Guest Writer 9/2/15 Guest Writer 9/2/15

New Levels, New Glory

“Angela,

Fun, delightful, unique. God’s breaking you out of comfort. You’ll begin to do things delightful and tasteful to the LORD. I see you as a warrior with a sword. FIGHTER. You’ll be faced with many challenges. but God has given you the necessary tools you’ll need to OVERCOME. New Levels, New Glory. Begin to operate in His will and who He’s called you to be.

Love you, Grace U.”

This is a message from over a year ago given to me by one of my teammates at Bethel Campus Fellowship (BCF) Pulse Conference 2014. As I look at it now, I can see how God allowed what Grace said to come to pass in my life.

My name is Ebun Falade and I am an upcoming freshman at Cornell University. Even today, a few days from moving in, I am in awe that God has blessed me with acceptance. Senior year was one full of insane ambition, followed by insane faith. I chased after God like never before and sought for His guidance every step of the way because I knew that missing His instruction could allow me to spend the next four years of my life in the wrong direction. So when I shot for Cornell, and I shot for becoming a Pediatric Surgeon, I trusted that if it was His will, He will make a way for me.

During the application process, many supported me, while others discouraged me. Some told me I was being risky by not applying to more in state/safe schools and that I should stay in Maryland and save money that’s going to be useful for medical school. All good reasons, I refused to accept simply because God taught me not to settle and to expect more from Him. So I applied without hesitation: I got confirmation from God about my essay topic. I prayed, I fasted, I fellowshipped, but, most importantly, I believed. And on March 13th, I got my acceptance letter into Cornell University.

After acceptance I was still faced with the challenge of figuring out how my tuition was going to be paid. FAFSA is known to be not so generous, and submitting my financial information applications late made me even more concerned, but nevertheless God made a way for me. Just a few days prior to May 1st, I received my financial aid package from Cornell with basically my whole tuition covered with grants and scholarships. It doesn’t end there though; along with my acceptance I was enrolled in a summer program at the school, completely paid for. In this pre-freshman program, I took classes for six weeks and got familiar with campus in order to improve my transition to the school come fall semester. Knowing that Cornell had prestigious academics, I was ready and excited to take on the challenge, or at least I thought I was.

This summer was actually one of the least favorite summers of my life. Yeah I said it. And this was not totally because I couldn’t spend my final summer before college having fun with my friends and family, (I had already come into terms with that when found out about the program in March) it was because my academic performance was severely poor up until the final days of the program. I started off poorly, just as everyone else and for the same exact reason; we’re all straight out of high school. We did not know how to study, work, or manage our time like a college student. However overtime we were expected to gain better study habits, learn exactly how we learn, and efficiently maximize the little time on our hands. All these things I failed to do week after week.

This summer I took Chemistry and Calculus, which were both very difficult courses, and juggling the workload became a major challenge for me. Chemistry usually consumed majority of my day leaving me with little time for calculus. And even when I thought I found some type of a balance my grades reminded me that whatever I was doing was not working. I stayed in the D and E range of my class on the chemistry exams for about four weeks, and I had the lowest and second to lowest scores of my calculus class. These courses were pass/fail, which meant that I needed above a 60 to be considered a pass, and I was not even sure I could obtain that. I was scared that my acceptance could possibly get revoked because of my poor performance, so that anxiety lingered in my mind as I continued throughout the summer. On top of that, I found out my dad was in and out of the hospital back home, and not being able to be there for him for the first time took a great toll of me.

Though I spent the six weeks with about 200 other students, I often felt as though I had no one. My friendships merely touched the surface, and the only people I could really express my frustration to were my friends and family back home. “It’s okay Angela, keeping pushing, God’s is going to work everything out, it’s going to get better” was basically what I was told through every facetime call and text message. But it’s hard hearing that and praying and working harder just to see the same results. It was not getting better. I felt defeated, and for the first time I started questioning if I was even going to be able to handle the rigor of Cornell. But then I texted Olamide, the awesome creator of this blog, and she gave me two pieces of scriptures that I stood on for the rest of my summer journey.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

‭Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭7-9‬ NIV

“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭4-6‬ NIV

One of the beautiful things about following Christ is that He believes in us, even when we don’t believe in ourselves. We have to learn to lean on Him and wait on Him when things get tough, because being optimistic isn’t enough, especially not through college. Positivity without faith turns negative quite and fast once we look at our circumstances. If we know God’s promises, if we know His Word, and if we trust in Him, we shouldn't focus on our circumstances no matter how bad they are, but we should focus on His will for our lives.

“.. being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:6 NIV

God doesn’t open doors for us just so we can walk right back out of them. If He got us to it, then He will get us through it. We have all the tools that we need, and if we’re in lack of anything, we can simply ask God for it. The end route is success and prosperity in Christ and looking at the bigger picture makes it a little more bearable to through the roller coaster of college.

I asked God for wisdom and He gave it to me during the last week of the program. I realized that I wasn’t spending enough time studying alone; I was always working with peers or teacher’s assistants or professors. I knew the material, but I didn’t know it for myself, and without mastering it by myself I performed poorly on my exams. So during the last week I minimized my group studying and maximized my individual studying. I socialized less, I got better sleep, and I even had a little more time to myself. I got a C on my third chemistry exam and A on my final, boosting my D average in the class to a C, which was amazing for me seeing how I started. Calculus was a different story: my third exam was a twenty point increase from before which was a pretty good improvement. However, to this day I do not know what my final exam grade or my final grade was, I just know I passed... and that’s enough for me.

In the end, some would say I learned how to study like a college student a little too late. But God’s timing is the best timing whether we like it or not. I waited on Him and trusted in Him and finally I saw the fruits of my labor. And I know that if I continue to keep this mindset of faith, God will get me through these four years just as He got me through this summer. With fall semester coming up, upcoming freshman are filled with excitement and nervousness, but this summer has taught me that I CAN and I WILL do this. It may take a while figuring out how, but I am going to walk across the stage in the next four years and move on to another chapter in my life. As God takes me to new levels in life, the enemy is going to attack even harder. As I fight through these trials I will build my faith and endurance in the process, seeing God reveal new glory in my life.

To everyone going back to school, especially rising college freshmen, don’t give up. The transition is not going to be easy; you’re going to have to drop many of your bad high school study habits and take on new ones. The pressure is harder, the competition is stronger, and you’re going to work harder than you’ve ever worked before to get the grades you want. But just remember that you have Christ on your side. If you continue to have faith and persevere then you will be successful. Get ready for your New Levels and New Glory!

My name is Ebunoluwa Angela Falade and I live in Bowie, Maryland. I recently graduated from Flowers High School, and I am now freshman at Cornell University. I have been saved for about 2 years and I'm aspiring pediatric surgeon.

Guest Feature 5/20/15 Guest Feature 5/20/15

I Choose Truth

During my senior year, just like almost every other senior, all I heard was, “So what are you doing after graduation?” This simple question easily brought me so much anxiety. For some reason, I started to doubt that law was my calling. I was excelling in the international studies field, going to the World Bank all too often, conducting my own independent research in Spain, and offering financial advice to a small village in Honduras. But in all honesty, I was not trying to take the LSAT (admission exam for law school); everybody said it was hard and I was low-key intimidated. I tried to run away from pursuing law, but once I sat down and actually sought God about my purpose, He undoubtedly affirmed that law was for me. My fear of taking the LSAT was not necessarily dispelled after that, but I knew I could do it. Well, at that point, I had to. My goal was to go to a top 14 law school, which required me to have a 4.0 GPA and 170 LSAT score. I was definitely short on the GPA, so the only option I had was to extremely excel at the LSAT. I knew, however, this would ONLY be possible with lots of hard work and a whole lot of GOD!

Studying for LSAT had to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, honestly. A stiff person could learn how to Nae Nae faster than they could learn how to simply understand this exam. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University in May 2014, I had to deal with everyone’s Facebook posts of how they’re working at Goldman Sachs, or going off to medical school, or just anything else that had to do with growing up and making the world a better place. But I was at home…studying…my life away, literally. Mind you, I took two months to study and take the GRE. I never knew how much I struggled until I took a Kaplan course and met people who well surpassed my target score. I am usually good at setting a goal and accomplishing it, but the LSAT let me know it would be much harder than I thought. That six-week course, to me, amounted to almost nothing. With all the heaps of books and materials they offered us, I still was barely improving. I pushed my exam back two more months; as I was completely not ready. I felt I had to do something else.

Through the Vice President of a summer program I did at Princeton University, I was able to get a private tutor for free. Can you say ‘God siced?’ Every day, I commuted to Bethesda to meet one of the best tutors in D.C. She literally tutors the kids of all the top professions in D.C. I thought that with private tutoring, things would totally change. But no, I was still struggling. My target score no longer seemed like a possibility, but I still tried. Both my Kaplan teacher and my tutor told me I should focus on applying to schools of lower ranking. And all that time, I had my family reaping heaps of pressure upon me to do well. I felt hopeless. Every single way I turned, I saw blatant discouragement, that is, until I garnered the strength to finally look up to God. God affirmed that law school was my calling, and He told me to apply for the 2015 cycle. Those were the only words I had; they were the only words worth believing. I soon began to snatch up every promise I could find in the Bible. In Deuteronomy 8:7, God promised me that He was bringing me to a good land. In Deuteronomy 9:1-3, He promised to clear the path for me to do the impossible. And in Daniel 1:4 and 17, He promised to bless me with knowledge. I recited these promises over myself day in and day out.

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.”

Psalm 130:5 (NKJV)

Even after getting my score, which was the lowest score I asked Daddy for, I knew I had to anchor my soul on the words of Father. My mentors even told me to apply next year so I could retake the LSAT, but I knew what God had told me, and I had no choice but to stick to it. I HAD TO STOP BEING REALISTIC AND START BEING HOPEFUL. I VOWED TO LIVE BY THE REALITY OF THE WORD NOT OF THE WORLD.

I told myself that I would not limit God’s “impossibilities” (what I deemed impossible). I knew that if it were God’s will for me to go to a top law school, He would jump any and every protocol for His daughter. So I believed and kept believing.

When it came time to start applying, God graced me with amazing people to help me throughout the whole process. I sent out all 21 applications in complete faith, not having to pay one application fee. And by February, I started to hear back from schools. I was getting into every school (ah!), but I didn’t hear from any of my top schools yet, until one day I took a break at my job (at the #1 immigration law firm in the country, which God literally handed to me on a silver plate) and had a voicemail from a random California number. It was Dean Edward Tom from Berkeley Law calling to tell ME... that I got accepted! Wait, I don’t think you got that. I said MEEE! I had never wept like I did after that. I couldn’t even go back to work after that. I was in total shock and in awe at the same time. Their median LSAT and GPA were 167 and 3.81, with a 12% acceptance rate, and I didn’t even have a 160 or 3.8. THAT IS GOD!
My constant prayer was God please give me what I NEED, and not what I want. And praise God for that prayer because Lord knows I didn't get close to what I wanted, but guess what? I didn't need it! What I NEEDED was to depend on God. My desires were simple: go to a top 14 law school, go to a law school with a top international law program, and go to a law school in California. University of California, Berkeley is all of that, plus more! God, the greatest loving Father, gave me the desires of my heart, simply because He placed them there and has destined me to fulfill my purpose through Him. I didn’t allow those “realities” to taint my revelation of Jesus Christ as the Truth and all that He promised me. Daddy God gave me everything I wanted with what He deemed I needed. My experiences in life will not change my revelation of God, but more importantly, my revelation of God will change my experiences in life! I learned what it meant to have complete faith in God’s promises. I came to understand God’s word as the final word and ultimate truth. Now I’m ready to evangelize on the streets of Berkeley, as well as in the classroom!