Letter to my Freshman self
Dear Freshman Jen,
You may not believe me, but you are a very selfish, prideful person. I know, I know — a large part of your identity was being the sweet, humble Christian girl at your public high school. Still, you have no idea what you need to learn and what you are going to learn during your four years at Cedarville University.
One of your first opportunities to learn humility will be living with a roommate. Because you have two older brothers and no sisters, you’ve never had to do ...
Just Sayin’ – Changing and Growing
Welcome, newcomers, to the beginning of your ride as a Cedarville Yellow Jacket. In many ways, college is like a bike ride. Everything starts out well, the wind is blowing through your hair and the sun is shining, but after you reach the first hill you start to think, “What have I done? I’ve made a terrible mistake.” You keep pedaling, however, and a few miles down the road you think back to all those doubts and you wonder what happened to the space in between.
It flew by, because you ...
Just Sayin’…On Endings
“How did it get late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon,” Dr. Seuss wrote. “December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”
How did it get late so soon? How did the time go by so fast? I remember setting foot on campus in August 2012, wearing my LeBron James T-shirt. I remember walking through all the buildings, getting my picture taken for my student ID, connecting my laptop to Cedarville’s wireless network ...
Just Sayin’…On Uncertainty
The waters of the future are cloudy. Murky. Foreboding. If life were a 14th century map, the future would be the oceans labeled “Here be monsters.”
As a senior, my future is especially unclear. I’m currently applying for jobs. Wyoming, Missouri, Idaho. Alaska and Maine and everything in between (except for the District of Columbia, Florida and California). I’m just throwing myself at walls to see which one I stick to best. Meanwhile, I’m working on a novel on the side. I don’t ...
Begin a ‘Galentine’s Day’ Tradition This Year
Everyone knows February 14 is Valentine’s Day, but February 13 is a lesser-known holiday: Galentine’s Day. Originating in 2010 from the NBC comedy, “Parks and Recreation,” Galentine’s Day is the perfect foil for Valentine’s Day.
While February 14 is about romantic relationships, February 13 is about celebrating friendships, so you can celebrate it regardless of your relationship status. According to Pawnee Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope, “It’s ...
Just Sayin’: Childlike Wonder
Albert Einstein is quoted as saying that there are two ways to live life: “One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
Children are experts at the latter, and I’m jealous of them for it. The reason they live as though everything is a miracle, I think, is because of the way they view the world. Many of the things you experience as a kid, you experience for the first time.
But if you see a miracle happen often enough, it’s easy to lose sight ...
A Look at Election 2016
The 2016 general election is fast approaching, though some might wish it would get here faster since we have been hearing from the candidates and potential candidates for a year now. To think Canadians were tired after 11 weeks! But this election is important, for good reasons.
Let me say beforehand that not all of the problems Americans face can be laid at the feet of the president, or any president for that matter. Culture has shifted to a degree I haven’t seen since my very young days ...
Just Sayin’: Be Thankful
It’s November. Leaves are piling up on the grass. The wind has chased away every last bit of warmth that October was stubbornly holding on to. The rain clouds change the sky from blue to gray, casting a wet shadow over the whole week.
Assignments are piling up. Finals lie on the distant horizon. Pumpkin spice is making its annual comeback, only to go into extended hibernation in a few weeks.
The only thing getting you through the month is the return of Christmas. You’ve started ...
What’s Happening to the World?
It’s no secret that the Cedarville bubble is seemingly impenetrable by news.
You may catch a glimpse of FOX News or ESPN as you walk by the SSC Info Desk or work out in the fitness center. You attend chapel and pray for the tragedies that hit close to home, the people who are suffering. You skim Twitter and Facebook, catching the breaking news and click-bait stories composed of cats and GIFs. You may “like” or “favorite” the post, but odds are you do so without reading more than ...
Just Sayin’: Love Intentionally
“When you die, the only kingdom you’ll see is two-footwide and sixfoot deep ... I’ll bow for your king when he shows himself,” screams Oli Sykes of Bring Me the Horizon in the song “House of Wolves.”
Sykes, an outspoken atheist, has never been one to shy away from his hate for religion. On “Crooked Young,” he takes another shot at Christians, saying, “Death is the only salvation for me.”
We’re all looking for truth, whether we know it or not. Some people look for it ...
