“Nope”, the answer would slip off the tip of my tongue whenever the question, “Are you thinking of going to a Christian college?” was directed at me. By my freshmen year of high school, I felt emotionally stretched thin and constrained by the small Christian school I commuted to for 8 years. It was set in my head that I would not attend a Christian college. However, after my turbulent journey through anxiety in my freshmen year, I came to understand the importance of being part of Christian community.
In the beginning of high school, I made the poor decision to hang out with people who did not love God. They were bad influences and I suffered deeply mentally. I had anxiety and panic attacks during my freshmen year due to constantly feeling
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Thinking back on those days makes me feel a lot of regret for putting myself into that situation. Thankfully, through my emotional roller coaster, I was able to find true friends who helped me though every step of the way. Once I reached rock bottom, I knew that the only way was up, but everything that I grasped at seemed to dissolve in my hands. My friends abandoned me, my grades slipped out of control, and emotionally, my heart felt like a punching bag that had received one upper-cut too many. I struggled in this stage for a time, until finally, I was done. I could not take it anymore. On cold February evening, I attended a Christian Bible study where I met new friends. They prayed for me and made me feel closer to God. I remember thinking that night, ‘these are the kind of people I want to be surrounded by’.
Ever since then, I started to surround myself with loving people, and consequently, my life became much brighter. I was anxiety free, I felt a lot more happy, and I felt like my faith grew stronger than ever.
Relationships with people who are connected to the body of Christ encourage me to seek His light. I am convicted that APU has a strong Christian community filled with great people that I know would make me a better servant of