I’ve Got Friends In High Places

The following is a guest post from our friend, Laurisha Cotton. We're glad that our friends are as excited about this new venture as we are. Thanks Laurisha, for believing in us.

People say it takes six months to learn a job. Newlyweds, Brooke and Seth, didn’t have six months when University of Virginia grabbed the nation’s attention not with their basketball team, but with the alleged campus sexual assault Rolling Stone article and the sad disappearance of Hannah Graham. UVA was already home for Seth, but for Brooke it was a “HEY, WELCOME TO MESSY REAL LIFE IN THE SOUTH” and guess what they preserved and UVA Chi Alpha had a fantastic year.

So you’re probably thinking, why I’m starting to blog again and I hit you with a Christian post. (We all know you want to hear about my fierce dating life—don’t worry it will come, but maybe under a pen name). The truth is I’ve never met a person like Brooke.

Let’s back up with story time.

I met with Brooke through a family friend who invited me over to dinner to meet a vibrant, twenty something, who lived in DC and also strived to serve the Lord. In my mind, I thought does this mean she is preachy? Growing up evangelical, I admit I have my qualms about how Americans do ministry. Despite my qualms, I decided to meet this Brooke character and I’m so glad I did.

You see, Brooke isn’t typical. Building relationships on the East Coast is no easy thing. Places like District(DC) and New Haven are places where the highly educated and opinionated come to change the world. No one is boring and everyone is ambitious, because that’s how you survive. People put up walls as a way to help them move forward quicker and not be distracted, the problem is we were made to be intimate with one another, and Brooke has a gift of breaking down walls.

Elite Schools Ain’t for The Weak At Heart

While I don’t know Seth very well, Brooke and I were super close in my graduate school years aka the time in my life where I began to question everything. Brooke always listened to my thoughts and never once said, “you should” instead she listened, made jokes to make me feel better and then asked me questions that made me think. #WWJD #Askmorequestions

Thus, when I heard the Collins were thinking about Yale, my heart leaped. You see, people think Ivy students either a) have their life together or b) too smart and agnostic to think about spirituality. That is just not the case. Yeah, we put on this front, but guess what, even smart people have the what if thoughts; yearn for personal connection with each other and with a higher power; and desire peace for the world and for themselves. I know that my friends will authentically get to know people and be a positive light at Yale. So here’s to you Seth and Brooke! Best of luck!

This post originally appeared on Laurisha's blog.