All of us can point to pivotal moments in our lives-times that seem to crystallize before our very eyes into highlights of our personal history. But what about all those moments in between-the daily humdrum that fills the rest of our time?

Looking back on my days at Erskine College, I realize that in a lot of ways it was the mundane, average weekday that made Erskine such a wonderful experience.

Take a trip with me down Memory Lane: Waiting at the cafeteria doors for supper, milling about with friends; sitting on the beds in friends' rooms in the dorm discussing the meaning of life and counseling with each other; driving to what was known as Waffle King in the wee hours of the morning for a cheeseburger on Texas toast. (She is pictured here in a 1981 picture with the staff of the Review, Erskine's literary magazine - Ed.)

In class, the cafeteria, the dorm, listening, allowing and being allowed to have different opinions without condemning; walking to class in the spring studying the new green life on the trees and realizing yet again the incredible beauty of God's creation; greeting each person who passed by in the friendly atmosphere of Due West; learning to respect others' need for quiet and privacy, particularly during test times

These memories and so many more were not earth-shattering moments in my life. Rather, they were what made up the days and weeks of my tenure at Erskine.

The safe, learning Christian environment in which I was sheltered for four years allowed me the freedom to make mistakes and to grow intellectually, morally and spiritually. I value very highly the ability to express myself and to feel confident that the person or persons to whom I reveal my thoughts do not condemn, even when my views are not shared.

At Erskine I felt encouraged to explore intellectually. The beauty of the situation was the confidence I felt that, if in my inexperience or immaturity I strayed too far down the wrong path, Erskine had professors I could trust to gently prod me back in line.

Material was not spoon-fed. We were encouraged to think for ourselves. Learning was not simply memorizing and returning the same information to the professor by rote.

This realization of the value of the method by which I was taught at Erskine did not come in a sudden moment of awareness but grew out of a gradual understanding of and admiration for one of the quiet strengths of an excellent college.

While a student at Erskine, I was just that, a student, taking in information and growing daily in so many ways, for the most part blissfully unaware of the machinations involved in my journey.

The irony is that although the majority of my days at Erskine were unremarkable in themselves, my four years there taken as a whole were pivotal to the molding and maturing of the person I have become. Because of the nurturing space I was afforded while I teetered between the remnants of my childhood and an awakening adulthood, Erskine was the best possible place to be at that time in my life. My time there was joyous!

I firmly believe the Erskine experience is the most appropriate college experience for most college-bound students. Erskine may not be in a big city or have a huge budget, but it has a beauty and value as an institution of Christian higher education that transcend those facts. In the words of the old beans-and-wieners commercials, "Life's simple pleasures are the best, are the best in all the world."