Four and half years ago, I stepped onto Harding’s campus very unsure of myself. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to be at Harding. To make things worse, I interviewed for a scholarship the summer before I moved to campus and the lady conducting the interview said I would never make it at Harding.
I was home-schooled from kindergarten to my senior year and according to this lady, I would have problems not only socially, but academically. I probably wouldn’t finish out my first year. To say that I didn’t feel welcomed would be an understatement.
Although I had been home-schooled, my first week of classes still went like anyone else’s. I was nervous, but so was every other freshman. I quickly started building relationships with not only fellow students, but my professors as well. Over time I became involved with multiple organizations and campus events. For someone who was supposed to have problems socially because she was homeschooled, it didn’t seem to be an issue.
Academics and classes didn’t seem to be an issue either (other than a slight problem in my chemistry lab when I knocked the Bunsen burner over … while it was lit). I was actually doing well at Harding unlike what I had been told. This wasn’t the only hesitation I had with attending Harding, though.
Having gone to the same church for most of my life, I came to Harding as a last shot at faith. The church I grew up in was anything but loving. My parents taught me the importance of church and having my own faith. They tried to teach me about the love of a church family, but I simply didn’t feel any of those things when I went to church. I knew what the other teens in the youth group did, I knew the hypocrisy of the members. In Bible classes, we were taught rules, do’s and don’ts. It was like God was just keeping tally of what I did wrong. The church wasn’t appealing to me at all and I promised myself Harding was either going to prove to me faith was worth it or I was forgetting it all together.
The first day of my freshman year, I sat in chapel while we sang “Mighty to Save.” People were sitting around me singing this song like they believed it and really meant it. I soon realized they did mean it. In my freshman Bible class I was reminded why I even believed in the first place. The friends I made were genuine about their faith. The entire Harding community showed love and compassion. The teachers didn’t care that I had been home-schooled, they still had faith in me that I would succeed and do well and people loved me because they truly cared.
Next Saturday, I will walk across the Benson stage and receive my diploma. I can’t believe that at one time I didn’t want to come to Harding, because Harding has taught me so many things. It taught me to have the confidence in myself that I needed when strangers questioned my ability. It taught me that God and his children are loving and compassionate. I will never question my choice to come to this school. Harding changed my life and I will forever be thankful.
