It’s official – OSL is back! …Not that OSL ever left, but in the last couple days, there has been a resurgence of student leaders on campus. New RA’s landed on Thursday, and returners marched in Sunday. The Reber Thomas was overrun with badges Monday morning as we bonded over required breakfast, and blamed brother dorms for drinking the last cup of coffee.
As a new RA, I’ve appreciated the extra days reacclimating to Lynchburg. I got to be the first and only one to move into my dorm, spending that first night wide awake with excitement and nerves. My stomach felt the same as it had as a freshman, except this time I thank the Holy Spirit for my adrenaline induced energy, instead of the case of Monster energy drinks I thought was a good idea during freshman week. Just like a freshman, I spent all my free time socializing and then was literally stunned by the silence that met me on my dorm when I returned late at night (but this time, late means 9 pm). Was everyone else hanging out somewhere? Was I the odd one out for being back? Were there other girls in their rooms thinking the same thing as me? This week, I still wondered if I was the only one alone, a question that haunted me as a freshman, except this time around the feelings were fleeting.
It’s good to look back, especially starting the RA process, and remember the specific highs and lows from freshman year. That’s one of the most special and crucial things about RA’s, SLD’s, and most Prayer Leader’s… we’ve been there. We made that drive to school on move-in day, and though there are many different forms that journey can take (fighting, crying, laughing, screaming, or completely silent), we’ve still taken that path. We showed up, unsure of the future. I have yet to meet an OSL student who arrived with scheduled semesters of their rise from prayer group member to RA. We’ve dealt with uncertainty. We changed our major, or contemplated it at least. We sorted out expectations, dealing with those that remain unmet, and blown away by experiences that surpassed anything imaginable.
I’ve learned that some feelings many freshman experience for the first time are staples of life. They will resurface. Some days we’ll question if we’re alone, if we’re in over our head. We’ll wonder why God brought us here. We’ll wait in expectation for the start of something new, or we’ll feel overwhelmed with the pressure of the situation. The biggest difference between being hit with those thoughts fresh out of high school and now is that when my mind starts going into overdrive with concerns, I can look back on the last two years of living through those worries. I look back and see how God provided, how I wasn’t alone, how He put me in the right place, in His timing, and equipped me for every scary new situation he brought me through.
So wherever you are this semester – still at home, on campus, preparing for your first semester at Liberty, or your last, take inventory of your feelings. Reflect on times you felt like that before, remembering how God brought you through. Be empathetic to those going through those experiences for the first time. Let the familiarity of concerns remind you to praise God for His faithfulness, and trust Him to lead you through this next season.
