Southwestern College Collegian

Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Personal Column

That owl from Disney's "Bambi" always scared me when I was little. He always seems to appear out of nowhere throughout the movie, and his voice is eerily low. Not to mention how strangely he acts in the spring time scene when he teaches Thumper, Flower and Bambi all about why the animals in the forest are acting so differently. "Don't you know? They're twitterpated," says the owl. "Twitterpated," as defined by urbandictionary.com, is "The ever increasing acceleration of heartbeat and body temperature as a result of being engulfed amidst the exhilaration and joy of being/having a romantic entity in someone's life." According to Bambi's friend owl, "Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the spring time." It is that owl's words so long ago that have been perpetuating the position of spring time as the prime time for twitterpation since Bambi's release in 1942. Spring is officially here. In fact, it's been here for two weeks now. Spring 2007 at Southwestern marked the most on-campus engagements I have ever experienced in my time as a student here. A teammate went. A roommate asked. The only girl I knew before coming in as freshmen together got engaged. And those couples are only a handful of those who have promised to tie the knot since last spring. More have committed over this past year's holiday seasons. There are some recent alumni that have just taken the step with younger fiancés that are still current students and aspiring graduates. Ring-twitterpation has already begun this spring on campus. Most generally, what leaders do, others soon follow suit. I'm not sure if we'll have quite the engagement extravaganza that took place last spring semester, but then again I wasn't expecting last year's entourage either. When a young lady gets a diamond from her boyfriend, it somehow transforms her within the woman-social world. I speak not from inside experience, but from observations from afar. It's not just her facebook.com profile relationship status that changes, it is her social status. I think it is fair to say that girls love to show off their ring to friends, family, and anyone who will stop, look, and listen. I've seen older married women almost seem to welcome a newly engaged woman, as if the piece of jewelry entitles them entrance to a new club or organization. It's actually more like an invitation to some sort of sorority or sisterhood. But who can blame any of them? The small, yet highly valuable hand jewelry says that two people have come to an agreement. The man loves the woman, and the woman loves the man. By wearing his ring, the woman accepts his love. The two have decided to belong exclusively to each other. There is no one else they would rather be with for the rest of their life. I would like to encourage that small percentage of the unengaged on campus, men and women alike. Whether you're a casual dater, in a serious relationship, or single, there are different seasons of life for everyone, and not everybody's story turns the page at the exact same time. In recent events, I've seen the excited newly engaged young lady go to spread the word and share her commitment story with all of her female friends. Such stories often cause other girls to wonder, "When will it be my turn?" Promises other guys make to their girlfriends can make single guys think they are missing out on something, and can put undue pressure on men who are still in the dating phase of their current relationship. But remember this spring to slow down. Take a breath and relax. For a few, it very well may be the time to tie yourself to your favorite thing you met at Southwestern. Plan to take the memories of your college days in Winfield with you wherever you may go. But for the rest of us, there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Enjoy the place you're at and the season of life you are in right now. That owl from Bambi was creepy, but he was right. "Love" seems to be in the air when the flowers are blooming, the grass is getting green again and the weather is warming up outside. But in the rush of spring, lose your desire to skip to the next chapter of life too early. If you look too far ahead, you'll overlook the opportunities you have right now. The college chapter isn't the one you want to skim through.

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