Some people might think I'm being stubborn saying this, but I don't believe it's necessary that because I am in college, I have been 'called to be a student.'
Honestly, I see that as cultural expectations working their way into a religious context, and that really bothers me.
Not to say that there aren't people who are called to be students. Or that studying isn't an important part of our lives.
Especially in a time when workplace ministry is becoming more and more important, I see a solid education as a useful tool. For me, it has always been a means to an end, not the goal I am striving for.
Take, for example, my admission into UM. I never said- HEY! Now that I'm going to a great university, I'm going to study so much harder to be the best student I can be. No. I thought- this will look great on a resume.
And as much as UM had been my number one, top choice, DREAM SCHOOL- it wasn't for the books, but for the opportunity it offered. And looking back, my presence here in Ann Arbor has been less useful in training me to study and focus than it has in exposing me to the world and showing me how much God is working in my life.
So, just because I say I'm not called to be a student doesn't mean I am going to blow off the work and sleep through classes (my reasons for doing that are entirely different)
It does mean however that whether I have a 4.0 or a 2.9 in less important to me than having time to spend with other people in my life.
It means I will focus better on my studies when I have a clearer idea of WHY I am studying these things.
I worry that people take that phrase- 'being called' too lightly when it comes to studies. Being called to education or engineering or business or religious work are all things we pray through and reflect on... But being called to be a good student is something we're supposed to just accept?
Maybe the problem is that we are taking these studies for granted in the first place. There are plenty of people on this planet who have thrived with out their BA or BS or PhD.
Are we really called? Or is it what is expected of us?
