Five Things Every Liberty Student Can Relate to

Whether you're a student at Liberty University or have only heard of the school, there are a few things that most students here understand all too well. Read on to learn a few of them.

1. Waking up to the glorious sounds of construction 
You don't need to set an alarm before your 8:15 class. You already have an alarm system, thanks to ear-splitting dump trucks, thunderous bulldozers, and other lovely equipment beginning at o'dark hundred every morning.

On a related note, it's important to never expect to own any light-color shoes while on campus. Instead, a shoe color I highly recommend is an elegant Red Mud Brown. As an added benefit, shoes in this color will always stay the same color, no matter how rainy and muddy it may be outside. You always want your shoes to help you put your best foot forward.

Food at Liberty

Today, I will discuss a deep, dark secret...the food Liberty University serves in its dining hall. Oh, I love all the many different kinds of food found in the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall here on campus, though many times I am quite unsure exactly what I’m eating. And even though I’ve immensely enjoyed most of the food here so far, that one dinner I ate last week was admittedly not the most delicious thing I’ve ever digested. It had the flavor of a raw onion and the texture of an old shoe. Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t try this particular dish, whatever it may have been. I’m just saying I wouldn’t advise it unless you’re particularly fond of eating onion-flavored shoes.

Di's Quest

Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since I last posted ~I got busy with school and stuff. I'm taking a writing class this year and our first assignment was to write a story. I had so much fun writing this, and I hope you guys have fun reading it! :)

Di’s Quest

     I quietly slip out the door, pausing to ensure that the household is still asleep. The full moon is the only light over the countryside tonight. Glancing around once more, I silently run towards the forest.

     I still remember the day my brother left many years ago. Our parents had just died, and we were starving. He left me at the house of a nobleman, where I would be taken care of, and then he stowed away on a ship bound for the country of Palladius. He had always intended to come back for me, but years had gone by without a word from him.

     Cringing slightly as I touch my side, I remember the scene in the kitchen this afternoon. I had just crept into the kitchen, hoping for a scrap of food. But when the cook saw me, she yelled, “Get out of the way, Di!”, kicking me roughly aside. I wince at the memory, gingerly touching my side. Of course, my brother had no idea I would be so mistreated when he left me here that day so many years ago. But now that I am grown, I can finally begin the search for my missing brother.

     Pulling my pack of supplies onto my back, I run through both woods and open fields, crossing many streams as I travel. When I reach the harbor, I quickly scan the line of ships docked there. Quietly, I slip onto a ship bound for Palladius. I descend into the hold and hide behind a stack of boxes labeled “SALT”.  My eyelids grow heavy as I wait for morning, and soon I am fast asleep.

     At dawn, we set sail. I hear the sailors shouting above me, and I look around the hold for another hiding spot. But all I see are more stacks of boxes labeled “SALT”.

     On the seventh day at sea, a great storm comes up from the west. I hear the rain pounding above as the waves toss the ship from side to side. Suddenly, I feel a sickening crunch, and the great ship begins to splinter. A massive wave rushes in and knocks me into the sea. As I struggle to the surface, I watch the boxes from the hold burst open into the sea. To this day, the ocean is still salty.

     I fight my way to shore, desperately struggling to avoid the sharp rocks. Finally, wet and bedraggled, I pull myself onto the beach. Exhausted, I fall into a fitful sleep.

     The sun is rising when I wake. A cold wind blows off the ocean as I slowly stand up and try to decide what to do next. Slowly turning around, I look at my surroundings. The beach stretches out endlessly in either direction, and a steep cliff looms in front of me. I know the waves would dash me to pieces at once if I attempted to get to Palladius by sea. Instinctively, I know that Palladius lies beyond the high cliff looming in front of me.

     The sea has washed away all my supplies, including my length of rope. I must find a way to the top of the cliff. Carefully, I begin picking my way over the rocky surface. It’s slow going, and several times I nearly slip, but I am surefooted, and finally I reach the top.

     I am standing at the edge of a wide-open, grassy field. Far in the distance, in the direction of Palladius, is a forest. I shiver in the cold wind and begin making my way toward it.

     The sun is sinking below the horizon by the time I reach the forest. I pause at the edge, listening, before warily slipping in. One can never be too careful in a strange forest at night.

     I pad quietly through the forest, acutely aware of everything around me. Suddenly the sound of a voice makes me jump behind a tree.

     “Wise Owl,” squeaks the voice, “Tell us how we can be wise like you.” I sneak a glimpse of the speaker –a bat. Bats are not known for their high intelligence.

     The Owl replies, “Obviously, your brains are not very well developed. I recommend getting better blood circulation to your heads. Go home and hang upside down in order to get better circulation in your heads.”

     The Bats, who seem to actually believe the Owl, fly home to their caves to do just that. To this day, bats still hang upside down in their caves. ¹

     After the Bats and Owl leave, I continue through the forest as the daylight slowly fades away. I don't like being here alone at night, but time is important and I have no choice.

     I hear a low growling sound to my left. As I back away, I hear another growl to the right. Wolves! I take off as fast as I can, but I know I can never outrun them. Glancing behind me, I see the wolves are quickly gaining on me. My only hope is to somehow trick them.

     As I dash through the woods, I notice a particularly large tree straight ahead. Focusing on the great tree, I put on one final burst of speed. At the last moment, I make a sharp turn to the right. The wolves realize it a second too late, and the entire forest shakes with the impact of the wolves crashing into the tree. To this day, the head of a wolf is still flatter than it once was.

     I travel for what must be weeks. The trees become sparser, and the rolling hills slowly straighten into a wide-open, rocky land. During the day, the hot sun beats down on my head, but at sunset, the temperature rapidly drops until I begin to shiver.

      On the fifth day in this land, I hear a rumbling sound in the distance. A cold shiver shoots down my spine as the strange noise grows nearer. As I draw closer to the rumbling, I notice that pebbles are shaking on the ground, and the trees are beginning to quiver. I look in the distance, and my heart sinks with dread at what I see. A massive cloud of dust is rising on the horizon, growing larger with each passing second. The entire ground is shaking now. Without waiting to see the cause of this great thing, I tear off in the opposite direction as fast as my legs will carry me.

     Closer and closer the rumbling approaches. My legs burn, and I am gasping for air, but still I press on, knowing I would be crushed instantly under the force of this thing.

     The thing is almost on top of me now. I frantically search for a place of safety, anywhere I can escape this great rumbling thing that threatens to crush me. Then I see it –a tiny gulley, just large enough for my small body. Swiftly, I leap into the gulley, just in time to avoid being crushed.

     I wait for what seems like hours as the great rumbling thing passes over my head. Bits of rock rain down all around me, and I hope desperately that my small gulley doesn’t collapse under the weight of the massive thing roaring over my head. The noise is louder than anything I have ever heard in my life, and the entire world seems to quake. But gradually the noise and quaking begin to subside, until I am sitting in complete silence. I scramble out of the gulley –and stare in shocked horror at the world around me.

     It is completely unrecognizable.

     Where there was once wide open land is now massive destruction. Rocks and uprooted pine trees are strewn everywhere. But the most noticeable of all is the vast chasm that stretches for miles in either direction. I am standing at the very edge of the precipice, which must be hundreds of feet deep and several miles wide. To this day, the Grand Canyon still exists.

     I wearily travel many more weeks. Finally, the country of Palladius emerges on the horizon. My heart quickens as I approach the country. Will I finally be reunited with my brother? Or will I perish on this final leg of my journey?

     I roam the countryside of Palladius for many days, searching for my brother. Finally, when I have nearly given up in despair, I see it –the familiar form of my brother dragging a bale of hay across the field. My heart soars with joy as I race across the field to join my brother.

     After many long months of hardships and trials, my brother and I have finally been reunited. As we dash through the field toward the setting sun, we feel like we are puppies again, instead of full-grown dogs.

I hope y'all enjoyed my story! Thanks for reading! :)

A story I wrote for my Spanish class

I wrote this story for my Spanish class and I decided to translate it to English so my family could read it. My sister said I should post it here too. Here it is:

    It was a dark and stormy night when we were born, my brother and sister and I. We lived on a small farm in West Virginia and as we grew we spent many long hours playing on that farm.

     It was another dark and stormy night when we found that our parents had been killed. We were still very young and a woman came to the house and took us to a special orphanage. We drove a very long time before we arrived at our destination in the city.

   I was in the orphanage for perhaps a month or two. There were others there to, some of whom we became friends with. Every so often, someone who was interested in adopting would come and choose one of us to adopt. One day an elderly woman and her daughter came to the orphanage and brought me to the elderly woman’s house. I never saw my brother or sister again.

     I still remember the first time I met the elderly woman’s husband and family. The woman’s daughter brought her family over and they were so happy to meet me. I enjoyed meeting them as well but it was good to be alone in my room after the daughter and her family had left.

     I spent several months with the elderly woman and her husband. I played with the daughter’s children when they visited and we became good friends. But one day, things didn't seem quite right. People were hurrying around and they told me to stay out of the way. Then I was sent to my room.

     Several hours later, the daughter of the elderly woman came and took me to her house. I knew I would be living there from now on because she took all my things with us.

     I got a very small room in my new home since there were four others living there as well. They also had a cat, who I enjoyed chasing around the house although he didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as I did.

     I liked my life in my new home. My family all loved me. The elderly woman and her husband came to visit me several times a month but their visits gradually became further and further apart until the husband’s visits ceased altogether. The elderly woman still came until about a year ago when her visits ceased as well. Nobody told me but I suspect they died.

      It’s been four years now since I moved to my new home. I am now five years old. Of course, that’s middle age for a cat. In human years I would be about 37 years old. 

By Rachel Van Tuyl 

    “Wait for me, Jenny!” My ten year old sister, Carrie, ran to catch up with me. I sighed and stood impatiently waiting for Carrie. She couldn't run as fast as I could because she was five years younger than me. We had just been dismissed from school for the day and it was a two mile walk back to our farm. Ma wanted us to stay together on the walk home.

     Ma greeted us as soon as we came into the yard. She was hanging the wash up on the clothesline outside. Wiping her hands on her long skirt, she said to me, “Jenny, go bring Roy and your Pa some water. They've been working out in that field since lunch.”

     “Yes Ma,” I replied. I quickly filled a pitcher with water and started the long walk to the field where my Pa and younger brother were working. However, after about five minutes of walking I suddenly stopped and looked at something lying on the ground. Puzzled, I stepped closer and inspected the object without touching it.

     It was a thin silver-colored rectangular object, maybe about four or five inches long. I carefully picked it up and turned it over in my hands. It was surprisingly light. One side had a dark circle on it and on the other side was a smaller black rectangle. There were strange circles embedded on the object near the black rectangle and on top of the object. I stood there for several minutes turning the strange object over in my hands. I finally pressed one of the circles on the top of the object and nearly dropped it on the ground when the black rectangle suddenly gave off light!

     It took me a few moments to realize that the rectangle giving off light was actually a reflection of the ground in front of me. When I moved the object, the picture on the rectangle moved with the object. I decided to press another circle. When I did so, the picture on the rectangle froze and then words flashed across the rectangle, “Photo Saved”.  I didn't have any idea what that was supposed to mean but I was absolutely fascinated with this strange object and suddenly I was running across the field, the pitcher of water lying forgotten in the grass. “Ma! Carrie! Come quick!”

     My mother and sister came running out of the house and Ma exclaimed, “Jenny! Is something wrong? Are your father and brother alright?”

     “They’re fine,” I said. “But look at this strange object I found in the field! What do you suppose it could be?”

     Ma took the object and carefully examined it. “I've never seen anything like it in my life," she said. She suddenly exclaimed, “Good heavens! I can see right through it! But there is no way I could possibly see through it because this other side is not clear.”

     “Let me see!” begged Carrie. When the object was in her hands, she asked, “What are these small circles for?” Carrie pushed the circle that I had first pressed and the rectangle went dark. At Ma’s suggestion, Carrie pressed the circle again and the rectangle became light again.

     “Press this circle,” I said, pointing to the second one I had pushed. When Carrie pressed it, the screen froze and the words “Photo Saved” flashed across the rectangle, just as they had the first time I pressed the circle. “What could that possibly mean?” I asked. Carrie looked just as puzzled as I was.

     Ma finally told us to bring the strange object into the house because there was work to do. I carried the object into the kitchen and placed it on the table. As an afterthought, I pressed the first circle and the rectangle went black. I thought it would be best to leave the object as I had found it.

     That night at supper, the only thing we could talk about was the object. I had already shown my family the exact location where I had found the object. It hadn't been difficult to find the place because of the pitcher of water I had left there. Unfortunately, we hadn't found out anything useful by inspecting the location where the object had been found. There was no indication as to where the object had come from or how it had ended up on our farm.

     Roy wondered if we ought to tell anyone about the object but the rest of us thought if we did that we would have many people coming here wanting to look at the object and it might get damaged. It was decided that we wouldn't tell anyone about the discovery of the object, at least not until we could learn more about it.

     Carrie and I washed the dishes as quickly as possible after we had finished eating. When we had finished, Ma handed me the object and everyone gathered around me as I pressed the first circle and the rectangle lit up. I decided to try pressing a different circle this time. I pressed a large circle next to the lighted rectangle and suddenly the rectangle turned into an image of the ground in front of our house. Everyone gasped.

     “Look!” Roy exclaimed. He pushed a circle that had an arrow printed on it and the rectangle changed to an image of our field. Everyone gasped again.

     “I think I may know what happened,” I said slowly. “I pushed this circle when I was in the field and the words ‘Photo Saved’ flashed across the rectangle. It happened a second time when Carrie pushed the same circle when we were in front of our house. I didn't know what it meant at the time but now I think that when you press the button, this object might somehow save the images so we can look at them later.”

     Over the next several days, we discovered more about the strange object. Roy found a circle that made one of the images disappear. We decided not to push that circle again. Carrie and I became quite proficient at capturing images of our family and somehow the object stored all the images we had captured so we could view them over and over again.

     However one day when I pushed the circle to light up the rectangle, nothing happened. I tried again and again but still nothing happened. I finally brought the object to Pa. We pushed every single one of the buttons before we concluded that the object no longer worked. My family and I were quite disappointed at the loss of the strange object, but we supposed that the object had ceased working simply because it had been used for hours every single day. We never came across anything like it again but we kept the strange object as a souvenir.

Top 3 Excuses to not do homework

1.) I sprained my brain. The doctor says no heavy thinking for a week.

2.) I finished my homework in my head. No need to write it down.

3.) I have a very rare paper allergy.

The Universal Book Report

Sometimes we get stuck writing a book report about a book whose details we don't quite remember. But now, all you have to do is to fill in the book report below:

     After reading [BOOK TITLE] by [AUTHOR’S NAME], I am full of thoughts. Never before have I thought the thoughts that I am now thinking. And the feelings that I am now feeling are surely a result of those thoughts.

     The lead character in [BOOK TITLE] was, I truly believe, the most important person. At the beginning of the book, we don't know him/her very well. Later on of course, many difficult things happen and he/she changes. Near the end of the book, towards the back, the problems are fixed and things work out, more or less. I was so relieved! In conclusion, I think that we all learned an important lesson.

The End.