All Good Things Must Come to an End

Well.. the end of my freshman year is coming to a close. Very quickly actually. My first year at Mount Mercy has definitely been one to remember!

1.) I met so many amazing people. Faculty, staff, friends, floormates, my roommate, and the entire Mount Mercy Community.

2.) I learned how to actually survive living in a dorm.

3.) I was able to partake in so many fun activities sponsored by Mount Mercy like the Build a Bear at Midnight, late night breakfast, stress buster week, and many more.

4.) I added a journalism minor.

5.) And last but not least I was named the Editor in Chief for next school year!

This year has brought many new and exciting things into my life, and I cannot wait to start my next year as a Mustang! Ending my freshman year is bittersweet, but I cannot wait to see what next year has in store for me!

New Year, New Title

Well, I guess it is now official. Next year I will be serving as the Mount Mercy Times Editor in Chief! This new leadership position will be a challenge for me, as I am still continuing as a Nursing major, although I am beyond excited for this new position.

The article in the latest issue of the Times about my new job position.

As the Editor in Chief, I will basically be in charge and lead the student news paper. Yes, this scares me because I am only a sophomore, but I am excited to see what I can do with the Mount Mercy Times.

First, I want MORE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT! I think the newspaper is such a great way for students to get involved. Even if they don’t want a leadership position, serving as a staff writer would benefit not only the newspaper, but them personally.

Second, I want to be more of a voice for the students. I want to really get to know what the students want to read. I want this publication to be something they don’t just recycle after they get it in their mailboxes. I want campus to read and engage in the newspaper, but first I need to figure out what they want to read.

Lastly, I would love to get more involved on the web. I want people who may not get the paper to have easy and fast access to the latest news on Mount Mercy’s Campus.

I am so excited to begin this journey, and hopefully I can serve Mount Mercy well as the new Editor in Chief!

My Life as a Mustang…Literally

So today I walked into the Communications and Marketing Office where I am a work study. As soon as I walked in, Kelli and Amanda (two of my supervisors) gave me a sly look and both started laughing a little bit. It made me nervous because usually at work I just write, write, and write some more.

Anyways, Kelli began explaining how the iCubs baseball team in Des Moines was offering Mount Mercy free advertising on their jumbotron for Private College Week this summer. As a school we had to come up with a question we would like the announcer to ask which will be something similar to, “what university is building a brand new outdoor sports facility?” The announcer will then focus the crowds attention to the large screen, and there will be a video of Mount Mercy athletes and…. myself. As Mustang Sally. The Mascot.

When Kelli asked me to do this, I got extremely nervous for some reason. I had always given props to people who can be mascots because although my body was completely covered, I am not good at acting wild and crazy in front of others. But I thought why not, its for a good cause.

So we walked over to Hennessey and I got dressed in the costume. The thing is, I am was way to short. The body suit was very baggy, it looked almost like I had no legs, and my tail drug across the ground as I walked. It was a real struggle. Also, Im not really sure how the mascots like Herky the Hawk, or Cy the Cyclone do it because I only had on that horse head for a total of five minutes and I was sweating so bad! I realized it was a tough job.

Props to all of the full time mascots out there. You are awesome.

Mississippi Recap

I cannot even begin to express how happy I am that I took this trip over Spring Break to serve others in Mississippi. The amount of work we completed as a team and the friendships I created were amazing!

Our group after volunteering at the Boys and Girls club.

Some of the various projects we took part in were volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club, helping to remove invasive species from the Turkey Creek area (if you ever have a chance to look up this areas history I recommend you do), planting oyster shells along Deer Island to stop the erosion, and volunteering at a transitional home for women with addictions, who are homeless, or have just gotten out of jail and prison.

Each and every project we did was unique, yet amazing at the same time. Not only was the service we did wonderful, but the people we got to meet along the way. People who told their personal stories of being affected by Hurricane Katrina or the oil spill. It was an eye opening experience, and it is one I will never forget.

Standing on top of the Oyster Pile before placing them into the Gulf of Mexico along Deer Island.

Friday, we also go to have a free day and we traveled to New Orleans. This was my first time being there, and I absolutely loved it! The sights and music were so rich in history, and it was a great way to end this trip!

Me standing at Bourbon Street for the first time!

If any of you have more questions about the projects we took part in feel free to ask or comment!

Biloxi, Mississippi (Day 1)

So we finally arrived after 14+ long hours in the MMU vans. This week we will be staying in an old Boy Scouts camp ground area right on the water line. It is absoultely beautiful (especially watching the sunset).   

 I just tried to upload a few images but I think it wouldn’t have taken 3 entire days to load because of the service, but I will have to post some once we get back home on Saturday. 

Tomorrow we begin our work 

  and I am super excited! Although I would love to spend time relaxing and swimming in the water, we came here to serve others. We will be doing some environmental restoration tomorrow, and all of our days will be filled with different work so it will be a surprise! 

Time to get some sleep before our big day ahead.

Goodnight world! 

Spring Time Service

In less than one week, I will be packing up into a Mount Mercy University school van with 12 fellow students and heading off to Biloxi, Mississippi for a week service trip over spring break.

Lots of hard work will be done and a lot of sweating is sure to happen as we continue to rebuild a city destroyed by Hurricane Katrina 10 years ago.

Now don’t get me wrong, the endless pictures, videos, and Snapchats of other college students at PCB or other beautiful, warm, sunny places in their swim suits on the beach makes me a tad bit jealous, but I am also beyond excited to be able to serve over my break. It is a great opportunity Mount Mercy offers to students, so it would be silly of me not to take advantage of it and do something for the good of others.

It will be a great opportunity for me to give back to others, to build stronger relationships with friends at MMU, and also to enjoy myself as well (yes, we will be spending a short time at the beach as well).

Stay tuned over the next couple weeks for trip updates and photos!

“It’ll be fun,” they said.

I was talking with my friend the other day, who is also a freshman in college. The conversation was centered around one topic; how crazy it is that our freshman year of college is on the downhill slide.

Now, I know that I am only a freshman, and I could be in a senior students position and have to worry about graduation soon (ahh that is scary!), but the fact that I am almost one year closer to completing my “school years” forever honestly freaks me out a little bit.

Yes I love college. I love being able to live life on my own. I love being able to meet and live with some of my best friends. I love learning about becoming a nurse. I love not having to pay bills.

But I don’t like thinking about the future. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited to be on my own and to have my own family, but then again, it scares the living daylights out of me. I don’t know anything about owning a house, paying bills, getting a “big girl” job, or living on my own. These skills will come with time, I am sure, but thinking that I need to learn all of them in less than four years…

I was told before going to college that they will be the fastest, and most fun years of my entire life, and I do agree with that statement. College is so much fun, and will probably be some of the best years of my life, but sometimes I wish I was 5 years old again, with no worries in the world.

A picture of me and my aunt. What I wouldn’t give to be that little again!

Me and my little sister, Makenna, before we cared what anyone thought about us 🙂

Family to the Rescue

With two exams coming up next week and an extreme amount of homework piled up on top of studying, I knew exactly where I would be this weekend—my desk. I had a long list written out of the things I needed to get done, but when I sat down to begin I was missing my ambition. I had absolutely none, zero, zilch, nada. It was awful.

When I find myself in these situations I usually give my Dad a call. He usually knows exactly what to say to help me find some motivation to get things done. His suggestion was a little different than what I was expecting. Usually I get a “just sit down and make yourself do it, you’ll feel so much better when you get done,” instead I got a “why don’t you come home for the night and focus on it tomorrow.”

My amazing family that I love so much.

Now I only live about 40 minutes away so going home is an easy task for me. So I decided to pack up my pajamas, a change of clothes, and head for home for the night.

When I got home, I did a whole lot of nothing. My little sister, who is 9, diagnosed me with “armpit cancer” while she was playing doctor and I was her patient, my mom made me a home cooked meal (always better than going out to eat), I relaxed in our hot tub with my entire family (sitting in it three times within about 12 hours), I lost while playing “The Game of Life”, and I got to peacefully sleep in my own bed.

My beautiful sisters.
Makenna (16) and Maylin (9)

Now today, as I am currently sitting at my desk working on my mountain of homework, I have a new energy to get things done. All I needed was to take a break and to spend some quality time with the people who motivate and love me the most. I am sure glad my Dad advised me to spend some time away from Mount Mercy, because now I know I can study and rock these upcoming tests!

“Wake Up Maddie, Its God.”

With being a busy college student, sometimes I feel like keeping my faith and religion important can be hard. To help with that, I have a Bible App downloaded on my phone that send me daily Bible verses for me to read and think about.

Today when I opened my notification and read my daily verse, it was like the words on my phone screen were screaming my name. It was God saying “wake up Maddie and get it together.”

My daily verse. Jeremiah 17:10

Jeremiah 17:10.

These words made me think about and evaluate my life. God knows every thought that goes through our heads. He knows the good and the bad. He knows who we truly are deep inside. He knows our motives, our greediness, our wants and wishes. Our outside image isn’t the only thing He notices. We have to live our lives, 100%, for Him.

Seeing the Bright Side

Just recently, I was asked by my work study advisor on campus to go outside and take pictures of the recent snow fall we had in Cedar Rapids. I bundled up in my winter coat, my hat and mittens, and my boots to walk around campus with the camera around my neck.

Now personally, I don’t like winter. When the cold weather comes around, I dread the first snowfall. With that said though, I can’t imagine living somewhere without four different seasons. I like the variation in temperature. I wasn’t too thrilled about the task I was given because it meant having to leave the warm building, but once I stepped outside and took a look around the cold air seemed to disappear.

A picture I took of campus.

When I began to look around, and I mean truly look around, I realized how beautiful and fascinating the snow was. The ice dangling from the rooftops, the branches of the trees glistening with snow and ice, and the sun reflecting off of the untouched ground were absolutely beautiful. When I was snapping photos, I could truly see God’s beauty in His creation.

A picture I took on campus

For some students, this snowfall caused problems. Some were unable to make it back for class on Monday, while others were trapped on campus for many days because they were unable to exit the parking lot.

A picture I took on campus.

I am thankful that I was given this opportunity to shoot this photos. In today’s society we are “go, go go,” and very rarely do we stop for a few minutes to intently look around at the beauty and the amazing views that are around us. There is beauty and good in every situation. Sometimes it may take a while to find the good, but if you look hard enough, its there.

A picture I took of Warde Hall on campus.