College Family

College is a home away from home. Any good home away from home requires a family away from family. People to support you emotionally, give you advice, help you grow--sure, the family can and probably should do all these things. But there's also the simple matters of having people to spend time with on the weekend or to go with to meals--the people who are consistent characters in chapters of our life (and we reciprocate in their storybooks as well.) Unlike my immediate family, which hasn't added new members since my birth, college families are more flexible. Dynamics can shift. New people can be taken into the fold. Those farther out on the limbs of the family tree can come closer and closer. The college family is a family that you have to actively pursue in friendship, a family that, often, it looks like you choose, even I think it's a matter of fortuitously falling into these right friendships--a blessing.

If you can't already tell, I feel as if I have family at college. Maybe even multiple families.

The campus organization closest to my heart, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, is an example of one of these families. I will not pretend that I know everybody in the organization super well, but many of my friendships have been found or developed through InterVarsity--including some of my best friends. Plus, there are always people in it to get to know better! I can liken it to an extended family, in some sense. Every week I have some time with this family--whether that's merely hanging out with friends from it, outside any structured activitise, getting together for our weekly large group meeting the Banquet (and then chilling after--usually for way too long, as my homework cries for attention in my room), or going to a small, Life Group where I can talk about the Bible or simply my life with fewer people. Just this weekend, InterVarsity had its annual Lock In, which is basically just a big hang-out session until everyone decides to go to bed. From around 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m, I hung out with InterVarsity friends, playing games, talking, etc. It was so much fun! Thinking about what a great time I had with all of my InterVarsity friends that night has helped inspire these ideas of family.

InterVarsity is definitely not my only family, though. I have great friends, also some of my best friends, outside of it. In particular, I think of two of my friends who I really became close to living in Hassinger last year. We all live in a row this year in the Scholar's House. We do a lot together--eating dinner or lunch, frequently ordering pizza on weekends, chilling and watching movies, etc. Even when I'm getting totally over-emotional, they are completely there for me--even if that involves tears and unintelligible ranting. They're a huge part of my life.

Don't get me wrong--nothing can replace the family I grew up in and love! But when you're away from home, I think having a family of friends is a neccesity. It is also one of the greatest things about college. Sure, the learning can be lovely at times, but learning alone just doesn't result in the same kind of hugs.