CBU

I shoved the last piece of peanut butter and banana sandwich in my mouth, grabbed my sports bag, and rushed into the car. My mother backed out of the driveway and quickly began our drive towards the California Baptist University campus. When we arrived, I barely yelled a goodbye to my mom as I ran to the pool for swim practice. My friend Megan was there to greet me with a smile and a "late again" look on her face. We found a spot for both of us to sit together as we began our stretches. CBU played a large role in my life growing up. I remember how every weekday was spent in the pool learning techniques, gaining speed, and laughing with friends and coaches and on Saturdays we would partake in swim meets. We had all become our own unique family and spent so much time together. After I graduated high school, I left swimming behind to focus on my studies, which meant that I left Cal Baptist behind along with it. I spent my first year at UCR dreading my time there. I couldn't bare to be on campus and rushed off whenever I got the chance. After my first quarter, I realized that I truly did not belong there so I left, took a quarter off and tried to figure out what I needed to do. During that time, I reunited with my friend Megan. We reminisced of old times together and about all the laughs we shared and I was surprised to learn that she was attending CBU now. It got me thinking about what I wanted to do, so I logged onto the website to figure out what they had to offer. Before I knew it I was enrolled and the first day of classes was quickly approaching. After my first few classes, I found that I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this university. The professors were knowledgeable and helpful, the students were friendly and polite, the campus was nice, etc. But the one thing that truly stuck with me was the faith I saw in each person. They were all truly walking as examples of Christ and it profoundly changed me. I wanted to be like them-on fire for God. I had always been a Christian, but I never really did anything about it. It had always been a mere title, but I wanted to show God's light just as the other students I'd seen had. I slowly began to change. At first, it was difficult as I didn't see a lot of my old friends anymore, since I didn't want to put myself in situations that Christ would not want me in. But soon, I was making new friends. I was learning new things about myself, about my faith, and I was enjoying my life more than I ever had. I've nevr been as involved in a school as I am at Cal Baptist. I know God wanted me here and I'm thankful that I listened.