Monthly Archives: October 2013

Recently my roommates and I decided we don’t do anything exciting on Friday night. Basically, we are boring 21-year-olds. Well, maybe we didn’t just discover it, but we did decide we needed to change that little fact. Don’t get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with spending a Friday night at home watching a movie. We just wanted to add a little spice to our homework filled lives. So this past Friday my roommate and I set out to make our night a little more exciting then usual.

When two of my roommates left for the weekend last Friday, Carley and I were left alone at the apartment. Our Friday was beginning to look like any other Friday night here on campus, filled with homework. The only exciting thing we had done was to take a short trip to the Apple Store, only because Carley’s phone decided it wanted to stop working.  After a quick fix, we were on our way to another eventless Friday night. After we got back, we hurried to finish an assignment that was due at 5 p.m., and we went to Subway for dinner around 6. We were headed back to the Colony apartments when we decided we needed to do something more exciting then homework on a Friday night. I mentioned that The Daily Brew, a local coffee house, was having an open mic night, and we decided to head there for the evening.

Now being two single ladies meant that we couldn’t just hop back into the car and head to The Brew.  Of course we had to get ready for the evening, make ourselves look good.  Only when we were satisfied did we head to The Brew.

Going to open mic nights can be a gamble. You never know what kind of artists are going to play or if they will be any good.  We took the risk and figured it had to be better then any night spent in our apartment doing homework. Boy, were we correct in that assumption! This open mic night was incredible. Carley and I were blown away by the talent of these artists. There were several solo artists, along with a duo and a brass ensemble. I’m pretty sure we were a little too excited about that last part. We sat in our chairs sipping on coffee and tea, listening to incredible talent.

We were at this open mic night for a few hours and, by the time, we left it was around 10. (I know, we’re real party animals.) We got back to our apartment and turned on a movie. Sure, our Friday night ended just like any other, but beginning of the night took some unexpected turns. One of the awesome things about Riverside is there are many places to go on a Friday night. Check out the hot spots around town, and you are guaranteed to have a good time.

My parents were married very young, and my mom always says one of the hardest parts about that decision was learning to cope with another person’s everyday lifestyle as a teenager. While that learning process is difficult by definition, as a teenager you’re generally less tolerant and open-minded.

So this week I’ve thought a lot about that lesson, as I’m surprised by how much it really does apply to living with roommates for the first time. The difference here is that, since we’re all girls, we don’t have to cope with really smelly socks in our laundry or blaring video games during study time (not saying that was you, Daddy!).

Regardless, the three of us have definitely learned an important lesson over the past five weeks, one that I’m sure will carry over into all of our marriages someday.

Tolerance.

While CBU has a great method of matching up roommates before the year begins, nothing can fully prepare a student for living with a new person (or in my case, two new people). We are all unique children of God, regardless of shared majors or backgrounds.

Right away, I labeled one of my roommates as neat and tidy (she literally cleans as she moves), and the other one as… less neat and tidy. Neither trait really bothers me because I tend to be right in the middle, but at first the stark contrast still added to our overall sense of culture shock when we moved in. That contrast between the three of us affects whose desk is where, how many dishes are in the sink, whose bed is set every day, and whether by Friday the floor is still visible. Despite all that, we’ve all learned to cope with each other with an unsaid understanding that everyone shares in the chore load and keeps their mess confined to their own space.

The survival rate of three monsters in one room is small to none – and let me tell you, about once every four weeks, the three of us gentle girls suddenly seem to fall into that definition. We become big, green and crabby, as our inner Hulk threatens to emerge. It’s during this time that I truly believe the best coping route is this…

…run away!

See, there seems to be a silent agreement in my apartment that space is necessary when our hulks come to visit. One of us flees for the library, one of us heads to a friend’s and the last puts her headphones in and focuses on a project. It’s simple enough, and it works.

Generally speaking, by this time we understand what makes who tick, who’s the optimist and who’s the pessimist, who’s sarcastic and who’s very blunt… and most importantly, that none of it matters, because we know how to deal with it and move on. We have a method. But we only know it works because our other experimental coping methods haven’t. Nonetheless, we’ve been patient and learned how best to tolerate each other and our differences. We’ve learned to tolerate and try again… tolerate, try again… and because of that, I believe next year we’ll be much better prepared for whatever (or, WHOever) comes our way.

Brooke Fraser’s “Here’s to You,” one of many songs that is near and dear to me, states, quite wisely, “life is short as the day is long.” I consistently find this to be true, especially when I realize that, although my days are so incredibly full, a month of the fall semester has already flown by.

Readers, I can safely say that I have succeeded in settling into a fairly well adjusted schedule by now. Once again, I find that budgeting free time is just as important as budgeting time for work, and I am reminded again that there is so much to enjoy about life on a college campus. The simple pleasures all amount to so much, and this past week, it is the little things that have made my heart so full.

My days typically start in a sleepy haze. I roll out of bed first to enjoy the cheery singing performed graciously by my roommate as she prepares for the day. I then get ready as quickly as possible so as to enjoy a huge cup of coffee before my first class. Side note: Coffee is glorious, isn’t it? I often fall asleep looking forward to having my morning cuppa. Okay, back on track now. Once I am sufficiently caffeinated, I step out into the eternal sunshine of Southern California and begin my trek to the James building, spouting out innumerable “hello’s” and “how’s life?’s” to people along the way. Walking around campus this year often feels like a picture-perfect movie montage in which the protagonist powerwalks along to a cheery indie song. Even the smallest moments at the start of the day set a tone which allows me to be aware of the blessings of university life!

I then spend the majority of my day in class, scratching my head at mind-boggling ideas or picking my professors’ brains to gain one more sliver of knowledge. This year has brought on just another level of enthusiasm for my life as a student, as I have added my film studies minor. This, coupled with English, allows me to dig deep into the subjects I love and shamelessly geek out over the things I find fascinating. One of my fellow English major friends perfectly summed up what our major entails: it is an ongoing book club in which we read great books, talk about them, write about them, talk about them once more and then repeat the entire process with another great book. I can honestly say that it is a privilege to go to school and learn the things that make one’s passion grow.

At the end of a long day of classes, work and meetings, I enjoy time in my living room with the three gorgeous girls I am graced to call roommates. We sprawl out in whatever position we find comfortable and dive into the evening’s activities. We encourage each other through homework, discuss an interesting topic encountered during the day, or battle through an important philosophical question. I can hardly imagine a better end to a day than spending it with dear friends who exhort one another and offer undefiled friendship.

While college life is a roller coaster filled with stresses, deadlines and challenges, these are matched in joyful privileges and community. Taking joy in all of the simple things can help to maintain a gracious attitude and to carry on through life purposefully and joyfully. Friends, I hope you have a wonderful week.

One of my greatest fears about going off to college was the idea of leaving my family to be “on my own.” I’m the oldest of six children, the youngest of us being only five months old, which means I’ve often felt like the oldest of three and also the part time mother of three others. My family is often referred to as “The Shadle Circus,” or more often, “The Shadle Clan.”

So for me, the transition period meant not only leaving my parents and oldest siblings, but also leaving the three “little people,” to whom I have a different attachment then I normally would to a sibling. The idea of this transition both excited and terrified me, to the point where some days I just couldn’t wait any longer, and some days I silently prayed for more time.

Still the day came, regardless of my bittersweet predicament. And as I move into October, reflecting upon my first month living without seeing them as often, I’ve realized how much I’ve grown as a person, and also how much I’ve grown in my relationships with my family members because of this transition.

I still go home on most weekends since I don’t live too far away, which has definitely helped to make the transition a smooth one. As my mom says, “You spend just enough time at school to get sick of it, and then enough time at home to want to go back. It’s perfect.”

But when I go home now, I’ve been surprised to find that I legitimately feel older and more adult. I can have long conversations with my parents as though they are my best friends, and I find that I am not finding reason to argue with my eighth grade sister nearly as often as I used to be (plus she actually hugs me now!). My 5- and 3-year-old little sisters are so much more excited to see me then they used to be when it was an everyday thing. I find myself more inclined to spend quality time with them, because I view it as even more of a precious treasure than I did a month ago. My 16-year-old brother hardly seems to deserve fighting with anymore.  And then there’s August, the 5-month old… Well, he’s always been cute

When I first moved in, one of my roommates was talking to me about her older brother who lives on campus. After listening to the adoration in her voice, I said, “That’s so awesome that you two have such a great relationship.”

Her response was first a laugh, and then, “Well, he moved out two years ago… and you know what they say — distance really does make the heart grow fonder.” Now I can appreciate how right she was.

As I reflect, I also can’t help but comment on how different the transition period would have been, had CBU not also helped provide the means for it to happen so smoothly. While here I have been pleasantly surprised by the warmth which immediately engulfs the freshman student body. Going into my fifth week, I am confident in the friendships I have established, the care my teachers provide, and the excitement going to class every day brings me. Believe it or not, my most exciting class of the week is my earliest. Eight o’clock is not the friendliest number on my schedule, but when surrounded by such a wealth of wonderful people and thrilling knowledge, I hardly care about what I’ve set my alarm to.

God’s really been working in my heart throughout this month, teaching me to have joy in new experiences and cherish the opportunity to return to familiar ones.

All that to say, as terrified as I was for this transition, I’ll be the first to call it a beautiful one.

Well, it’s that time of year again. October has hit and at CBU that means there are less than 10 days till ISP/USP applications are due. If you are a student here at CBU, you know that these service projects are important to our community here at CBU.  If you don’t know what ISP or USP is, let me tell you. ISP stands for International Service Projects and USP stands for United States Services projects. These projects take place over the summer, spanning from 11 days to three weeks.  The Office of Mobilization sends out teams all over the world to serve communities. Two summers ago, in 2012, I had the privilege of serving on an ISP team that went to Southeast Asia.

Let me give you a little overview of what the months looked like prior to leaving for the field. The first part of the process is to fill out the application, get your references in and schedule an interview. Sometime before thanksgiving break, I finally received a letter that told me I had been accepted to serve on an ISP team and the letter told me when team reveal happened. Team reveal is an exciting and awkward time. A few of my friends and I arrived at team reveal, excited to meet our teams. There was a time of worship and announcements at the beginning, then they sent us on our way to meet our teams. The first time you meet your team is probably one of the most awkward moments ever. You don’t know any of these people and they basically just tell you “This is who you are going to be spending the next semester with and the people you are going to spend three weeks overseas with.” So, you have all this awkwardness, and then my team leaders had us drink tea and do crafts. It was an awkward yet fun night. The whole next semester was spent getting to know the people on my team and preparing to serve on the field. This was a time that I really grew to love my team and a time where I developed a heart for the nations.

Fast forward a few months to our departure. After spending many hours on a plane, we finally made it to Southeast Asia. There was a mix of emotions going on. I was both excited and nervous for what was to come. The first two days were spent training in the big city. Then we moved to a city south of where we initially arrived.  Each day, we would wake up in the morning, have breakfast, do a devotional, head to the university for our class, come back, have lunch and coffee dates, and at night we would teach English. At first we didn’t know how we were going to be able to fill our afternoons with coffee dates, but it was easy to find people who wanted to hang out with us. Being able to teach at the English school gave us many opportunities to make friends. While we were there, the administrators put together a special program called “Coffee Talk,” in which we would meet with students at their coffee shop and go through a sheet of questions to help them practice their English. Most of the time, the students did not want to follow the list and wanted to ask us questions and hear about our lives. We were able to meet some great people and develop some great relationships.

There was one person we met during our time there that I will never forget. This guy was absolutely amazing. When we first met him, he was not a believer, but by the end of the trip we were able to witness his baptism. He had a complete transformation that was amazing to see. He would visit us almost every night at our hotel with new questions that he had from what he was reading in his Bible that day.  He had started with the gospels, which have many metaphors, and we learned early on that the people in Southeast Asia do not understand metaphors. We would have many discussions about different passages almost every night. It was amazing to see the faith that he had after only a few days of believing.

Being able to serve on an ISP team changed my entire perspective on how we can bring the gospel to the nations. It had a great impact on my life and really challenged my relationship with God in a good ways. If you are thinking about applying for ISP or USP, I would strongly recommend that you follow through. It is a life changing experience.

Even though I sing in CBU’s Male Chorale, I don’t usually have the opportunity to hear other choir groups perform. Strange as it sounds, there is a good reason for this: all choir rehearsals are held at the same time on Tuesday and Thursday from 2– 4:30 p.m., which means I can’t listen in on the other groups during the week. Even our Sunday night concerts end up on the same days. If not, then they are usually in a city too far away for me to ride my bike. I mean, one of the main reasons I auditioned for Male Chorale in the first place was after I listened to the University Choir and Orchestra (UCO) in concert.

With that in mind, it’s no wonder I jumped at the idea of attending a nearby small group concert last Sunday. Rebecca Orr, a friend who I actually sang with in high school show choir, invited me and some friends to come to see her group at La Sierra Baptist church. The group is called Light and consists of seven singers (three men, four women) and a pianist. Small groups perform about as often as the actual choirs, but since they are much smaller, they can sing at smaller local churches. I actually wanted to try out for a small group this year, but the day of the audition was the day after a 12-hour Male Chorale rehearsal. My raspy, tired voice was not ready for a serious audition. At this point I still hadn’t even listened to a small group concert yet, so I was curious to see if I was missing out.

No doubt I was. With only seven singers, you can hear each individual voice and harmony so clearly, much different than the main choir groups. That sense of closeness to the performer is lost in a large room of 100 voices. Not only could we hear their voices, but they also sounded amazing. Each one of them could have easily performed solo without the group and still deliver a solid performance. With all of them singing together, I was simply left speechless. Not to give special attention to any one of them, but Desmond Clark has to have one of the widest vocal ranges I’ve ever heard. He sang all of the bass parts and then jumped up past the tenors on a couple of songs and still sounded incredible! As a fellow bass singer, I am honored to at least go to the same university as him.

Although I might be Light’s biggest fan right now, I want to emphasize how great it is that CBU sends groups like these to bless churches with worship. These students could easily use their voices to sing elsewhere, but they choose to glorify God on Sunday mornings with unfamiliar congregations. Just from the faces in the crowd at La Sierra Baptist church, I could tell that Light delivered the gospel in the best way they know how: worshipful song.