Freshman Year Movie: Can You Train A Child In The Way He Should Go?

No matter how incorrigible you’ve been since elementary down to high school, college life must have an influence on you (could be positive or negative). This truth is painted vividly in Jude Okwudiafor Johnson’s ‘Freshman Year’, a faith-based film centred on the main character CJ, a young man born into a Christian family. His Father Chukwuma is a Nigerian and revered man of God while his mum Veronica, a legal expert and a respectable woman of British descent. 

CJ leaves home for the first time to college and crosses path with a Latino, Marcella. Torn between staying faithful to his doctrine and the perks of college life, he makes a huge mistake that changes his life and questions every virtue his father has inculcated in him.

Why You Should Watch  FreshMan Year

If you are not a parent yet, you most definitely are someone’s brother or sister, friend, girlfriend or boyfriend. The story written by Jude Okwudiafor Johnson and Toby Osborne definitely had everyone in mind.

Freshman Year seizes the opportunity to change the narrative of cliché reactions triggered by immorality or unforeseen mistakes in society. Here’s how it appeals to you in whichever category you fall under.

To Parents:

How true is it that if you train up a child in the way he should go, he will never depart from it even when he’s old?  A lot of Parents, especially religiously inclined ones are sunk in the delusion that their children will grow up  the way they taught them to be. While this might work out well from toddler to teenage age, adulthood might be threatening.

Chukwuma couldn’t hide his displeasure the moment his son, CJ broke the news that he got a girl (Marcella) pregnant. In such little space of leaving home, his son had committed a crime that made him question his relationship with God and biblical teachings. Despite all odds, he allows love to lead.

Examining the roles played by CJ’s parents and Marcella’s mum, I urge every Parent to watch “Freshman Year”.  A child’s deviation from the parents teaching does not always mean he/she has not been listening the whole time. It’s either posed by a mistake or peer pressure. Peer pressure has a strong grip especially for children who were trained to always stay indoors. The moment the child takes a peek at the outer world with little or no supervision, he/she is bound to explore the other side of the coin.

Among all the characters who played the role of a parent, I loved Chukwuma more. His reaction changed the entire cause of the movie from what I thought it would be. His derivation from the whole scenario that God was trying to teach him balance is the reality of how many men of God live their lives. The majority are entangled in the duty of fixing other people’s homes while a deep hole engulfs their household.

To The Boyfriend Or Girlfriend:

The day you decide to start having premarital sex should be the day you decide to be ready for whatever consequences. My heart kept racing for CJ the moment he decided to father the child instead of an abortion. What will he say to his father knowing he had spent all his life ensuring he grows up to be a good man? Only 2 out of 10 boyfriends will think in that direction. CJ allowed love to lead and stuck to his beliefs about the bible being against abortion. Even though he deviated from biblical teachings at some point, he understood the efficacy as he retraced his steps.

To The Brother or Sister:

No two children are the same, even if born of the same parent. Watching Freshman Year, I learnt the importance of why siblings need to be friends, possibly best friends.  Training children from a tender age to eat together, play together, pray together etc. creates a good bond. It helps manage unforeseen circumstances that could bring disunity in the future. Comparing CJ’s home to Marcella’s, it’s easy to spot the difference. CJ being an exemplary brother made it easy for his siblings to accommodate his shortcomings. Hector, on the other hand, is more of a bully figure than a brother to Marcella, he acted very irrationally on getting the news of her pregnancy.

To The Friend:

The word ‘Friendship’ is ineffective if ‘Good’ is missing. There is more to friendship  than gossip. Kudos to Marcella and CJ’s friends for offering the needed support when it came calling. Freshman Year will open your eyes on how to become a better friend, I guarantee.  

And That’s A Wrap:

There is usually great shock and excessive disappointment every time a parent uncovers that their child has fallen off the wagon. It’s a scar that may never fade; it’s a scar that amassed so much weight to crumble all the repute they’ve built in years past. Is it the child’s fault, or the fault of the parent who for so long wallowed blindly in the delusion that only their choices and doctrines matter? I enjoyed watching Freshman Year and I bet you would too. What I love most is its beauty in flipping the narrative about the usual reactions. The movie above all preaches love, family, the beauty of calm and patience and above all when God teaches balance. Its angle to Christianity is outstanding.

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