It’s the time of the year when universities are once again filled with the cheers and excitement from the new batch of freshmen.

It’s a season of new beginnings that many people look forward to and anticipate. As a final year student now, walking past the orientation camps in school, I recall that starting university was exciting … yet something I was apprehensive about.

Will I get to make new friends? Will I like my course of study? Where will this lead me to? These were all questions I had in my head. I remember googling seniors’ blogs, reading about their orientation experiences and module reviews and seeing where they are at now in life. All of this actually overwhelmed me, rather than giving me any assurance.

And even after 3 years in university, I am still learning and do not have perfect advice for my juniors. Nevertheless, there are 4 things close to my heart that I wish someone had shared with me at the start.

4 HANDLES FOR FRESHERS

1. Know that you are loved

My first university orientation camp was a culture shock to me. As an introvert, meeting 20 new people in an orientation group was very intimidating. Coupled with being forced to shout cheers in a language I could barely recognise as English, I felt out of place most of the time.

The seniors were friendly and caring but I often found myself questioning if I was loud enough, competitive enough or even pretty enough for others. I felt the strong need to impress people, even if it meant being someone I was not. I desired to be well-liked, I wanted more friends, I wanted to be loved …

“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” (Isaiah 54:10)

I was not a Christian then, but had I known that God loves unconditionally and deeply, I would have felt much less need to impress others for this false sense of worth. Now I know my identity and security is in Christ alone, whose love is even more steadfast and everlasting than the mountains and the hills.

In 3 years of university life, I’ve experienced disappointment, heartbreak and rejection. But through it all, God’s faithful love never failed – I am treasured and you are too!

… had I known that God loves unconditionally and deeply, I would have felt much less need to impress others for this false sense of worth.

2. Chase God’s Kingdom

In university, everyone seems to be chasing something: Grades, leadership positions, internships, life partner … Sometimes all of the above at once!

Having friends who are go-getters, I was pressured to believe that the more things I chased, the better I was at making the most out of university life. It’s not wrong to seize opportunities for personal growth. But I realised along the way, I lost sight of what is ultimately the most important thing – God. I had lost sight of His purpose for me.

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2)

Our minds and hearts are wired to be most satisfied when we pursue God. If I could redo the past 3 years of university life, I would want to focus more on chasing God – reading His Word, speaking to Him and serving Him.

3. Surrender to Him

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10)

For all my coping mechanisms with stress in university, this verse that my senior gave me proved to be the most reassuring thing of all. As much as I wish to control how my life will turn out, I know that a lot of things are out of my hands. The question is whose hands is my life in. So it was encouraging to know that as long as we are walking with God, we only need to trust that He will fight for us.

What grace to know that God is with us!

4. Reach out!

If not for the Christian friends who continuously reached out to me, I would never have known about the good news of Jesus and received Him into my life.

So reach out. Not just to fellow Christians, but also non-Christians.

I learnt that it might not necessarily be a formal thing, like joining an evangelistic community in school. It can be as simple as being intentional in conversations with others, and by lifting God high through your actions and modelling His love to those around you. You will never know the full extent your life can impact someone else’s when you let Christ to work through you!

These were handles that would have helped me, had I known them before starting university. Now that you do, I’m praying that you will end up learning even better lessons at the end of your university life, as you desire and pursue God!