Jordyne's Autobiography

The Curtain Opens, Enter Stage Left

Prologue - As a newcomer to the area, I’ve been shocked by the number of bugs around here. Not that I’m unfamiliar with them completely - I’ve been bitten by the travelin’ bug, the moth of theatre, and stung by a love for the written word. Occasionally, these bites become fancies, fancies swell into hobbies, hobbies turn into passions, and passions that become lifelong pursuits. The travelin’ bug brought me to UC all the way from Weatherford, Texas; the moth of theatre pushed me headfirst into a theatre major; and that writing itch convinced me that being a UC blogger was the right idea. Would this be an odd time to mention that I don’t particularly care for anything that scuttles, flies, or stings? And yet these bugs will most likely stay center stage when it comes to my freshman year at Cumberlands.

Act One - I am born on August 2nd, 1990. I’m a Leo, with a peridot birthstone. I am a precocious, rather adorable, bouncy child with a penchant for adoring my teachers and spending too much time reading books above my grade level (a tradition I still keep today). My family and I move around a bit before I turn twelve - I live in Mississippi, New York, Virginia, and several different places in Texas. At twelve, we land in Weatherford, my parents divorce and each get remarried, and I blissfully remain with my mom, step-dad, and three younger siblings in Weatherford until the day after graduation.

Intermission - Being an English nerd and theatrical person, metaphors resonate strongly within me. At a youth retreat as a freshman, I received a candle - and a physical, mental and spiritual call to be a light to the world. One Light, Many Candles. The God that I had heard of, read about, and thought of opened my eyes to His living reality and told me there were changes to be made - both in me and in the world. These God-given transformations are ones that I continually seek out for myself and for others.

Act Two - I call this Act Two, because the day after I graduate my family and I take off for Tennessee, a grueling, Reeses Pieces-craving, mind-dulling, nineteen-hour drive (with a moving truck mind you) that spans three states, many, many trees and an absurd amount of gas. Thankfully, UC is now comfortably within my reach - a place where I can pretend to be far away from home when I‘m feeling brave, and still get home quickly when I need to (apparently ya’ll don’t make decent enchiladas. I’ve got to come home for those!).

I suspect the curtain will close whenever I exit stage right from college and leave my metaphorical childhood theater to pursue the grand adventure God has set before me. Until then, I am determined to toss my cap into every possible ring of experience, learn from minds far greater than mine, and love - most importantly to love - the people I meet along the way. Perhaps one of them will be you.

Always yours,
Jordyne

It’s already November??

Oh snap. I’m smelling old candy corn and turkey already. So we’ve more than officially passed the half-way mark of my first semester in college. Its been a crazy experience so far, to say the very least - but I can honestly say through the stressed times and the fun times, I’ve been enjoying it, and know that I plan on sticking around. ;-) These last two weeks since Fall Break have been absolute chaos. I thought things were busy during midterms! I’ve had three tests, three papers and a debate that I’ve been working on, on top of wild rehearsals, snatching sleep where I can grab it and eating far too many Reeses and candy corn to survive. (Sugar high!) Thank you Halloween! I plan on spending this weekend to recuperate from the wildness thus far, and basically get my life back and order and make sure I am on top of things. Its so easy to let things get away from you, lose track of when things are due and only remember the night before, sending you panicked into a tailspin as you try to get it done on time. My mom always said how important a planner and organization is - I believe her now! My little red book has become an absolute fixture for me and I don’t know how I could manage without it.

In other very important news, UC’s fall production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest opened last weekend to outstanding reviews. We’ve actually got our final show tonight, show number six! Its been one of the most eye-opening experiences for me. Making the transition from high school theatre to college theatre is huge and instructional - and every day reminds me of why I’m a theatre major, and why I love it so much. I’ve been on the technical crew backstage this year, pretending to be invisible, learning how to set things on fire safely, painting my little heart out, and running around handling props. Its been an absolute blast getting to be on the opposite side of the spectrum from acting and understanding how important the technical side of theatre is to a production. I hope I never forget that! I know I’m definitely going to miss everyone here after tonight. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the department and the actors, I know they’ve been working really hard to make the show great. The good thing is that we are starting preliminary rehearsals for Hello Dolly soon! I’m both nervous and extremely excited about that too. Its definitely going to keep me busy from now until March!

It has been weird for me though, spending my first holiday (namely Halloween, sorry, I don’t count Labor Day.) away from home. I was more than a little homesick tonight when I realized that my brother and little sister were going trick-or-treat without me for the first time. I miss them so much! In fact, if it weren’t for the Tempest, I would have driven home Halloween night, just to be there and driven back. But I suppose its all about the balance between my life at college and my life back home. I’ll get to see them (hopefully) when I drive home on Tuesday to vote. I know it seems silly to want to go back already when I was just there for several days a couple of weeks ago, but I feel again like I’m ready for another break. Cue the count down for Thanksgiving!

Speaking of Election Day (Don’t worry, I’m not about to start convincing you to vote for my candidate ;-) ) , I attended a really neat event for my Political Science class called “The Great Debate”, featuring two of our very own UC professors (Dr. Broom and Dr. Hicks) taking the sides of both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama and hashing it out for the general students and Williamsburg public on campus. It was very neat seeing people stand up and ask questions, really interested in getting involved in the issues. I really enjoyed it! I also got the chance on that same night to attend a murder mystery dinner theatre (try to say THAT three times fast! :-D) in honor of Halloween sponsored by CAB (the Campus Activity Board) which was an absolute blast. They had a medieval theme, and it was all about the audience participation! I definitely think I want to put in an application to join CAB next year. These guys are so involved, constantly doing events on campus to make life a little more fun and interesting. Its always nice to know that there is SOMETHING going on around here to go and do.

Anyway, the countdown has started til finals, at least from the point of view of some of my teachers, but I don’t mind. Thanksgiving, good food and Christmas here I come! Everybody stay sweet and stay safe. God bless!

Love always,
Jordyne

“Health is not valued until sickness comes.”

I don’t get sick often, but for the last week, I have been downright miserable, going to class in loungepants and hoodies (and on occasion my slippers), sleeping and sneezing at all times and generally giving cooties to everyone I come in contact with. I’ve managed to go to almost all of my classes (which has been a fight, believe me!) so even though I’m not feeling well I’m not behind, thank goodness. With midterms right around the corner I’m study study studying, and praying for the next week to be over so I can go home for - four - whole days! It has been really hard being sick without my mom here to take care of me for the first time in my life- I had no idea how much I need her, and my whole family! I definitely can’t wait to go home for a while and really just relax and spend some time with them. I know things will pick back up again after that and once I’m feeling better.

Homecoming was last weekend and I went to the carnival and football game with my family, showing them all around the campus and just generally letting them in on my life here at Cumberlands. Sometimes it feels like the campus is our own personal, private little world - and its nice to share it with the other people in my life that are important to me. My little sister loved the bounce houses, I think my parents had an awesome time cheering for our Cumberland Patriots when they beat Pikeville, and I know my brother enjoyed watching and listening to the marching band. We had such a blast!

Learning how to balance my life here at Cumberlands and keeping up with the things going on back home isn’t easy. It helps being only an hour and a half away, because I can go home for the big things, like my sister’s birthday last Monday. Sometimes I get so caught up in all the things going on here that I forget to check up on the people that mean the most to me. But I guess that is just a part of becoming an adult - sending birthday cards, remembering things when there isn’t anyone to remind you. I’m getting used to it all, and it’s great that I’m adjusting in slower steps here at UC, instead of just jumping into living in an adult environment all by myself.

One of the coolest thing that has happened in the last few weeks was actually an event sponsored by BCM (as usual, they do so much for us!) , a concert by the amazing band Morning Will Break! The best part? We got to hang out with them for the entire night after, show them around campus, and generally just get to know two of the female members of the band really well. It was so inspiring to see people that were literally touring the country and praising God with their music, reaching out to students and so many others. I know my roommate and I will be keeping in touch with them!

Anyway, I’ve got a paper to work on and a hundred other exams I’ve got to study on before next week, but I’ll catch up with you guys after fall break! Hope everyone has a good vacation!

Love always,
Jordyne

PS. That quote is by Dr. Thomas Fuller! :D

And in the mountains when the leaves change…they actually CHANGE!

Phew! If my first couple weeks were fun and energetic, I’d have to say these last few have been exhausting and mind-boggling. Now that everyone has finally settled into the rhythm of classes, extra-curriculars and all that jazz, the academic side of college has definitely picked up. I finished my first college level paper last night (at a decent hour, because I had been working pretty hard on it over the last week ;-) ) and turned it in this afternoon. A sense of relief seems to be sinking in around the campus finally, after about a week of watching people pass by rubbing their eyes, yawning, and looking generally exhausted. No sleep for the procrastinators! Late last week and at the start of this week I survived four tests, ranging from Algebra to Political Science. I’m still anxiously awaiting the results to some of them, but I’m just glad I survived! My teachers have all been marvelously helpful, which I really appreciate. Each of them provided us with a study guide of some sort to help us prepare for the test. Now I’ve heard that that’s not usually the case – but I’m glad it went down this way for at least my first tests. Thankfully I’ve got an idea now of what to expect (and how much to study!).

On another note, one that I cannot seem to express, stress, explain, talk about enough - my love for this campus. Its nearly October, and the trees are just now starting to change their leaves, bales of hay and pumpkins seem to have miraculously appeared in random, decorative places – it feels like autumn! Perhaps I should elaborate – in Texas, fall means that the trees go from green, to brown, to hitting the ground. Even though the process has just begun, I’ve never seen so many colors. In junior high, in high school, I always imagined college to feel a little something like this. Cool in the mornings, warm in the afternoons, orange leaves gracing the grounds, students with backpacks (and iPods, nowadays!) milling, going about their business, or perhaps just sitting and studying. For me – this is the atmosphere I wanted for college, and I can’t explain how thrilled I am that I found it here at Cumberlands. At the risk of sounding like a greeting card – I couldn’t be happier anywhere else.

Things just seem to get busier and busier though, as we all inch our way towards Fall Break in mid-October. We’ve been here over a month, and everyone is looking forward to heading home once again. My radio show has been one of the highlights of my week, (I’ll remind all my readers once again – Wed, 2-3 PM www.ucumberlands.edu/wccr  94.5 LP-FM! ) a time for me to just relax, and enjoy a little peace and quiet while listening to my favorite songs. Working and building the set for the Tempest has been rewarding in a hundred different ways – I’ve even learned how to use a table saw! One of my favorite events on campus is quickly becoming Ignite, BCM’s Monday night worship service. We’ve had several entertaining guest speakers come in and talk already, including Ergun Caner, the President of Liberty University Theological Seminary (He actually spoke for three days in a row. I went all three nights, and learned so much!) and a representative of the controversial XXX Church ministry. It’s incredible seeing students come, learn and ask questions, seeking to delve deeper into their relationship with Jesus Christ and not be afraid to stand up and take a stand. There are “Why?” signs all over campus, encouraging students to attend and ask Why for themselves. Baptist Campus Ministries has done a great job so far, and I can’t wait for next Monday to see what happens next.

College feels like a nonstop whirlwind of classes, meetings, extracurricular activities, and laughter and it sometimes feels impossible to slow down and take a breath. But when I do, I can’t help but stop, look around, and marvel at the world I see, the world God has made and molds every moment. In fact, I’m headed out to take a walk with a couple of friends in just a few minutes. We’ve got the weekend and time to take a break – time to make the memories I know I’ll never forget. Maybe we’ll go to Wal-mart. ;-)

All my love to y’all,
Jordyne

Different isn’t just good - it’s important.

So today, Monday, September 8th marks the start of my third official week as a freshman here at University of the Cumberlands. It seems to be full of opposites. College is everything, and nothing like I thought it would be. My classes are new and different and yet - it is still school. I’m torn between a longing for the old friends I knew, and a desire to spend every minute talking and laughing with the people I want to get to know better. I’m homesick, but I’m not ready to leave. I love my roommate (she’s the sweetest ever!) - but I’m not used to sharing a room! It has taken some time to get used to the attitude of life here at Cumberlands, but I’ve loved it from my first step on campus, and that still hasn’t changed. Somehow I don’t think it will.

First off (and most importantly, of course! ;-) ) my classes. I love them! We started on Wednesday, where I survived Algebra, Intro to Theatre, and Intro to Mass Media. I’ll tell you what surprised and thrilled me most - as a class, we prayed at the start of Algebra. Now let me explain something to you - I’m from a public school, where academics and God are ‘forbidden’ from mixing, that whole separation of church and state thing. To be in a class where not only are we allowed to pray, but encouraged to do so (in math, nonetheless, where prayer is sometimes necessary!) was definitely a plus in my book. My other two M W F classes seem really fun as well. My T H classes - New Testament, Intro to Political Science and Ballroom Dance have also been a blast so far. I can now do a very simple version of the foxtrot! Oh! And I almost forgot my favorite class of all - Insights! I’ve got one totally cool Moe Conn the technical theatre director here at UC, leading the way, a couple of awesome Stars (shout out to Chris and Candida!)and a class full of people in the exact same boat as me. We’ve played games, gotten to know each other, and learned more about all the opportunities available at Cumberlands. It’s wonderful being able to sit back and just talk about being a freshman, getting out our nerves and our experiences to people that have been there, without fear of judgement or ridicule. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year, that’s for sure, and I will be seriously sad when Insights ends!

In other news - we had auditions for Hello, Dolly! The musical last Wednesday and Thursday night, which were tons of fun. I got a chance to hang out with other theatre people, and really feel a part of my element again. To top it all off, I found out on Friday that I was cast as Dolly Gallagher Levi, the lead! I’m incredibly nervous, but even more so excited. We start rehearsals in January (which seems like such a long way away!) and then the production is in late February and early March. I hope everyone comes out to see it! On top of that good news, I’ve been able to work things out with Dr. Semmel about starting my own hour-long radio show on UC’s WCCR 94.5 on Wednesday! Being a DJ has always sounded like fun, so I’m super excited about giving it a shot. There are so many opportunities of all kinds around here, almost too many to try them all! Who knew that only two weeks into school I’d already be so busy?

Anyway, I’ve got to get ready for my second set of auditions tonight for the Tempest, so I’ll check back in with everyone later. Can you believe that Fall Break is in a little over a month already? Time is flying by, and I’m desperately trying to catch up to it.

Talk to all of you soon!
Jordyne

PS. Shout out to some of the girls that already mean so much to me - Whitley (my roommate), Chelsea and Anna (my girls!) - I don’t know what I would do without you!

One Short Day In The Emerald City

Just so I don’t confuse anyone - the UC campus isn’t made out of emeralds, and only the grass is green. But I felt the same way Dorothy did during her first few days in the Emerald City during Freshman Orientation - excited, overwhelmed, surprised, and altogether ready to pursue the great new adventure that is now before me. Granted, I didn’t meet a great wizard nor did I melt any witches - but I managed to dominate at foosball, giggle through Cumberland Squares, meet my coach, take several personality tests in my Insights class, enjoy a hot shower in Hutton Hall, take in what seemed to be an impossible amount of important college information, and even meet my future room mate. I drove home at the end of that crazy twenty four hours reeling with inspiration, expectation, laughter, excitement - not to mention a good dose of preparation - and ready to come back as soon as I could. Only next time it would be for good.

Friday night at the pizza party was a bit overwhelming. As an out of state student, there wasn’t a single person I knew and I wasn’t sure if I would actually meet anyone. I shouldn’t have been so worried - after all, anyone can be introduced over the flavor of a snow cone, or a jokingly competitive game of foosball! Out of everything I learned there, I found the two questions every freshman can ask another in an effort to make a conversation without being awkward or seeming to pry - “Where are you from?” and “What’s your major?”. As to the first, it was awesome to see so many students from all over the country. Texas, Ohio, Florida, Mississippi, Connecticut... Students had come from far and wide to experience UC just like I had - I wasn’t alone! And in each of these students was a different dream, a different life pursuit, a different major. One of the friends I made and talked to for a while even wanted to be a canine police officer! All of the people I met were unique in their own separate ways, and yet we still all had something in common. That “something” was a unifier that would prove to bring us all together in the coming hours - we were all a little nervous, we were all looking for something different, and most importantly, we were all UC freshman.

I personally started out Saturday bright and early, my alarm clock wailing into my ear and reminding me that TODAY was a big day. In fact, I was so eager (and even more nervous) to get started with the days events that I was the first in the dorm showers, one of the first checked out, and once I’d joined back up with my mom - one of the first to be at the complimentary breakfast, with registration folder in hand and a big grin plastered across my face. (The grin served to negotiate with the butterflies soaring around my stomach!). In the face of being labeled ‘cliche’, I hereby declare that orientation was nothing like I thought it would be - but it was exactly what I needed. In the morning, we watched a skit about the dorms, scavenger hunted for information about clubs and organizations, and laughed as we learned more about UC in a game called “Cumberland Squares”, starring some of our very own Stars - upper classmen who so generously volunteered their time to help out some very confused freshmen. Then lunch (sandwiches) and off to our Insights class. Since Insights is something I’ll get to have for several weeks into my first semester at UC, I’m sure I’ll be elaborating on those soon enough. Needless to say we had a good time getting to know our Stripe (a faculty member charged with the pleasures of a Star) and the other students. At the end of the day, we were sent off in like-majored groups to meet our department heads, feeling for the first time that this truly was the start of the rest of our collegiate lives.

As the days tick by towards move-in day, I can’t help but feel a little apprehensive, maybe even a bit scared. (Okay, so maybe that’s the understatement of the century. And throw in stressed, overwhelmed and a bit panicky.) I know things are going to be different, that I’ll face circumstances I can’t imagine, and probably be busier than I’ve ever been before. Yet thinking back to orientation reminds me that aside from all the busy, the study, the uncertainty, I’m ready and excited to get whirled up in the tornado that is college - and enjoy every minute of it.

Even if I end up in a place that is just as unique as Oz.

Always yours,
Jordyne