mmm Spring!! :D

When thinking about Spring I immeditely smile. The sun shining, birds singing and most of all spending the days outside in the sunshine. That is what has been happening all weekend.... sunshine.. finally!
As I walk out of my dorm I see kites flying, friends laying outside doing homework, and people passing by on bikes, rollerblades, or even just walking. This is how i know it is spring outside. Classes seem to pass by a little faster and free time is always spent outside. =)
The beauty of this campus just takes my breath away.
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Enough about spring. Classes have picked up since Spring Break and soon it will be Easter break. WOW has time gone by. It just seems like yesterday when I was packing up to move to Bluffton and in 5 weeks or so I will be moving home for the summer. So much has happened that I will be able to look back on and remember for ever. Nights that friends just stayed up talking, singing to no music while walking down the snowy streets, the Blizzard of 07', Homecoming, Retreats, and just meeting new people. How could anything get any cooler?
This past weekend is one that will be remembered as well. Lil Sibs weekend. Unfortunately I am the little sib, but I still got to hang out with my friends brothers.! and coming from an all girls house..this was interesting. I had to adjust to playstation and basketball... something that wasnt very frequent in our house as a child. This weekend was filled with events for the siblings but also us without them too. Friday night.. Live Band Karoke.. SWEET! One word to describe it. Sooo much fun and a lot of laughter. :D Saturday they had a lot of games and a rock wall. They just seemed to plan everything around these siblings. This is also a time to actuallly show the little brother or sister that school can be cool. This past weekend I heard so many....
"You live with your friends? and hang out all the time?? this is so cool"
"Yes, Stephen.. college is cool!"
So after a long weekend it is back to classes... but it is also.... one day closer to summer... and another day that can be spent in the Sunshine!! :D


Happy March.- it is almost over!-
God Bless
Anna

silence

Wow. what to say after the past two weeks for mayhem. Bluffton has been a campus that was small, and out of the limelight. All of this change in the past weeks and I personally dont know how to react.

March 2 is a day that will forever be a part of my life. I was sleeping in because I didnt have class until 9. My cell phone rings.. and rings.. Me, being a "college student" wanted all the sleep I could get, didnt answer it. The last day before Spring Break was supposed to be a quick one. Who knew that I was going to seem like days before I went home. I check my voicemail before my alarm went off because I was afraid that I wasnt going to have a ride home. I was worried more about myself than anything else. What was I going to do? It was then when I learned about the accident. That is when I realized that this campus was forever going to be changed.
Media swarmed the Bluffton area and students became confused. A Bus? Baseball? what was happening?
One day before break the worst happened and I couldnt do anything about it. My tests were cancelled and my ride wasnt coming until 3. I waited for hours.. hours.. until I could go home.. get away from this pain. Every channel in the dorms were tuned in on the news and every eye was wet. Now looking back on it.. that day was a time for emotions.. and they very much got the best of me.

Coming back to a place where such a tragedy happened is yet another emotional roller coaster. Bluffton being as small as it is, has a lot of spirit. Personally this was the first time i didnt want to come back to Bluffton. It isnt the campus that I didnt want to see nor my friends.. it was the tragedy that I didnt want to accept. My transition was very smoothly though. Driving into campus I saw purple ribbons, well wishes, and prayers that were posted everywhere. This was something that helped me get through my day.

Is it hard? Yes. I walk across campus and see faces of sorrow, I see a memorial within our commons, and a prayer room that is always open. This shouldnt happen to anyone, but I know that Bluffton can handle it. Is it something that we should have to handle.. no, but we do. I am relying on friends, family, and this campus to comeback from this event. It is something that will forever be remembered. Something that has taken 7 lives and left marks, but now we must come together and fight back. We need to work as a community to mourn together. That is what Bluffton does.. it mourns together, celebrates together and hurts together. And I get to be a part of this togetherness. This is what i love.