Study Buddy

It is funny to sit and watch people lounging in the hall for an exam, or thoughtfully sitting comfortably on a couch with papers spread all around. That is the view that I have been seeing for the last few days. People are in study mode around campus, preparing themselves for their final midterms before Spring Break. One thing that is strange, is that I love seeing this. I love the look of people in a bit of frustration with a paper, or cuddled with a book and study guide. I LOVE this. It shows me that they are trying to learn something, which is what Bluffton is all about. One of the neatest things, is that while they are all attempting to sit and study, many of them are doing it with another person... a study buddy. Whether you need someone to sit with and quiz you, or whether you just need someone else in the room, midterm week can be a stressful time. It is important to make sure that within all of the studying, you can focus on more than just the education. Take time to go to an inturmural basketball game, take time to laugh with friends, but also make sure the test does not become overwhelming.

I am a people watcher. It is what I have been raise to be. I love seeing how each person react to things. It is so interesting to me. Midterm week is one of my favorite weeks in a way, not just because I get to watch people, but also because it is the last step towards Spring Break!! Florida... here we come! :)

Blessings of Peace.

Anna

just a few things...

So there is one thing/person that I can always look forward to each day... my roommate!
The past 2 years I was blessed with an amazing person in my life, who is my best friend. She is hilarious, but due to some scheduling problems this year, we were unable to room with each other. I was on a search for the rest of the semester looking for someone to fill her shoes. Well, I was so LUCKY to find one with a completely different pair of shoes. :)
Maegan had the room to herself last semester because I was in Ireland, but this semester it has become a change for both of us. We had only known each other from a group that we were in together last year, but she was still someone who I could see myself living with.Well.. 8 weeks in and she is incredible. I look forward to running into my room and talking to Maegan about my day and asking her about hers. We know our schedules and can sit in silence if need be. We fit perfectly together and can still make new friends. I look forward to living with Maegan the rest of the year!!!

I am very excited for Maegan next year because she applied to be an RA, and got the letter of acceptance just this week!! We jumped up and down and celebrated her good news! She is going to be an awesome RA. It is a perfect job for her!! :) :)

This week is coming to a close and I only have one more test to take! What a relief that is to know that tomorrow I will be finished with midterms and will be 2 hours into a trip of a lifetime. 3 of my closest friends and I are going to drive ourselves down to Florida to stay at one of the girls grandmas house! Sunshine and warm weather is all I can think about!! I am sooo excited! The problem with that is that I have not started to pack yet. We leave tomorrow and I have about 3 different lists going around the room of what I can bring, what i need to bring, and what I want to bring. It is a good feeling to know that in just a few short hours, I will be walking on the beach soaking up the sun and enjoying my spring break at a place where it might feel like spring!!

Blessings of peace for you all!!


Anna

Weekends

This past weekend was a good one. On Friday night a group on campus, AASO, hosted a dance! :) YES!! I miss dancing! It was a Black and White Ball, and the Kiva was decked out in the city scene with balloons flying all over! It was going to be a good night!! We all dressed up in our little black and white outfits ready for a night of dancing! Well, it was a hit! 2nd floor Hirschey, where I live, ended up taking a lot of space up dancing. Almost our whole floor was there. What fun!! It was a night that we would forever remember. Whether we were dancing to Paramore, Michael Jackson's "Beat it" or just Fergie, we danced our hearts out!

The next day, Saturday, Shining Through was having a overnight trip to Chicago. We were worshiping at a Church on the outskirts of Chicago and got to stay the night right next to the church. The best part of over night trips I think is that we get to bond as a group. We form a relationship with each other that many of us have never had before. It is the neatest thing. It always seems to happen within Shining Through, no matter who the students are. I love to see God work in that way. I will have some of the closeset friends on this campus come from that group of people!!

We didn't get home until later on Sunday due to the 5 hours it takes to actually get to Chicago. It was a long weekend, but one that is so fun to look back on and smile. From Dancing with friends, to singing with friends, and playing games, I LOVE Weekends on/off campus like the past one for me!! :)

Blessings of Peace,
Anna

Spring semester...

Coming back to Bluffton was hard. I have mentioned that in the previous posts from the month of January. That is for sure, but the one great thing about Bluffton is that things can change and shift within an instance. My best friends waited out for my moods to shift and are still living on the same floor as me. :) That is true friendship. There are many ways in which this past fall semester has changed us, but throughout it all we have come out with strength in the end. There are so many things that have gone right in the past few days and many of them include my friends.

It is getting close to Spring break time, and many of us are feeling the heat of deadlines. Myself included. We are putting a lot of time into our homework, which happens to be within our rooms, away from each other. We are all working towards finishing things that our time together is limited. Last night it was nice just to sit down and talk. We could laugh about anything and we could spend time together. It was one of the best nights of this whole semester.

With Spring semester comes the student senate presidential debate, the cabin fever of winter, and the look out for Sunshine. Well all three of those things happened this week. Monday, many people woke up with the intent of walking to class with the same ol' routine. Cabin fever has set in and many of us are wanting to get out an go... well, Monday the Sunshine was out and the weather was actually nice enough to walk around with a long sleeve shirt. As soon as that announcement was found out students were walking around without coats, smiles on their faces. It is such a relief to see the sun in the morning and to walk around with it shining on our faces. It makes the campus that much prettier and brings the students out of hibernation.
Our student body has one major thing that happens within Spring Semester. Our student senate president elections for the next year come into play. This year two of my closest friends are running for the position on campus and have to go head to head next Tuesday in a debate. WOW. I never imagined that my senior year the first girl I met on my first campus tour would be debating against my best friend on campus. What a position to be in.

This was very exciting news, to have the campaigning going around campus and the signs being up all over...
Now we must wait to see what happens in the debate.

Enjoy the sunshine... (too bad it's raining today)
Blessings of peace,

Anna

Top ten thing to love about Bluffton....

1. Almost every person you walk by will look up and smile.
2. You have plenty of opportunity to meet new people.
3. The walk across campus is about 3 minutes long, but the most beautiful thing you could ever imagine.
4. The tech center printer is always available.

5. Your classes are what you make of them.

6. You have to have a cross-cultural experience before you graduate.
7. School spirit.

8. The extra curricular activities, MCB, Student Senate, Spiritual life, AASO, Hall Associations, PALS--- the list goes on...
9. Spiritual life--- also what you want to make of them.

10. The circular dinner tables, it makes conversation that much better!! :)

When the lights go down...

It's funny to see how people react when big things happen. This past Wednesday was one of those days. Our boys Basketball team was playing one of the rival teams and it was "White Out" on the stage. This is when our Student Senate promotes that everyone wears all white to the game for support! I had class that night, so I was unable to actually make it to the full game, but I ran to the gym when they were in overtime. It was an intense game that came down to the last few seconds of play! Bluffton came out of a winner in the end, but the fun didn't stop there.
As many started filing out, I stopped to talk to an old friend. He came back to visit and as we were talking the gym lights went off. YIKES. If any of you have been in a gym when the lights go out, it is actually fairly scary. There were said to be bad storms coming around and we were to just be cautious.
It was wednesday night, so I proceeded with Janna, to Jen and Joes because we have our regular date day. As I went to pick her up, all of the lights in Marbeck went out as well as the lights that light up the path outside. This is when I begin to panic, never in the 3 years have the lights gone out and stayed out. I was not a happy camper. Walking along the path, it was as if Bluffton was a ghost town.

Jen and Joe had electricity in their apartment so we were safe for the time being from the storm. Phone calls were made back to friends in the dorm, and we found out that there was a large wind advisory for the entire night and that the halls didn't have any power either.

It was a crazy night at that, and power didn't come back until 3 in the morning, but we were sleeping anyways! It makes laugh looking back, but it sure was scary at the time.

Blessings of Peace.
Anna

Busy bodies

So, with the 7th week of class about to begin, I am in the middle of fighting my way to freedom of homework, exams and reading. Things are rushing by so quickly that I forget what day it is, and or what is happening in the next hour. A few weekends ago was one to write down in the book of fun for college students. ;) A bunch of girls that live on my floor decided to make a fort out of blanket and sheets. We proceeded to do so over and around lofts so that we could have a little cove to sit and laugh. It was a really fun night to be back on campus with everyone. That was probably the first day that things seemed to be back to normal. I fit in with the new girls and tried to form some strings with the old. Over all it was a good experience. There are plenty of pictures to go along witht that night! :) :)

This last week I was pumping out 2 papers and preparing for a test in the classes that I am taking. It is funny to me how quickly the deadline of something can come up and me not even know. My paper writing skills have figured their way out and I can say that I wrote a 7 page paper within 4-5 hours one day. I haven't gotten the paper back, soooo I'm not really sure how well I can hold that statement, but it was good to not feel paniced after it was finished. Like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders! :) :)

The weather this past week was one for the books. 50s and sunny in Feb. When does that happen?? You could tell that people were ready for change in the weather. When the sun poked its face out, people were outside running, smiling, and just making good use of the beautiful rays!! OH how I wish spring would come, the campus gets beautiful when spring comes around. I am still trying to understand where the beginning of the month went.... Spring break is just around the corner. Shoot. There is so much to do between then and now.
I better get back to work... papers, papers, papers!

Blessings of Peace.

Anna