by Lauren Stark

I still haven’t really grasped the fact that my freshman year will be over in a matter of days. The memories of waving goodbye to my family and sleeping that first night in my dorm room in August are still fresh in my mind. I came into college thinking I was completely prepared. I was wrong. But I’m glad I was because being unprepared has allowed me to learn some lasting lessons.

The professors really care. I always heard that Butler professors make connections with their students, but I didn’t believe it until I started classes. My first-semester English professor still jokes with me when I see him in the halls now. My First-Year Seminar professor—who knew our names on the first day of class—sat down with me for coffee to see how I was doing and what future plans he could help me with. My professors’ attention to me as a student pushed me to put forth my best work all year long.

My faith is mine to maintain. Butler is the first non-Catholic school I have attended in 12 years. I was worried about how I would maintain my faith on a campus where I wasn’t in that “Catholic bubble.” But what I have found is that my faith has grown because of Butler. I have to make the conscious decision to go to BCC Mass or to avoid meat on Fridays in Lent. I feel more connected to my faith now; it is truly mine.

Focus on school, but also make time for friends. I would definitely call myself an overachiever. In high school, I had no problem working all night on an essay or studying for a test. But in college, I have come to learn that while school is my priority, I also need to give myself time to relax with my friends. In the long run, I’m not going to remember the one sociology question I got wrong, but I will remember the nights I stayed up just a little too late laughing uncontrollably with my friends.

College is a time to broaden your horizons. There are so many different perspectives in college. In particular, I have found that learning from different faith traditions has helped me grow. Whether it’s talking with my sorority sisters at our non-denominational Bible study or listening to an interfaith panel discussion, I have found that my life is so much richer because of my greater appreciation for new ideas.

College is your chance to grow. It took me a long time to fully grasp these four ideas, and I wish I had seen this list in August. But what I also have come to know is that college is all about learning. I’m sure that I will discover more lessons over the next three years. And I also realize those three years will go by so fast but that I’ll look back on my time here as the time when I found out who I truly am.