With so much change going on in your life, your mental health can easily be put on the back burner. Speaking from personal experience, this is something that can be very hard to recover from. Only by God’s grace and love did He help me out of the hole that I dug for myself; I could not have done it with my own strength. It was hard and required me to make the daily decision to choose His plan, but He guided my every step with love and peace.
Coming to campus I was worried that I wouldn’t make any friends and that really scared me. But God truly blessed me with the most amazing friends. It took me pushing myself out of my comfort zone and the willingness to say “yes” to invitations. It was hard and scary at first but I would not change it for the world. I spent the months leading up to college praying for true friends, and God gave me people who cared about me. They were always willing to sit and listen to me talk through everything I was feeling. When I began to put my worth in my grades, I they poured scripture and prayer over me to remind me that my worth and my future is in God, not my grades.
The best thing I ever did was regularly come to the BCM; it provided me with a space to be vulnerable and grow in my relationship with Christ. God blessed me with people to hold me accountable when I was anxious and constantly reminded me that God’s plan is perfect and His love for me is limitless. I found myself seeking guidance from the BCM’s campus ministers, Kim Andrews and Kyle Bryant. The University of Alabama does have multiple counseling services available for students; they can be found at UA Counseling Center. There are so many people willing and ready to help you as best they can with whatever you are struggling with.
It can be hard to get off campus sometimes with the stress of classes and work, but getting off campus helps tremendously, even if it’s just right outside campus. My favorite place to decompress is the Riverwalk; whether I am going for a run, walk, or just to sit by the water, it helps clear my mind. One Sunday after church, my friends and I decided to go to the Arboretum and boy, oh boy, that was the best decision we ever made! Be sure to find places that help you. Remember that this is YOUR decompression spot, so it can be a coffee shop, library, the quad, the Riverwalk, etc…
The last piece of advice that I can offer you is to seek God daily. He will guide you where you are meant to be. If you find yourself confused or unsure, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Also ask for open eyes and an open heart to see His path for you and to obey His commands.
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for me power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Abbie Jerome
Senoia, Georgia
Sophomore
Nursing