Fall from University Grace
Just as Adam was cast out of Eden I was kicked out of university; but while his transgression was eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge, my sin was ignoring the tree. After my dismal performance in my first year of university, I contemplated the reasons for my failure. Now, I understand the two factors that contributed to my downfall: the lack of a career goal and premature independence.
Without a career goal, I lacked direction and motivation. About halfway through my final year of high school, I was hounded by my parents to enroll in university, but until that time I had not given any thought to what career I wanted to pursue. To silence their nagging, I told them I wanted to be an engineer. Though I got high marks in math, physics, and chemistry, I was bored with them, and my dislike of the sciences became apparent in the first four months of university. I failed all my science courses.
Snow fell in mid-December—final exam time—but I didn't notice either event, because I had become a creature of the night preying on full beer mugs in smoke-filled bars. my exams had been returned and I had failed all my courses. I didn't care; neither did my friends, whose marks were equally bad. We bragged of our freedom from our parents, not realizing that their influence was more beneficial than the influence we had on each other.
When Christmas day arrived, I found a "withdrawal from university" notice in my stocking. Unearned independence was the fruit from the tree of knowledge that tempted me and caused my downfall. Because I was not mature enough to accept the responsibility for my own future and because I abused my privileges of independence, I failed my first year of university. The causes of my downfall have taught me maturity and responsibility, and in the future I will not ignore the tree of knowledge again. Falling from Eden was enough to teach Adam; the same is true for me.