Things I love about Biola || Bulletin Boards.

At one end of the SUB, there are these nice little bulletin boards.

I think the brick adds a nice touch.

They tell of upcoming events on campus and in the area. They’re always so colorful and informative. I rather enjoy them.

Things I love about Biola || The FOLD.

The hall I live on in Horton is 4th South, known as The FOLD.

Outside the entrance to our floor.

It stands for Fourth Odd Ladies Dwelling. This is because we are obviously on the 4th floor and all of our room numbers are odd.

And let me tell you, these ladies are wonderful. Also, we have two of the coolest RA’s ever. I have so enjoyed getting to know everyone so far, and I know that it’s going to be a great year. I love living with ladies that are so fun and encouraging. It’s such a blessing to be living on The FOLD.

The FOLD Retreat.

My floor, the FOLD, took a retreat to a cabin in the mountains near Big Bear. It belongs to the family of one of the girls on my floor, and they were kind enough to let us use it for two nights. It was about a two-hour drive there. I rode with three girls from my floor that I hadn’t met before. I was exhausted, though, and I slept most of the car ride. When I was awake, however, we had a lot of fun together.

We stopped at a grocery store in Redlands to pick up some things that we would need for the next couple of days. One girl’s car was having problems, though, so a couple of other girls did what they could to inspect it. After struggling to find how to check the oil (strange Volvos) they enlisted the help of a guy walking by. He ended up being rather helpful. The problem was never solved, but she hoped her car would make it up the mountain. Well, we hardly made it to a gas station when we all pulled off. Her car would hardly drive. She was going to have to call for a tow. The tow wasn’t going to come for a while, though, and it was already dark.

Well, all 25 of us got out of the cars and decided to make the most of the situation. We ate chips and salsa and played ninja. Someone eventually got out Catch Phrase, and we played that, too. We all started to get really hungry again. The dad of another one of the girls lived pretty close by, so she called him and asked if we could bake the pizzas we had bought. He said that was fine, so a few girls went ahead to put those in the oven.

When the tow truck finally arrived, we all cheered. We all packed into the remaining cars and headed to where the pizza was. After eating and enjoying some music, we packed back in the cars to head up the mountain. Once we got to the cabin, 25 girls spread their stuff throughout the two floors. Before everyone went to bed, we played games and watched a movie.

The next day, we got up whenever our bodies woke up. We made bag lunches and drove to the river. After traveling down a small, winding road, we arrived at the river and unloaded the cars.

Kristy and Cydney handing out the back window.

We walked down until we found a spot for all of us to sit and eat. We shared stories, laughed, and took pictures. It was great fun.

I love my RAs! Kristy and Monica.

That evening, a few of us decided to take a hike farther up the mountain. We filled our water bottles, put on our hiking shoes, and headed out. The seven of us followed a winding trail. I alternated between looking at my feet so I wouldn’t trip and looking at the beauty of God’s hand that surrounded us. The sun was already getting lower, creating beautiful shadows. Before we got to the top, I suggested that we spend some time in prayer once we got there. It was impossible to be in this place and not want to thank God for His beauty. When we were almost to the top, none of turned around, so that it would be a neat reveal. And that it certainly was. We spent a couple of minutes in silence, and I shot a few pictures.

One of my favorites of the scene we saw.

The seven of us then got in a circle and thanked the Lord for who He is and letting us witness a scene so majestic. We spent some time simply soaking it all in, but soon had to head back down the mountain. We didn’t want to lose too much daylight. I couldn’t help but smile, though. God is so incredibly awesome.

Back at the house, we baked cookies and spent time together. A number of us laid on blankets outside and talked under the stars. It was beautiful. We even saw a few shooting stars. Granted, it was no Minnesota sky, but after seeing very few stars through the LA haze, this sky was great.

The next morning we got up, cleaned, packed up, and headed back to campus. What a weekend it had been. So many things had gone wrong, but God came through in every possible way and reminded us of who He is. That’s my kind of retreat.

Things I love about Biola || Horton.

Horton was my first choice for housing, and I was thrill when I found out that I got into it.

Isn't it beautiful?

I was recently thinking how different my college experience would have been if I had been assigned to any other dorm. The funny thing is, I am sure it would be equally as awesome. It would just be different. Naturally, most of the people that I spend time with are from Horton. So if I didn’t live here, I obviously wouldn’t know these people.

Horton is the newest and largest building. And, as you can imagine, it’s surrounded by palm tree. Beautiful. There’s a lovely lawn out front, along with a few picnic tables.

Reflection, yeah, I went there.

The Horton community is great fun, too. I enjoy doing my homework in the lobby because there’s always someone passing by to chat with. It’s great.

The man himself.

What I do when I should be doing homework.

Believe it or not, I don’t take pictures of myself that often. I’ll admit, I used to do so a lot when I was first starting out, but my vision has expanded a lot in the last five years.

I was bored, though, and looking for something to do. That’s when I got the idea to shoot some self-portraits, experimenting with different components. My bed is lofted, and under it is my desk and dresser. I decided to use that space to set up a little studio.

I put my 35mm on my camera, because I wanted to shoot at f/1.8. I then set my camera on my tripod. I moved my desk chair in front of my dresser, and moved my desk lamp over, too. I didn’t want to use flash, as I hate using it, and I knew that my lamp had a nice, natural glow. Also, I was hoping to create shadows. I took my black photoshooting sheet and hung it from my bed. Finally, I took my roommates fan. I mean, when you’ve got hair, you have to work it, right? My set up looked something like this:

My lovely "studio."

I ended up taking 25 shoots using my remote. Each time, I would adjust the light or the fan or both. There was always something I didn’t like. Eventually, I landed on this one, with which I was moderately pleased.

Take one.

There was an earlier shot I liked, too. The one above looks rather posed. Obviously. While this one isn’t perfect, I like that it looks more raw—there’s more emotion in it. But hey, maybe that’s just me.

Take two.

Say what you will about self-portraits, but you can learn a lot about photography with them.

Things I love about Biola || Nalgene bottles.

I’m a huge fan of my nalgene bottle.

I think it's the stickers.

And apparently so is everyone else regarding theirs. All kinds of people carry their nalgene bottles everywhere, and it’s fantastic. Some people might not think of this as a very big deal, but it’s just not that common in Minnesota. I usually clip mine on my backpack. It’s quite handy.

Things I love about Biola || Bicycles.

There are bike racks in all kinds of places.
There’s just something kind of beautiful about seeing a huge grouping of bicycles in one place. I don’t even know what it is.

There's just so many colors.

Granted, campus isn’t that large, and you only get a few bikers here and there across campus. However, there’s all these bikes. I can only imagine the adventures these cyclists must be having. 

President's Luncheon.

That name makes it sound so formal. As a recipient of the President’s Scholarship, I got invited to this luncheon. It was held in the library courtyard, and they made it look rather fantastic. The only problem was that the sun was blazing hot, and the table that I was assigned to was the only one that wasn’t completely covered. The other people at my table were a mixture of other students and various faculty members. The older gentleman that I was sitting next to has family in Minnesota, so we had a lovely chat about my state. I love getting to talk about Minnesota.

After we ate, DBC addressed all of us. He is a rather dynamic speaker, even when addressing a crowd of only a hundred. I was hoping to get to meet him at the conclusion of the luncheon, but by that time I only had a few minutes to get to class. It was an enjoyable time, though. I mean, come on, any time that you get a name on a place card you know it’s pretty legit.

My seat at the table.

Leeland.

I’m not sure how much you know about the band Leeland. Maybe you’re a huge fan. Maybe you have no idea who I’m talking about.

Whatever the case, they came to Biola to lead us in worship at chapel. I know some of their stuff, owning two of their albums, but I’m not an over-enthusiastic fan. Let me tell you, though—they were phenomenal. This was no concert; we worshipped the Lord together, and it was amazing. The lead singer, Leeland Mooring, gave a word with a fierce passion. My written words cannot fully convey the power of this time together.

I would like to give a small plug for Leeland, too. If you’ve never heard them, I would like to suggest two of my favorite songs: “Yes You Have” and “Carried to the Table.” The chorus of “Yes You Have” sings, “You’ve stolen my heart/ Yes You have!” Beautiful.

“Carried to the Table” comes from the story of Mephibosheth which can be found in 2 Samuel 9:1-13. I urge you to read the story and then listen to the song. Not only is it a beautiful story, but it is a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us. I cry nearly every time I listen to the song. In fact, I love it so much, I’m going to post the lyrics…

Wounded and forsaken
I was shattered by the fall
Broken and forgotten
Feeling lost and all alone
Summoned by the King
Into the Master's courts
Lifted by the Savior
And cradled in His arms

I was carried to the table
Seated where I don't belong
Carried to the table
Swept away by His love
And I don't see my brokenness anymore
When I'm seated at the table of the Lord
I'm carried to the table
The table of the Lord

Fighting thoughts of fear
And wondering why He called my name
Am I good enough to share this cup
This world has left me lame
Even in my weakness
The Savior called my name
In His Holy presence
I'm healed and unashamed

You carried me, my God
You carried me

I like making things.

Cards fall into this category.

I used to be a huge fan of just giving cards. Any kind of card, too. Any occasion that could possibly be found in which to send a card, I would find it. And when I give a card, I don’t just sign my name—oh, no no. I fill the card; I basically write a novel. Yes, I understand that at times this is a little excessive, but usually I start writing and have trouble stopping.  There always seems to be something more that I could say to someone.

I think my love for giving cards stems from my enjoyment from receiving them. There’s just something kind of beautiful about getting a card, knowing that someone was thinking about you.

A card is an excuse to tell someone what they mean to you—to tell them those things that you may not tell them any other way. Sometimes, cards are a cop-out. There are some words of affirmation that should be said to someone’s face. However, other times, the most beautiful thing you can do is write it down in a card. Then that person can go back again and again and read those encouraging words. I know I certainly do that. I do so with notes, texts, messages, letters, cards—if you wrote a kind word to me some time, I most likely still have it.

Within the past few months, I have become a huge fan of making cards. This card here is one that I made for a new friend. He’s into photography, so I cut the card to the exact specs of a Polaroid photo. He loved it and was very appreciative.

I'll be honest, I was pretty proud of the end result.

I was delighted.

NATIONBALL.

A crazy dodgeball tournament unlike any you’ve ever seen.

Each dorm has a dorm color—Horton’s color is black—and the people from that dorm dress from head to toe in their appropriate color. There are some crazy costumes, too. A guy I know from Horton even dressed in a wet suit. It’s a pretty funny sight.

Annette, Christi, and I in our war paint.

Before we started, Horton met up by the fountain to get psyched up. We then lined up in a line two people wide. We walked down to the gym like that and entered in silence with our right fist raised. If you can imagine, with all of the people that there are in Horton, it took quite some time. Each dorm has a designated spot on the bleachers. Lower campus takes one side of the gym and upper campus takes the other.

The Biola Eagle then rode out on a bike, the spokes of which had the dorm colors on them. The wheels were spun to determine who would play against each other for the round. There’s music blasting and it’s basically pure chaos… it’s awesome.

I spent all of my time running around to different spots to take pictures. I had so much fun doing so. I used my fish eye a lot, which was really cool.

Horton versus Hope.

We (Horton) ended up beating our biggest rival, Hope, but we lost to OCC (off-campus commuters) in the championship. Overall, it was a crazy fun night. Even with the ridiculous heat in the gym, you couldn’t help but have a good time.

Things I love about Biola || The Community.

Every college that I toured told me the same thing.

“At [insert college], there’s such a great sense of community.” Every school boasted of how great their students are and how unique their community is. Now, there very well may be awesome community at all of those schools. I saw it at many of them. However, Biola was the first place that I truly felt it.

Coming here has been no different. As I mentioned in my orientation week post, I definitely have a sense of belonging. People care about you. People that don’t even know you. Professors that I had just met prayed for my semester. It’s fantastic.

On the second day of classes, I was walking across campus at about 7:45 am. Under the bell tower, I see three guys. One of them has a guitar and is playing softly. The other two are praying for each other. All this before 8 am on a Thursday. For some of you, that’s no big deal. But let me tell you, you just don’t just see that everywhere.

I can’t wait to become even more involved in the Biola community. And, to other Biolans, let’s try not to take it for granted, yeah? We are so very blessed to be here.

Photography for photography's sake.

I decided to take photos today.

Now, I realize that phrasing it that way makes it sound like a task. Do not be mistaken—photography is what energizes me. However, things have been crazy busy. As you can imagine, moving and settling in to a new home is quite a lot of work. It’s funny, too, because I can tell when I haven’t taken pictures in a while. Photography is not just a hobby for me; it is a release. Stress melts away. Also, as strange as it may sound to some, I connected with God in a different way through photography. It’s amazing.

Thus, today, I made a decision to take photos. I packed the gear I would want into the smaller of my camera bags, and walked around campus. I also brought my dear friend, Willis, with me. Willis is a gnome. My sister has a whole collection of them. As part of my moving-to-college gift, she gave me one of them. Therefore, as you may guess, Willis is very near and dear to my heart.

My dear friend, Willis.

After taking some photos, I got a hold of my friend, Annette. She is the one who I went with to Serve Day. Please allow me to tell you how Annette and I met…

Annette and I were originally in the same SOS group. Our leader had made a facebook group for all of us. I added Annette as a friend, wanting to say hello and introduce myself. We began talking over facebook, and learned about each other. I was excited to get to meet her in person, and we had already talked about photoshooting.

 One night during orientation week, I was outside the bookstore and I heard, “Olivia?” I turned and said, “Annette?” We laughed and hugged and started talking.

Well, the first time we split up into our SOS groups, someone came up to Annette and said that she’d been switched to a different group just because of numbers. We were both sad, but we’ve continued to talk. And so we already got a mini photoshoot in.

We even kind of matched.

This is my favorite picture I took of her that day. She’s so incredibly beautiful, isn’t she?

My dear Annette.