I came into Hillsdale with a series of expectations—one of which was to get a boyfriend. I had already heard so many “ring by spring” stories, I thought surely something similar was bound to happen to me. And if I couldn’t get a fiancé, I least hoped for a relationship. But one, two, three, and now almost four years have passed, and still nothing. As … Continue reading Singleness is Not a Failing
It was not the first time I found myself on the verge of tears as I feverishly racked my brain for anything to mend the horrendous structure (or rather lack of structure) of my paper and failed to think of anything other than the impending list of projects, research, and readings I still needed to get to. I still had an hour left on my … Continue reading In Pursuit of the Unserious: Recovering Rest and Purpose in a Workaholic Culture
When I was in fifth grade, I used to listen to audiobooks. My favorite was C. S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair; I eventually listened to it so many times that I memorized the whole thing and would retell the story to my sisters as we drove to school with my dad in the mornings. Those who have read this story know that memory pervades the … Continue reading Love and Forgetfulness
I recall vividly one afternoon last summer when I had some free time. As I walked home, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, opened up Snapchat, and slid over to tap through my friends’ stories. I noticed underneath them some of the suggested features. In one, “Love Triumphs!” accompanied a picture of a same-sex couple, with a subtitle suggesting that all the world … Continue reading Love in Context
It had been a month since the breakup. My heart was still aching; my mind still clouded with uncertainty. The agonized words of Psalm 143 had become the refrain of my soul: “My spirit is faint within me, my heart despairs…Hasten to answer me Lord, for my spirit fails me.” As I laid in bed, the pain seemed like it would overwhelm me for the … Continue reading Heartbreak and Christ
Our foundational beliefs, whether they come from tradition, meaningful experiences, or unquestioned theories, shape our perceptions of reality to the extent that we cannot easily conceive of them as separate from reality. This is exemplified by our deep convictions about the relative size, shape, and movement of the Earth and the other heavenly bodies; convictions we rarely feel the need to prove to ourselves or … Continue reading Know Thy Beliefs, Know Thyself
At the mere mention of the autumn season, a plethora of images, memories, and sensations are invoked. These images of the season connect me with nostalgia and warmth as I imagine my Ohio childhood with memories of running around my molting backyard, feeling the crisp, sharp air fill my lungs while the rattling whirl of dried leaves plays in the background. I remember embarking on … Continue reading Autumn, Childhood, and the Art of Storytelling
One of my favorite places in the world is a little donut shop in Coldwater named Dutch Uncle. By any ordinary standards it isn’t a very nice establishment: The bathroom door only sort-of closes, they serve water in sketchy styrofoam cups (which they have to go back into the kitchen to get because the soda fountain is broken), they only take cash, and the benches … Continue reading All Goodbyes Are Temporary
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the phrasal verb “to miss out (on)” is an American colloquialism that arose in the early twentieth century. This meaning of “being deprived of an experience or opportunity” is a relatively new meaning for “miss” in our language; a word that actually dates back to Old English. Originally, “miss” meant “to go wrong, to make a mistake,” which has … Continue reading The Missing Dictionary Entry
I wasn’t involved much on campus my freshman year. I devoted most of my time to an unusual class schedule (and to pouring over the course catalog whenever something set me back in my intended major), and the rest of it went to spending time with people. So when a sophomore I’d just met asked me what I did with my time, I came up … Continue reading Attention
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