Houghton College — Fluff — Stylin' Granny Mama

It is fun once in a while to think about days gone by. Whether it be high school or college, we all have memories both good and bad about those years. I thought it would be fun to just reminisce about those years I spent in college. Enjoy this walk down memory lane.

My college days were like so many young people's, a mixture of fun, frustration and figuring out what exactly it was that I wanted to do when I grew up. I spent a year and half at a four year Christian college named Houghton, that had an extension campus near where I lived. Not having the resources for an expensive education far away and not wanting to go into debt, I thought living at home and commuting a perfect way to get my college education. I started out as an education major.

I commuted the 40 minute trek from my parent's home to the campus numerous times per week through fair weather and foul. Believe me, Buffalo winters can be pretty foul. I remember one particularly nasty winter storm that I drove home through where it was not only furiously snowing, but it was accompanied by resounding drum rolls of thunder and electric flashes of lightening. It was an apocalyptic adventure maneuvering back roads all the way home. I thank God for the safe travels.

Commuting also provided ample opportunities for car break downs and flat tires. My father, an airplane mechanic, had taught me well. While he rescued me for actual break downs, he had taught me how to change a flat, which I did so at least two different times. The joys of driving old cars.

It was about a year in at Houghton, when I realized I really wanted to go to the foreign mission field and serve God in that capacity. I started looking at schools and ended up at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL.

Chicago is an amazing city and what better place to go to college. From the late night walks down Rush street, day time strolls to the Museum of Science and Industry or a run down to Moody Church, the city was full of opportunity. It was also full of great food. Many of the eateries I frequented are no longer around, but Giordanos, my favorite, still causes my hubby and I to stop when traveling through the Windy City.

My three year stay in Chicago (Moody was a three year program at the time, but has since changed to a fully accredited four year college) was not without difficulties and homesickness. The first few weeks were torture as this country girl had never lived in a big city before. I felt like a tiny bug in a huge universe of concrete and people I didn't even know. Eventually, I made friends and had some wonderful times.

When I think about what I might have done differently there are three things that came to mind.

1. Enjoy the moments more. Sometimes we spend so much time worrying about the future that we aren't able to enjoy the present.

2. Be a bit more disciplined. This was true both in diet and exercise as well as financially. While Moody was not a tuition driven school, I still had the expense of room and board. There were semesters I fell short in getting things paid off, even with my parents pitching in and my working several part time jobs. However, I loved to eat out and do things off campus and that cost money.

3. Make every year count. By the time I became a senior, I had fallen in love with the man who is now my hubby. I spent a lot of hours pining away, wishing we were together, rather than enjoying and focusing that last year.

I have many good memories of those early years and they helped to shape and make me into the person I am today.