So, I've decided to post samples of my column "Confessions of a B. U. Grad" that I am writing for the Bluffton News since graduating in December of 2012. I have been sad that I cannot share these tales of transition with friends. So, friends: please read and comment and rate these posts, because feedback means the world to me and so do you! Please keep me in your prayers as I face a difficult time emerging into the job world. Advice, encouragement, consoling, and humor are all appreciated.
I found graduating to be a bold transition, though, and not at all as I had thought it would be. My plans were to settle in at home with my family effortlessly, and to search for a job peacefully over a cup of coffee as I felt the stress of a difficult semester vacate my body. My personal forecasts were too confident. I found difficulty in my return home, and I was already missing my personal freedom, my classes, and the village of Bluffton.
I feel as though I must confess my prior complaints of Bluffton’s village. During the majority of four and a half years that I lived in Bluffton, I grumbled about the distance to a shopping center or Wal Mart, the limited hours of fast food restaurants, or the absence of a place for students to study at into the night. To be honest, as a city girl, I was used to availability and convenience.
However, when I left the village of Bluffton and moved back to the Toledo area, I realized that Bluffton had had a larger impact on me than I had foreseen. I found that something was missing at home. In Bluffton, I had grown accustomed to feeling welcome; I had found an ease to be myself; I had experienced a place where I could become more independent, more purposeful, more “me.”
In Bluffton, there was less pressure to force oneself into the rat race of a steady job, and more emphasis on learning and preparing for the transition into a fitting career. I no longer had professors with offices or homes within walking distance. I no longer had a community around me that had observed what I was capable of and encouraged me to tread forward to larger and larger opportunities. I had well-meaning, loving parents whose thoughts and rules sometimes clashed with mine, and who continued to try to help me by making the bulk of our conversations about the urgency of finding a job before loan bills filled our mailbox.
In reflection, I concluded that the village of Bluffton is a place that has managed to avoid much of the rush. It is a tight-knit community that greets everyone with a smile, and promotes self-sufficiency and patience. Its small businesses allow for more personal assistance, and when you see its employees on the streets, at a restaurant, or at Community Market, they often remember you. It is a place where people deserve more than a hurried “excuse me” or especially an absence of any recognition of existence.
While Bluffton is not perfect, its pros certainly outweigh its cons with magnitude. Even the ability to see people smiling with their families or walking their dogs around campus was a large positive for me. These little moments left large holes in my life when I went home. As for the perceived con of lack of convenience, I was surely wrong. At home, I no longer had the ability to walk or bike to everything I needed, and I certainly never had the variety of foods and personal service that I received in the Commons of Bluffton University (cooking personalized meals for myself was only fun the first few days). I could no longer simply walk somewhere to use a computer if mine was not charged or not working for some reason. I no longer had free service to my computer, either, and pizza delivery had a fee, the library was a car ride away with nearer due dates, and trees, flowers, and empty spaces were fewer and more likely to be filled with the smells of industry. There were no Blaze of Lights, no Customer Appreciation day, no free academic forums or concerts to attend, and certainly no acrobatic squirrels of various hues to inspire a giggle or two.
I took the Bluffton atmosphere for granted, I think—its aesthetics, its security, its peace and quiet. As soon as I left, I realized the supposed negative aspects of Bluffton were truly positives that I had grown accustomed to and actually yearned for in my life. I wanted to continue going to classes, living in a small area, and being close (sometimes just feet away) to friends that challenged me and filled my life with new knowledge and viewpoints.
I came to Bluffton because it was the closest Christian university. While it was not at all what I expected, it was what I needed. I formulated my own beliefs, not just those of my parents, and I learned what it meant to be my adult self, the creation I believe I was meant to be. I stumbled upon new dreams, goals, and ideas. I fostered a new skill set and name for myself. I learned a new way of life.
I will continue to visit friends in Bluffton as long as I have them there. I truly miss and appreciate all the university and village did for me, even when it was just a simple smile or a genuine presentation of the question “How are you?” While I know these elements exist everywhere, because hope exists everywhere, some places have a larger, more concentrated volume than others. This is true of Bluffton University and the village in which it resides. I ask of you to remember, joyfully observe, and continue this tradition on for generations to come. Bluffton University is full of many individuals like me, who experience a new atmosphere, grow to love it, and live in a reality of constant transition.
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| Hey look-- it's me! :) |
CONFESSIONS OF A B.U. GRAD: MISSING BLUFFTON ALREADY
Published in the Bluffton News -- January 10, 2013
* Editor's Note: The author, Lauren Canaday, finished her studies at Bluffton University this past December after pursuing degrees in both English and Writing. She interned with the Bluffton News throughout her final semester of school and wrote several articles for the paper during that time.
Life has its way of surprising us. As a Bluffton University December graduate, I was anxious for the day when I was done with seemingly endless papers, ill-timed exams, and a late-night, early-morning schedule. I looked forward to home-cooked meals, more time to rest and think, time spent with my family and dog, and, of course, being closer to more job opportunities.
Life has its way of surprising us. As a Bluffton University December graduate, I was anxious for the day when I was done with seemingly endless papers, ill-timed exams, and a late-night, early-morning schedule. I looked forward to home-cooked meals, more time to rest and think, time spent with my family and dog, and, of course, being closer to more job opportunities.
I found graduating to be a bold transition, though, and not at all as I had thought it would be. My plans were to settle in at home with my family effortlessly, and to search for a job peacefully over a cup of coffee as I felt the stress of a difficult semester vacate my body. My personal forecasts were too confident. I found difficulty in my return home, and I was already missing my personal freedom, my classes, and the village of Bluffton.
I feel as though I must confess my prior complaints of Bluffton’s village. During the majority of four and a half years that I lived in Bluffton, I grumbled about the distance to a shopping center or Wal Mart, the limited hours of fast food restaurants, or the absence of a place for students to study at into the night. To be honest, as a city girl, I was used to availability and convenience.
However, when I left the village of Bluffton and moved back to the Toledo area, I realized that Bluffton had had a larger impact on me than I had foreseen. I found that something was missing at home. In Bluffton, I had grown accustomed to feeling welcome; I had found an ease to be myself; I had experienced a place where I could become more independent, more purposeful, more “me.”
In Bluffton, there was less pressure to force oneself into the rat race of a steady job, and more emphasis on learning and preparing for the transition into a fitting career. I no longer had professors with offices or homes within walking distance. I no longer had a community around me that had observed what I was capable of and encouraged me to tread forward to larger and larger opportunities. I had well-meaning, loving parents whose thoughts and rules sometimes clashed with mine, and who continued to try to help me by making the bulk of our conversations about the urgency of finding a job before loan bills filled our mailbox.
In reflection, I concluded that the village of Bluffton is a place that has managed to avoid much of the rush. It is a tight-knit community that greets everyone with a smile, and promotes self-sufficiency and patience. Its small businesses allow for more personal assistance, and when you see its employees on the streets, at a restaurant, or at Community Market, they often remember you. It is a place where people deserve more than a hurried “excuse me” or especially an absence of any recognition of existence.
While Bluffton is not perfect, its pros certainly outweigh its cons with magnitude. Even the ability to see people smiling with their families or walking their dogs around campus was a large positive for me. These little moments left large holes in my life when I went home. As for the perceived con of lack of convenience, I was surely wrong. At home, I no longer had the ability to walk or bike to everything I needed, and I certainly never had the variety of foods and personal service that I received in the Commons of Bluffton University (cooking personalized meals for myself was only fun the first few days). I could no longer simply walk somewhere to use a computer if mine was not charged or not working for some reason. I no longer had free service to my computer, either, and pizza delivery had a fee, the library was a car ride away with nearer due dates, and trees, flowers, and empty spaces were fewer and more likely to be filled with the smells of industry. There were no Blaze of Lights, no Customer Appreciation day, no free academic forums or concerts to attend, and certainly no acrobatic squirrels of various hues to inspire a giggle or two.
I took the Bluffton atmosphere for granted, I think—its aesthetics, its security, its peace and quiet. As soon as I left, I realized the supposed negative aspects of Bluffton were truly positives that I had grown accustomed to and actually yearned for in my life. I wanted to continue going to classes, living in a small area, and being close (sometimes just feet away) to friends that challenged me and filled my life with new knowledge and viewpoints.
I came to Bluffton because it was the closest Christian university. While it was not at all what I expected, it was what I needed. I formulated my own beliefs, not just those of my parents, and I learned what it meant to be my adult self, the creation I believe I was meant to be. I stumbled upon new dreams, goals, and ideas. I fostered a new skill set and name for myself. I learned a new way of life.
I will continue to visit friends in Bluffton as long as I have them there. I truly miss and appreciate all the university and village did for me, even when it was just a simple smile or a genuine presentation of the question “How are you?” While I know these elements exist everywhere, because hope exists everywhere, some places have a larger, more concentrated volume than others. This is true of Bluffton University and the village in which it resides. I ask of you to remember, joyfully observe, and continue this tradition on for generations to come. Bluffton University is full of many individuals like me, who experience a new atmosphere, grow to love it, and live in a reality of constant transition.
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