• #BearsOfBaylor — “I was finding value in the wrong places…”

    [For Community Leader Appreciation Week, we’re sharing thoughts from CLs across campus all week; today, a Kokernot CL.]

    “[As a freshman, I struggled with] identity. A lot of it was, ‘Where do I find my place? Where do I find belonging? What are the things that make me find value?’ I was finding value in the wrong places, in really shallow things that weren’t super significant. … Perception, what people thought of me, things I was involved in, what looked good, who I hung out with, the clothes I wore, the way I talked to people. I wanted people to see me a certain way. I kind of wanted to put myself on a pedestal so that everyone else saw me there, too.

    “I realized, ultimately, that arrogance of those things is just the flip side of insecurity. If I want everyone to see me on this pedestal, that’s really not where I see myself. That’s not good or true or beautiful, in the eyes of the Lord or anyone else. I realized if I actually want to live out that calling of serving others and being centered with my faith towards others, I need to do that for myself. And the most practical way at that point was to start casting aside all those things I took value in that were fleeting or material.

    “I’m really interested in pursuing ministry, and so I thought [being a CL] was a good opportunity to do that in a way that’s a lot different than practical ministry opportunities. I was super impacted by my CL my freshman year; I lived in Martin. And I wanted to be a part of the experience freshman guys have from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. I wanted to be a part of that process, just like my CL was for me.”

    #BearsOfBaylor

    [Every Baylor Bear has a story; #BearsOfBaylor brings those stories to you, one by one. These stories, these people… This is our Baylor.]