From Bakersfield, California to Bison Hill
Life on the Hill: Bison Blog
Although somewhat overwhelming, freshman year of college is a time to embrace change and a start of a new season in life. Change can look different to everyone. For many, change can be the independence that comes with living on your own, the rigor of college courses, or simply discovering a new community. Whatever it may be, every single person faces change at one time or another, and I believe it is important to realize that.
My experience is a little different than most people at OBU. I spent all the years of my life living in — what I consider a “small town” — Bakersfield, California. But really my hometown’s population is sitting at approximately 365,000 people. Despite my city’s burgeoning population, living there, it felt like everyone knew each other, which was nice. Really, no sarcasm. Sometimes I just wanted to be able to go somewhere without seeing a familiar face. It sounds dramatic, but in a city where you’re always driving from Point A to Point B, you run into SO MANY people on the daily.
Coming to OBU has been refreshing for me because I have been able to meet new friendly faces, and I do not think I can possibly become tired of seeing them. Of course, I am still a freshman and that feeling is bound to change eventually. I joke, somewhat. The people I have met here are so genuine. I love that every person I have met thus far seems to really care for the school and the people here. The community in this college town of Shawnee, Oklahoma, is like no other.
Originally I was quite sad to leave my hometown, because I had just found my group (or some could say “tribe”) during the summer when I worked as a lifeguard. But I believe that God led me to OBU for a reason, to not just grow on my own, but also in a community outside my comfort zone. I strongly agree with the ideology that God can use us anywhere we are, whether we decide to use our God-given talents in our home city or across the nations. I also believe one of the biggest things Christians are called to do is to learn to be content in uncomfortable situations or times.
Change can be uncomfortable. It just randomly sneaks into our lives and attacks us out of the blue, but God never changes. That is the one thing I have held on to my whole walk. When life becomes unstable, God is stable. When the path is unclear, it’s because God is usually saying,“Hey kid, don’t go that way. I have something better planned for you.”
Maybe that is not everyone’s take as to why things do not end up happening as expected, but I think there has to be some explanation for everything. Usually when something does not work out, I think it is clearly for a reason. Whether an ongoing event comes to an end or people leave our lives, it is important to reflect on why this occurs. I think this truly happens because we all must go through personal transformation.
Imagine having the same favorite song, same favorite comfort, same favorite book all our lives … We would all still be singing some song like “Yankee Doodle” while lying next to our stuffed animal of preference. Not bashing on my childhood, but I think it would be a bit odd for someone at eighteen to consider these things their favorites still. I can already sense the tension this statement has created. My point is, growth is necessary to not remain stagnant. If we spent all our lives just learning the alphabet, we would not be prepared for anything else.
I visited Oklahoma Baptist U
niversity’s campus for the first time my senior year of high school with no clue as to what to expect. All I knew was the university expressed the same religious views as me, but I had no idea the sense of community I was going to feel while I was there for the first time. I had never walked across the street to go get ice cream late at night with a group of people or stayed up until the crack of dawn to talk about life without it being via phone call or FaceTime. Suddenly all the possibilities of future “college firsts” rolled through my head, and I could not imagine my future without having accepted OBU.
From all the fun events during Welcome Week, like the avocado dinner with my small group, or the Unity Gathering, or the sad defeat my team endured during Ka-rip Wars, to the random late night Walmart trips with my roommate, or our random decision to buy a pet fish, OBU has already grown on me in these two short weeks. I cannot clearly paint a picture of what it feels like to be here. Of course I miss my hometown, but I can strongly say that I have found my home away from home, and my only hope is that others can feel the same way about OBU, too. So, come visit and check it out. Maybe you can claim OBU as your home like I do.
Life on the Hill: Bison Blog
