Megan's Blog

Like any typical college student, procrastination is a big part of my life. During finals week, I had a very lengthy “to-do” list. Yet, somehow I always found something else other than studying to do. Thankfully, I was able to discipline myself enough to get all my studying done, even though it may have been last minute. (Don’t worry… I did just fine on my finals!) When I arrived at Malone three years ago, I was the nerdy freshman who spent all of her time doing schoolwork. While studying is a very important aspect of college, it is also important to enjoy your time as well. You have to find a balance between play and work. While I have not mastered this balance completely, it is definitely something I have been working on during this past year. Looking back, I see so many ways my time at Malone has molded me into a better individual.

One night during finals week, after spending a substantial amount of time studying, I decided I was going to head to bed. That was until I received a tweet from a friend in which she informed me that she, along with two other girls, were sitting in the elevator watching YouTube videos. Bed could wait; clearly, I had to join. We then spend the next few hours going up and down while watching videos. While this may seem completely random and absurd, moments like this make college life so great! I heard a quote recently, which said, “It’s not the nights we got enough sleep that we will remember.” This definitely reflects my junior year at Malone!

As happy as I am for summer to come, I am sad to see some of my close friends go home for the summer. This is the part of the school year that I dread the most. I have been doing my best to spend time with people in order to enjoy these last few days we have together, which is very challenging because we are all so busy!

I am so blessed with wonderful friends at Malone. I think one of the hardest parts of the coming months will be not having my close friends around. However, I am thankful I have one more year to continue developing these relationships. I have truly met my life long friends at Malone.

In addition to saying goodbye, I am not looking forward to moving everything out of the dorm. Every time I have to do this, I realize I have way too much stuff! I have already made three trips home. Thankfully, I live close. I hope that I can get everything home in one more trip!

(I know my parents are excited to have me home… however, I know they are not thrilled with all of my stuff! So, mom and dad, if you are reading this, I PROMISE I will put everything away!)

It will be weird when I leave work on Thursday night and head home instead of back to Malone. However, I will be very happy to not have to share a bathroom!

I am going to get back to preparing for my last few finals. Only 2 more days!

Hello! I apologize for not keeping up with the blog… my life has been crazy!

I cannot believe it is finals week already.; this semester flew by!

It seems that stress is in abundance because of finals. The library is packed as is every coffee shop in the area. If you did not know, I work at Starbucks, which comes in handy during this week. Lately, many of our customers have been college students preparing for all-nighters with excessive amounts of caffeine!

We finished classes last week, and I must say I am going to miss my professors. Last week, one of my professors brought pizza in for all of us! In addition, today, another professor brought in cookies! I am so thankful for Malone’s faculty because they not only care about us academically, but they care about all aspects of our lives. Because the class sizes are small at Malone, students and the professors have the opportunity to get to know one another. I find this to be extremely beneficial when it comes to academics. As students, when we realize a professor is there to help us to achieve, we are so much more inclined to do so. Thankfully, Malone’s faculty is wonderful at this!

I cannot believe I am almost done with my junior year! It seems like just yesterday I was moving into my dorm. This has been a great year, and I am so thankful for all of the wonderful memories I have!

Well, I better get back to studying!

This past weekend was probably one of the greatest weekends I have had this year! On Thursday afternoon, me and three friends from Malone packed up the car and headed east to the “City of Brotherly Love.” The seven hour drive went by pretty fast—especially after we found a Starbucks!

Our First Real Philly Cheesesteak!

We arrived in Philly and went immediately for Cheesesteaks. (Holy cow were they good!) On Friday, we went to NYC for the day. This was my first time ever experiencing the Big Apple… it was amazing! After walking around Chinatown for a while, we made our way to the Empire State building and Time Square. The traffic was crazy, but nonetheless it was such a fun time! The next day we headed to the Jersey Shore. Unfortunately, we did not see Snookie, yet we still made the most of our time in the Garden State! After a nice (chilly) walk on the beach, we headed to Tierra Colombiana for dinner. It was unbelievably delicious… there is no comparison to El Camps (a Malone favorite). On Sunday, we headed to downtown Philly. We climbed the famous “Rocky Stairs,” and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon walking around downtown.

The end of the semester is approaching and with that comes a tremendous amount of work and stress. It was nice to be able to get away and relax for a few days in order to gear up for the last few weeks of the semester!

It makes me sad that this weekend is over, but I am so thankful for the memories I have!

I learned from a very young age that soccer was not my sport. I played when I was younger, and by played I mean I stood there and picked grass. Though I gave up my career, I still enjoy watching soccer! On Saturday, I attended the men’s soccer scrimmage. Every time I watch a game, I am amazed at the amount of skill that is required to play such a sport. Malone played exceptionally well… we won 4-1! It looks like they are going to have a great season!

Watching the game! (Photo Courtesy of Erin Meffan)

It was a little chilly at the game, and though we all had plenty of other things we could be doing, we wanted to support our friends. I recently heard that, “true friendship isn’t about being there when it’s convenient; it’s about being there when it’s not.” In life, it is easy to form relationships based on convenience. However, I have been blessed, through Malone, to have friends who are always there for me—even when it is not convenient for them.

I had to leave the game early because of work. I was not thrilled about having to work on a Saturday night…I would have much rather been out with friends. However, I cannot begin to describe what it meant to see my group of friends walk into Starbucks to visit me after the game. I have said this before, but I am so thankful for the community at Malone because it fosters intentional relationships. Even though I only have one year left at Malone, I know the relationships that I am forming are lasting.

Well, I better get back to writing my paper… I have procrastinated long enough. I will be back after Easter Break with a blog on my trip to Philly/NYC!

This past Sunday, a friend of mine who is a Bible and Theology major at Malone was asked to preach at a Friends church in Columbus. (If you are not aware, Malone was started by Quakers and continues to be supported by the Friends Denomination.) The pastor of this church was going to be out of town and they needed a replacement and looked to Malone.

After driving almost three hours, we arrived safely and on time! We were warmly greeted by a former Malone student. While there, we met many people who went to Malone or had connections with the University. After church, we had lunch with the parents of a Malone alumna where we were able to discuss from both a parent and a student point of view what a great school Malone truly is. They shared how their daughter’s life was truly shaped by the people of Malone. They are so thankful for her wonderful experience—one that I can so easily relate to.

The church enjoyed seeing how Malone is continually shaping its students to do God’s work. I am so thankful for a university that encourages students to put their faith and their studies into action!

We made it to Columbus and back, safely. However, we had to wake up pretty early, so I think I am going to take a nap! It is funny how routine naps have become during these last four years—college is exhausting! I hope that this nap helps me gear up for the week I have ahead of me! We only have 5 more weeks; we can do it!

Friday night, Malone had what is probably the biggest student event of the year: AIRBAND. This tradition is extremely well known and well liked among students, faculty, staff, and even alumni. Each year, for the past 19 years, groups have come together to compete in the air band/ lip-synching contest. Each year the performances are different; nevertheless, they are all quite entertaining.

This year, the acts ranged from Whitney Houston, to Mary Poppins, to Devo, to Footloose. The ladies of Heritage Hall took home the famous gold, Nike Shoes with their rendition of “The Lion King.” Their victory was well deserved! It is awesome to see students, faculty, and staff come together to perform! (A shout out to Mr. Charlie Grimes, Malone’s Athletic Director, Dr. Chris Abrams, Malone’s Vice President for Student Development, and Dr. Greg Miller, a faculty member at Malone, for participating in this year’s acts!)

I was working at Starbucks earlier on Friday when some Malone students came through. AIRBAND came up in the conversation, and not long after I noticed the man behind them laughing. I soon found out that he was a Malone alumnus! He could not believe we still had AIRBAND! He went on and on about how that was his favorite campus event when he was a student!

AIRBAND is definitely an event that makes Malone unique. I love how a crazy event such as a lip-synching contest can bring the entire campus together! It was by far a great way to spend a Friday night at Malone!

The weather in Canton, Ohio has been beautiful recently! Campus seems like a different place—the sun must help with stress levels because everyone seems to be coping with the demands of the end-of-the-semester workload. I love looking out my window and seeing people walking, running, reading, and just relaxing outside. The sundresses, flip-flops, shorts, and sunglasses have all emerged. Though the weather makes it more difficult to be stuck in a classroom all day; however, I know we are all just thankful that it is not snowing or raining!

On Saturday, Malone had its first lacrosse game of the season. After a cookout in front of PGB (men’s dorm), some friends and I sat and watched the match. I had no idea how physical lacrosse was. I was very surprised that you are actually allowed to whack people with your sticks! Nevertheless, it was a beautiful day to be outside!

What is interesting is the fact that Malone’s Lacrosse team is not a collegiate team, but rather a club. A student started it in 2009 and it has grown significantly each year! This was the first game I have ever attended and it was awesome to watch. Though we lost, we definitely played a good game.

I am so thankful not only for the beautiful weather, but also for Malone allowing students to come together to do something they love. I am excited to see how this club grows over the next few years.

Well, I have to head off to work. I will be back next week with a blog on Malone’s most well known event…stay tuned!

This week Malone has been on Spring Break! If you have been following my blog, you may remember that last year I went to Florida for Spring Break. However, this year I decided to stay home…

After dropping some friends off at the airport (they were headed to Florida), Canton was hit with a major snowstorm—talk about regretting not going to Florida! Nevertheless, some friends and I decided to make the most out of the snow and go skiing and snowboarding. If you are from Ohio, you know how the weather can drastically change in a day! So it is not surprising that the day we plan to go, it was 60 degrees! We decided to go anyway and ended up skiing in t-shirts! I attempted to snowboard, which was a HUGE mistake! It has been two days and I am still having trouble walking, sitting, and well simply moving!

It was such a blast! It was so nice to be able to spend time with friends without worrying about school! On our way home, I missed the exit, which took us a crazy way through what seemed to be the middle of nowhere—as inconvenient as it was, we did get to see “Grandpa’s Cheese Barn.” You had better believe we stopped. Grandpa had over 100 different types of cheese!

Just in case you didn't believe me about "Grandpa's Cheese Barn!"

The next day, my friends and I got together again to do homework. Yes, I know… we are lame, but you have to do what you have to do!

We may not have memories of lying on the beach, but we do have great memories of falling, laughing, and tasting cheese. Though we all would have rather been in Florida, we made the best of our situation.

Even though we were all at “home” for break, we ended up spending our break together, which shows how lasting the friendships truly are! I am so thankful for the wonderful friends I have met at Malone!

This semester, I am taking a class in which we solely study Shakespeare’s works. Being an English major, you can imagine how much I love it! (I know, I know… I am a nerd). This past week, Alpha Rho Iota, Malone’s English Honor Society held an event at which we watched the movie Anonymous. If you do not know what the movie is about, it portrays Shakespeare not as the famous author, but as a fool who took credit for another person’s writings. It was quite… ummm… interesting, to say the least!

The event was open to all Malone students—not just English majors. We had a great turnout! It may have had something to do with our professor offering extra credit or the fact that we had free food. Nevertheless, it was a very cool event.

At Malone, there is truly something for everyone; you can always find something in which to get involved. We have groups for people interested in English, Business, History, dancing, athletics, and many more! Getting involved in groups is a great way to get connected on campus! I have met some wonderful people through groups in which I am involved!

Well, I must get back to my homework. Spring Break is only a week away—but that means I have a lot of work to do! Though I am buried with papers and projects, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Though I am not going anywhere, I am looking forward to sleeping, as well as catching up on TV shows and homework! Let the countdown begin—5 more days!