do not freeze up when they inevitably come your way. Here are a few examples:

“Tell me about yourself.”

“What are three words you would use to describe yourself?”

“What are your strengths/weaknesses?”

“Give me an example of conflict you have had in the past and how you resolved it.”

“If your dad and my dad were in a fight, who would win?”

You would be surprised how hard these questions are to answer, so make sure you are prepared.

3. Enjoy the last year

Since it will be your last year at the Grove, try to enjoy it as much as you can. It is unlikely that your GPA will change much as a senior, so make sure you stay focused on the important things. In a year or two you will not remember that test you took, but you might look back on being with your college friends as your best memory.

So, there it is! The last few tips you will ever need as a college student. If you keep these in mind, I promise that it will improve your senior year.