Freshman Blog

Right now, my mind is so full of stuff that I'm not totally sure what this blog is going to end up being about... I'll have to title it after I finish.  Here goes.

Let's talk about last night.

"I'm going to Jessca's room; we're going to do some studying and stuff," my roommate Whitney informed me.

That was just fine, because I was doing homework myself.  A little alone time never hurt anyone, right?  So I sat on my bed, much like right now, completely engrossed in what I was doing. 

Suddenly, the lights began to flicker and everything went black... except for my computer screen of course. 

I reached over and grabbed the flashlight out of my desk drawer and headed to the hall. There was NO way I was staying in my room by myself.  Even when I'm here alone on the weekends, I sleep with most of the lights on, so you could only imagine how scared I was in the pitch black.

I was all alone, and my teeth were chattering.

I made it to the lobby, where I discovered the RA on duty, Brittany holding onto a freshman Faith, for dear life.  "I don't know what to do and I'm scared!" she frantically exclaimed.   I handed her my flashlight as freshmen began to stumble their way to the lobby.

It was all kind of a blur for a while after that... well, not really a blur, because we couldn't see anything.  Nevertheless, somehow most of the Kirtley residents ended up outside.

Star gazing with Judson Sisters was a blessing.

Except for when everyone left me, and I couldn't figure out where they were.  Whitney had been staying pretty close to me, but suddenly she took off.  I would see her every once in a while, but never enough to figure out how to get to anyone.  It was a nightmare! But she thought it was hilarious.

Eventually I found a group on the stairs of the "J."  While everyone was discussing the scariness of a lightless Marion, Mrs. Fowler was yelling at security and innocent Judson ladies to "TURN OFF YOUR FLASHLIGHTS!" so that she could look for shooting stars.

She saw, like, 20.

The power finally came back on after about two hours.  Our midnight blackout had been made complete by an ambulance ride, a couple of stressed and petty arguments, and a building full of frightened freshmen.

Well, I guess that will be my title. :)

Ever since the first time I stepped onto the beautiful campus of Judson College, I knew about the Sisterhood.  I knew its bonds were strong - an unexplainable mortar.  I realize that I've talked a lot about "sisterhood" in past blogs, but to be honest... I can't talk about Judson at all without talking about the Sisterhood.  They are synonymous.

Having only been at Judson four-ish months, I've experienced only a handful of traditions; and as each one comes and goes, our friendships grow more and more resilient. 

We are one.

Among us, there is no race (which is no longer a scientifically accurate term, according to Dr. Wilson! - See I WAS paying attention!)  Judson is home to girls from the Bahamas and Burma; it is also represented by ladies with Puerto Rican backgrounds, as well as Middle Eastern.  (All of us end up Southern Belles though!)

In the Sisterhood, there is no age limit.  Regardless of their team's name ("The Geriatrics"), the alumnae field hockey team beat the all-star team 1-0.  Later on, current Judson girls and graduated Sisters harmonized angelically together throughout several Step Sing songs.

We unite in Christian love, without denominational boundaries.  My roommate's Assembly of God beliefs, bond with my Baptist views, and are accompanied by an array of Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, and many more to create an interesting aspect to the Judson Mosaic.  We are not only Judson Sisters, but also Sisters in Christ.

Our bond is resistant, and durable through even the wildest of rides and fiercest of storms. 

This week has been especially traumatizing for one sister in particular, experiencing a terrible panic attack on one day and hearing grave news about her mom's cancer the following day.

I doubt any of us have ever experienced "family" like we did in the minutes after she received the phone call.

We knew not what to say.

We had no idea what to do.

We just held her, and gave her tears some company.

I now realize what Sisterhood is all about.  It's not about the traditions.  It's not about field hockey, though we've all become addicts in the past few weeks.  It's not about study groups, soccer teams, or bass fishing classes. 

It's about family.

I stink when I play ultimate Frisbee, hands down.  Something about flying discs makes me want to duck rather than catch!  I'm never a really aggressive player in any sport really.... I'm not all that fond of running/jumping in general.  I'm just not very good.  So I figured I wouldn't be very good at field hockey either.

At Judson, we play field hockey.  Hockey Day is one the most loved traditions at Judson, and committed hockey players are working on their skills every week, Monday through Thursday.  My first time to practice was a few weeks ago... And I wasn't very good to start off with. 

As I said before, I'm not very fond of running, so the first few times around I played full back, the last line of defense before the goalie.  Easy, right? 

Well, I was kind of shy, and of course, not very aggressive, so some upperclassmen scored on us newbies a couple of times.  Then, one of the forwards (an offensive player that runs the full length of the field, several times throughout the game) got tired... imagine that.  So I swapped with her, praying she'd have a quick recovery.  Little did I know that I was an offensive player at heart.  I wasn't a big-time scorer, but I got the ball to the right people.

And the freshman class has a LOT of "right people."

First of all, there's Sau.  She's a 20-something-year-old freshman from Burma.  A friend to all, she's here to study English.  Sau is by far, the BEST player.  She is extremely aggressive and can snatch the ball away from her opponent at any given time.  Sau is a beast at EVERY position, with her cute little accent.

Then there's Sally... Her and I have been friends pretty much since the beginning.  Sally normally enjoys playing goalie, and is the bomb at it, but every now and then she plays up in order to give others a rest.   She's great at leading biology study sessions.  Her hockey field knee-wound looked just like metaphase.

Kimberly is Sally's roommate, and a dedicated and studious biology major who enjoys getting to blow off a little steam.  She's a pleasant person; some would even call her delightful... But then she picks up a hockey stick and walks onto the field.  All I can say is RUN.

Laura is probably the most surprising hockey player.  She's an extremely quiet biology major (can you tell it consumes our lives?) who also obviously has a lot of steam to blow off.  She usually plays full back, and is pretty good at it... except when she forgets where her goal is! She's one of the latest players, and she's definitely blossoming as a full back.

Hockey is definitely something that all Judson girls, current students AND alumnae, should be involved in. 

If their schedules allow, that is...

Do it for those of us who can only do it one day out of the week.

I had absolutely no jittery nerves.  It was the first time in my life that I had ever performed in front of an audience with no butterflies whatsoever.

That probably had something to do with the fact that I was performing with like, 30 other girls. 

Plus we had been practicing extensively for weeks. 

It was finally time for the Fall Concert, and I swear I could sing the alto part of Vivaldi's "Et in terra pax hominibus" in my sleep. In fact, I had a dream one night that I was singing it. The cool part was that I actually understood what I was saying. But that's a story for another day. :)

In our poofy sleeved, ever-so-fly outfits, complete with closed-toe black shoes, we began our performance in the back of Alumnae Auditorium, singing "Hark, I Hear The Harps Eternal" to the back of our audience's heads.  And we sounded FABULOUS, if I do say so myself. 

I'm pretty sure that the number of back-of-the-neck goose-bumps was astronomical.

After that, we marched down the aisles and onto the stage singing another lovely number. 

Once we were finally in our places and began to sing about some lady named "Gloria", I thought

"Wow my feet hurt."

At this point I was completely slapped in the face by a revelation, one that I must share with the world - one that I am sure will improve the quality of some fortunate soul's future; one that I absolutely cannot keep to myself.

"I should have gotten some black flats."

I knew beforehand that the Judson Singers would have to stand throughout the entire concert, including Faith's performance as well as the hand bell choir.  But I had never once given a passing thought to my poor, pitiful feet.

As beautiful as it sounded, I wished for the end of FAITH's performance to come sooner, rather than later.  Each passing ding of a hand bell brought the numbness of another cell in my black-pump-clad feet.  However, I continued to stand up straight, awkwardly transferring my weight from one numb southern-most extremity to another.  Singing our final numbers with pain shooting up my legs was another story though.

Finally the end came with an angelic "Aint-a that good NEWWWWWWWS!" and we were flattered with a standing ovation.  Eventually the house lights came on - we were free to leave!

As I took a step, I realized the extent of the damage. 

My feet were completely numb. 

Like, they didn't even tingle.

Thankfully, I lived through it.  I made it back to my dorm room and gingerly massaged my feet back to life. 

Have no doubt about it though, I will be investing in some comfortable black flats before Christmas Vespers.