Bethel University - Spire Yearbook (St Paul, MN)

Page 6 text:

I'm alone now with my memories — memories no one can see. “College will be good for you — you'll really grow up,” someone told me. Right. How can emotional pain and tears help me become a better person? I thought I could easily fit into new social groups; it had come so easily before. I had been out to enjoy college life to its fullest. Until now. Far too much of me remains in the past. I had so much at home — great family, friends, talents . . . where are those things now? Must I be forced to prove myself over and over? The glances here are cold, categorizing. Yet I am no different. My eyes are cold. I build my own brick walls around the secret area labeled “Me. Me, me, me. My priorities are hurting. I have to look out for myself — no one else will. When classes began, I suddenly needed every moment to keep up with the syllabuses. I've been Your freshman year of college is an unforgettable experience I tiled with paradoxes excitement and disappointment, new friends and homesickness, responsibility and overwhelming demands. The experience forces this person to redefine herself as an individual, developing a new perspective on who she is and what she'd like to be. Loneliness... a word I never thought I'd have to learn, is becoming all too real to me. My past doesn’t matter here.

Page 5 text:

I was a Bethel student a while back. When isn’t important. Let's just say that I've been around a long time. It’s exciting to make friends v ith students; the experience of each individual is unique within the context of the college. So much goes on in a person’s life in the years spent at college. Thousands of students can go through the same institution and derive radically different experiences. The key to understanding these experiences lies in reserving judgment and being compassionate. Prejudices and misunderstandings arise out of unwillingness to truly see the situations of others. I have four friends at Bethel who are willing to reveal part of their thoughts and feelings to you, so you’ll have a window into their minds. Perhaps you’ll learn something about yourself and your friends.

Page 7 text:

so overwhelmed with the basic assignments. Is there a balance between those people I'd like to know and the five Psych, chapters I have to know? There’s so much freedom... I can do anything! No one is going to make me get up for my 8:00 class. I'd like to be everyone’s friend and have a super time . . . only one thing stands in my way. Along with the freedom comes added responsibility. I’m expected to show up in FA313 at 12:30. and finish a paper by Thursday ... I do feel pressure to study; isn't that what I pay for? But... the decisions are up to me! Me. Me again. Is it wrong to be self-centered? I’m just trying to protect myself. I purposely seal myself in books, isolating myself from the very people I long to meet. After all. caring often brings pain, and I don't want to get hurt. With a thousand faces here looking out for themselves as much as I am. I begin to wonder if I want them as friends. Maybe I should give myself a chance. And while I’m at it. maybe I should give them a chance too. It takes time. «o