So going through high school there's a sort of ultimate question that always seemed to pop up a lot: "But is that your opinion or your parents's opinion?"
In high school, it was easy to laugh it off. "No, of course it's my opinion," we say calmly, not really taking the time to realize what those words mean. And we think we're right. That's why the words come so easily. We believe that the "opinions" we stand for are our own. And it's not really possible to know any differently until we get out from under our parents's wings. I, for one, couldn't have known how many opinions I simply don't have.
I'll admit it, I was sheltered in high school. Though much less sheltered than a number of the people I graduated with, I definitely hadn't even begun to confront some of the major issues that are lurking about in the world. Some of them are minor. For instance: how do I feel about wearing sweatpants to class. Trivial, yes. Somehow vitally important to life at Grove City college? Also, yes. But there are two major questions I've been wrestling with that are a lot more important.
1) How do I feel about smoking? The easy answers still pop up in my brain immediately: it's gross and it's bad for you. Cigarette smoke does not smell good, and it's been proven to effect your health negatively. But then there's the facts staring me in the face: a number of my close friends smoke. So that brings up a totally different question: I know I don't want to smoke, but am I cool with my friends smoking? At this point, it's hard to say no. Because they're already my friends, and (like it or not) it doesn't look like they have plans to quit smoking any time soon. I haven't totally come to a conclusion yet, but I think I've settled into a sort of basic stance on the smoking question: I'm cool with smoking as long as it's not an addiction. If you can quit of your own free volition at any point, that doesn't bother me. If I can take a pack of cigarettes away from you for two weeks, and you don't have to go buy a new pack so that you can smoke, that's fine. If you can't go more than a week without a smoke, we have an issue.
2) How do I feel about missing church? My parents and pastors drilled one fundamental idea about college into my brain: this is the time to make or break your faith. And while salvation doesn't depend on attending church, fellowship is an integral part of Christianity. So when I see some of my friends who haven't gotten up for church yet since we've been at college, it gets to me a little bit. So I guess my opinion on this is that you should
want to get up for church to further your faith. Unfortunately, this just puts me into a rut of not really knowing how to approach the issue with my friends who don't attend church.
All of this to say that opinions are challenging little buggers. It's hard to even decide what my opinions are, let alone embrace them and stand up for them. And besides that, how do you share your opinion in love with someone who clearly doesn't share that opinion? These two questions don't nearly exhaust the list of things I have to decide my own opinion on. I thought I had pretty much ironed out my thoughts on major issues, but it looks like I still have some work to do there.
