Faith from High School to College

As a first year student at the University of Cincinnati, my life has been one huge transition. I went from being surrounded by all my loved ones, constantly with something to do and in an environment that I have known since birth to living with strangers, constantly being bored and in a foreign environment. I struggled and am still struggling transitioning to college so much. Faith is something that changed with it, and yet also stayed a constant. The last year of high school I personally was struggling finding my connection with God and what I really wanted from my faith- so in that aspect, it was a constant. It was also a constant because despite how much I was struggling, I always knew that I wanted a relationship with God and He wants one with me. The transition part of my faith is just the up and downs of being a follower of Christ.  Being a practicing Catholic in college isn’t easy. In high school it was easy to connect with people who also had a strong faith, here I assume that not many people have faith— such a sad assumption. I am not afraid of talking about my faith or saying that I am a Christian or Catholic woman, but I do have a little bit more discomfort talking about it in college.

A couple of weeks ago I went to a formal in Nashville with a bunch of my friends. One of them happened to be one of my closest friends that has experienced so much with me: we went to Kindergarten together, first communion, confirmation, high school, youth group and Kairos. She and I walked to Church that Sunday. When we were walking back, we ran into a bunch of the guys trying to find some breakfast. They asked us where we were and we told them. One guy said, “You guys went to church?? That's so… cool.” My friend and I both laughed; we knew that he was about to make fun of us, but held it back. It is weird seeing the different reactions that people have to me saying that I am very religious and I am Catholic, but I am still proud to be a follower of Jesus and even shared that antidote with a laugh at bible study the next week. The easy part about being at the University of Cincinnati is that there are a ton of girls from my high school here. I have the blessing of being able to walk to church with friends, of them texting me that there is bible study tonight- do you want to go? They will always be there to help me when I am stumbling in my faith life. However, growing up in Catholic schools my whole life, it has been quite the demographic change.College has not been an easy transition, but something that I can sometimes forget, but always have, is my faith. I know that Jesus will always be there to carry me when I cannot walk for myself. Whenever I have a bad day and I am letting things get to me, I always remember to ask myself if I have prayed today. If the answer is no, then I start praying. If the answer is yes, then I say not enough. God is with me through it all, especially during this difficult transition time for me. He will always support me so that I am not afraid to say, “yeah I walked back from church— and it was a great homily.

Annie Hugenburg (Freshman), The University of Cincinnati