Everyone of you is chosen

I know that you will be talking a lot about the major themes of The Chosen in your first bit of time at JBU. So, instead of hashing those out, I want to encourage you to take advantage of this summer reading and really soak in what you’ve read this summer.

I am not a history major, nor am I an English major; so, on the surface The Chosen holds no true appeal to me. However, I chose to study Intercultural Studies and Cinema because I have an ‘obsession’ with humanity. I love to watch humans interact, I love to listen to their stories, and I love to watch them grow into the people they were meant to be. Those factors are what kept me reading this book. I loved watching both Reuven and Danny be brave. They both looked into different ideas and examined each of them. Each new idea, whether accepted or rejected, made them into new people. They grew because they knew and cared about other humans, family, Jews around the world, each other. They understood the connection with other humans that comes with simply living. Reuven and Danny are dealing with the essential questions of people our age: who am I? How do I fit in the environment around me? How does that fit in the world? They are asking these questions with each new lesson they learn.

That is what I love about college. JBU seems like a homogenous group, but in reality, there are countless lessons to be learned from interacting with every student you come across. I encourage you to learn from Danny and Reuven. Be brave, look at ideas outside of your norm. Really step back to see who you are, and put yourself in places to be molded into who God wants you to be. I am not at all the person I was during orientation freshman year. I guess you can say that my “earlocks” have been cut off, and I am walking “bent forward with eagerness and hungry for the future”. I cannot think of anything more exciting than being free to ask questions, find answers--find God. We don’t have to hide out in the library behind shelves like Danny to find out new ideas, we can do that in classrooms, in the dorms, in Walker Student Center.

With each book I read, I gain new insight about myself and the world around me. As you are beginning this journey, be inspired by Danny and Reuven. This is an exciting time, you were chosen by God to be at JBU for a reason, take advantage of it, learn all you can, and most importantly, live it to the fullest.