April 15, 2026 by

“When you go home, you should be different.”  

I remember feeling uncomfortable when hearing those words. I had thought that Getting Started Weekend was all about fun and excitement. At first, that was true: Being greeted by dozens of students waving pool noodles and getting settled into my dorm was exhilarating.  

But after I had been on campus for a few hours, I attended the Department of Music and Worship Q&A led by Professor Beth Porter, known as Mama Porter among the music students. She shared a lot of insight about college life during that hour, but that word, “different,” felt challenging. It implied that I wasn’t good enough as I was. That I had a long way to grow as a daughter, a student, and a Christian.  

That I needed to change. 

As a perfectionist, I immediately felt defensive. I didn’t want to believe that I needed to grow or that I needed my college experience to help me do it. I thought that I was already doing pretty fine on my own: All throughout high school, I was known as a kind, studious, responsible goody-two-shoes. But during my freshman year at Cedarville, God repeatedly showed me areas of my life that He wanted me to change, and He has provided the grace and experiences to help me do so.  

Learning To Love People 

Before coming to Cedarville, I was known as “the nice kid,” and I embraced that label with joy. I started every day by praying to act Christlike, and I saw God honor that request by gradually helping me become more loving. I was friendly to people who were lonely and needed a friend; I felt that I could give a smile and encouraging word to anyone, even to people whom others typically disliked.  

But when I came to Cedarville, I discovered a problem: Everyone was the nice kid. Before I even noticed lonely students, an entire group of other students would have already included them at the lunch table. When students shared needs before class started, someone would offer to pray for them before I could react. 

For a while, I was disappointed that I now blended in as one of an entire student body of nice kids instead of standing out as one of a few. But soon, I realized that my disappointment resulted from pride: Instead of crediting God’s sanctification for the positive aspects of my character, I credited myself. Cedarville exposed that flaw and gave me a special opportunity to learn how to love people better from other Christians.  

That love may look like helping a stranger shovel their car out of a pile of snow. It may look like helping fellow students with homework that you understand better than them. It may mean offering to remove a bug from your terrified hallmate’s room. Through all these experiences, people have not only helped me but shown me how to love better, and although I still have a long way to go, God has helped me become more loving throughout my first two years in the Cedarville community. 

Learning To Be Confident 

I am not naturally very confident, and before college, I faced a series of doubts: What if the work is too hard? What if I’m too busy? What if I’m never prepared for a job after I graduate?  

I have faced all of these challenges throughout my time at Cedarville. Some of my classes have been harder than I expected, and at times, I have wondered how I would get through them. As a double major, I have a very busy schedule, and I have spent several late nights studying. But throughout all of those worries, I’ve overcome challenges that I would have never taken on in high school, and I’ve slowly become more confident.  

Those many, many assignments I have to do? They’ll get done. That new concept I don’t understand? I’ll eventually get it, even if I have to talk to my professor or meet with a tutor. And that job after graduation? With all the classes and major-related work opportunities at Cedarville, I will be more than prepared. 

Learning To Accept Failure 

I entered college with a 4.0 GPA, and I wanted to keep those perfect grades throughout my entire college career. To me, my academic aptitude gave me purpose and made me special, even though I recognized the biblical problems with this philosophy. But once I was surrounded by students who were smarter than me and excelling while I sometimes fell behind, I had to face a question: Am I still special?  

As someone who has grown up in church, I could have spouted off the Sunday school answer: “Yes, everyone is special because we are all made in the image of God.” But until I was no longer at the top of my class, I had never confronted that question before. I finally had to acknowledge that God has given me the amount of ability He wants me to have, and I need to be okay with whatever that ability is. Although I still get upset when I don’t meet my academic expectations, I am learning to thank God for both my failures and successes and to ask how I can use both to draw me closer to Him.  

I thought Cedarville would challenge me academically; I didn’t expect it to challenge me personally and spiritually. A song I learned in children’s church is just as true for me as a college student: 

He’s still working on me 

To make me what I ought to be 

It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars 

The sun and the Earth and Jupiter and Mars 

How loving and patient He must be 

He’s still working on me 

And I’m so glad that God is using Cedarville to help accomplish His work.

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