Daily Excerpt from Surviving Freshman Year (Jones): Freshman Orientation
Excerpt from Surviving Freshman Year (Jones)
Freshman Orientation
Brandon watched as
his family drove away and then turned toward his residence hall. He thought
about the road that lay in front of him. He was about to begin life as a
college freshman. Brandon thought about all the new people he was about to meet.
There would be new classes, campus organizations, and events to attend. There
would also be freedom. He would be responsible for many of his own choices now.
This was exciting, but it also made Brandon nervous.
As Brandon walked
up the front stairwell to his new home, Cordell Hall, he thought about his life
up to this point. He grew up in a small town with a high school that had just
over 600 students. His new university had over 20,000. The families in his
hometown had lived there for generations. This new campus would have a diverse
group of students from across the country. In high school, his classes centered
around the basic subjects of math, science, history, and language arts, with
some opportunities for sports and the creative arts. Now he would have a
seemingly endless list of majors from which to choose.
His support system
would also be different. Brandon had known his friends since his first year of
school. Very few of them would be attending here. Now he would be meeting new
people in his residence hall, in his classes, and any organizations he chose to
join. His family had raised him in a church where there were other kids his age.
He had received solid teaching and formed strong friendships there. Now he
would be looking for a new church home to serve as a source of support.
Brandon entered
his room to find his roommate, Austin, still unpacking his clothes. Austin
seemed like a good guy. Brandon and Austin, along with their parents, had gotten
to know each other while helping the boys move in and eating lunch together. Brandon
found out that Austin also grew up in a smaller town and they had more in
common than he first thought. Neither of them owned a car, but the school had a
bookstore, post office, and cafeteria. The school also had a transit service
that ran to a shopping center, grocery store, and a few other locations near
campus.
“How did it go
with the goodbyes?” Austin asked.
“It was alright
until my mom started crying,” Brandon answered.
“My mom did, too. I
didn’t know what to do,” Austin said.
Brandon nodded. “Nothing
you can do. Just wait it out.”
Austin looked
around the room. “It’s going to take some work to make this look as good as it
does in the brochure.”
“I know, right?”
Brandon laughed. “In the advertisements for campus, they make these rooms look
like luxury suites. But I saw a flyer in the lobby for a neighborhood yard sale
next weekend. Maybe we could find some stuff to decorate the room.”
“That would give
us a week to settle in. By then, we would know where the bare spots are.”
“Plus, maybe we
could see how some of the other rooms are set up, especially the rooms with
guys who lived here last year.”
Austin had
finished getting his shirts and pants put away and was now working on his
underclothes. “I’ve never really had to think about how to set up my own space.
My family has always lived in the same house so my room has always been about
the same.”
“Same here,”
Brandon said. “We moved once when I was a baby, but I don’t even remember the
house where we lived before. Really, this is about the biggest move I’ve ever
made.”
“What’s the
longest you’ve ever been away from home?” Austin asked.
Brandon thought
for a moment. “I usually went to a camp during the summer. And some family
vacations. But really never more than a week or two at a time. How about you?”
“About the same. One
summer we visited some family in Texas. My dad wanted to drive and see some
other sights along the way. It ended up being a two-week trip.”
“Whew!” Brandon exclaimed.
“That’s a lot of togetherness in the car.”
“Yeah,” Austin said.
“You really learn how important deodorant is when you spend the majority of
your day stuck in a car driving across the country.”
They both laughed
and continued unpacking.
They were still
working on their room when they heard a knock at the door. Chris and Matt lived
in the room next door. They had come by to ask if Brandon and Austin wanted to
walk down to the student center with them. It was almost time for the start of
Coming Attractions.
Coming Attractions
was the university’s orientation program for new students. The theme was based
on the previews that are shown before a movie. Student leaders were dressed in
uniforms similar to what employees wore at movie theaters, making it easy to
find a student leader if you needed help. Representatives of campus
organizations would be available to talk one on one with students about their
specific organizations.
Brandon talked with
many of the group representatives. There were academic-based organizations,
representatives of the different sports offered by the university, various
campus ministries, sororities and fraternities, and service clubs. Each of
these clubs would be having events over the first few weeks of school where
students could attend and see which of them were the best fit.
After speaking
with many of the groups represented, Brandon found three groups that he wanted
to try. These were the University Resident’s Council, Be the Change, and Campus
Christian Assembly. The Resident’s Council was a group focused on addressing
the needs of students living on campus. Be the Change was a group based on
volunteering and service opportunities both on and off campus. Campus Christian
Assembly was a campus ministry that served as a place for students of faith to
gather, fellowship, and engage in service activities. Brandon decided he would
visit each of the group’s introductory meetings being held over the next two
weeks.
The student
leaders of Coming Attractions divided students into small groups for campus
tours. Brandon, Austin, Chris, and Matt all were part of the same group. The
tour proved to be very helpful in finding where their classes were as well as
the most efficient routes to get from one class to the next. Brandon was
relieved to see Lauren, a friend from high school, included in the tour group. Lauren
had the advantage of already living on campus for a week. The university had an
excellent music program, and Lauren was part of the marching band. Students
belonging to the band had moved into campus a week before everyone else to
begin practicing for the halftime shows at upcoming football games. Lauren
offered to show Brandon some of the other areas of campus that were not heavily
focused on during the Coming Attractions tours.
As the tour concluded, everyone headed back to the student center. The rest of the day was going to be busy. Student groups would rotate between being issued their student ID’s, having some time to visit the bookstore, and updating some information to their online university accounts. Brandon was naturally anxious about deciding which group or groups to join. He was concerned with whether or not he would be able to make new friends. Would anyone like him? Would he be able to fit in? His thoughts immediately turned to his friends from high school, and although he had not been at his new school a full day, he already missed home. There were some big decisions ahead of Brandon. He just hoped he made the right ones.
Scripture
Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust
in the Lord
with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and forever.
Matthew 6:25-34
Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is
not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of
the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you
by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See
how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you
that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of
little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we
drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of
its own.
John 14:15-17
If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Questions
1. When was a time in your life you felt uncertain about how a situation would turn out? What happened as you went through it?
2. Who can you reach out to when you face difficulty in life? Sometimes in these times, it can be difficult to trust God. How do you respond to times when it is difficult to trust God?
3. In the story, Brandon faced a lot of uncertainty. Which of his concerns do you identify most with? Why?
4. What are some concerns you have about beginning college that were not mentioned in Brandon’s story? Each year of college brings unique challenges. If you are not a freshman, what are some of the concerns you had about starting this school year?
5.
Change
is a constant throughout life. Consider the following as you review the
scripture for this chapter:
a.
Proverbs
3:5-6. With some of the challenges you face this school year, what would it
look like to trust in the Lord as you deal with these difficulties them?
b.
Hebrews
13:8. Do you find it easy to believe this verse about the unchanging nature of
Jesus? How can this verse reassure us as we deal with lives full of so much
change?
d. John 14:15-17. Jesus has asked God to provide the Holy Spirit as a helper. As you face various troubles, how can this verse reassure you that you are not alone?
6. Brandon faces a choice concerning which student groups to join. Which factors would be most important in deciding which group or groups to join? What would you do if you were in Brandon’s place?
Challenge for the Week
Think of one
specific thing you can do this semester to meet new people. It might be seeking
out a campus organization to join or as simple as getting to know some people
in your classes, your residence halls, or your apartment complex.
Read more posts about Gregory and his book HERE.
Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter
Follow MSI Press on Twitter, Face Book, and Instagram.
in exchange for reviewing a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book?
Contact editor@msipress.com.
Want an author-signed copy of this book?
Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25)
and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.
Comments
Post a Comment