Growing up, I lived in a Christian home where we went to church every Sunday. I would have told you I was a Christian, but deep down I didn’t even really know what that meant. You see, as a child, I had some pretty intense ADHD, and impressive intelligence which led to making friends being one of the more difficult tasks in my life.

As I grew up and out of this struggle, the desire to make friends and be liked continued on. Throughout middle school and high school, the desire to be a “popular kid” surpassed any other desire in my life, including knowing Jesus. This led me to try to fill this desire by trying to know everyone at my school. I didn’t get to know them deeply, however, I only knew them on a surface level. I knew everyone, but at the same time, I wasn’t fully embraced or accepted by anyone. Because of this, I was never fully satisfied. I felt like I had to put on a facade and do things I didn’t want to do in order for people to love me, but it only left me feeling misunderstood and alone.

Coming into college, these same struggles continued. Early on, I was connected with a student org called Badger Cru, whose mission it was to connect students with the unconditional love of Christ. I went on a retreat my first semester where for the first time I heard about how Jesus died for us while we were still sinners, not while we had our lives cleaned up and put together. It was the first time that I felt fully embraced as I was, no facade required. It was the first time my desire to be accepted was fully satisfied.

Since that day, my life has continued to have its ups and downs, but I can honestly say its been a life to the full. The people I’ve met and become close with are some of the most genuine, caring people around. I’ve realized that by living my life the way God designed me to live, it has been so much more effective and impactful than any facade I could conjure up. As I move past this struggle to be accepted, I can now set my sights on the higher calling I have following  Christ, and spreading His life-changing message to people around the world! I can now live my life in an exciting way, a way that would have never been possible without God by my side.