What does it mean to be a Catholic in college?

Growing up as a Catholic “child” and growing into a Catholic “adult” are two very different concepts to fully come to know and understand. When you are a child, you figure you are Catholic because that is how you are raised or what your family practices. You sit through religion class or go to church on Sundays and don't throw a fit, you just go because it's part of the routine. As we grow up that decision to maintain and grow in our faith is up to us. As we get older and go off to college and find ourselves on our own, it's up to us to work on our relationship with Christ, not our parents. Once we decide “Okay, yes, I want to seek God and religion in my life as a young adult, then what? Should we just continue going to church on Sunday? Should I join a youth group? Should I do my own research on the faith? Where the heck do I go with my faith? In college we are bombarded with everything and anything we could possibly devote our time to, and it constantly feels as if God is at the bottom of our priority lists. This isn't completely our fault. Commonly at universities there is a lack of resources, mentors, and just overall information about the Catholic faith or any faith for that matter. In college it is also not very popular or cool to be “religious”. There is a negative affiliation with being publically spiritual or religious. People can be ostracized and made fun of, and this just turns more and more people away from wanting to continue the faith. I imagine this feeling is very similar to what Jesus felt day to day as he taught The Word to others. Jesus didn't just come down to earth and suddenly became the most loved guy walking the streets. He had to work hard to open up people's minds and hearts to Him and His message. Jesus experienced this feeling on the highest level, to the point of death. Jesus’s sacrifice for us should be a reminder that we as humans are more than capable of dealing with the struggles of being shamed or made fun of for what we believe. Jesus carved the ultimate path for us to follow and I think that should be the starting point of where to begin your college faith journey. By getting to know and understand Jesus and what he represents, we can then find ourselves and our faith.