If you ask me: being a real adult starts with the small stuff
By Julia Swain
I distinctly remember the moment I finally felt like a “real adult.” I had already been 21 for four months, standing in the middle of the Apple Store in Naperville, Illinois, with a broken phone clutched in my hand. I explained the issue, prayed for a cheap fix and waited while they took it back. Moments later, the employee returned with an apologetic look and informed me my phone was a goner.
Never had I felt more like an adult than when I swiped my debit card to buy ...
If you ask me: what’s so wrong with changing your major?
By Julia Swain
For many college students, the question of “What’s your major?” carries a lot of weight. It’s often asked with the expectation that your answer reveals who you are and where you’re headed. But what happens when that answer changes? Why is shifting direction still treated as a sign of failure instead of growth?
I remember vividly returning from a mission trip this past March that challenged my idea of what I wanted to do after graduation, and sharing that inform...
If you ask me: college isn’t the best four years, and that’s okay
By Julia Swain
Some days—like today, strolling around the lake with a coffee under the warm sun—I can’t help but love college. I love the freedom (or at least as close to freedom as I can get living in a dorm and having classes all day), I love getting to spend my flex dollars on a coffee from Rinnova and pretending I’m a “real adult” with a morning routine. I love bumping into friends between classes and knowing there’s always someone to wave to across the lake.
Then ...
Letter from the editor
Dear Reader,
If you find yourself a member of the class of 2026 like me, you might also be wondering: How did we get here so fast? One minute, we were figuring out who to sit with in chapel and what foods to avoid in Chucks, and now we’re seniors watching the freshmen figure things out for themselves.
As I step into this year as Editor-in-Chief of Cedars, I can’t help but think about how fast these four years (or 1000 days) go, and how important it is to capture them while we ...
Just Sayin’: The case for better small talk
By: Maggie Fipps
College students are lazy.
Yes, that was a ploy to get you to keep reading. Sorry, not sorry.
College students are not lazy in the stereotypical, lay-around-on-the-couch-eating-nothing-but-junk-food-way, although the number of episodes of Gilmore Girls I watched this weekend is a little alarming.
They are lazy in their small talk.
Just think about the times you met someone new this semester. Whether you are a freshman or a senior, the first ...
Student takes: When is it too early to listen to Christmas music?
By Jewell Strock
Songs like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” and “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole are staples when it comes to the Christmas season. But when should one start listening to Christmas music? Some start as soon as it turns into November 1, and others start strictly after Thanksgiving.
At Cedarville University the opinions vary as to when the “right time” is to begin the Christmas song season.
Sophomore Music Education major ...
Letter from the editor
Dear Reader,
I have a confession. At least once a week, I ask myself the question: Why am I in journalism school?
As a well-informed, reading-literature-in-my-field, journalist-in-training, (those are definitely all compound modifiers) it’s impossible to avoid headlines like “ESPN Parts Ways with Another Longtime Host After Mass Layoffs” or “The Athletic Lays Off 20 Journalists in Reorganization.” The landscape of journalism, not just on college campuses, is shifting under my ...
Opinion: Why we should consider consuming stories with a worldview focus
By Ben Konuch
When was the last time you watched something you completely disagreed with? Was it a movie or series that said something about a value that you inherently stand against, or perhaps a character that showcased behavior that you fundamentally can’t agree with? People are faced with concepts and themes in media that they disagree with all the time, and it often causes them to pull back and withdraw to a piece of media that’s seen as more comfortable ground.
But ...
Just Sayin’: On valuing the insignificant
By Heidie (Raine) Senseman
Everything in my life has felt so intense lately.
This winter, I vowed myself in marriage (a wonderful and sobering commitment); and I sent graduateschool applications to 11 universities (my future rests in these); and I completed an internship to see ifI’d enjoy being a professor (spoiler: yes); and I began the process of changing my name (very emotional,if you were wondering); and I opened up a TD Ameritrade account (made me feel 45); and I’m realizingt...
On Spring Weather
By Heidie (Raine) Senseman
April is the cruelest month, breeding
lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
memory and desire, stirring
dull roots with spring rain.
-T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land
Let’s begin with a brief lesson in literary interpretation.
When T.S. Eliot wrote of April’s cruelty in his five-part, 434-line poetic masterpiece, he wrote with a mixture of irony and sincerity. Ironic: that April’s renewal and life strike us as more nurturing than cruel. Sincere: ...
