Article July 11, 2011 Issue

Taking the 3rd commandment to college

By Stephanie Allen

I  was so excited to be finally arriving at college—I was ready to start my new life and to meet new people! I knew that college life would be a challenge at first, but I felt invincible after graduating from a college preparatory high school and surviving 10-hour workdays all summer at a theme park. I felt strong and I thought I could handle anything.

However, during my first semester I began to feel burdened with my work. I was a music major, and a lot of my classes centered around music theory, which I’d never done before and found to be a very challenging subject. I also had trouble making new friends at first, and found myself feeling alone a lot of the time.

As these problems piled up, I realized that I had been so caught up in the new experience of being at college that I had eased up on my spiritual practice. I started to feel helpless, and although I was confident that I could find answers by turning to Christian Science—as I’d done many times before— I had no idea where to even start in prayer. It seemed I had forgotten how to pray amidst all the anxiety and depression that I was feeling.

About the author

Stephanie Allen will be a sophomore at the University of North Texas in the fall. She loves music, running, reading plays, and spending time with friends and family.

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