My College Decision

Disclaimer: I would like to say I am in no way saying Liberty is not a good school and that nobody should go there... I am just sharing my story and experiences.

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Some of you may recall I had been dead set on going to Liberty University and studying strategic communications. I was convinced this was where I was going to go for almost 6 months. I went on two visits and was basically convinced this was the place I would spend the next four years.

I had some fears like the distance, not having a car, the cost, and the overall culture of the school, the awful dorms, but for a long time these things did not phase me. I prayed to God to take away the fears of school and show me the best options for me. In the back of my head I was worried and thought about what if this isn't the best choice, but still I was all set and ready to go. Little did I know God would answer that prayer in a different way.

Then I went to Passion Conference in Atlanta January of this year. It was a beautiful time spent with good friends and the Lord. Two songs really started to stir within me: Follow You Anywhere and You're Bigger Than I Thought by Passion Band. These songs just really lay down your own agendas and give you a sense of who God is. So throughout the conference I had this stirring about Liberty. I was restless about the whole thing so I just kept praying. Not at all coincidentally, the financial check in for Liberty was released and the money I was counting on in scholarships was no where to be found. I was confused and then I really started to feel like this definitely was no coincidence. I got home from the conference and went to do the whole process because maybe I had done something wrong, but nope, no money for this girl. Even though I qualified for money based on merit I was not awarded anything. This frustrated me because I was counting on that money to be able to even attend the school, but for some reason maybe because of FAFSA I did not receive it. Then to top it off they wanted me to start my payment plan to attend that day. I was not about to pay a substantial amount of money without the aid I thought I was getting and be locked into the school in January. Sooooo I prayed long and hard. I consulted many of my friends, family, coaches, and mentors about the whole situation. Everybody from every background basically said that I needed to look at my other options.

So remember when I said I was dead set for 6 months on Liberty? Well I only applied to one other school and that was Oklahoma State. I never intended to really go there, but boy am I glad I applied. I also know God knew more than me and it was obviously part of his plan.

I made a pros and cons list between Oklahoma State and Liberty and OSU had an overwhelming yes and Liberty had very few pros. I noticed I was just very forgiving of all of Liberty's flaws that I had originally said I did not want in a college. I was jaded by the few good things that I did not see that negatives.

Then another bone got thrown into the mix with schools contacting me to run. I went on a visit and quickly found that was not for me either. I loved the team, but the school itself was my problem. Not that it was bad by any means, but it was not the best thing for me and my future.

So at this point I continued praying and then after my recruiting visit to that small school I knew in my heart Oklahoma State was where I needed to be. Right away God started opening doors with scholarship money, a great roommate (Shout out to Brooke!), great dorms, the honors program (which I did not even meet requirements for at Liberty who had less perks), and many more.

I had this feeling of peace I did not have when I had decided on Liberty. Then I KNEW that OSU was the best thing for me.

Sooooo major... This was also a huge point of prayer for awhile throughout the process. Remember strategic communications? Yeah well I started really praying about that one and my personality and other factors really did not mesh well in the manipulative marketing world. Marketers are wonderful and necessary, but for some reason manipulating people for a living was not appealing. So I was major-less and had NO CLUE what I wanted to do or what God had for me.

Then we had a retreat at my church called the WKND. (You can tell where God grabs a hold of my heart) The theme was This Changes Everything. Boy did it change everything. That weekend the Lord displayed my love for seeing the younger students on fire for the Lord for the first time and he whispered to me "Middle School." I had no clue what the heck this meant and I was not too happy because I mean it's middle school. The awkward pre-teen, teen pubescent smelling painful years we all want to forget. But then He reminded me of how awful my middle school years were especially on the educator front... In high school I had some of the best teachers ever, but middle school I had some of my least favorites. I genuinely believe it is because middle schoolers have a bad reputation with them. So I fought with God about this for awhile and finally came to the consensus that yep he was calling me to teach middle school or high school (freshman are pretty unloved too). This did not just happen overnight and I sure did not and still do not understand. All I know is God has placed this on my heart and I will trust Him to lead me. Who knows maybe I won't end up as a teacher, but right now I am believing this is where I am being led.

Some affirmation came in many ways. I got texts from many friends saying they really saw my major and school as a good fit. I got more affirmation about going to OSU when a former pastor sent me a friend in college ministry there. A message a few Sundays ago said that God provides many yes's and just a few no's, we just have to pick one of the yes's and he will make our path straight. I feel like OSU is my best option out of my yes's and I know that God will make my path straight. Every place has flaws, but God does not need perfection, he just needs trust.

A big one was at orientation I had put elementary ed as my major and after they described the courses and load for that major I decided that was not it. So I talked to my academic advisor who really oddly reminded me of my 11th grade government teacher who I genuinely enjoyed. We discussed my options and she gave me the course overview for secondary ed and it just so happened to be social studies. The next day when I went to enroll I told my advisor I decided to change to secondary education with a concentration in social studies. My advisor said she knew the moment we talked the previous day that I would change my major to secondary with social studies.

Social Studies is not random for me. It has always been one of my favorite classes. I have had some amazing history and social studies teachers and some very not so amazing ones. I feel that history is a subject anyone and everyone needs in their lives. History and social studies teach us how to learn from the past. It teaches us how people lived, where, when, and why. It allows us to take a look into the minds of those before us and learn to make decisions that will further our society for the better. Every single human needs this type of class. Not the memorization of dates, but learning about why the world is the way it is and how we can make it better. The people who changed the world for better and for worse and how we can be like and not like those people. There are times in our human history that are painful, but they happened and we cannot sugar coat them or else they could repeat themselves. I see this subject to have utmost importance in the education of students of all levels. I love to learn about politics, anything history, and my favorite show is West Wing. So basically it was a perfect fit.

Now we wait. Now I have no idea what God will do next, but all I know is I am trusting Him in the process and leaning into Him closely to guide me in every step. My journey to this point was not easy, now I get to build off of that foundation. Can't wait to share more as God shares with me. GO POKES!

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