To describe how Southern Wesleyan University has impacted me is to tell you one simple thing . . . my life has been saved and changed forever. I found Jesus in July 2015, after I graduated high school, and shortly before I came to SWU as a student. God knew what he wanted to do with me here, and it has been the most amazing thing that I could’ve ever asked for.
To start, SWU was a sort of “rehab center” for me when I first got here. Before I gave my life to Christ, I was suicidal, and I had a drinking and smoking problem. Not to mention I just was a sinful person overall. I came here in August 2015, a month after my initial meeting with Christ, and being in such an uplifting environment as SWU enabled me to leave my old life and habits behind. I found that people here didn’t have to drink or smoke to have a good time, and they were just high on life. They loved Jesus and each other, and it showed. Seeing this gave me confidence for my life with Christ and gave me a great example to follow.
They loved Jesus and each other, and it showed. Seeing this gave me confidence for my life with Christ and gave me a great example to follow.
After leaving my old life behind, Jesus started to grow me as a Christian. I found a love for something that I never thought that I would, and this something was reading. I actually made the only two C’s that I’ve ever made in college during my freshmen year, and they were due to reading. I wrestled with this, and God showed me that we have the Bible to read for a reason. There is nothing else like reading, and God has blessed us with this great ability. I also had an english professor that helped me to value this all the more. Now, being a senior, I love to read and am planning to be an author. SWU takes academics seriously, and the professors desire for you to apply it to your life as a Christian. Learning to value reading has helped me to love the Bible so much more and also to what others have to say through their writings. This has helped me to grow exponentially spiritually and also academically.
I am also thankful for how I have grown socially since I have been here at SWU as well. I had such a closed mind to the world when I first got here. Now, out of my love and genuine interest in others, I see culture as such a blessing and not a bragging challenge. I love meeting new people, and SWU has such a diverse campus. Although there are not a large number of students here, there are international students as well as students from all over the country. I’m even engaged, and my fiancée is from Oklahoma! I am from North Carolina, and I would’ve never thought that I would be marrying someone from halfway across the country.
There is so much more that I could say about my time here at SWU, but I feel like this wraps it up in short. There is an older song that is one of my favorites, and I love this line. It says, “I’m not ashamed to be the person that I am today.” God has chosen to use SWU in my life to make this a reality for me. I am a completely different person than I was four years ago, and it’s all because of God’s work in me. God uses SWU as a great tool in our lives, and if he wants to use it in yours, don’t hesitate to answer the call (it’s worth it)!
