What Transferring Colleges Has Taught Me About God

If you're new to this blog or you don't know me, college has been a strange experience for me.

I'm sure that college is weird is for everyone in some way, but my path to a degree, and Lord-willing employment, has been rather unorthodox.

After graduating high school, I knew I was not ready for college. I wasn't mentally or emotionally tough enough for it. I had no idea what I wanted to do. So I took the year off, and through starting this blog, I discovered my passion for writing.

The following summer, I knew it was time to move on and to start college. I just had no idea where I wanted to go, or what I wanted in a college. At the last I applied to Carthage College and was accepted, so I enrolled. I spent two years at Carthage and realized there just wasn't enough the school could offer me as an aspiring journalist. Somehow, God led me to Valparaiso University, but that's another story.

In a recent blog I wrote, I talked about how the friendships I formed at Carthage have been essential to shaping who I am today. Last semester was a really important time because of the people I grew close to. I was shown how mighty the Body of Christ is, and how important it is.

This semester has been about as opposite from that as humanly possible. After spending two years building deep friendships with people, I was thrust in to the unknown, with people unknown.

At Carthage, I would spend more time socializing than studying. My grades took a hit as a result. On average I was spending about five or six hours outside of class with people. At Valpo, that hasn't been the case.

For the most part, guys on my floor keep their doors closed. While I have met some cool people on my sports staff, I am not in a social bubble I once was in. It isn't like I am constantly around them. Making friends takes time. And it's a slower process as a transfer student.

When you're a freshman, everyone is in the same boat. Everyone is looking to make friends. But when you're the new kid when you're 21, it's a little different. The people your age have found their groove or their niche, and the freshmen are significantly younger than you are. It's difficult to connect.

There have been people I have grabbed a meal with, or hung out with once, and since then have shown very little interest in doing anything with me again. That's kind of a discouraging feeling.

What comes as a result? Many weekends in the library studying and nights watching Netflix by myself. The funny thing is, at first that felt like torture to me. Now, I enjoy it.

The people that know me will tell you that I am outrageously extroverted. But I realized I have struggled with feeling lonely; loneliness. I felt like I always had to be around people, especially being away at school and not being in the comfort of my hometown. So I was hyper-social, hanging out with people whenever I could.

Being on my own has made me rely on God in so many new ways. If I feel lonely, instead of running to be around people to try to escape, I am forced to confront my feelings on my own. But I don't have to do it on my own. Because I serve the most awesome and amazing God.

My devotional life has grown. I spend more time with God now. I've realized that you are never alone in Christ. He is always with you. Schools may change, but he's always the same.

On top of all of that, I have been able to put a lot of time in to my studies and I am seeing the results: the best grades I have ever gotten in college.

And if I ever am in need of assistance, I have some of the greatest friends in the world. They are only a text, a call or a FaceTime away. In the economy of friendships, I am a blessed and wealthy man.

The friendships are starting to come. Last week I got meals with some great guys and even had one on my radio show.

But no matter how many friends I make, this semester has reminded me of how great God is and how much of a friend he is to us. He loved us so much that he died for us.

Overall, this has been a really good semester. I love where I am. I love my classes and I love writing for the school paper here. I love hosting a radio show. I'm happy where I am and am learning a lot about journalism and Jesus. It's been fantastic and I can't wait to see where God takes me next.

"Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
-John 15:13

How NCAA Football Should Change Its Playoff System Again

I don't love college sports.

Aside from all the scandals and issues that college sports has, there's one thing that has always bothered me.

The problem I have always had with college football, is that to a certain extent, there is no definitive champion. The 2003 season concluded with a split title, as the LSU Tigers and the USC Trojans each won their BCS bowl games. LSU finished first in the Associated Press (AP) Poll and USC won the Coaches' Poll.

WHAT?!

I'm sorry, WHAT?! In what other sport do two teams share a title? That isn't how sports are supposed to work. No, each season should feature one winner and a field of losers, teams that weren't quite able to measure up with the champ. That's what makes a team the best, and a team that climbs the mountain to the top should be in an exclusive club. That's what makes them the best, and the reason teams play the game is to reach that pinnacle.

This may have been a bizarre occurrence, but it isn't the only time there has been a debate over who the real champion is in college football. It happens every year.

Division I FBS Football is the only NCAA-sponsored sport that does not have an officially organized NCAA Tournament to determine its champion.

For years, there was a multitude of bowl games--some bowls more important than others--and at the end of bowl play, two polls came out that crowned the team that was believed to be the best, thus making them the national champions.

Then the BCS was put in to place, and there finally was a game called "The National Championship Game." But how it is a real National Championship if only two teams get to compete in the post-season, while 66 other teams compete in other bowl games, as mere consolation prizes? More so, how is it a real post-season if the two teams in the National Championship are voted in?

Each year, there is always the question, "what if (_______ team) had gotten to play in the National Championship Game instead?" There is always at least one team that's on the outs, and their seniors always have to leave their collegiate football careers thinking "what if?" Sometimes the team that wins is disrespected, as fans and journalists say "if they had played someone else they would have lost."

In 2014 the NCAA finally introduced "The College Football Playoff," a four-team playoff bracket picked by a committee of 8, that would decide the "champion" of college football. The reason I use quotations is because there still is no definitive champ.

TCU and Baylor played one of the most exciting games in recent history when the Golden Bears topped the Horned Frogs 61-58. The two teams led the nation in points per game, with Baylor's 48.2 and TCU's 46.5. The Big 12 may have been the second-best conference (behind the SEC of course) in college football last season, and some may argue that it was the most exciting, best exemplified by its two best teams putting up monster points in exhilarating shootouts week in and week out.

And yet, both teams were excluded from the College Football Playoff. Once again, questions of "what-if" arose from fans. There shouldn't be what-ifs in sports.

The NCAA's decision to add a playoff was a step in the right direction. But it should keep walking.

The playoff system did not eliminate the sport's biggest problem. Therefore, a bigger playoff system should be implemented.

College football's biggest fans will defend the system until their dying days. Their biggest argument is that "every game matters." I believe the NCAA can maintain the "every game matters" theme, while also enhancing the excitement of their product, and the integrity of the sport.

First things first, shorten the non-conference schedule teams have. Nobody wants to watch Oklahoma State whoop Savannah State 84-0. As exciting as the final weeks of college football are, the first few weeks are often just as boring. And while every one-in-10,000 times you get a result like Appalachian State spoiling Michigan, most of the time you don't.

Alabama, currently the committee's #3 team, played four non-conference games. Three of those games featured Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Monroe, and Charleston Southern (an FCS school).

Why don't we shorten the non-conference schedule to 2 games. Teams can do what they want with those two games, and if they want to play another, they can pick up another game.

In place of the snoozers, you get either one or two more rounds of playoff football. Look, I think the more the merrier. People love March Madness. It's the most fun three weeks in sports of the year. I would love a 16-team playoff. But for the purists, I will compromise with eight or even six teams.

What troubles me is seeing a team in one of the five power conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12) missing the playoffs. In no other sport, does a conference or division winner miss the playoffs. By winning your conference, you do what I believe is your job, and you should be rewarded. Who are we to decide which conference winner is more deserving than another? The best way to do it is to let them all in and slug it out with each other.

As for the other one or three teams, they can be selected by a committee, the press, the coaches', the computers, or however those BCS nerds want to determine it.

This concept doesn't make any regular season game less important, as teams need to pick up as many conference victories as they can to stay alive. The regular season will remain as exciting as it is, and there still will be some kind of debate over who the final spot(s) in the playoffs should go to.

No team should feel left out. If your team doesn't like it? Then win your conference. Control your own fate.

For the schools like Notre Dame, they will still have to show that they are worthy, or they can decide to join a conference.

Each power conference should have a conference championship game, therefore the Big 12 would need to add one.

Also, you could include the Rose Bowl in the tournament, and have the Big Ten champ and the Pac-12 champ play each other in the first round of an 8-team playoff, which would be really fun and would up the stakes of an already great tradition.

From a marketing perspective, it makes sense. Each region should have a team representing them. If Michigan is in, all of Michigan is going to watch. If Ohio State is in, all of Michigan is going watch to root against Ohio State. All parts of the country should be represented fairly, and each region should have a reason to watch.

With this system, "the debate" that the NCAA loves, that generates many conversations about their product and in turn, provides free publicity will stay alive. The fans that enjoy the debate should be able to stay happy with this. And we all get more playoff football as a result.

Everyone wins. Except, for the first time in college football, there will only be one winner.

Why Christians Should Enjoy Singleness in College

College is a weird time.

Being a Christian in college is an even weirder time. At the age of 21, I know a dozen different couples that are either engaged or about to get engaged. When I was in high school, almost all of my youth group leaders were college students, and almost all of them were either married or engaged.

Growing up, I thought that was how my life would shape out. I believed that I would find my wife while I was in college, and then get married not long after college. I thought that anything different from the blueprint that was laid out for me would be a disappointment.

This created a great deal of pressure. Going in to college, this was near the top of my priorities. It was always on mind. I wanted to find a great Christian girl. I wanted to find my wife. Meanwhile, I was watching many of my friends enter in to God-glorifying relationships that were making them happy. There were Friday nights where I would just sit in my room by myself, while all my friends would go on dates. I wanted what they had.

I began to become impatient. I felt a lot of pressure from my parents who still bother me about this. Maybe it's because I have never dated. I don't know. It doesn't matter.

But I started getting down on myself because of this. I wondered if there was something wrong with me. But then I reminded myself that I have had opportunities to date some girls that I have declined because they weren't right for me, so that couldn't be the case.

Around this time, I had a meaningful conversation with a past youth group leader of mine. I told him about my struggles and he told me that there was nothing wrong that I was doing. I was desiring a good thing, but I was making it an idol in my life, something that was getting in the way of me seeing God.

Something he told me was, if you're expecting someone else to satisfy you, you're going to be disappointed. Among the dozen or so couples that are my age that are engaged, I feel like half of them are expecting their marriage to fulfill them. This is a recipe for disaster.

He also told me that before I can ever date someone, I need to be able to be content in my singleness. Joy comes from God, not other people. As I said, I feel like some people are setting themselves up for disappointment and marital struggles. Some aren't. That's none of my business, so I shouldn't speculate.

For some, getting married at a very young age is the right move. For others, it isn't. There isn't one blueprint of how to do it.

But I do know that I wasn't content with being single at the time. And I knew that I needed to just relax and stop stressing over it.

Last semester was a really important semester in my life. I developed a really close brotherhood with a few other Christian guys. Among the four of us, only one was in a relationship, and his girlfriend went to another school. So what came as a result? Guy time.

I never realized how important, special and great friendships can be, especially at the college age. This is a time in our lives where we are learning more about ourselves than we ever have before, and making choices that are going to play a part in forming the people that we are 30 years from now.

With these awesome guys, we were just able to relax and enjoy life together. Every day we were doing stuff together. Whether it was watching sports, playing video games, throwing each other batting practice, free-style rapping, or whatever, we were brothers. That brotherhood helped carry me through a difficult semester otherwise. These guys helped me make memories that I will never forget, and have brotherhood to a level that I have never seen before.

For the first time in college, I felt like I was content in my singleness. And I was having a lot of fun doing stuff, that if I was in a relationship, I may not have had time for.

And as I prepare to head in to the real world in a year and a half, an early, right out-of-college marriage may not be a good thing. I want to work in the field of journalism, and I don't know what kind of job I am going to have. But some jobs, like beat-writers, require nonstop traveling.I could get a job covering a baseball team, and be traveling all around the country from February to November.

Furthermore, I have discovered that I have received a temporary gift of singleness. A blessing in disguise. When I find my wife, it won't be on my timing. For a while, that deeply distraught me. Now? It's a very comforting feeling, as I know it will come on God's timing.

People have got to stop stressing so much about finding the right girl or the guy when they're in college. You came to college to learn! To learn about yourself. To learn about the field you want to go in to, and to best prepare yourself for a professional career. By entering a serious relationship you may be limiting your growth in other areas. At least I know that it would have for me.

When it's all said and done, maybe you will meet the love or your life in college. Or maybe you won't. But don't let that define your college experience. Let it be a piece of it. Don't waste your time searching for it and longing for it. Enjoy a unique time in your life where there are lots of other young people around you that are also learning.

If you are like me, and you still haven't dated, that's okay. There's nothing wrong with you.

I have some friends that I can just tell can't handle being single. They bounce from one relationship to the next because they don't want to be alone, meanwhile wasting their time in relationships that aren't going anywhere.

Don't do that. Focus on being content in your singleness. Just because you are single now doesn't mean that you won't ever find love. God has a weird way of making sure everything works out in the end.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus"
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18