It is the people that make the place.

One of the first things people in college asked me was where I was from. I guess my extreme use of the word "y'all" gave it away that I was not a native Minnesotan. After I told them I was from Texas, the next question always went something like this, "how the heck did you end up in Minnesota/St. Ben's?" To this questions I had two answers, a short and a long version. The short version is I found it on a whim. The long version includes:

*my deep desire to go to small(er) D3 school that had an above average softball team and finding a school that matched- St. Scholastica.

*a 20+ hour drive in the summer of 2005 with my dad and getting caught in the worst rain storm in the middle of Iowa!

* a deal Minnesota has called "Mn Private College Week" where if you come and visit a certain # of colleges in a certain week you get like 5 free application fee waivers (and everyone knows my family is a sucker for a good deal!)

*disappointing visits at most of the Minnesota private school (weird tour guide at St. Kate's, even weirder tour guide at St. Scholastica- I didn't care that they had a decent softball team anymore, they were weird!)

*my want to not drive another 20+ hour back home having not even liked any of the schools I visited. It was because of this, that my dad and I visited CSB on the last day of stay in Minnesota. As soon as I walked on to campus, the entrance near the Main Building, I looked at my dad and said something to the effect of, "this is it." And boy was I right.

I spent the last year of high school telling all my friends back in Texas about this great school in Minnesota I was going to attend. Most of my friends weren't looking to go out of state, and looked at me strangely that I would want to go so far. But my mind was set.

And so in August of 2006 I embarked on the journey that is college... met great people, had a great time, and couldn't imagine myself anywhere else. I went on service trips to Africa and Alaska, traveled with friends, cultivated and nurtured relationships that I know will last a lifetime.

...the reason I am thinking about all of this- my finding CSB, building relationships, etc.- is because I just got back from CSB/SJU for the first time since I graduated. Ben is a senior there and so I wanted to visit him, and see some friends in the area.

I enjoyed my time at St. Ben's/St. John's this visit. I love the feeling of fall, the changing of the colors, walking in the arboretum on trails I had never been on before. But what I enjoyed more than the scenery, or physical beauty of the campus was the conversation I had with my friend Lucy at Olive Garden. Listening to her talk about her new job as a nurse and while she isn't completely comfortable as a nurse yet, she knows it's the perfect job for her. I loved hearing about her wedding in May and all the planning that she already has done.

I loved going to Alexandria and visiting Tiffany. I loved watching her light up as she talked about her extremely "excited" 4th grade class. I remember sitting in our dorm freshmen year and her talking about wanting to be a teacher. Or last year as she stayed up so late making lesson plans during student teaching. She is a great teacher, and all her hard work has paid off.

And with Ben and I now in separate states for an unknown period of time, it was so great to be in each other's company for awhile. He has a tough semester with his senior thesis and upper division classes, but I know he will do great! I remember last year reminding myself how lucky we were to be at the same school together and how I needed to cherish these times- when you aren't 800 miles apart, but it is only now that I am truly realizing how lucky we were.

So now, four months after graduation it has finally hit me. It was not St. Ben's/St. John's itself that I loved so much (although I do!), it was the people. The people who made every weekend eventful even in the dead of winter, my fellow ROTCers who I worked out with before the sun came up, my nursing pals who became some of my best friends, and the 1.5 years I had at school with Ben (well minus the semester he spent galavanting in Europe!). Afterall, it is the people that make the place.