Ruth Bieber-Stanley ’21

When one thing closes, another opens.

This year, my room plays more roles than a bedroom ever has before.

I couldn’t believe that I was actually about to see dancers perform in front of me for the first time in over a year.

Every Sunday morning, I get my hands covered in mud, and sometimes even return home with a random vegetable.

A small reflection of all the learning I’ve done.

I came for the treats, but I stayed for the people.

Longing for both the past and the future.

This year, there was no need to get up early to try to get a top spot, and here’s why.

Today is Valentine’s Day.

Happy memories all around.

At Oberlin, food has become synonymous with community.

It’s a very different Oberlin life from the one I’ve lived before now. But in many ways, it’s been a slower, calmer, and happier one.

Even though times are weird, there are still so many fun events happening on Oberlin’s campus.

At Oberlin College, we like to talk about the phenomenon of the “accidental minor.”

I have a renewed appreciation for my surroundings and the green bubble that is Oberlin, Ohio.

The fourth and final installment of a series of conversations with former Oberlin bloggers.

This post is the third installment of my “Where are they now?” series, a collection of conversations with former Oberlin bloggers about their first years as Oberlin alumni.

While at Oberlin, Teague was a Dance and Computer Science double major and was heavily involved in the circus and dance scenes.

Kira Findling was one of my favorite bloggers when I was in high school.

The events of the past few weeks have been challenging. It’s clear that things need to change in our society in a major way.

This year Oberlin couldn’t host All Roads. Instead, the college did something really clever, if I do say so myself.

I’m thinking of this as a time capsule.

Spring in Oberlin is really magical.

Of course, every day is a little different, even when sometimes they all feel the same.

I think emotional vulnerability and sharing are key in moments like this when we need to be separated due to the circumstances of the outside world.

This semester, I was very much looking forward to the prospect of taking a little break from the technical and empirical world of psychology.

I’m not in the bustling metropolis of Oberlin, Ohio, but in the actual bustling metropolis of Berlin, Germany!

I had an amazing month making art that I can use, connecting with people and my landscape, and learning to trust both myself and the clay I shaped.

The sky is pretty much the limit with winter term.

Now that the pie- and carbohydrate-induced sluggishness has been slept off, it’s time I write a blog post about my second Oberlin Thanksgiving.

The last post in a trio of various family perspectives on my life at Oberlin.

This semester, I really identify with my area of study, and I feel involved more than ever before.

I happen to have a doppelgänger. Her name is Rosa, she is 17, and we share 50 percent of our DNA. Last weekend, she came to Oberlin. That’s right, my (taller) younger sister visited me to see my big girl college life.

Art rental is a treasured Oberlin tradition.

Fun drives growth.

Everything feels like it’s where it should be, and it feels like it’s going as fast as it should be, too.

Three concerts, one parade, a poetry slam, and a trampoline.

A (somewhat condensed) list of my favorite homework haunts on campus.

One of Oberlin’s (many) strengths I considered as a prospective student was its small size and access to professors and undergraduate research opportunities.

This past week, I found myself in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in southern Kentucky.

There is something so special and fun about showing off your college life to your family members.

This semester, I’m doing even more to explore different ways of moving and to push myself to try new things that scare me.

Oberlin is known for its co-ops.

Some things that weren’t assigned to me on a syllabus.

This Winter Term gave me a lot of insights I didn’t expect to leave with, and was really rich and valuable for a lot of reasons.

What my friends did for Winter Term.

Much of my fall semester felt like an uphill bike ride from Tank to campus during a small blizzard.

I hope to do it for the rest of my time at Oberlin.

The meal was abundant and nourishing—emotionally and physically.

Going into nature for my break was such a good choice.

I’m doing a lot, as always.

There’s still an adjustment period, even when you’re no longer a first-year.

Orientation is just around the corner!

Certain aspects of attending Oberlin are poetic and cyclical, often in unexpected and pleasantly surprising ways.

The Fairy Tale King is following me.

After yesterday’s meeting, I reflected about how much I have changed in the past year; how unafraid I have become.

This weekend, I had the pleasure of performing in my first ever Student Dance Showcase.

I expected to learn a lot in college. What I didn’t expect was just how much I would learn outside of the classroom.

Exactly 365 days ago, I was visiting Oberlin for a second time.

I ushered in my weekend with a small, dance-related existential crisis.

Some numbers to summarize what I accomplished this past month.

One of the (main) reasons I came to Oberlin was because of the people.

How I made it through my first finals.

This Thanksgiving break, instead of flying home to Albuquerque, I took a bus to NY City.

If you’ve read my bio, you’ll know that I promised my readers a healthy dose of angst regarding declaring a major and deciding what to do with my life.

If you had told a wee 16-year-old Ruth that she would be moving to a small town surrounded by a LOT of corn in just two short years, I would not have believed you, not even for a hot second.