They say that the college years are the four best years of your life!  Four years of being able to enhance your mind in preparation for a fascinating career, plus at the same time being surrounded by friends of similar ages and in a similar situation - that is, being in college.

Thus we present a snapshot of life at James Madison University from the fall of 1999 to December 2003.  We go from McGraw-Long Hall, to Potomac Hall, to D-Hall, all across the campus, and even out to Green Bank, West Virginia and to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  And it's amazing how many wacky things that college students can get into, too.  When I first came to JMU, who would think I would get hit in the face with a pie, race a scooter, cheer on a softball team, pull a fire alarm (twice!), witness my residents swim around in a wading pool, learn what it's like to be snowed in at Potomac, nearly burn down Canterbury, and so much more.

Another great thing about the whole college life is the fact that the learning doesn't stop at the classroom door.  There are in-house programs in the dorms, there are lectures and presentations throughout campus, and best of all, you learn from and with friends.  How else would I come to discover what it was like to become a blonde, and to make good food using only a microwave oven?

And above all, it's fun!  So much fun, that you never want it to end.  However, just like all things, the school year must come to an end eventually, and in May, we leave our buildings, bid farewell for the summer, and scatter to our respective homes.  And to show that college is where it's at, the thing we can't wait for during the summer is for late August to roll around again, when we can move into our Potomac Halls and our McGraw-Long Halls again to let the fun begin anew, also bring us some new friends, and some new faces to join us.  And it's also that which made my graduation in December 2003 all the more disappointing, because as we all know, all things must come to an end eventually.  But we still have the memories.

So come on in!  View via text, pictures, and movies more than just a simple snapshot of life in college, and all the fun and excitement of what many people would describe as the best four (or so) years of one's life...

Camera Information: Throughout my four and a half years at JMU, I used three different methods of photography.  Freshman year, I used a combination of a regular film camera to capture memories, as well as one of those large, bulky 1980's-style video cameras to take pictures via a video capture device.  During the summer between Freshman and Sophomore years, I acquired a Sony Mavica FD-73, which is a digital still camera, that saved images to floppy disks.  I used this camera from Sophomore year through the first half of the fall semester Senior year.  In November of my Senior year, I upgraded from the Mavica FD-73 to a Sony Mavica CD400, which saved images to a mini-CD, as well as took short movie clips.

Regardless of the camera used, the memories captured are still priceless...