College Calls
Posted by Lynn Wehner in Family on Wednesday, November 03, 2010 9:00 AM
My 16-year-old son wants to go to college. I’m talking now. Oh, in high school he has friends and is getting good grades from teachers who think he’s a “pleasure to have in class.” But, as he told me over the summer, the drill is getting old.
Well, he recently spent a weekend on campus with some guy friends of his college-sophomore sister. He has loved her school ever since his first visit. I thought it was because it was bathed in that magical “Oooh, college” glow — you know, the one that fades right about the time your first big paper is due or your roommate drops your new iPod in a cup of coffee. But something really clicked in him this time.
Me, on Saturday morning: “What did you do last night, Zach?”
“Oh, we made a midnight Taco Bell run after we played some late-night cross-campus Frisbee golf.”
If the guys he stayed with were working an official mission for the college recruiting office, they couldn’t have hit it more on the mark. Big points for good, clean college-guy fun.
Saturday night was more of the same: superhero movie, fun pranks, outdoor concert. Heck, hearing about it made me want to live there.
But what impressed Zach most was the pervasive faith. No school is perfect, but he was definitely drawn to God’s presence there. What an impact.
He observed that respect for the ladies was expected of the young men on campus.
He took part in the vibrant prayer and singing at Mass.
He hung out for small-group faith-sharing with some of the guys.
He saw joy and friendship that were real. A brotherhood he didn’t even know existed.
And a light went on for him.
And a goal was set in his heart.
His simple words that hit me most when we got home? “Mom, it’s so different there. There, I don’t have to think about every little thing I say, for fear that someone will judge me or make fun of me. I can just say it — and really be myself. I want this to last.”
There is such pressure on our teens to fit in, say the right thing, be cool. It’s tearing some of them apart — and making others cynical about what awaits them in the future. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Yes, many Catholic colleges have lost their way, but to know some schools are striving to inspire joyful fellowship and holiness is a cause for hope. A certain 16-year-old boy I know has caught a glimpse of what’s possible — and I pray there’s no turning back from the call.
Print Blog
Email a FriendPost a Comment
By submitting this form, you give Faith And Family Magazine permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.
