Christmas Eve

I can't believe that I have been home for break already for a week.  It is going by so fast!  Just wanted to post a short entry to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Let us not forget the true meaning of Christmas:

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch of their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."



Luke 2:8-11

One more final then I am officially on break!   This week has been dragging along it feels like.  I keep getting my days mixed up and I woke up today thinking that it was Friday, but it is only Thursday.  That's okay though.  I am enjoying the extra time I have between work, exams, and studying to hangout with my friends  & boyfriend before not seeing them for like 3 weeks!  

This fall semester has been a great one.  I have made many new friends and have many new memories to cherish for the rest of my life.  I am ready for a break though.  I am excited to see everyone back at home and catch up with my friends from high school.

So it is exam week and I am tired of studying for exams already.  I feel like all I have been doing is studying, studying, and more studying.  I have only taken two exams!  I am currently taking a break from studying for my macro exam that is this afternoon, and I am also currently doing laundry because that needs to get done sometime this week before I go home Friday.  I am looking forward to getting my macro exam done so that way I can relax a little bit before studying for my Fit For Life exam that I have tomorrow morning.  

My days during exam week go like this:

Get up, shower, walk to Centennial Hall, take my exam, come back to my room, study, eat, study (or take an exam), relax, and then study some more!  I try to find sometime to hangout with my friends because I know this week is the last I am going to be seeing them for three weeks! 

I did get a break from studying last night and went to Skyline Chili in Lima with some friends.  I enjoyed having that food.  I am also looking forward to having a good lunch as the admissions office is holding a potluck for the admissions interns!! I am super excited to eat some delicious food! 

Now, time to go back to studying...

Classes for the 2010-11 fall semester are officially over!  It is such a relief to have them finally be done with, especially since the weeks since Thanksgiving break have just building up to it.  This semester flew by though and I still can't believe how fast it went by.

This semester has brought many new friendships and even a boyfriend.  I am so thankful for each person in my life.  They helped me get through the semester without going totally crazy.  I seriously have the best friends and boyfriend in the world.  They make the college life so much better!

Now, just to get ready for finals, which means studying lots and lots this weekend & coming week.  I have exams on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, since all five of my classes are having one.  Thank goodness there is no track practice this week, so I will be able to focus on studying for exams.  It's a good thing our coach understands that we are here at college to get an education, not for the sports.  I was glad that I didn't have to go to our first indoor track meet today at Capital because that would take away from some important study time.  I have been studying since I got up and am taking a break before I go back to studying.

I'm looking forward to tonight though, I am planning to do some Christmas cookie baking & watching Christmas movies with some of my awesome friends.  Definitely going to be a girls night, which I am really looking forward to! :)

This week is going by faster than what I expected it would go.  It does help that I had a good weekend with my friends and boyfriend.  We went up to the Toledo Zoo Saturday night and saw the Christmas lights!  It definitely got me in the Christmas spirit even more than what I already was.  Being able to see them with my boyfriend and friends made it even better.  Sunday night, we had our end of the year cross country banquet at Olive Garden!  I can't complain about that because Olive Garden is one of my favorite restaurants.  It was a fun time with the team, as usual.  I just have to remember to get my jacket order taken care of before Friday...

I officially only have two more classes for this semester and then I just have to worry about my exams next week!  This semester flew by! It's been a stressful week as I have had papers to finish up and turn in and I have also started studying for exams on Monday that I have.  The library this week has been very helpful in having coffee, tea, and cookies to snack on during certain times in the day, so I have been working on assignments there, which I have been able to focus so much better on my homework!  

It was nice last night because our floor had a CBA event, which is a community building activity.  Our floor activity was decorating Christmas cookies and then getting to eat them once they were decorated!  Such a nice way to take a break from homework and studying.

Indoor track practices are going well even though it's been freezing outside when we run.  Oh well, we have to do what we have to do to have an awesome season!  Everybody is working really hard, so it should be another good year!

It's officially December and there is only one more full week of classes before final exams!  I can't believe how fast this semester has flown by.  Even though it has flown by, there has been so many memories made.

It snowed yesterday which made the campus look so pretty!  It was awesome that it snowed on the first day of December to.  Now hopefully there will be snow on Christmas.  I always love a white Christmas! :)  My friend Lyndsey gave me my Christmas present today, and she got me a fish!!  I'm way stoked about this.  It makes my room so much better! haha  Now, I just hope I don't let it die, that would make me really sad.  Oh the little things that make life so much better.  It made my day so much better especially since I have been finishing up papers for classes all this week.  The last weeks of the semester are always stressful, but with the friends that I have, things don't get to stressful.

Wow, this break has gone by fast!  I  have enjoyed being home so much and being able to see my friends from high school, but I am also ready to go back to Bluffton and finish the semester!  Hard to believe there is only two more weeks of classes and then one week of final exams.  I am excited to get back on campus.  I have missed my friends.  This break is only five days but that's long enough for me to miss my Bluffton family.  I don't even want to think how much I will be missing everyone when the three winter break gets going.

I was crazy enough to go shopping on black Friday.  My mom, sister, and I went to Walmart at midnight to get some good deals on movies and other things, and we also went to Kohl's afterwards, which had a line from the front of the building all the way down to Walmart (So like 1/2 mile long line of people).  It was a fun time.  I saw some of my friends from high school at both places, and even one of them seem to be following me as she also went to Walmart first, Speedway to get coffee, and then Kohl's.  I laughed everytime I saw her.  I ended up going to bed pretty late Thursday night.

Columbus Friday and Saturday was awesome.  I am a HUGE OSU fan and being able to go see the men's basketball team play Friday night and see the football team crush Michigan again was just awesome!  OSU's campus was crazy before and after the game.  Beating rival Michigan is always important, just like Bluffton beating our rival Defiance is always a good thing.  I just don't think the celebration of Bluffton beating Defiance is as big or as crazy as the celebration of OSU beating Michigan is.  It was a good weekend in Columbus.  I am ready to go back to Bluffton though and finish the semester up!

Thanksgiving Break has been wonderful.  I love being able to go home for more than just a weekend.  I've been able to catch up with some of my friends from high school and also still keep in touch with my friends from Bluffton.  Even though it is break, I do still have to do some homework for classes next week.  I don't have much, but I still need to remember to get it done before break is over.  I also have started running again to get ready for our first indoor track meet on December 11.  Getting back into top shape is a pain in the butt, but it is well worth it in the end.  

Since it is Thanksgiving, I just want to say how thankful I am for the friends and family that have surrounded me for 20 years.  I love each and everyone of you.  Don't forget to take time to tell those people that are special in your life.  They help make you the person you are today.

Tomorrow and Saturday I am going to be in Columbus!  I am quite excited.  My family and I are going to watch the men's basketball team play Miami (OH) tomorrow and then Saturday is the OSU vs. Michigan game!  I love being on campus for the Michigan game.  OSU's campus has even more energy than it does on other game days.  My sister and dad will be going to the game, while my mom and I are going to watch it on the big screen somewhere on campus.  I get to experience another college campus' activities on the weekend.  I always love going to OSU when I can.  I still love Bluffton though, but it is nice to get off campus and go to another campus.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I love weekends where I can just sit around and do nothing.  This weekend was exactly just that.  I didn't have much homework to do so I was just able to hangout with friends and just relax.  Although watching the OSU game wasn't that relaxing until the game was over and they won.  I love competing in races for cross country and track, but I also love having weekends free where I can just enjoy time with my friends, which is part of the college experience.  Watching college football with my friends and the boyfriend is always fun.  I get into OSU games and when things aren't going well for the Buckeyes, I tend to yell at the TV sometimes. haha  My friends put up with it though.

Today, I saw Harry Potter and now will be able to join in the conversation with many other Bluffton Students who have already seen it.  It was just awesome!

This past Sunday night was midnight madness here on campus to kick off the basketball season for both our men's and women's basketball teams.  People got in line early because the first 100 students got a free t-shirt, and I was lucky enough to be one of those one hundred students to get one!  

The night started off with some Bluffton students  dancing to "Thriller" and even J Denny Beaver danced along with them.  It was awesome! Then there was a free throw contest, half-court shot contest, 3-point contest, slam dunk contest, and a contest for the most spirited Bluffton student.  There was also a student versus staff basketball game in which the students won!  Overall it was a fun night.  Good luck to both the men and women basketball teams this season!  

This week has been very nice since I don't have cross country practice and I don't start track practice until after Thanksgiving break.  I have much more free time to get homework done and hangout with friends.  My friend Alison and I went up to Toledo yesterday afternoon to go to the mall!  We had such a fun time and both of us were able to get some presents and some things for ourselves.  I love having time off just to be able to relax and to be able to give my body a rest from a good cross country season.  

Cross country season is officially over for this year.  I have mixed feelings about it.  I am excited to have a little break before indoor track starts up, but at the same time, it's going to be weird not being around the teammates that I love on the weekends or during the week.  Over the season I have bonded with everyone and they haven't just been my teammates, but they have become my family.  We ended our season this afternoon up in Holland, Michigan for the DIII NCAA Regionals meet.  Each race had about 300 runners in it, so there was plenty of people to run with.  

I am looking forward to just relaxing this week and get my homework done earlier than I usually do.  I am not a big fan of track, but I am looking forward to being around my "family" again during the weekends.  It's nice having a team that is so close and knowing that any of them have your back.  It's been a great season XC Beavers, can't wait wait for the next one! 

Happy November everyone!  I can't believe how fast this year has gone by.  Only 3 more weeks until Thanksgiving!

This week has been a crazy one.  Saturday was our HCAC Cross Country meet down at Transylvania University.  I absolutely loved the course there and was able to best my 6k time from last year by over a minute. All the girls ran really well and so did the guys.  I love this team and it's hard to believe that we only have one more meet for the season.  The guys got mohawks to run with and our coach even got a mohawk!   Kevin even spiked his up which made it look extra sweet.  His girlfriend, Alison, who is also on the team, wasn't to thrilled with it, but it did look extra sweet, especially when he was running.  You could definitely tell where he was during the race! haha

We got back Saturday evening, and I left campus again to go on a solitude retreat for my Spiritual Disciplines class.  I was nervous about it  at first because you where going to be near people, but yet couldn't talk to them for  24 hours.  There was also no television or music.  Yet, I really enjoyed it.  I was able to focus on my homework so much more than what I usually am able to in my dorm room.  It also was just nice to be able to get off of campus and away from the hassle that college can be sometimes.

Volleyball won their first round HCAC tournament game Tuesday night.  Now they go on to play Mount St. Joseph's tomorrow at Transylvania University.   Good luck ladies!

Here are some pictures from the cross country meet on Saturday at the beginning of the guy's race.  You'll be able to tell which one is Kevin since his hair is spiked!

Starting Line

And they are off! 

Well hey there Kevin! 

I am officially 20 years old today.  I am getting old! haha

One of the cool things about being an athlete is traveling to other campuses for competition.  Today, the cross country team leaves to go down to Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.  I always enjoy being able to see other campuses that I would probably never otherwise see.  Through cross country and track, I have been able to see the campuses of Rose-Holman, Defiance, and Mount St. Josephs.  I have to say that Bluffton probably has the most beautiful looking campus of what I have seen so far.  Another reason why I just Bluffton.  

Spending four hours on a van traveling down to Kentucky should create some new memories with the team.  Hopefully it won't be that long of a drive like I have a feeling it will be.   

After a week like last week, I have been enjoying this week of just being able to relax and hangout with friends.  I haven't had much homework to do, which has been nice considering last week all I felt like I was doing was homework and studying.

Thanksgiving break is only like 4 weeks away and I am looking forward to having that break and spending time with the family.  Speaking of family, I got two cards in the mail today, one from my grandpa and the other from my cousin who is currently in Washington studying at Washington State University.  It was nice to hear from her.  I also worked today, with Lydia and Mark.  I enjoy work, especially since I work with some pretty cool people.  

And to end this entry for today, I just have to say that my birthday is tomorrow! :)

The stressful week is behind me and I am now looking forward to a more relaxing week.  This weekend my friend Alison and I went to my house for the weekend.  

On the ride to my house Friday night, we blasted music in her car and sang along just to celebrate being done with a very stressful week for the both of us.  The rest of that evening we just relaxed and talked.  Saturday, we went to the OSU vs. Purdue game, so we had to be up early, but it was totally worth it.  Alison is from Kansas, so she has never been to an OSU game before, so I was able to show her around the campus and she got a college football game experience in Columbus.  The Buckeyes won 49 to 0 against Purdue, which made me happy.  Alison was really excited to see their marching band perform, which is one of my favorite parts of OSU football games.  They performed music by Elvis for halftime and they were awesome, just like always!   After the game, we walked around the campus for a bit.  I love Ohio State's campus.  If it wasn't for how it big it was, I could definitely see my self going there.  Yet, I like smaller campuses, hence why I am at Bluffton. :) 

This weekend is just what I needed after the stressful week I had.  This week looks to be a not so stressful week.  It is Spiritual Life week here on campus, and each day/evening, there is an event taking place.  I am looking forward to it.  

So I have decided this week is just a busy and insane week.  Midterm exams are taking place, and I have three of them to study for that are on Friday.

College life can be tough.  Between classes, studying, practice, hanging out with friends, and other things, things can get stressful.  I am feeling that stress this week.  I am in full "get things done and be focused" mode.  Along with my tests to study for, I have meetings to go to, cross country practices to do, and homework that is also due this week.  Yet, I am getting through it knowing that once this week is over, I will get a nice chance to relax this weekend, and my friends are also going through  the same thing.  We are helping calming each other down, which is always nice.

Well it is time for me to go back to studying and getting homework done.  Until next time.

Every once in awhile when I get the chance to, I like to be able to go home.  This weekend, I got that chance.  We had our cross country meet on Friday, so after I was done racing, I went home with my parents instead of taking the bus back to Bluffton.  I was able to spend the weekend relaxing and just enjoying time with the family.  My sister had her last high school cross country meet Saturday, so I went to that and watched her run for probably the last time in competitive racing.  My high school team won the GWOC title for the third straight year, so that was awesome to witness.  I also found out some exciting news about my high school cross country coach!  Saturday was going well until OSU played.  We just won't even discuss that.  I also got to see my sister and her friends get ready to go to their last homecoming dance in high school.  Seniors get to dress up to the theme.  My sister and her date went as an OSU cheerleader and Jim Tressel.  They looked awesome!  In fact, everyone that I saw looked awesome in their costumes.

Today, I got to catch up with my best friend from high school.  We went out to eat at Panera Bread for lunch.  It was so great seeing her again!  I love being able to catch up with my high school friends whenever I get the chance.  Then, I came back to Bluffton late this afternoon, and went on a McDonald's run with some of my friends.  All of us are trying to win the 1 million dollar prize in the Monopoly game, but sadly, we did not accomplish that feat tonight.

Pics from my sister's last homecoming:

The cheerleader! 

O-H-I-O with my family! 

 

Every Thursday I look forward to going to chapel at Yoder for an hour of worship.  It puts me in a great mood and that great mood carries over for the rest of the day and into the weekend.  Today's chapel was probably my favorite one of this year, and possibly my favorite at Bluffton since I have been here.  To open chapel, we started  with the singing of "Days of Elijah" which is one of my absolute favorite worship songs, so that set the mood right there for the rest of the worship time.  We also sang "Trust and Obey" and "Better is One Day" before sitting down to listen to our minister in residence, Vikki Pruitte-Sorrells from Lee Heights Community Church which is in Cleveland.  She talked about getting your "swag" on for Jesus Christ and follow his way.  She was so energetic and enthusiastic about God that her message was great to listen to.  After she was done with her message, we closed worship with "From the Inside Out," another great worship song.

The weather is changing and I love it.  I love fall.  The leaves here on campus have changed colors and have started falling from the trees.  Fall sports teams are starting to get ready to finish up their seasons before tournaments start.  Winter sports are already busy preparing for their upcoming seasons.  There have been many high school students have been visiting campus, which is always nice to see students take in interest in Bluffton.

I am looking forward to my last 5k race of the season at Wilmington before moving on to 6k's for the conference meet and regional meet.  Hopefully it's a good race.

Homecoming week this week has been an exciting one.  Even though the volleyball team lost Wednesday night to a very good #15 Heidelberg team, it was still an exciting game to watch.  The ladies fought hard the whole time but Heidelberg just had the right mix to go home with a win.  There was also bingo Tuesday night, a comedian Thursday night, the parade and beaver fever Friday night.  Yesterday, Bluffton's football team beat Manchester 29-27 to get the win on homecoming yesterday so congratulations to them!  The day concluded with the homecoming dance in Bob's Place, which was a blast!

Bluffton does a great job of having things for students to do during the week, which is nice since Bluffton is a small town that can seem like it would be boring, but it really isn't.  There's things to do on campus and there are places in town for students to go to to hangout with their friends.

I love October.  The trees here on campus on starting to change colors which just makes the campus just that more beautiful.  Today is the last day of fall break and it has been a relaxing one.  Students will be making their way back to campus throughout the day today and campus will be full of life once again until Thanksgiving break shows up.  This school year is going by fast.  I am having a hard time believing that fall break is already here and before I know it, Thanksgiving will be here, and then winter break will be here!  It seems like each year of school just goes by faster and faster.

I went home for fall break after my cross country meet Friday.  The meet went alright and it was better than the last time we were at Cedarville.  I was just looking forward to going home though after I ran.  I just took it easy all weekend.  I did go to my sister's cross country meet on Saturday and I caught up with my high school cross country coach, and I got to see some of my former high school teammates run.  It was nice seeing them all again.  I also spent the afternoon watching OSU football with my family which I have missed doing this year.  It was an ugly one, but OSU got the win and that's all that matters.  I also went to my grandpa's and saw him, which was great since I hadn't seen him August before I left.

I got back on campus yesterday and really all the students that were here were football players, soccer players, and students who stayed because of work.  I got back here yesterday for work, which went really well.  As I said though, campus will slowly be getting its students back today from break.

It's homecoming week this week, which is exciting.  I'm looking forward to the home volleyball game tomorrow night.  It's purple out!  Go Beavers!

Volleyball before the Game

Pink week for sports continued today as men's soccer and women's volleyball wore pink in support of finding a cure for breast cancer.  It's great seeing student athletes coming together for such a great cause, and the student body is also embracing the cause.  I went and watched some of the volleyball game tonight, and as always, there was plenty of students on the stage to cheer on the ladies.  I didn't see J Denny Beaver though. Hmm...

School is keeping me busy, like usual.  I am looking forward to this weekend though, as it is fall break!  I get to go home again, and see my family and friends, which I am looking forward to very much.  I am ready for this break and I believe most of the students here on campus are also ready for a break from classes.

So last week was just a slow going week especially since I was looking forward to going home for the weekend after my cross country meet here at Bluffton Friday night.  It seems whenever I am looking forward to something, the week drags along.  The meet did go pretty well Friday night though.  It was our only home meet of the season.  Girls ran a 3k and the guys ran a 5k.  It also kicked off Pink Week, which is where all the sports are wearing pink in support of finding a cure for breast cancer.  Instead of wearing our usual uniforms, we got to wear shirts that had a pink ribbon with running shoes on them!  Us girls also went the extra mile and got pink bandannas for us and the guys to wear, and us girls also put pink ribbon in our hair.

J Denny Beaver came to support us!

Me (Left) and Alison (Right) Warming up for the race

Start of the Bluffton Invite!

I went home for the weekend, which was awesome!  I was so happy to see some of my friends from high school and to get to spend time with my family.  It was the home invite for my high school's cross country team, and it was senior recognition day.  My sister is a senior this year, so I went to support her and the rest of the team!  

Me(Left), Colleen (Middle), and my sister Mindy (Right) at the Troy Invite

Colleen and I! 

 Also on Saturday, I went to the OSU vs. Eastern Michigan game with my dad!  I love going to OSU football games whenever I get the chance to do so, and it was nice to be able to just have some father-daughter time. OSU had no problem as they pounded Eastern Michigan 73-20.

Double Script Ohio before kickoff

OSU's team running onto the field

It was a good weekend and I am glad that I was able to get away from Bluffton for the weekend.  I love Bluffton very much, but there are times when I just want to get off campus and go home or see friends.  Luckily I am able to do that.  

Life as a college student can be tough sometimes. Managing time between classes, work, homework, practice, and hanging out with friends, life can be stressful.  I am glad that I have the group of friends I have though.  Having a good group of friends always helps during the stressful parts of the college life.  We are now into the fourth week of classes here and just walking around campus or sitting in the commons during lunch, and I definitely can tell by the many groups of people that it seems like people have settled in on campus and have made friends.  Having a good group of friends keeps you grounded when things get hectic.  Just a thought that I had to type out as today has been a stressful day.  Yet, my friends have been here for me and we have plans for tomorrow night to make it a relaxing night!  I can't wait! :)

Life here on campus has been quite calm this week.  Although, at forum this past Tuesday morning, President Harder announced during his Presidential Planes for a new Health and Fitness Education Center.  Sounds like it will be pretty cool once it is built, but first money has to be raised to pay for the cost of construction.  More than half of the money has been raised.  Hopefully in the near future the building will be built.  You can look at drawings of the planned building at http://www.bluffton.edu/reach/hfec/.

For me this week, I have had a pretty calm week.  Just have had some homework to do, but I have been able to hangout with friends quite a bit.  I watched The Proposal with Alison, Kevin, Lyndsey, and Michael Wednesday night in the lobby on the 4th floor here in Neufeld.  Yesterday's run was pretty crazy.  Us girls got to run in the rain and we also decided to jump in any puddles that we saw during the run.  Of course, we went on the sides streets of Bluffton and jumped in every possible puddle that we could!  To end the run, there was a big puddle right outside of Founder's Hall that all of us jumped in right before we went inside to get a drink of water.  Best run of the season so far!

This weekend should be a good one.  Us cross country runners are running at the Yellow Jacket Invite in Cedarville, the women's volleyball team is competing in a tournament in Iowa, Men's and Women's soccer are at home, and the football team takes on Franklin.  Go Beavers!

"I wanna celebrate and live my life"

Life here on campus has been pretty relaxing for me these past couple of days.  The rest of the school week finished up well with my classes having good discussions and being relaxed.  I am having a great time with my friends here still.  Friday night, I watched a movie with some of my friends over in Ropp, which is where I lived last year.  It was kind of weird being over there again and knowing that I don't live there anymore.  

Yesterday, I had a cross country meet at our school's rival, Defiance.  It was quite an adventure let me tell you.  We got there and us girls thought we were running at 10 because the information our coach sent us said that the girls race was at 10.  Well, we go searching for the restroom as soon as we get out of the van, go warm up for twenty minutes, put on our spikes, and start heading over to the starting line.  As soon as we start heading over though, our coach comes running over to us saying that we don't run until 10:50 and that the guys run at 10.  Of course the guys are walking the course thinking that they run at 10:50.  Our coach goes running and yelling to them that they need to get their spikes on and head over to the starting line.  Needless to say, the guys only ran a two minute warm-up for a 5 mile race.  Us girls did another 10 minutes of warming up.  By the time we got to the starting line I was ready to just be done.  I'm not very good with waiting around after I am warmed up, and having to wait another 50 minutes to race wasn't good.  I ended up having a pretty good race though, and so do most of the other girls.  It was our first 5k race of the season, so we all know there is room to improve.  We stopped and got Subway after we were done, and some of the girls and I talked about 9/11 and politics, which usually doesn't happen with my friends.  It was a good discussion though.  In the van both the boys and girls talked about what other languages they could talk in, wanting to travel to places around the world, and football.  

Here's a video from the guys race at Defiance:

When we got back to campus, I took a nap, showered, and watched the OSU vs. Miami game!  I was very happy that OSU won.  (You'll learn that I am a BIG OSU fan!)  So it was a great day :)

Second Week, halfway done!

This week has been a busy one so far.  Monday, I had classes from 8-12, work from 12-1, lunch, then back to work from 2-3, class from 3-4, and then cross country practice at 4:15.  Needless to say, Monday was a hectic day and I was very stressed out.  During the run at practice, I had to seriously just get ahead of everyone and run on my own to clear my mind.  It helped out a lot and I was in a much better mood afterwards.  Yesterday and today have been much better.  I haven't been stressed out and have actually had time between classes, work, and practice to hangout with friends.

Last night, I played Mario Kart with my friends, Haleigh and Michael.  Let's just say it took me awhile to get my skills going at it.  I had a ton of fun though and it was just a nice way to relax after a hectic beginning of the week.  For being a girl, I do enjoy playing some video games.  Now, I won't play "Call of Duty" or games like that but I do enjoy playing games on the Wii, like Mario Kart, Super Smash Brothers, or even the Wii Sports Resort.  It is definitely a way to relieve stress during the school year and also a way to spend time with friends.  A lot of the guys on campus have a gaming system of some sort so there is definitely places to go hangout and play games.  That is of course after you do your homework. Haha

I am also loving this weather right now.  I thought it might be much warmer than it has been, but I am not complaining.  I enjoy fall weather so much more than summer weather.  I mean I do love my summer, but being here on campus during the fall is amazing, especially when all the trees start changing colors.  I am really looking forward to that.  This weather is also nice to run in, and it's supposed to be cooler this weekend, so the cross country meet should go well! =) 

Time of my Life

I seriously have been having the time of my life these past couple of days here.  I am having so much fun with my friends and with cross country.  I am telling you, this year is going to be a freaking awesome year!  


Last night was the faculty follies, which is when some of the faculty will put on performances or skits for the students at the beginning of the new school year.  The performances were great last night!  I enjoyed it so much. My favorite probably had to be Mark Bourassa's reading of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" song.  It was hilarious!  All the performances were great.  


I also had a cross country meet this morning at Goshen College over in Goshen, Indiana.  The race was not a normal 5k race that we usually run, but instead was a   Hokum Karem, which pretty much a relay race.  You have a partner and one of you run's a mile.  Then you slap hands to exchange and then the other person runs a mile.  We did three of those and the guys did five.  I love the team this year and it looks like it will be a good year.  I think times are going to improve each meet, which is exciting. Here are some pictures from the day:

Me on the way back to Bluffton after the race

Me, Alison, and Lyndsey
Love them! 

Goshen's Campus, well at least some of it

Ok well these were the hosts of tonight's Bluffton's Got Talent Show.  The one on the left is Zeke Tracy, and he is also writing a blog for Bluffton, so check him out sometime!

The Balloon that the Magician went into!!

Tonight, there was a Bluffton's got talent show as part of the welcome back festival on the lawn in front of Neufield.  That was pretty good.  Bluffton students are very talented.  After the talent show, there was a magician who was freaking amazing!!  The picture above shows just how big the balloon was, and hopefully I will post a video of him crawling into the balloon sometime soon!

Bluffton Volleyball!

Bluffton Volleyball vs. Adrian College

So I got most of the homework I needed to get done for Friday's classes, which meant I didn't have to worry about doing much homework tonight.  So instead of having to hang around the dorm room and read page after page of a book, my friends and I went to the volleyball season opener! I love watching Bluffton volleyball and so do my friends.  Last year, our team won the HCAC and went on to play in the NCAA tournament.  This year, they have high expectations, and from what I saw tonight, it should be another great season for the ladies! They beat Adrian 3-2.  It was an intense game as Bluffton lost the first set, but they were able to battle back and win the game.  I can't wait to go to more volleyball games this season.  You all should check their schedule on the Bluffton Beavers Athletic Page. Their next home match is against Mt. St. Joseph on September 22 at 7 in Founders Gym.  Mt. St. Joseph finished second to the Beavers last year, so it should be a great game.  I recommend checking a game out whenever you can!

Well, if you take a walk around campus during the day any week day now, you can definitely tell that students are in full swing of having classes and having homework to do.  Study groups are already starting to pop up in dorms, Bob's Place, and other places on campus.  I know I have already been busy with homework this week and the third day of classes just finished up today!  It is going to be a busy semester, but I know it will be a fun one also.  I am looking forward to the upcoming weeks.

Well that is it for now my fellow readers!

1st Day of Classes

Well ladies and gentleman, today was officially the start of the 2010-2011 school year here at Bluffton!  I have to say, I am looking forward to all of my classes this semester.  I am taking Spiritual Disciplines, The Biological World with a Lab, Principles of Accounting I, Fit for Life, and Principle of Macroeconomics.  I have a lot of reading to do, but I know I am going to enjoy all of the classes, so it won't be to bad having to read for them.  Word of advice, usually the first day of classes is just a day of going over what to expect for the semester.  Some professors will start some work, but it won't be to much, usually. haha Usually, having just a notebook and a folder with something to write with will be just fine for the first day.  Of course, I am only a sophomore, so I could be wrong when it comes to getting into the upper level courses.  Yet, for you perspective students, don't worry about having everything on the first day of classes.  You will have time to get more stuff after the first day. The bookstore is stocked with folders, notebooks, and other supplies that you may need for your classes.

Along with the first day of classes today, I also had cross country practice in the afternoon after all my classes were done.  Let's just say it was a hot day for a run.  Our team went out to the nature preserve to run because it is very shaded there.  All the girls held up pretty well to.  Our team is looking pretty good this year, and I have to say I am really excited for the season to start.  First meet is on Saturday!! :)  Now with classes started, I am getting back into the routine of balancing homework, practice, hanging out with friends, and work.  Now, work for me doesn't start until Thursday, but I know I am going to be busy this semester with everything going on.  Learning how to balance between your activities and homework is just a part of college.  It takes a couple of weeks to get into a routine, and then you'll be fine.

This week is also welcome back week.  Every night this week there is something going on on campus.  Tonight, there is shaving cream whiffle ball.  I remember last year when some of my friends where playing and one of them slipped and fell running to third base.  All of the bases are just made of shaving cream, which makes it that more exciting to play.  Tomorrow night, there is Dutch Blitz!  One of my favorite card games to play with my friends!!  Then Wednesday night is the Minute to Win It game, Thursday is a photo scavenger hunt, and Friday night there is bowling for a buck at the bowling alley here in Bluffton.  Happening all day Saturday is the Welcome Back Festival.  It's going to be a busy campus this week!

Everything is in full swing here, and I am so excited!!  :)

Introduction

Hey, so this is my first entry on my new blog.  How exciting!  This blog is going to be used to share with all you readers what is going on at Bluffton University and how life is for a college student.  I am really looking forward to posting blogs on here for everyone to read.

Ok now for an introduction.  Hence why the title of this post is "Introduction." My name is Katy and I am a sophomore this year at Bluffton.  I run cross country and track for the Beavers.  I also am on the Spiritual Life Week Committee this year, which organizes a week in October dedicated to growing more closely to God.  I am planning to do some more things this year to, like play some intramural sports and join some other organizations.  It should be a good year.

My family consist of my mother, father, and my younger sister who will be a senior this year in high school.  They are all loving and supportive of me in everything I do. I love my family like crazy.

Well, classes here at Bluffton don't start until Monday, but I moved in yesterday for cross country pre-season week.  I love being able to move in early because I don't have to fight the hassle that is move in day for the rest of the students, which will be happening this weekend.  The dorms do get crazy with everyone trying to move in their things.

Well, that's all that I am going to write for now.  I am really looking forward to posting more blogs on here.  It is going to be a fun year here at Bluffton University! :)