#MyTopCollege and Why It's Bologna

Recently, I had a coworker ask me how old I was.

"22."

"And you're married?!"

"Yep"

"And you just graduated college..."

"Yep"

"I can't even imagine."

Neither can I, honestly. And this is not going to be another post about how I married young or moved to another state and started a brand new job right after finishing college. It's actually more about college. Specifically, it's about #MyTopCollege.

On my twitter account the other day, as I scrolled through the funny videos and gifs that consume copious amounts of my time, I saw the familiar hashtag, "#MyTopCollege". Instinctively, I chose 4 photos including a photo of my husband and me, my roommates, my household brothers, and a blurry picture of Florence (I didn't let it download all the way before saving ;) )

I posted the photos saying

"@FranciscanU is #MyTopCollege because I met my husband and best friends there and traveled the world."

BARF.

I automatically felt disgusted with myself. But not for reasons that you might think. Let me explain.

I posted those things because I wanted everyone to know I was proud of my school. I wanted to win. That is #MyTopCollege 's goal - to make people rank their schools and to show others what they're missing out on (or lucky to be a part of) as a part of a competition. What I was disgusted with, however, was myself.

That's all I had to say??? For a school that changed my entire life? For a community of people that continually loved me and supported me no matter how big of a turd I was being? For teachers who actually cared about my plans after graduation instead of just putting a piece of paper in my hand? Granted - Twitter only allows you 140 characters - but that is not an excuse for what little credit I gave my Franciscan family.

Franciscan was not perfect, mind you. No college is, and neither am I. But it was pretty damn close.

I'm posting this to tell you why #MyTopCollege is bologna.

1) I watched the boy that was going to be my husband turn from a stupid punk into a man who led mission trips. I watched him become coordinator of his household and lead other men deeper in their faith. Pretty soon, he was the one reminding me to pray and be kind - not the other way around. I traveled Europe with him, finding his extended family in Ireland by knocking on doors in a small town with only an old photograph. I held his hand when he told me about his mission trip to Lourdes, France, where he watched the miracles of God right before his eyes. I now get to see him wake up and go to medical school every day, learning about how to save people's lives and fight for goodness. I fought, got angry with, loved, cherished, and sucker punched this man who asked me to be his wife, all with the help of #MyTopCollege.

2) I met my best friends. The ones who knew about my anxiety and still loved me. The ones who asked "Which mass are we going to tomorrow?". The ones who held me when I cried about Ben "studying too much". The ones who skipped formal to go dance at a club with me instead. The ones who understood my love for rap that no one can understand the lyrics to. The ones who made fun of me for sleeping so often. The ones who talked about Jesus and how good He is, even when our hearts were breaking. The brothers who called me their sister before I even married their brother. The ones I could smoke a black and mild with while listening to country music and watching the sunset. The ones I can trust. The ones who called me out on things that were destroying my spiritual life. The ones who made me a better person. No matter how cliche that sounds, its hard to express in words what these people did - and are still doing for me.

3) As I previously stated, I traveled "the world". And by "the world" I mean Europe. Who else gets to live in a Karteusen monastery for 4 months in the middle of the Austrian alps? Who else can take a class about the French Revolution and then hop on a train to France when class ends? Who else can go on a hike with a professor to the top of a mountain and learn about the saints that stepped foot there hundreds of years ago? Who else can ride a train to Romania and live in a convent with nuns who make you breakfast every morning? No one. There is not another experience like it.

Franciscan was the school that prepared me to get married and move away and become the independent woman I am today. Franciscan taught me that I'm allowed to make my own choices. I transformed from the shy high-schooler into a curious, outspoken college student. Who cares if I'm 22 and married? Who cares if my career isn't my end goal? I'm called to greatness - not mediocrity. I'm allowed to be different than what secular society wants me to be.

Like I said, a simple hashtag about your top college is bologna.

It's the whole dang sandwich.

Thank you, Franciscan, for being #MyTopCollege , and for being so much more than that.

- Taylor

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