My First Few Weeks at Cal—Blog - Acts Two Fellowship — Christian Fellowship at UC Berkeley | Christian Fellowship on the UC Berkeley Campus | Student Club Group at Berkeley | Acts Two Fellowship — Christian Fellowship at UC Berkeley (a2f)

With the 2019-2020 school year coming to a close—an unexpected close, but a close nonetheless—I thought back to what my life was like a mere 9 months ago and how much I have learned since then.

Moving In and Meeting People

As I drove away from our deserted UC Berkeley campus a little over a month ago, just as the shelter-in-place orders started in the state of California, my mind wandered to the completely different scene that I walked into when I moved into my dorm in August. The campus was vibrant and bustling; in every corner there were people walking about, families enjoying each others’ company while taking pictures, and relaxed students soaking in the sun. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a little overwhelmed, but also extremely excited for all the new experiences I could imagine myself having as I looked around.

Coming from a small, private high school, I wasn’t used to constantly being surrounded by so many people—specifically, so many strangers. I didn’t know anyone attending Cal other than a few acquaintances from high school, so I was basically starting on a fresh slate. As I walked into my room and met my roommate for the first time, I remember suddenly being worried that she wouldn’t like me, that I wouldn’t be able to live without my family, that I would be navigating college alone, that everything would go wrong and I would be homesick and friendless and—

“Hi! You must be Jenny. Nice to meet you!”

My roommate’s greeting and our subsequent conversation brought me out of my spiraling, fearful thoughts and placed me back in reality. The reality is that this was also my roommate’s first time moving and living away from home, and she too was probably dealing with the same fears as I was. In fact, thousands of other students were pouring into campus that very same day feeling overwhelmed and anxious, afraid that college wouldn’t live up to their expectations. Surprisingly, this calmed me. No matter what new, exciting, or scary situation I would have to face in college, it would be an opportunity to bond with the people around me because I was not the only one feeling this way.

That realization set the tone for my interactions over the next seven days during Golden Bear Orientation, a.k.a. GBO. It was daunting at first to put myself out there and talk to people, especially because it seemed so much easier to be shy and avoid social interaction. But by utilizing that common ground I knew my fellow freshmen and I shared, I quickly became close friends with several people I met in my group as we explored Berkeley.

Academics and Keeping in Touch

On to the first day of instruction! Now that I was familiar with campus culture and had a semi-solid social group from GBO to lean on, I was ready to dive into the classes I had registered for. Then just two weeks into the semester, I was shocked to hear my chemistry professor announcing to the class that our first midterm was the following week!

College classes are hard, and I wasn’t prepared for their level of difficulty or their fast pace. To stay on top of things, I had to cut down on the time I spent hanging out with my new friends and spent more time alone, studying. I was afraid that if I didn’t do that, I would not be able to get good grades. Soon, even the plans I had made over the summer to call and stay in touch with my high school friends crumbled, and I was finding it hard to make connections with my classmates because I was so wrapped up in all the academic tasks I needed to complete. I made no time to talk to anyone.

In the midst of all this, I miraculously found myself on a path back to community when I randomly met an A2F mentor while studying in the ASUC Student Union Building. I had half-heartedly been looking for a church to attend when I first started school, but I nearly gave up after academics picked up and I thought I had no time to devote to something like a fellowship. But after an encouraging conversation, we swapped numbers and the mentor kindly invited me to a study hall. I was interested—after all, what was I doing with my time at that point other than studying?

When I walked into the study hall, the scent of Japanese curry wafted through the doorway—someone made us home-cooked dinner to fuel our study session! As we enjoyed our delicious meal together, I introduced myself to the other students there, and they took great interest in getting to know me. They immediately started connecting me with other students who were taking the same classes as me, and giving me resources to help me with school. It had been barely an hour since I met these people, and they were already doing so much to support me. After a productive yet fun night, I realized that I had found more than just a place to get my work done. I found a group of people that deeply cared about me, ever since the moment they met me. Instead of being blinded by academics, they valued community and fellowship, inspired by a love that stems from the Gospel.

For the second time, I was pulled out of an isolating negative spiral and brought back into reality. I realized just how much I missed simply being in the presence of other people. Life was larger than just myself and school, and by putting all of my time into excelling in academics, I was neglecting to grow in other areas and missing out on what makes me genuinely happy: strong relationships with those around me—the very thing I was looking forward to when starting college.

As I started to attend more A2F study halls, Bible studies, Sunday Worship Services, and various other events to connect with people in the fellowship, I also started to reach out again to my GBO friends and stopped neglecting to keep in touch with my high school friends. The academics didn’t get any easier, but my outlook on life definitely became more positive and less based on fear. And thankfully, this mindset kept me going throughout the rest of the school year.

Learning to Say “Yes!” More

I can’t imagine how my freshman year would have turned out to be if I said no to all the opportunities placed in front of me. What if I refused to get to know my roommate and treated our relationship like a business agreement? What if I avoided going to GBO events so that I wouldn’t have to interact with people? What if I said no to that A2F mentor’s invitation to check out study hall?

The biggest thing I learned as I started attending Cal is to say yes more often. It would have been so easy to let fear keep me from investing in my newfound relationships and focus solely on myself and my academic career. But every time I give into that fear, I’m losing sight of what is truly meaningful.

This is a lesson that is still relevant to me as I end the academic semester from home. Shelter-in-place has obviously made it much harder to see friends and classmates, and scheduling time to talk, facetime, and hang out has to be much more intentional now. Frankly, putting in the effort to stay connected and strengthen relationships can be challenging. But, my response to this is similar to how I learned to handle the challenge of starting my freshman year of college. I have the choice to say yes and connect! I can still reach out to people and pursue meaningful relationships, no matter the circumstance.

Though my freshman year is practically over, I’m still growing and learning from my experiences, and the lessons I grasped as early as my first few weeks at Cal will last a lifetime.

Fresh Takes: My First Few Weeks at Cal

Moving In and Meeting People

Academics and Keeping in Touch

Learning to Say “Yes!” More