Lies Freshmen Believe: Part 1
You’ve been waiting years for this.
All those years of high school paid off, and you finally made it to college, ready for “the best years of your life.” But when you got here, you quickly realized that everything isn’t as perfect as you expected it to be. You’re disappointed and even a little bit discouraged. Chances are, you’ve unknowingly started to believe one of these popular lies about college. (I know I did.) But, trust me, that’s all they are—lies. And in this three-part series, we’re going to swap them for the truth.
“I have to make lots of friends so I’m not lonely!”
I totally believed this lie during my freshman year, so this one hits pretty close to home. The good thing is that I’m not alone on this one, because it’s probably the most popular lie that freshmen believe.
During my first semester, I spent hours and hours in the Commons, desperately trying to meet as many people as possible, and honestly, it left me tired, stressed, and completely unfulfilled.
Why?
Because I was placing quantity over quality.
Is it wrong to have friends? No, not at all! In fact, one of the best parts about college is the people you meet along the way. But being friends with every person in your class is definitely not necessary.
Once I ditched the mindset that I needed lots of friends to be happy, I was able to actually invest in people and form quality friendships. By the end of my second semester, I had made a handful of close friends who encouraged me, built me up, and helped me grow, and I couldn’t be more thankful for them.
Bottom line—quality supersedes quantity, every time. Proverbs 27:27 says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”
The Bible has quite a bit to say about the quality of our friendships but says little about quantity. So, pursue quality. Find your “iron sharpening iron” friends and invest in them, whether it be twenty or just one.
Be sure to look out for Lie #2 tomorrow!
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