Glory Days at Southeastern College

The last post was very depressing but it's my life story so just be glad you did have to live it:)

Now on to Southeastern College...

Going to SEC was the best decision of my life up to that point. I always think about how the decisions made when a person is a teenager and early 20's really shape the rest of their lives. Who has the sense to make good decisions at that point in there lives? It's scary!

I started SEC on August 24, 1984. Believe me I know the day, I had been counting down the days on a calendar and was thrilled to get there. The first person I met went on to become a life long friend. Kim and I met in the bathroom, both of us primping in front of the mirror getting ready to go to the cafeteria. We often laugh at that auspicious meeting but we clicked as only special friends can. We left together that afternoon and somewhere on the way picked up Todd. That was the beginning of the best group of friends that SEC has ever known. The group went on to include my roommate Jan, Todd's roommate Stephen, and Kim's roommate Mary Beth. There were others who joined our group especially from the guys' hall in Bauer called "The Ghetto" and our corresponding girls' hall in Bethany called "The Ghettoette's" but the core was us six. We are still in contact with each other although I only see Kim on a regular basis as everyone else lives out of state.

My Freshmen and Sophomore years were magical to me. When I think of that time, I think of laughter and spreading my wings. SEC in those days kept a pretty tight rein on the students so my wings didn't spread too far. The craziest think I remember doing was me and 2 others who shall remain nameless went over to the USF campus in Tampa to a Christian night club. It was a forbidden thing to do. All we saw was a bunch of people dancing to the latest Petra music with some disco lights. We had a blast! However on the way home one of my friends lead us in a prayer of repentance He was the one dancing the hardest in the club :)

My pet name was Cabbage Patch-this was the 80's remember. I still have friends that call me that. Kim and I were recently laughing and talking about old times and we realized we were the "in crowd" at SEC. Then we really started laughing! I admit I was a "social butterfly" My roommate Jan and I used to see who could go on the most dates in a semester. I think I hold the record. However we had to define "date". Was it a date if you just walked Lake Hollingsworth or did he have to hold your hand and take you to TCBY? I won't tell you what the record is that I hold but it's in the double digits. But what's so neat is that it was all so innocent.

After our first couple of years everyone had to get more focused on what was going on personally. I got extremely involved in the outreach ministries of SEC. In my Jr year, I helped to led a street outreach to OBT Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando. It's an area where there is alot of homeless and prostitution. I did a summer internship in Brooklyn New York inner city and decided that was where I was headed.

I worked many different jobs while at SEC, both on campus and off. I was a janitor, cafeteria worker, teacher assistant, a temp for the post office, a clerk at Kmart...those are just a few. It was a good experience for me, I certainly knew I was going to finish college so I didn't have to work so many hard jobs.

I made so many good friends at SEC that I remain friends with to this day. Some I may not see very often but when I do see them, it's like the years melt away. Although it is a bit disconcerting to run into someone and they are now middle aged! I'm on facebook and I have to admit there are times when I do a double take at some pictures. We're middle aged. It really hits when when we are on campus. Jon and I say how young the students look and they seem so much cooler than we were. Everyone walks around with their cell phones, Ipods, laptops..all we had were pay phones, stereos and what was a computer? Anyhow I love you Southeastern friends!

I met Jon at SEC sorta. He was in my Urban Context for Ministry class. It was an all male class except for me (that was the good thing about being a Bible major I had a class full of guys!) I remember him because I didn't know him and I knew ALL the other guys in the class. Jon sat in the front row on the right side by the window. He stood out to me because I knew everyone else. He says he tried to talk to me once and I snubbed him, The truth is I knew he didn't live on campus (or I would have known him)and back in those days if you didn't live on campus, it meant only one thing, you were MARRIED. Well I wasn't interested in talking to some old married man when there were some many other fish in the class! Anyhow he says he had a crush on me but just never had the courage to really try to get to know me. He can even describe some of my clothes that I wore including a cute denim jacket that I wore alot that year with pins on it (remember the 80's) So he loved me from afar...(he lived off campus because his family lived in Lakeland off of the famous Lake Hollingsworth and he had a mama and a maid that took care of everything so he had no desire to live on campus!)

About that time, I began dating someone exclusively. It was a bad relationship that lasted 2 years. I wanted love and a family but only got heartache in an abusive relationship. I finally had the sense to call it off after I graduated. That relationship is my biggest regret of my SEC years. But even in that I learned many things and I learned what I was looking for in a mate. Which did me well because soon after, I "re met" (I think I just made up a new word) and the rest is history! More in the next post about my love!