his passions | campus life | spirituality | desiring success
The artist in Corey
I enjoy photography, painting and listening to music.
I am a very reflectful person. I enjoy reflecting on the beauty of God's creation. My artistic side is attracted to beauty. Sometimes I have so much expressiveness in my heart, it leaps out on to the canvas.
I can be a restless person! I enjoy outdoor activities like going for a walk, biking, hiking.
I also love floor hockey and soccer.
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The punches and blows of university life:
I was intimidated by the size of university. Also realizing that I was only one student out of thousands was overwhelming.
Keeping up with my readings, essays, exams was quite a challenge! I hated my first couple of years. I'd get that tight chest feeling from the pressure of exam time.
Changing my major was a scary experience. I started off studying nutrition and ended up studying psychology. It was a long journey in humbly accepting my limitations because I soon realized that I wasn't cut out to study sciences.
And labs, I hated labs.
University is a time to discover who you are through the punches and blows of life.
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Is God really out there?
When I was young my parents would talk about God a lot and I heard about him in church but I could never figure out why Christians or people who followed God talked about God as if he were present when I clearly "saw" that he wasn't around.
Because I couldn't grasp the notion of having a present, yet unseen God I had a hard time accepting that he was real.
Although, at times, I felt comfort knowing that there was a possibility that he was out there; however, just having a "possibility" of God's presence wasn't enough. I needed the assurance of a "real" God.
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Success drove me to isolation:
Before encountering God, "I" - my dreams, my ambitions, my reputation - was the most important thing in my life. I placed "self" at the centre and as a result drove me to worry about being successful.
Success meant achieving my goals whether it was related to academics, work or money. I felt successful when I had money in my account and when women found me sexually attractive.
Maintaining this level of success relied on having the approval of others. To gain their approval I thought I needed to maintain a certain image and one of the ways I thought I could do that was to control what others thought of me. This constant worry drove me to emotional and relational isolation because my desire to impress people demanded that I maintain a safe distance or else they'd find out who I really was.
I used isolation as a way to find security. If I wanted to maintain an image, I couldn't let people get too close. When I isolated myself from others I did not have to be vulnerable to them.
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Corey's advice to first year students . . .
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