Bryan College - Commoner Yearbook (Dayton, TN)

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The big, old tree at the Grassy Bowl is still a favorite of the married students. Chad and Elizabeth Gower sit proudly on the hood of their family car. B ' ' ■4 Married Life

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r m, ' Those Special People The ones you can ' t eat without. The ones with whom you spend your week- ends. The ones you have to have beside you in class. The ones you have to have to have class. These are the people — peo- ple with whom we each have relation- ships. Yes, there is a lot of emphasis on relationships and on our improving them, but maybe all this emphasis shows us how important relationships really are. We all strongly agree that relationships — people — make Bryan life enjoyable. The guys have their comrades with whom they wrestle, on into the night. The women have their dorm talk, also on into the night. Then there ' s the wonderful ad- venture some enjoy of laser tag, which transforms Rudd into the den of danger and civil students into guerrillas. And cer- tainly not least, there ' s our favorite thing we all like to share together — food. But the activities that we enjoy, however strange, with those we love which bring us together are not always a game or a food party. There are many days when we disagree, then make up, and always learn the art of compromise. The relationships are never ending — best friends to whom we pour out our hearts, the good friends with whom we share many laughs, the teachers from whom we learn — in and out of the books. Each day we learn that we need each other. A number of students learned how much they needed each other as over ten couples were engaged in the fall! Through daily experiences as we rub shoulder with one another, we are growing and be- ing SHAPED to be SERVANTS of each other and our Lord. ff ' S ' i ' l fX ;: - te-- Heidi Niehoff and Sylvia Suganandam enjoy one of the best pastimes — food. Ed Ficl ley and Doug Bowman — never a dull mo- ment. Relationships 13

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Kevin and Sherry Mangum sit down for a nice home-cooked meal. Titus and Cindy Freuler show how they bear each other ' s burdens. The Married Life Ever wonder what it ' s like to be married — at Bryan? Many students are envious, yet many say it is not for them — that they aren ' t ready, or that they couldn ' t flirt anymore! But what is it really like to be a married student? Many wonder when they see a couple around school who have tied the knot — is it prison or paradise — and how do you cope with your little family AND your school life? Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Mangum were married this past summer and are now one of the twenty married student couples at Bryan. Get it straight from the mouth of fresh experience: It ' s wonderful, said Mrs. Kevin Mangum, a.k.a. Sherry. She and Kevin were married July 16, 1988, and when asked if there were problems or joys — they had plenty of each. One major thing you have to overcome is adjusting to a new schedule. In the dorm I could lock out anybody when I didn ' t want to see anyone — but you can ' t do that with your wife, Kevin said with a smile. Sherry agreed that adjustment is important. You have to learn to work with each other ' s schedules. She added, I also had to work out expectations I had of myself — I wanted to be the perfect little wife. When asked about school with married life, both said ironically that they don ' t study as much, yet they make better grades. Kevin said, I ' ve heard that from other married students also. Your mind is more settled; whereas before you were caught up in all the things around you. But we miss out on a lot and have to ask ' Hey — what ' s going on on campus? ' We miss out on being with friends, and we sometimes feel isolated, said Sherry. She added, There ' s also the new things of your new life added — like washing and cooking on top of all your studying. When asked about the joys of married student life, Kevin could hardly stop talking. You have a lifetime companion to always be around. The food is better! You have more freedom — live in your own place, don ' t have a curfew — you ' re your own person. He added, It ' s nice being in BV, where you ' re around other couples going through the same things. It ' s nice to become more a part of Dayton. When you live off the hill you get to know the people, and we ' ve become more involved in church. Sherry ' s response about the joys of married life was, I could get personal, but . . . . and she laughed. It ' s just so neat how men and women are different, and in the marriage relationship it ' s beautiful, and seeing us grow as one is great. It ' s funny too, because there are things I laugh at Kevin for doing, and then I catch myself doing them. She added, It ' s amazing the love you can have for someone — and it just keeps growing. You would think it would stop sometime! It ' s great being together all the time. When asked how they handle the financial strain, Kevin says he works when he can and will be working more in the spring semester. A lot of couples at BV are struggling. I ' ve found the more I give back to the Lord, the more I don ' t have to worry about it. Our needs will be taken care of. Kevin ' s advice to anyone who plans on being a married student or who plans on getting married at all someday was this, Be sure you can say you ' re best friends, and You still have to let the other person be an individual. Sherry said, Number one is your communication has to be open. That ' s the key. You have to be sure your life is in line with the Lord, because if it ' s not, that ' s when the problems are going to come in. The married life at Bryan College — another tool successfully SHAPING SERVANTS for today ' s world. Married Lite 15