Dance Party

What is it about college that makes people want to dance? I think it's the confidence and unconditional respect that people have for each other. There's that rhythmic beat in each of us, but often times people are too embarrassed to bust a move. College, though, brings out that inner dancer in all of us. This became very apparent at the MCB Mardi Gras Party last Tuesday. Beads, masks, food, and all, we danced the night away for hours while celebrating "Fat Tuesday" in Bob's Place. We had so much fun just letting loose and forgetting about homework for awhile. We were all dancing together and whether or not we would be classified as "good dancers" , we just laughed at each other and had a blast. It's amazing how much people grow into themselves while in college. For me, high school was a time where I really thought about my moves and what people thought of me. In the dance realm, that often meant settling for a little sway back and forth at PROM. College has finally taught me, though, that being myself is so liberating, and in the dance realm, that definitely means dancing like no one is watching! I love having fun with friends, and for me and my friends, dancing is a great way to laugh and enjoy each other's company.

Spring Break is only a week away, so campus is buzzing with excitement. This has been a fun weekend of hanging out with friends and attending random campus evens like the "Penny Party" a carnival type activity that drew a ton of people to the gym - what good times :)

Until next time... dance like nobody's watching :)

Mary

Oh What a Weekend

How amazing was this weekend? Sooo amazing!

It started off Friday night with a trip with MCB (the activity planning board on campus) to a Dayton Bombers Hockey Game. It was so fun to ride down there with about 30 students and watch a great hockey game. Me and one of my friends bought these foam fingers and really got into the game, making it even more of a great time.

Saturday I went to a comedy day that the radio station put on. For like 3 hours I watched stand up comedy and ate pizza with friends - such a great time! Saturday night I went out for dinner and coffee and had a blast just hanging out and talking. I love getting to know people better and college is such a great venue for that. There is so much time to just talk with people and learn who they are what they are about. That is one of my favorite things about college - the opportunity that is there to really get to know people. After dinner and coffee, me and another friend just sat up and "girl talked" all night, which was fun, of course.

On Sunday I pretty much just hung around all day, playing in the snow with some girls. We had a blast - the snow really brings out the "little kid" in us. We just went sledding and jumped around in the snow all afternoon...what fun! Then in the evening I went to dinner and walmart with a friend.

This was pretty close to the perfect weekend! I got to hang out with people all weekend long and it was so nice to relax and enjoy being with friends.

Have a great week!
Until next time,

Mary

CRUSH WEEK CRAZINESS!

Hello!

Happy Valentine's Day! Or, as we are saying in my Residence Hall... Happy Crush Day! Our Hall Association started what we hope will become a Bluffton tradition, CRUSH WEEK. We have been selling orange and purple Crush sodas to people that can send them to whoever they would like on campus. They write a cute little tag, tell us if they want purple or orange, and today was delivery day. It was fun delivering them to make everyone's days! I love little things like Crush Week that make Bluffton so fun. We had a little dance party in my room after they were delivered and we sang Mandy Moore's "Crush" into Crush soda bottles...how fun :).

It's been a crazy, but fun past week and a half. I had the LDP retreat this weekend, which was for all of the leaders on campus. It was a blast to just hang out and have fun with other people at a camp nearby.

I am super pumped for a fun upcoming weekend too - out to a hockey game in Dayton, and fun with people all weekend long! I'm obviously in a "low homework load" time right now, which is nice. Homework kind of comes in waves... it stinks when there's a lot, but it's so nice when there's not much :)

The talk of campus this week has been the Winter Blast '07! It's been crazy walking through campus in the blizzardy conditions. Everyone is working on staying warm and dry, but it's been really fun watching everyone play in the snow.

Stay Warm,

Mary

Staying Warm...

There is no doubt about it - it is downright COLD outside! Bluffton's keeping it warm with activities though. This week is Spiritual Life Week and there are tons of great things going on. Tonight we're having some worship time with coffee and cookies, we're having some worship stations around our student union later in the week, we also have card making, movie watching, and a whole lot of fun. There is a Spiritual Life Week each semester and they are always a ton of fun. I love the religious life aspect of this campus. Everything is voluntary, which for me, makes it so much more powerful. Students are participating in religious life activities because they WANT to, not because they have to. I have grown a lot in my faith here at Bluffton and this community does an amazing job of fostering that growth. There are so many different ways of getting involved in the religious life activities on campus, it seems as though there is something for everyone. It's just one more amazing thing about Bluffton...

picture: last year's Spiritual Life Week Committee.

Until next time,

Mary

Formal!

This weekend was formal, which always proves to be a great time hanging out and dancing with friends. All morning all of us girls were getting ready and doing each other's hair. Half the fun of dances like this is getting ready all day with friends. Then, 17 of us went together to Findlay to eat at Max and Erma's. We were there for quite awhile waiting and stuff, but it was a great place to eat, and we had a good time having dinner. After that we headed to the dance. It was such a good time to dance the night away with friends. Formal is always such a blast - I'm already excited for next year!

This morning a group of us ventured out onto the snowy roads for church. We went to see Shining Through, which is the musical ministry team here on campus. They did a program at a church not too far from campus. It was such a powerful performance, and I love seeing friends perform and worship together.

This has been a great weekend. I love weekends on Bluffton's campus...there is always something to do! I love just experiencing life with wonderful people and Bluffton's campus is so awesome at building that community of people to live together. What fun!

Until next time,

Mary

We are going MAD!

Marbeck After Dark (MAD) has officially kicked off on Bluffton's campus. A committee of four (myself included) have taken the initiative to start a Friday night program oncampus. Marbeck Center Board (MCB - the activity planning board on campus) often has events on Friday nights, but the four of us (all MCB members) have commited to having events going on from 10:00p.m.-2:00a.m. every single Friday night. Events include things like Euchre tournaments, crafts, movie showings, open mic nights, giant dutch blitz, etc. This week we had an open mic night, along with a dutch blitz tournament and giant dutch blitz! There were at least 60 people there having a blast all night long - a great turnout for the first MAD ever. These events are free to students and a great way to take a break from studying on Friday night and have fun with friends. Fun is never hard to find at Bluffton.
Here is a picture from the loft of everyone hanging out at MAD.

I also love that first time that this beautiful campus is blanketed with snow, so I wanted to share :).

Until next time,
-Mary

A New Beginning

Well, we're all back and ready to begin a new semester. What will classes be like? Will I join anymore activities? What adventures will me and my friends embark on? All exciting questions to ponder...

So far classes are wonderful. Now that I'm a junior I feel like I'm really getting into the exciting major classes and getting to the gut of my communication major and business minor.

Life in the halls is a blast this time of the year because nobody has much homework to work on as classes are just beginning, so everyone has time to hang out and just enjoy being together. The picture you see is one of some friends playing Yahtzee! It's amazing living with friends so close, it's like one big long hang out session :). That's one of the best things about college... you live with all of your friends!

Until next time...

Mary :)