Saturday, April 13, 2013

"L" is for Lincoln

Some of the best years of my life were when I was in college in Lincoln, Illinois. I know many people claim college to be their best years, but mine were not stereotypical. It wasn't because of partying. I was just insanely happy and made some lifelong friends.

Three hours south of Chicago
Lincoln is right in the center of Illinois, about 30 miles north of the capital Springfield on I-55. There are a lot of places that claim to have a connection to Abraham Lincoln, but for this town, the claim is true. Lincoln, Illinois was named after Abraham Lincoln before he even became president. In fact, he was present the day they officially named the town and he christened the town by smashing a watermelon on the town square. 'Honest Abe' practiced law in the courthouse a few times a month when he rode up from Springfield.

The town of Lincoln is home to two colleges. Lincoln College is a private liberal arts college and Lincoln Christian University which is one of the first Restoration Movement colleges (it was Lincoln Bible Institute in the beginning).

This is the school where I got my Bachelor's Degree in Christian Ministry and am currently working on my Master's in TESOL. I love this school. I briefly went to another college in between degrees, but had been spoiled for Lincoln and came back.

During the beginning years of my undergraduate studies, I lived in married student housing with my family. Like most college students, we were flat broke and wondered every month how we were going to pay the rent. We soon learned how wonderful it was to be a part of a great group of friends who relied on each other.

In the summer time, the families from the surrounding apartment buildings would pull all the picnic tables together and bring what food they had. Fifteen to twenty families would share. We cooked out, ate well and enjoyed each other's company. It was wonderful. It became an unintentional, big, happy family. We laughed and cried together, took trips and classes together, studied together, prayed together, got to know each other's extended families and took care of each other's kids.

Today, over 10 years later, I am still in contact with most of those people. A few of them I talk to several times a week. As much as we struggled, I wouldn't trade that time for anything.



Happily participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. For the entire month of April, 1,868 bloggers are working their way through the alphabet. One letter every day but Sundays for a total of 26 days.

Click here to visit the website and get more information to see if you might want to join in next year. It's a lot of fun, introduces you to hundreds of new blogs and gives your writing some fantastic exposure.

21 comments:

  1. Good post. Hope you're enjoying your AtoZ's. I did keep in touch with college friends initially but over the years we drifted. There's very few I still know.

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    1. I am enjoying it. Although, I was well prepared for the first half of the month. Most of them were pre-written. Only one is pre-written from this point on. We'll see how I feel at the end of the month.

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  2. Some great memories.

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    1. I think this is my favorite of all your posts I've read so far.

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    2. They were awesome. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

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  3. What a heartwarming post. Money doesn't make one happy. There are many things that do and you cited them in this post. Excellent.

    Have a terrific weekend. :)

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  4. LOL - Last night I saw a commercial for the movie Lincoln, so I was expecting a very different post when I saw your title. For those of us who were lucky, college was a fun time unlike any other in our lives. Not that I would trade what I have today, I definitely wouldn't, but I will forever cherish those four years.

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    1. I miss those days. I really don't want to go back and live them again, but I pray to have a circle of friends like that again.

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  5. What a fun story and how true about TRUE friends. Good luck with getting your masters!

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    1. Thank you and a great group of friends makes a big difference.

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  6. That's amazing. You were pretty lucky to have your college years like that instead of partying, drinking, and doing who knows what that could have put your life on a totally different track.

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    1. I was at a Bible college, so there wasn't much of that going on, but some people keep to themselves. I loved meeting up with all the people that we did.

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  7. So many people squander their college years, but not you. Way to go.

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  8. I also wrote L is for Lincoln, check it out at http://www.amomspointofview.com/2013/04/l-is-for-lincoln.html I am also following you GFC and Networked Blogs.

    Blogging A to Z
    http://www.AMomsPointOfView.com

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  9. Lincoln is so awesome! Not only does he have statues everywhere, but also a town named after him. Kinda like me! ;0)

    Hugs!

    Valerie

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  10. What a great memory. There's something about being with a group of people in the same boat that makes for awesome bonding. When I lived in Honduras, the other missionaries and I would get together weekly for bible studies and dinner, and I still wish for some of those nights back.

    How nice that you are still in such close touch with some of those people!

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    1. Struggling together makes a big difference. It was a great group of people.

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