Dear University Freshman

Words of Wisdom from a College Dropout Turned Missionary

You don’t know me, so chances are pretty good you won’t listen to the advice I’m about to give you, but on the off-chance that you do, allow me to introduce myself. I was once in your shoes – stepping into the new life experience of the first days on campus full of hopes and dreams, anxious thoughts, and confusion. I’ll admit, my freshman year was… a while ago (16 years to be exact). We could talk all day about the differences in technology, politics, and society between our generations, but I’ll stick to certain truths that have not changed. Because of the simple and profound truth that Jesus died for me and He designed me for a purpose, I totally changed the trajectory of my life. I quit school, worked an average job for years, served God through my church, and then sold everything, packed up what was left, and moved to the other side of the world to serve God there. Why would you want to take advice from a college dropout? I don’t know, but I hope you’ll hear me out on a few things. 

There is a way to go through college focused on survival. I don’t think anyone sets out to just survive, but that is what happens naturally when we “go with the flow” of peers and culture. It seems like the more chill way to approach it, but really it leads to chaos and busyness without ever accomplishing anything. If that sounds good to you, stop reading now. If you want more out of life, read on. 

First of all, the key to all of this is getting over yourself. College constantly tells you to make life about yourself: your plans, your happiness, your success, your identity, your future. But the more life revolves around you, the emptier it becomes. So get over yourself and see what life is all about. Real purpose comes when you start asking what God wants to do with your life. 

Part of getting over yourself is understanding that your grades don’t define who you are. So stop putting pressure on yourself to achieve. Yes, be a good student, but the world will not end if you get a bad grade. I have seen too many students (and I was guilty of this too) who put academic achievement as their top priority – studying for hours on end, anxious about exams, and neglecting everything else, including what God is calling them to do. Keep everything in the right perspective. If you are a Christian, then keep the eternal perspective. Jesus won’t care (thankfully) how you did on your biology exam, but He will care if you served Him in biology class. 

Don’t see university as an “in-between time”. Most students see their time in college as a period when the rest of life is on hold. They think they’ll get serious about following God after they graduate and figure out life. Most think that life will slow down or get less stressful after college, so then they will have more time for Jesus. That simply is not true. Figure out what God has for you now and do it – the sooner the better. 

My last bit of advice is to find a Christian community that is real. Not one based on emotions, making you comfortable by aligning with everything you desire. Find the people you can call in the middle of the night because everything is falling apart. The people who can count on you to be there for them too. A community that is committed to following Jesus the real, Biblical way that will help you do the same.  

For me, for all of the above reasons, I walked away from school after giving three years of my time to it. Am I suggesting you do the same? Not necessarily. Don’t be so afraid of going against the norm that you miss out on what God has specifically designed you to do. When one of my professors heard that I was quitting school, she told me that I was throwing my life away. I think of her sometimes as I’m going through the mountains of Southeast Asia, and enjoying deep relationships with people that I never would have if I didn’t follow Jesus wherever He led. Yes, I threw my life away in exchange for God’s life for me, which, for the record, is way, way better. 

If you do stay in school, make the most of it. Some opportunities only come around once in a lifetime. You will not be around the same classmates and professors forever, so use the time with them well. Know what God wants you to do and do it. He will never let you down.