Humans of NGU: Sarah Barfield
Photo by Samantha Meyeres
Samantha Meyeres, Contributing Writer
Sight. Candles lit, knit blankets, rustic wood furniture. Smell. Cinnamon tea and freshly made coffee. Sound. Celtic music and soft laughter. Taste. Homemade soup and bread cooked with loving hands. Touch. The embrace of a dear friend. Every sense is engaged as you enter the new home of Sarah Barfield.
Barfield, a music education major at North Greenville University, was previously a resident student, but was married in June 2024, and is now a commuter. She and her husband, John Barfield, live in Landrum, S.C. around 10 minutes from the NGU campus.
Barfield said commuting helps her to separate school from everyday life. Her home, lamplit and consistently filled with the scent of tea brewing on the stove, is her place of safety and comfort. This provides a sort of escape from the fast-paced atmosphere that living on campus can entail.
At school, she no longer feels obligated to attend a multitude of events or commit to extracurriculars that became overwhelming the previous year. Where before she felt she couldn’t decline any opportunity presented to her, living away from campus has helped her to prioritize what she wants to be a part of.
“Last year, I was in every single musical, every single project, and quartets and ensembles. I was in every extracurricular they needed me to be because I couldn’t really say no. But now I can. And I would rather spend that time as quality time with my husband,” she said.
An aspect of her new life that Barfield said is both a positive and negative to commuting is the intentionality required to see her friends.
“I’m not just going to run into someone at the caf, so I have to intentionally go out of my way to spend time with them,” she said.
While this aspect of commuting can be difficult, she said it has made her prioritize her long-term friendships and work to maintain those deeper connections.
Barfield’s ultimate dream is to be a wife and mother and to run a piano studio out of her home. She said that getting married and having her own home hasn’t changed that dream, and if anything has strengthened it and proved that it is attainable.
Even though she is not at the point of having children yet, she still puts that level of care into practice by opening her home to friends and loved ones as a place they can come to escape from the chaos of life.
