August 18, 2011
August 24, 2011
September 20, 2011
October 18, 2011
January 17, 2012
February 22, 2012
March 1, 2012
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August 18, 2011
This is not goodbye, just see you later
Boxes after boxes leave my room each carrying a little piece of me inside. Memories are packed away like clothing ready to be unloaded in a new place where more can be made. I never thought that my entire life could be easily packed away into a few boxes, but looking at my pile now, 18 years doesn't seem like that much. Two hours is the length that my boxes have to travel. In those two hours I leave behind a crazy family, friends to die for, a loving boyfriend and annoying but adorable pets. But in two hours of straight highway I gain a whole new family on the campus of Methodist University.
I must admit, the past few weeks have been full of butterflies and the occasional tear up from my mother, but behind all that is pure excitement. Even the dreadful task of packing became a little way for me to remember all my old memories and think about all the ones yet to come. I guess the reason I am so excited is because Methodist just seems perfect in every way. After countless visits during my junior and senior year, I found a home in Fayetteville. I could see myself on campus and in the dorm rooms and its crazy to think that all that happens tomorrow! I'm not sure what to expect when I arrive on campus, but I have a feeling it's going to be crazy. The orientation schedule had so much planned and all of it looks like so much fun. I'm glad the first few days are with my parents and family because I want them to experience the environment of Methodist just as much as I will and in only a few short hours I will be there! Well the van is all packed up and now all that's left to do is celebrate my time here at home while I have it. Like any other southern girl from Texas would do, I'm spending my last day with the people I love having a good ole' cajun shrimp boil. Even though this is my “Goodbye Party”, it's not goodbye, just see you later!
Mandi Wall
Mandi Wall is a freshman on the Methodist softball team from Topsail Island, N.C. She is a biology major and hopes to play second base or outfield for the Monarchs this season.
August 24, 2011
The goodbyes were hard, but the memories are yet to come! Today I said goodbye to my mom and I guess it's the first step of me growing up in college. The tears were in her eyes mostly because she would miss me, but I knew they were partly because she was proud. I loved having her around the first few days to tell her everything, but I guess the time came for me to officially become an independent college student and a true Methodist Monarch.
As far as orientation goes, these past few days have been a surreal blur. Classes have been full of information, the amount of people I have met is amazing, and my dorm room is finally finished after about 10 Wal-Mart visits. I thought that when I arrived at Methodist I was completely prepared, but I wasn't. I had been collecting dorm stuff here and there for almost two years so I definitely thought I had everything I needed; well it's safe to say I was dead wrong. Within one day, my mother and I had to make the wally world trip three times. Even though it has only been a few days, I know I made the right choice in Methodist. Everyone around campus is so friendly and the activities have been amazing. The SAC committee around campus has really done an amazing job to make us feel involved and entertained. My roommate, Carly and I particularly liked the mind readers, but everything has been great! Well it's time for this girl to go to sleep so I can wake up early for more adventures!
Mandi Wall
I was “that girl” in high school; the one who would ace her tests in school, but wouldn’t study a darn thing at home. I graduated in the top of my class with honors and other awards, but I worked less than many others in high school. During my senior year of high school, we had some current freshman come in and talk to our class about the life of a college student. While I sat in the back of the class listening to them whine, I couldn’t help but think that college would be a breeze. They talked about the late nights they had to pull before tests, the courses they failed, and the regrets they had their freshman years. I thought to myself that they probably partied too hard or didn’t take the classes seriously, but I would have never thought sitting there in my biology class (Ironic, just wait for the story) that that would be me one day!
The first week of college went well; it was full of syllabi, tons of notes, and books beyond belief. I felt confident in the fact I was going to do well in college, but I had not even gotten my feet wet yet. As I entered into my second and third week of school, I noticed I had a test coming up. I knew it would be a big first test so I decided to do a little bit of studying. When I got the test, I swear I was reading a different language! I wondered if we learned parts and I knew some, but others were crazy and I just knew I was in trouble. When I sat in my seat the next week, and got my test back I could have sworn that my heart dropped out of my body. I had never seen numbers so low next to my name, and after I thought I had studied so hard. It was obvious I didn’t study enough, but I just couldn't believe I had made so low on my biology test, especially because it’s my major! This bitter not so sweet experience was definitely a wakeup call, that indeed, college is different than high school contrary to many beliefs. Now that ya’ll know about my major fail in biology, I must go study some more for my biology test tomorrow! Wish me luck :)
Mandi Wall
October 18, 2011
Well school has gotten easier and classes seem to make sense now that I am really getting into the college feel. Softball has officially started and so far it has been quite the adventure. On Sept. 30, we had our official “softball campout” but due to inclement weather, our campout was left with just the games. We started off with a good old fashion amazing race. At nightfall that Friday, there were about 30 softball girls running around campus in search of envelopes and for some reason, I decided to pick the farthest point possible. The check-in station at the front of campus was quite a hike from the softball field and let’s just say that I was feeling it along the way. Even though the small hills on campus may not seem like much, they killed me! When you can see the person on the other team that is running to the same place right in front of you, it's hard not to just give it your all instead of pacing yourself. Finally everyone was down at the field and we had to open each envelope which contained a letter, and we had to create a saying with those letters. Even though my team got beat in the race, it was all good fun. Our second event was the hardest by far! We had to put 15 girls on each square mat, and with everyone on, we had to flip over the mat. If someone touched the ground we had to start over, and believe me that happened a lot. Thankfully, the pizza man arrived and we had to stop our game. After grubbing for a while on pizza and Mrs. May’s homemade desserts, it was off to our favorite event, the sumo wrestling. The best part of sumo wrestling by far, was the coaches' battle. I must say that vision of my two coaches battling in fat suits will always be in my mind to make me laugh. Even though we didn’t get the chance to sleep and camp out on the field, it was a great way to start the year!
Mandi Wall
January 17, 2012
I can honestly say I’ve never been this sore in my life! With only two days of softball practice complete, I feel like I’ve gone from the age of 18 to 80 overnight. The softball workouts over the season break and the attempts at the gym did not even come close to getting my body ready for the first few practices of the season. With the team’s new strength and conditioning coach working with the outfield, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that you will see me on campus waddling or covered in ice from head to toe (Thanks Coach Tammy)! Other than utter soreness, our team has something that is rare and that’s shear talent. Out of the 26 girls on our team, pick nine names out of a hat and you’ve got a winning team. That’s something unheard of, but the amount of talent and passion is well over many. With potential like this, there’s no doubt that the Methodist University softball team will be making a new and exciting chapter in its already storied history.
Up until now, Mandi’s Musings has been my little fun way of sharing my perspective of my first year of college. I don’t play the game of softball alone, so from now on this blog won’t be written alone. The new Monarch’s Musings will be a team blog so that everyone has a chance to show their outlook on the season. It’s been an honor to share my view on my first semester, and I can’t wait to see ya’ll all at the games :)
Mandi Wall
February 22, 2012
I’m Jessica, and I’m a junior transfer from Chowan University. My first two semesters here have been a very big transition on many parts. I have not only had to meet all new people and learn how the teachers here run their classrooms, tests, etc., but also, I have had to learn new rules and regulations, become a part of a new team and learn how to fit in with girls that have already had at least a year to get to know each other. Thankfully, we have a very young but talented team! There are a lot of freshmen which helped make my transition easier because a good majority of the team had to learn the same things that I did. So far, while it wasn’t easy to make the transition, I believe this was the best move for me especially from the softball perspective. I have never had the opportunity to be as close to the other pitchers on a team as I am here. It’s a great feeling to know that when you come to practice everyone isn’t out for themselves; we are all here to not only work on the things that we need to work on to get better, but also to help each other reach our common goals. The pitching area is great because we all feel comfortable talking to each other and telling each other ways to fix whatever we may be working on. We never worry about who is starting on game day because we all believe in each other’s abilities to get the job done. This has truly been a great opportunity to play, meet 25 amazing girls, better my education, and better myself. I’m so excited to get our season started and see how we all do against real competition!
Jessica Farmer
March 1, 2012
My name is Sarah, and I am a freshman center fielder and pitcher. I came into the Methodist softball program after a pretty serious surgery and not being sure I would even be able to play. The support and confidence from my teammates, coaches, and athletic trainers is what helped me to continue to play. One thing that worried me at the beginning of the spring was that I might not have very good chemistry on the field because I was coming in late, but once we started practicing it felt like I had never stopped. When we played our scrimmages they were always very competitive and I can tell that we are going to be the team to beat this season; any way you roll the dice we have a strong lineup, and we are all ready to play. This weekend we played our first official games in our early bird tournament. It felt to me like the first time we really came together as a team, and I see big things in our future. No one single person won those games for us, we all contributed. So far this season I have learned that team does not only mean being there for your teammates on the field, but off the field as well, something I believe everyone is starting to learn.
Sarah Stapleton
