Staying True to Jesus in College: My Journey of Faith and Growth

I accepted Jesus into my life last winter during my freshman year of college, literally right before I was about to go out partying.

You can read the full story here!

Now, as a sophomore, I look back on that and marvel at God’s timing; I laugh a little, too.

I have never been a big fan of parties– I don’t drink.

I never drank at parties before becoming a Christian, and I don’t plan on doing so now.

One thing about college, though, is that sometimes it’s tough to abide in Jesus while living and moving around in a space that runs by worldly wisdom.

This isn’t so much about the education system, but rather about the college student culture and societal norms.

I often find myself losing sight of Jesus daily, and I have to reel myself back in and rest in His Word before I go back out to the world once again.

There are so many distractions that have veered me off my path, and I have to remind myself of why I am here in the first place. JESUS.

First and foremost, I want to address the parties.

I personally do not have issues with parties themselves; I still go out once in a blue moon and enjoy getting ready with my friends while dancing and listening to music.

However, what goes on at college parties usually perpetuates sin.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, sin is not a control tactic; rather, it is genuinely bad for us, and God is trying to warn us from hurting ourselves even more.

For example, excessive drinking causes extreme damage not only physically but also mentally.

When I see people get drunk, they look and act like completely different people.

I genuinely feel like they aren’t even themselves at that point, and it terrifies me.

It’s a sad reality that many people think they need to drink to have fun. It’s important to realize that the ‘high’ effect you get from both drinking and doing drugs eventually wears off.

So while it makes you feel good for a little bit, it never lasts.

Drinking until the point of getting drunk and doing drugs has become so normalized that they are seen as ‘cool’ and ‘fun’ things to do.

I’ve often felt a strange sense of FOMO when I am around people who are drinking and doing drugs because I feel like I’ll be seen as the weirdo or the odd one out.

I have to snap myself out of these moments because I know that I am better off without those things.

However, I refuse to sit on a high horse and judge these people because I know that they are just as broken as I am.

I’ve struggled with other addictions in my life, so who am I to judge how they deal with their humanity?

It saddens me to see people engaging in these behaviors because I know that Jesus brings true happiness and satisfaction.

I want these people to see His light and realize that they do not have to engage in all these harmful things to have fun.

And again, nothing is wrong with having alcohol; moderation is key.

I pray that their eyes will be opened and that they will come to know Jesus, who is the true source of joy.

Additionally, I am surrounded by many people with different beliefs– many of whom do not agree with Jesus and His teachings.

This is a complicated topic to cover because God has blessed us all with free will, so therefore, we aren’t forced to follow Him.

But after living most of my life without Jesus and now being with Him for the past few months, I never want to go back.

Every day, I talk to people who bring up beliefs/ideas that oppose those of Jesus.

It’s hard to stand up for Him and speak His truth, mainly because most of the time, it is uncomfortable.

People tend to get offended easily when Jesus is brought up…especially because His word is the exact opposite of the worldly wisdom preached today.

I get it… I used to get very angry when I would hear Christians stand up for their beliefs.

I never understood why they were so passionate about Jesus and why they just couldn’t accept things the way they were.

Being on the other side, I now know, but God has blessed me with experience on both sides.

I think it’s essential, no matter what, to stand up for Him because while not all people will agree with His Word, seeds will be planted.

For the first time on Monday, I spoke up about my experience with Jesus in front of one of my classes.

God blessed me with extra courage that morning, and I shared with the class about my ‘life-changing moment.’

I spoke about how EVERYTHING in my life changed from that point on, and the breakthrough that occurred during the winter.

I honestly wish I were a bit more specific about the situation, but that was one step ahead!

I felt grateful to share it with the class– my professor was highly supportive and asked questions about my experience.

I pray that I will continue to speak about Jesus from now on with the same, if not more, confidence that I had that day.

While being a Christian college student has its challenges, it is worth spreading the love of Jesus.

I must continue my college journey because, first and foremost, I want a degree.

But secondly, I can’t only share the gospel with believers and people like me; it needs to be shared with those who don’t know or misunderstand Jesus.

The gospel isn’t for perfect people (because who is perfect anyway?)… it is for hurting and broken people who are in need of a Savior.

I would be hypocritical to judge non-believers because I was one myself around this time last year.

I also still have struggles myself– I have to be really careful about which music I listen to at parties.

I struggle a lot with maladaptive daydreaming, and music makes it 10x worse.

I’ve just set a goal for myself to know my limits and know when it’s time to step out and take a break, especially when I hear songs that do not honor God.

Additionally, I make it a once-in-a-while occurrence to go out.

Moving back to the point, it is vital that Jesus saved me while I was in college, because I can relate to non-believers who have had the same doubts about Him as I did.

This means that I will not sit at parties and yell at people for drinking, doing drugs, or hooking up with random people.

However, if someone asked me my thoughts on the matter, I would be honest with them and share the gospel.

I would let them know that I used to support those decisions (‘you do you, babe’) and now I do not because Jesus pulled my heart out of the grave and gave me life.

Bad decisions brought me nowhere, but following Him brought me everywhere.

© Sienna Krieg