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The Interdisciplinary Studies Major | Letter to My Freshman Self

To my wide-eyed younger self,

Hey buddy. It’s April of 2021 and you’re finally finishing college. Graduating with a four-year degree in seven years wasn’t the plan, but you’ve made it. God has blessed, and you’re nearly done. Here are a few things I wish I could have told you earlier.

The things that brought you to ����ԭ�� are the things that will keep you here. The professors will continue to invest in your life, just like they did in high school at the music festivals. The musical training will continue to push you to learn new things and stretch your abilities. And the emphasis on serving the Lord will be what grounds you in your years here. 

Hold onto that heart for service. Hold onto it tight because the road is going to get difficult. As you walk onto campus, you have so many plans. The hope of a degree in three years is in your mind, and the plan to be out and serving God as soon as possible is on your heart. But as you settle into your first semester, you’re already dealing with issues in your family, in your health, even in your faith. I remember.

Those are all going to get worse. You’re going to get sick; so sick some days you can’t think. You’re going to be tired; so tired you’ll spend most of your day sleepwalking. Your plan for three years is going to double. You’ll be struggling to pay for four extra years of school and struggling to make the grades you need the whole time. You’re going to watch most of your friends who are coming in with you graduate, get married, get jobs, and move on with their lives. And you’re going to be frustrated by a sense of failure.  

But you’re also going to grow. That hurting is just a new set of growing pains. You’re going to learn to trust God for every moment. You’re going to learn to work and study even when your brain can’t function anymore. You’re going to learn to pour into other people, even when your own cup is empty. You’re going to learn what it is to pray earnestly that God will remove your sickness. And you will hear God say, “My grace is sufficient.”

You’re about to build friendships that will last. You will gain brothers and sisters and people who will be family forever. You’re going to make music with people from all over the country, and you’re going to make music all over the country with people. You’re going to meet a beautiful girl and fall in love! Spoiler alert: you marry this one. It takes six years, but you marry her.

So, it’s not all bad. It’s a struggle, but God is glorified in the end. And that’s still my goal now, just like it’s your goal. Those small failures add up to a mountain that God has carried you over. You’ve accomplished this landmark by God’s grace, and if you’ll keep trusting that grace, it will carry you even further.

Do right. Stay in step with God. And put that training to good use!

 Praising God we’ve made it,   

David

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David Alexander graduated in May 2021 with a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies.