"Hey man, you coming out with us to drink this weekend?"
"Ugh, I hate those preachers, are all Christians like that?"
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"Are you going to read your Bible?"
These are all things that I hear on a normal day being in college while also being open about my religious identity, which happens to be Christian. I have friends who are believers and who are not, but, that really does not matter. The struggle to want to have your "college experience" while also staying true to your roots as well as your beliefs.
Couple that with the fact that the word "Christian" in it of itself has a negative connotation. There is a belief that every person who is a Christian hates gay people, reads their Bible 24/7, and judges those who do not live by their same guidelines. This is not a healthy thing to have over your head every time you walk through campus.
The natural reaction to hearing all of the ways that people view me and my religion would be to get mad, fight back, and show people that they have no clue what they are talking about.
But, that's not what I am called to do.
As a Christian, I am called to love on everyone who comes into contact with me, even those who hate me. No matter who they are.
I view everyone as the same, it is my calling to love them like they are my brothers and sisters, even when they spit in my face and tell me that my God isn't real.
The biggest struggle for me, and I'm sure many other Christians, is the temptation to drink alcohol.
College is designed to party: plain and simple. Between frats and sororities, bars near campus and parties on campus, the temptation to consume alcohol is all around me.
While it is not that hard for me to just say "no," like Ronald Reagan would have advised, the bigger issue is that I will more likely than not be judged by those who are my age for not wanting to go out and get wasted.
This seems like not that big of an issue, but, for someone who is just getting into college, it can be hard for them to see what is the right thing to do, and they can get lost.
If you are reading this and feeling like you are going down a path that you don't want to go down, I encourage you to find a community that you can get plugged into where the people in it are there to keep you on the straight and narrow. I did that, and life in college has been so sweet to me.
