J-term {Years Ago}

Once again, I'm digging into the way-back files to find a Years Ago story to fit this week's letter.

For my first two years of college, I went to Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

When it came to Christmas break, they offered students either an extra-long school break or the opportunity to squeeze in a class or two during the month of January. If I remember correctly, J-term classes met every day for the month and were a little bit longer than regular classes. In any case, it was a great chance for me to knock out a few general education requirements so that I could focus on classes for my major during the regular semesters.

A friend and I decided to take water aerobics during J-term my freshman year because it would count as our required physical education class.

I'm not sure what we were thinking when we signed up. It seemed like a good idea until we had to get out of bed on cold January days. Oklahoma doesn't get the same winter weather as I have in Colorado now, but it can get pretty chilly when the wind comes sweeping down the plains. The class also met very early in the morning. It was a community partnership class of some sort consisting of a few college students and a bunch of senior citizens who apparently liked to exercise very early in the morning. (I now wish I could remember what time I once considered "very early.")

Our dorm was on the other side of campus from the athletic facility. I remember getting up less than half hour before class, racing down a few flights of steps, jogging past the chapel, and arriving at the pool just in time to jump in the water. Truth told, I also remember a few late nights when I thought it would be a good idea to just sleep in my bathing suit so that I could steal a few extra minutes of sleep the next morning.

The best part about getting that class over with early in the morning is that I had plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the dining hall before heading to my other class that month.


I believe it was during J-term one of my years when OBU got a few inches of snow. The primary entrance to the cafeteria was at the top of a flight of steps which were covered with snow and ice for a day or two. Those steps made a perfect place to slide down, using borrowed cafeteria trays as sleds.


*Sadly, I cannot find many pictures at all from my days at Oklahoma Baptist University. The pictures in this post were taken a few years ago when we stopped by to see how the campus had changed over the years.


This week is the ninth week in our Blogging Through the Alphabet challenge -- letter J. Click the button below for this week's linky.

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