Thursday afternoon I left Bethel for Christmas Break. This break is also the end of fall semester at Bethel College. I left Bethel about 3pm on Thursday, went home for about 10 minutes, and then went to my youngest sister’s basketball game in Whitewater. I got home late that evening and had a little bit of time to relax. The next day, Friday, I left at 1pm for my Camp Mennoscah summer staff reunion. I just got back from that a few hours ago. Of course, if was super fun! But, I am now back at home and do not have to go anywhere. I can sit and read a book or take a nap if I want to. While I have many things I need to do this week, for now I am just reveling in this time off.

As I think back on this past semester at Bethel, I realize that I grew in many ways. This was a very busy semester for me. My classes were no harder than usual, but I had a lot more hours than I was used to. At times I was very challenged deciding how to keep a good balance between school work and socializing. There were many days that I went to class, went to work, and then studied the rest of the evening. Sometimes this frustrated me. But, I am very happy with how my semester went. Hard work may be boring at times, but worth it in the end.

Though I was not able to socialize as much as I wanted, I still grew a lot closer to many people. I had never lived with four of the girls in my mod, and did not know very much about them. I grew to appreciate these four girls not just as nice people, but for the unique aspects that I soon learned about each one of them. I also expanded my overall friendships at Bethel; some people I did not know very well have become very good friends.

As the end of the semester winds down, a lot of us find ourselves reflecting over what happened over the course of the semester. From memories made, those laugh-until-your-face hurt moments, to maybe even those that you wish you could forget, now is the time a lot of us do that. And I was doing that today as well. After I took my one and only final of the day, I started thinking about this semester, how it all began, and what I thought at the beginning of the semester, compared to what I think now.

The first day I was on campus, I had told myself that I wasn’t going to let anyone know that I was any different than any other student on campus. I wasn’t going to let them find out I was 26 years old. I wasn’t going to let them find out that I am a single mother to two kids. I wasn’t going to let them know that my college history of getting to the point where I am now was a rough road. As well, I never thought that I’d make real friends here…..

So what changed? Shortly after the first few weeks, people started coming out of their shell. As did I. I still wasn’t able to open up to a lot of people, but there were starting to be cracks in my cover-up and conseal. I met two other students who were moms. One of them confided to me that only a few other people knew. That’s when it struck me. Since when is being a mom so bad? Why was I trying to hide my children from this part of my life? When did having children, suddenly seem like the worst thing ever?

As time progressed, I lost my mask that I was so adamant about having the first few weeks of school. I told people I was a mom to two wonderful children named Emma and Luke. After I let them know, they could see that I put them as a top priority in my life. I brought them to a football game, and brought them to trick-or-treat off the street. And these people that I had been going to school with, were treating my kids as an extension of me. They treated my children with the same kind of kindness and respect that they had treated me with.

And suddenly, I felt like a fool for trying to cover up who I am.

I took off the mask, and started being me. Me…Mallory. Mallory with the kids. Mallory with the curly frizzy red hair. Mallory who is 26, but still feels like I belong here. Mallory who has more than her fair share of blonde moments….. And I came to find out, that people still liked the real Mallory, 26 with two kids, and all.

And I have the students to thank for that. Thank you for making me realize that the shell I had put up to “protect” me, was in fact hindering me from my Bethel experience.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this blog contains tips to relieve stress because this is a busy week for Bethel students, staff and faculty as they are wrapping up the end of the semester. Also, even if you aren’t at Bethel, people deal with stress in their lives each and every day. I hope you find this blog relevant and helpful for you! Even if you have heard of these tips before, sometimes it helps me to be reminded of them!

The following are tips that  I found from an online article at Webmd.com.

The first tip is to Meditate. This only takes a few minutes out of your day. In this article it states that there is research that suggests daily meditation may alter the brain’s neural pathways. This altering makes you more resilient to stress.

The second tip is the simple task of Breathing Deeply. This task also does not take a lot of time out of your day. When you get to the point of very high stress, take a step back from what you’re doing and concentrate on breathing deeply with your eyes closed. Inhale through your nose and then exhale out of your mouth. Breathing deeply helps slow your heart rate and lower blood pressure which helps counter the effects of stress.

Another helpful hint mentioned in this article was to Reach Out. Being able to talk to people from your support system is a very important resource for dealing with stress and is a tip that I persona

Another easy stress reliever is to Be Grateful. How does being grateful help relieve stress may you ask? Well when you are thinking about the things you are thankful for it cancels out the negative thoughts and worries. I know I have a lot to be thankful for so this is an easy tip for me!lly use a lot. I have a great family and a great mod full of girls that I can talk to when I get stressed and need to vent!

The last fun stress reliever tip that I will leave you with I also found on Webmd.com. This article listed foods that also reduce stress as well! These foods include:

– Complex carbs (whole grain breakfast cereals, breads, pastas)

– Oranges

– Spinach

– Pistachios

– Avocados

– Raw Veggies

-… And More!

This is finals week! Lots of stress, crying, and studying. Maybe it is not that bad, but it’s quite intense!  To get away from all of the stress I decided to ask all of my mod mates what they are doing over Christmas Break. Except Michelle Unruh, because she is taking a final right now… oops!

Katelyn Melgren- Her mom’s side of the family is coming to town and staying with Katelyn’s family for a few days. They will be going to the Christmas Eve service at her church. They will also have an extended family grab bag with the stipulation that the gift has to be related to food. Christmas with her dad’s family will be the following weekend, over New Years, and they will have a grab bag gift exchange with the theme of silly slippers.

Alli Rudeen- She is going home to Osage City. Later, she will come back to this area for her mom’s side family Christmas in Moundridge. This will be a rather large party of 20+ people. Her brother and sister in law, Aaron and Rachel, will also be coming home from where they live in Oregon. At some point, Alli will have Christmas with her dad’s family in Kansas City. In addition to these plans, Alli is going to catch up with some high school friends before they go to study abroad, read some books, get excited for her interterm trip to Europe, and not think about school for three weeks. Of course, she is hoping for some shopping trips with her mom, also!

Alyssa Scheuerman- She and her other two siblings will all be travelling home for this break. Then Alyssa is going to Iowa to see her grandparents.  She is excited to make candy with her mom and help her dad chore. More importantly, she is excited for all of her siblings to be together, because it will be the first time since last Christmas.

Madelyn Weaver- She is going to stay in Hesston and spend a lot of time with her family. She will be having a Weaver and Lehman Christmas also. The Weaver Christmas is at her house and the Lehman Christmas will most likely be at her grandparents in Florence, KS. They will bake sugar cookies, and on Christmas Eve they will eat a special raclette meal, which is a Swiss tradition that her family has.

Allie Hipp- She is going to visit her grandparents in Ellis, KS. Her extended family will have a grab bag and,yes, present stealing is allowed. The stealing can sometimes get very intense, so hopefully she will survive the break ;). When she is not having fun, she will be working with her dad on the farm. Allie also has a lot of presents to wrap because she has already finished her Christmas present shopping! Apparently this lady knows how to black Friday shop!

My plans, you ask? I will be going home for a few days, and then traveling to California with my parents and siblings. We will be staying with my grandparents and having a wonderful Christmas there! I think skiing may be in the line up… which I have never done! Then around New Years Day, we will head home, right in time for interterm to start.

This past Friday was the Winter Gala. This is like a Christmas prom or semi formal for college students. It was a VERY chilly evening which made walking to and from the events of the night a little uncomfortable but despite the bitter cold, I had a wonderful time!

 

 

 

It started off with a dinner served in Memorial Hall by faculty and staff. The decorations were beautiful and the food was delicious. There was also a place up on stage decorated  for taking pictures with your dates and friends.  After the meal was the Jazz concert. My friends and I went to listen and it was a great performance done by the jazz students here at Bethel. There was also supposed to be horse-drawn carriage rides but unfortunately because of the cold they were canceled. After the Jazz performance we headed to President White’s house for cookies and hot drinks! Again, the snacks were delicious and they also had a Santa that you could take a picture with which was fun! Following all of these activities was the last event of the night: the dance.

The evening was fun but waking up the next day I, along with many others had to start focusing on the finals waiting for us once the weekend was over. I’ve spent a lot of my time ever since in the library and Mojo’s, but the end is in sight!

Last year around finals time I began blogging about “stress buster tips” to help get students through finals, professors through their end-of-the semester work, and for anyone else who is dealing with a lot of stress. I decided that I will include a little bit of that this semester so be looking for my next blog about ways to reduce your stress!

This Thanksgiving break has been different than all my other years at Bethel. Instead of getting Wednesday through the weekend off, we got a whole week off starting last Saturday. At first I was a little bit skeptical about the break because I would have rather had our normal Thanksgiving Break and add the rest of those days on to Christmas break to make it longer. However, being able to have this longer break has been really nice! I’ve been able to put a lot of time into projects I need to get done that I might not have had without the extension of break while also being able to spend plenty of time with my family. 

At the beginning of break I took a day or two to just relax, then I worked hard on a take home test, being able to spend big chunks of time on it to get it done. Then I was able to take a few days off for the actual holiday. I was able to spend time with family and extended family for Thanksgiving, eat DELICIOUS food, talk about things we are thankful for, watch basketball and football, set up our Christmas tree, make Christmas goodies etc. Now, I have time to take another day to focus on homework to get the rest of it done so I can relax the last couple days of break.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you were able to remember everything you are thankful for and spend this holiday with people you are thankful for!

Today, the theme of our chapel service was Thankfulness. 

One of the points that was brought up among the speakers was being thankful for the little things. This was a good reminder for me. I get so stressed with school work and the end of the semester that I forget to take time to step back and be thankful for some of the little things that I take for granted. These are things such as even being able to attend Bethel College, to get the college education, to have a laptop to write my papers on. To be thankful for my health, that I have all of the necessities and so much more. That I have such wonderful support systems in my life including my family and friends. 

Last year, I wrote a blog about what I was thankful for and so I wanted include its contents here because it is still applicable along with a few additions. As you read the reasons that I am thankful, take time to think about what you are thankful for, including the smaller things you may, like me, have taken for granted.

In this season of Thanksgiving I thought it appropriate to write a blog about the things that I am thankful for about Bethel. Thus I have titled my blog “A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart” which comes from Veggie Tales and one of their songs called “The Thankfulness Song.” (If you are interested in seeing/hearing the scene with the song in it here it is!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhcI-HXicwY!

I am thankful for the tennis team and am excited to begin our spring season together.

I am thankful for the choral groups I am a part of and the tremendous music we make together.

I am thankful there are study rooms in the library available when I need a place of peace and quiet to study.

I am thankful for Mojos and their tasty drinks and delicious cinnamon rolls! (Who also have a great environment for studying).

I am thankful Bethel is such a nice campus, small enough to feel like a close-knit community.

I am thankful for my whole mod of girls: Alli Rudeen, Katelyn Melgren, Alyssa Scheuerman, Melinda Regehr, Michelle Unruh and my roomate Allie Hipp. We have such fun times together, even if it is sometimes getting on each other to study:). 

I am thankful that Bethel is close to home so I can still see my immediate and extended family often (and come home for laundry and my mom’s delicious cooking!)

I am thankful that my sister Miranda although now graduated from Bethel and married, is still in the area so we can have frequent lunches together. 

I am thankful for the professors and their dedication to their students and their availability to help on an individual basis.

I am thankful for friendships that I have built on campus along with closer relationships within my mod.

I am thankful for the beautiful scenery on campus, especially with the new landscaping they have completed thus far.

I am thankful for the “little things” that I mentioned above.

And last but definitely not least, I am thankful for simply having the opportunity to attend Bethel College. 

As a student who just recently came down with an Influenza/Pneumonia bug, let me tell you, it was horrible, and miserable. So in this particular blog, allow me to share some helpful hints to you, remind you of some that you may have forgotten over the winter months, and hopefully, you’ll stear clear of coming down sick. Pretty soon we will be gearing up for finals, and you don’t want to be fighting off a sickness, cramming all kinds of information into your head, and taking tests all at the same time.

1. Remember to wash your hands often. Granted, this will make your hands more rough and dry, which although, is much better than being sick. However, as a remedy for those dry hands, they have invented a wonderful thing called Body Butter. This will help keep dry skin on those hands you are washing twenty times a day more moisturized.

2. Eat healthy, especially foods rich in Vitamin C, Zinc, and Iron. This will help keep your immune system up, and more ready and able to fight that bug before it fights you.

3. Getting adequate sleep. I know this is especially hard during finals time, when you are staying up later and cramming your brain full of knowledge you swear you will never need.

4. Keeping hydrated. Drinking lots of water will help flush any toxins.

5. Try thinking positive thoughts….surprisingly this helps a lot. Negative energy will bring you down, everyone knows that. If you think sad thoughts, you become sad right? So think healthy thoughts, like “I will feel my upmost best today” (kinda cheesy I know, but hey, if it keeps the flu away, its worth the shot right?!) Cancer patients often times visualize themselves well. Even though you may not be suffering from cancer, why not apply the same thinking power to just a regular sickness that you are trying to stear clear of?

I wish all Bethel Students a healthy pre-final time! Stay well! And if you do get sick, recognize the symptoms and cut yourself some slack. And if it gets really bad….see the doctor instead of spreading your sickness to other students!

While your Facebook might be covered in your friends’ statuses giving thanks during the month of November, I thought I’d do my own version of what I’m thankful for, as a student of Bethel College. After four years here I have a lot to be thankful for, so check out my list:

1. I’m thankful for the opportunity to attend a college and especially one with as much prestige as Bethel. It’s the only private college in Kansas to be ranked on Forbes.com as one of “America’s Best Colleges,” now that’s pretty awesome!

2. I’m thankful for the professors and staff that help make Bethel such a wonderful place. I’ve been privileged to have many that encourage me to become a better student and more importantly a better person. They’ve taught me a great deal about the world and exposed me to new ideas.

3. I’m thankful to be able to play on the basketball team and along with that be coached by some great people. I’m lucky just to have the opportunity to play a collegiate sport. My coaches  at Bethel have confidence in me and push me everyday to get better.

4. In addition to that I’m thankful for the friends I’ve made on and off the court. The ladies I play with motivate me daily and inspire me to work harder. My friends are always there for me when I need to vent, study, or take a break from the stresses of college. They help me to be more outgoing and allow me to enjoy my time here.

5.  I’m thankful to live on a beautiful campus that is also abundant in squirrels (I have an obsession with them). It is truly a gorgeous campus and one that I’m pretty proud of.

6.  I’m thankful to have a cafeteria that is full of friendly people and a food service director, Nolan Corne who works to make it a welcoming place (especially on Halloween). The cafeteria has improved significantly since I first came here and for that I am extremely thankful!

7. Another part of my Bethel experience has been the time spent with my host family. Ron and Carol Peters who welcome several students into their home for meals and come support our many events. They can be spotted in the stands of basketball games or crowds of music concerts, usually bearing goodies for us!

8. While I have many things to be thankful for at this college, I’m especially thankful to be a part of this wonderful community. It is supportive of the students and provides a space for lasting relationships. I’m thankful to be a student at Bethel College and that I am able to enjoy all it has to offer.

~Samantha