As my first year of college nears the end, it is a great time to do some reflection on how these past 9 months went. I am a cradle Catholic so I was really pumped to get involved at the Catholic campus center, but that is not how my first semester of college went. I got sucked into the so called college life of partying, drinking, and boys. Mass on Sundays was still a thing, but I would sit in the back, not fully participating. Basically, as you can tell, my life was not centered around Christ at all.
As a cradle Catholic, I knew this is not the life I was wanting to live. I knew that I needed to “restart” my Christian lifestyle, and lucky for me, SEEK was coming up. SEEK was just what I was wanting to help get me back in the groove of living the life I knew I was suppose to be living, and SEEK was amazing. It did much more than just “restarting” my Christian life, it created something new and much better than before, but that is only a small part of where I have seen FOCUS impacting lives. Second semester after SEEK, to be completely honest, I still was trying to live my college lifestyle and live a life with Christ. Finally, I realized I can’t have the best of both worlds. I don’t know how exactly it happened, but I began to grow close to our FOCUS missionary, Erin. From early morning breakfast dates, to spending all of spring break together, to randomly seeing her on campus, a real authentic friendship blossomed. She challenged me to look deeper into life and asked me questions that really made me stop and think. I am always excited to see her and talk about life. Erin has been an amazing role-model to look up to during my first year of college. The difference between this semester and last is tremendous.
Through FOCUS, I have learned how to have an actual relationship with Christ through prayer and through friendship with others. But let me tell you. Not only has she and our other FOCUS missionaries changed my life for the better, but I can also see the impact they have been making on my campus. Honestly, it is just so cool how FOCUS is even a thing. I love watching our missionaries interact with people because you can truly just see in their eyes that they care for each person they come into contact with. They truly do see Christ in everyone and in return, they radiate His love to everyone around them. Lives are being impacted each day through their mission work. I look forward to seeing how they will continue to impact more lives on this campus just as they have impacted mine.
I would not be where I am today without FOCUS. As a cradle Catholic, I have been taught all about our Faith and Jesus, but I have finally learned what it means to have a personal relationship with Him. Faith should not be something we keep secret. Our prayer lives should be talked about, and our friends should be leading us closer to Christ instead of away. My life has forever been impacted by FOCUS, and I am truly blessed for getting to have known Erin, and I only wish that I could have appreciated her and our other missionaries sooner. I look forward to continuing to watch the impact FOCUS will be making on my campus in the years to come.
