The snow is falling down once again on this beautiful snow globe of a campus that I am so happy to call home sweet Hope.
It’s not always pretty and magical and happy. College is hard, life is scary, and you are surrounded by people trying and succeeding to figure stuff out while you are trying to decide if it’s fine if you wait until tomorrow to make time to shower even though that’s what you told yourself last night. At least that seems to be my experience more often than I would like to admit.
Last night was one of those late-night-life-talks-instead-of-homework kind of nights. My friend and I talked a lot about life, what we’re doing here, what’s after Hope, how quickly time goes, and so on…
So, today I was thinking about what brought me here and what I found.
There was one main thing that brought me to Hope:
The odd peace I felt with my decision because I knew this was where God was leading me to spend the next four years.
I am awful with overthinking and making decisions – especially big ones – but choosing where to go to college was one of the easiest things I have ever decided.
Once I got to Hope again and again I began to see why God wanted me here. The list I wrote out in the picture above is just a start. Everything from relationships I have formed, to the progress I have made toward figuring out where I am headed, and the little everyday things of life at Hope have made this new chapter so much more than I anticipated.
But the biggest thing is being a part of the people of Hope.
I go to a college that was founded on hope in God, a place where its people live out his love and seek his will. Hope is a place that I am surrounded by people of Christian faith that inspires me, as well as peers of different faiths and beliefs that challenge me to think and grow. And this facet of my Hope experience is one of the coolest things to me.
As a prospective student, you are thinking about a lot when it comes to choosing a college. It’s not just the name (even though I first researched Hope because I thought the name was cute) or the place. It’s more about what’s in the name. What kind of experience can you find within the college of your choice? Because that is what will make the biggest impact on you as you grow and figure out who you are. And I pray that all of you will find your perfect college experience, wherever that may be.
Thanks for reading!
-Erin
If you have any questions at all feel free to email me at erin.hoolahan@hope.edu