I’ve never been a religious person, before A&M.
Growing up, my parents did not introduce me to any religion in particular. They believed it would help me find my own religious path, and allow me the room to make my decision. Now, I won’t agree or disagree with this method, but I will thank my parents for that. I say this because it gave me a chance to find religion here in Aggieland.
At the beginning of my Freshman year, I was struggling with an entire list of hardships. I felt like I had no one here, no one to lean on, and I lost my sense of self-love and purpose. Here’s how it went:
On my first day in Aggieland,
I’m sitting in my apartment bedroom with my now ex-boyfriend. We’re saying our goodbyes, and we each give each other pieces of advice. In the three things he listed, he suddenly told me to
“Just try church.”
For some reason, that one stuck.
About 3 weeks later,
I was approached by a group of girls inviting me to a church group activity. I bonded with all of the people there, and suddenly found home. I began attending church with them and found comfort in the Word of God. I started attending bible studies hosted by them and found passion in… Christianity. I had never identified as religious (let alone Christian) before.
6 months later,
I’m sitting in my Intercultural Communication class. One of my group members is wearing her promotional Breakaway t-shirt, and I asked my group about it. I was under the impression that it was a Catholic event for students every week. They correct me, and explain that it is a non-denominational “bible study” held every Tuesday.
Secretly, I wanted to go. But, I couldn’t bring myself to go alone or even invite anyone with me.
A year later,
It’s been a year in College Station. I’ve spent a year studying the bible, changing my ways, and sharing my faith with others. I am happier, healthier, and more stable. My relationship with God and my faith is still new but strong.
I have new roommates! This time, they were friends of mine from high school. As school begins, we invite other friends of ours over. I saw one of Breakaway’s promotional posts and asked my friends if they’d like to attend. To my surprise, they were eager!
I felt a sense of relief because I could see now that I was so scared to ask to do something to bring me closer to God. I was scared to be excited for bible study, and it’s something I’m working on.
We wait until around 8:30 and head over to Reed.
Then, I arrived at Reed Arena.
There are tons of people. Everyone’s holding a bible, a journal, and a pen. There’s a line of people waiting to greet you with big smiles and high energy. You walk into Reed, and it’s absolutely packed with students eager to find a spot and take notes. The place is beautiful. The screens have beautiful graphics, workers are wearing matching shirts, lights are dimmed, there’s electric blue lighting, and there’s this feeling of comfort in the air. Safety.
We kick off the bible study with music, of course. The entire place is filled with people, everyone is singing their hearts out, the stage is energetic and passionate, and everyone’s hands are in the air with their eyes shut. I was in absolute awe. I kept looking around astonished at the amount of people I was worshiping with. I felt a feeling I had never felt before. As silly as it sounds, I felt like I was being absorbed by happiness.
Brian takes the stage and has us introduce ourselves to our neighbors. Usually, I groan at things like this, but I felt so comforted by the fact that we were all here with the same purpose. After making a couple of friends, I listened to Brian dive into Luke 1:1-4. He basically “re-introduces” Jesus to the audience. He sends out multiple messages of love for each other, ourselves, and God. He encourages us to find a home in God and let go of our own temptations. By the end of the study, he had me wondering: Why do I keep myself from falling into the arms of Jesus?
He finishes with the words,
“For some of us, it’s time to cannonball into the deep end. Some of us need to do a slow descent down the steps of the pool, hands gripping the rail, right? Just get in the water. There’s certainty to be had.”
Breakaway
It meant a lot to me. I felt seen and accepted for not diving into my faith before. Luckily for me, I was in a bible study with thousands of students who were not only there for Jesus, but for each other.
Thank you, Breakaway, for showing me faith and passion like I’ve never seen before. Thank you, A&M, for exposing me to this opportunity.