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Opinion

Freedom shouldn't trump faith

Reid Midgett
Opinion Columnist

There is something about college life that arouses a certain sense of freedom. You move away from home, live in your own place and are free to live your life as you choose. Inhibitions are lost, and a new freedom is found. College is seen as a means to "find yourself" without being told whom you should be.

You leave behind those things that were instilled in you before you left the confines of your pre-college life. This may include ditching reasonable sleep hours, study habits and healthy eating habits. A person may lose something more important -- something that is the basis of day-to-day life for many. Many find that they have lost their personal faith.

Oftentimes, college tends to be the time when you begin to question the spiritual beliefs you have been brought up to believe. Now that your parents and other authority figures have a smaller part in your life, you can choose to find your own beliefs to follow.

But as is often the case, it is easy to completely lose your beliefs altogether. The world outside of college can provide testament to that. The college life, though, is a busy one, and you do not have much time to worry about such trivial subjects such as your own spirituality. You begin to lose the morals you once upheld proudly and passionately as you adapt to your new life of independence. 

I know from personal experience how easy it is to lose faith. As a practicing Christian for most of my life, I found it refreshing to find that nobody was forcing me to attend church or to practice my faith, so I stopped going to church. I slowly began to stray further and further from what I was taught to believe.

Many college students find themselves in the same place. It is easy to lose grasp of your own beliefs in the midst of the new and exciting philosophies that college life will bring to light.

How could this happen so easily? More importantly, how can we let this happen? Something as important as our personal spirituality should not be lost so easily. With the constant onslaught of stress and responsibility that college students face, we need somewhere where we can find the comfort and familiarity needed to keep us sane in this insane phase of our lives.

What better place to turn than our own personal faith? It serves as a foothold that we can hold onto and fall back on in our times of need, whether it's Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism or any other faith or personal belief. Having that foundation is what's important, and it makes getting college easier.

Despite its grounding and calming effects, spirituality is missing in college life. Overshadowed by studying, partying and a myriad of other activities, our faiths have fallen to the wayside. It is up to us to rekindle that faith, whatever it may be.

I do not mean to preach. This article only serves to maintain that your personal beliefs are important and should not falter merely because you embark on a new stage in life. Whether it be a spiritual faith or a personal belief, it is an important part of your every day life and should not be diminished with the newfound freedom college introduces. 

Midgett, an opinion columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at onenationunderlink@gmail.com.