Time keeps on passing so slowly... or not?

I can't believe my best friend is graduating college today. We met here. Freshmen year she was my first good friend. We had math together and she lived on my floor in St. Joe's. It just doesn't seem possible that it's over already. I don't know what I'll do next semester without her here. We peridodically catch up between classes and meet up after work and have lunch and just chill. I'll miss it a lot when it's gone. Luckily I know we'll stay friends. Her fiance is a guy I went to high school with and my boyfriend and I hang out with them all the time. They're VERY fun people and we have a lot in common. I'm glad to have them both in my life. It's really the end of an era, though. Crazy.

On another note, I would like to make a request to the general population. Instead of waiting around for elevators all the time, could we please take the stairs from now on? This request only applies to those who are healthy enough to do so, no worries there. I just think it's so stupid when I see athletes stand by the elevator for five minutes waiting for it to come back down when they could easily just walk the extra three feet over to the stair well. It's pure laziness, honestly, and I don't like it.  So please, take the stairs people. Make us American's look a little less lazy, and as a bonus you will probably be healthier for it if you do it regularly! :) Yay.

TGIF

Once again Friday is here. Busy weekend coming up. I have to work a LOT on my comm theory paper in order to finish it in a week. It's just sooo much going on at once, I'm amazed at how intense it is. And on top of that we are still working on my parent's bedroom remodel, and I have a friend's bachelorette party taking place at my house. We'll see how well all of this goes down.

Anyway, I should get back to work.

Peace.

Thursdayyyyyy

I love how close to Friday it is right now, but I'm sooooo nervous about it being Friday too soon! This semester has gone so darn fast! It's crazy. I don't know how well I'm going to handle starting my last semester of undergrad in January. It's still really crazy to me, and definitely not real at all yet.

Speaking of this end of semester thing, I have to go do some homework. Have a WONDERFUL day!

Peace.

PAPER WAS PUSHED BACK!!!!

Dave Weinandy was sooooo nice today! Our paper is no longer due on Wednesday! :) Now it's due next Friday at noon! Thank goodness!!


I am so psyched! And now I need to go to bed. :)


Have a wonderful snowy day!


Peace.

Blog

I don't have a lot to report today.

Still trying to think of a name for a website.

Trying to complete my paper for CN 406.

Also trying to complete my lyric essay. Yay! :)

Peace.

A day in the life of a senior in college:

-Wake up before 7am, usually closer to 6 or 6:30.
-Rush around the house getting ready, packing a lunch (and sometimes a dinner), and organizing school stuffs.
-Make sure all homework is completed or able to be completed before class.
-Drive 30 minutes into school and park in a semi decent spot because it's so bloody early in the morning.
-Attend class or go to work (depending on the day). On class days: Have fun and be excited, On work days: Be used and abused in the way that all student workers generally are.
-Attend class later in the day again and enjoy it or don't, but always write something.
-Leave with far more homework and stress than when you entered.
-Make the 30 minute drive back home if there are no events that you may need to attend at school or in GR that evening.
-Work on some homework, but not so much that you want to rip your hair out.
-Try to hang out with the family or the boyfriend, but never really get quality time because you're always focusing on your homework, at least subconsciously.
-Get ready for bed around 9 or 10pm.
-Go to bed, but not to sleep because the stress of all of your assignments weighs on your mind like nothing else.

And then you wake up and start again. I can't wait to get these last two weeks overwith!

Peace.

Tomorrow: Thanksgiving :)

I love days like today. Days when boss lady says to get out of here and have a good day elsewhere, days when I get to go out with my friends on the busiest, but most fun, bar night of the year, and when Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I get to think about all that I'm thankful for. :)

Mostly, I'm thankful for a crazy, fun, ridiculously busy, abnormally awesome life with family and friends that cannot be surpassed.

=) Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Sick

Well, I have no voice. Good thing this isn't a pod cast!

I do enjoy a good day home alone, though. Too bad sickness keeps me on the couch and not with enough energy to play the wii to exercise.

Lalalalala, okay going to get out of here now. Have a lovely day.

Peace.

Rain rain go away, can't it just snow today?

Call me crazy, but as a life long Michigander I have grown to like the snow... at least a little bit. See for me snow means walking hand in hand with the love of my life, sipping his famous hot cocoa concoction, and looking at the gorgeous lights. It means strapping on a board and going down a nice, powdery hill (regardless of how bad I am at it). It means an excuse to watch It's a Wonderful Life and The Holiday over and over again. I just love the snow!

On top of these reasons, it's just depressing seeing the rain come down and take out all of those resiliant leaves that have lasted so late into the season. I think it's sad to see the soaking wet ground and people and cars around campus. Seeing the beautiful, white snow flakes is much more fun.

Snow is also less depressing than rain. I mean when it rains you think of saddness and pain (if you give everything symbolism like I do, that is), but the snow is a happy thing. A sign that children will soon be playing outside making snowmen and sledding at the church in Sparta. It's just better overall.

Well, I have to go take on the weather now. Have a lovely day... hopefully the last one with rain for awhile. *fingers crossed*!

Peace.

Wow.

I love that the biggest news around is that Prince William is engaged. I really don't think it's that big of a deal. I mean, yes, she will someday be queen (we assume), but so what? Someone was going to be? And who cares if she's a commoner? I thought Princess Di was too... right? Why is Kate Middleton so important if this has happened before, and semi-recently. Congratulations to the happy couple, but do we have to announce this like Jesus himself is getting married? They are just celebreties like all of the others. I mean for goodness sake, the Queen/ King has very little power nowadays anyway.

Blah, okay so maybe I just hate hearing about the same thing 300 times and 5 different mediums, but still.

Peace.

Happy 2 Years Da&Mike

It's kind of weird that my best friend and her fiance will be getting married in less than a year, own a house together, and have a puppy. But my boyfriend and I have known eachother for years longer, dated for a month longer, and are still two years or so from any kind of serious marriage plans.

The world is a funny place.

Speaking of which, I read on Yahoo! today that Americans are no longer taking marriage seriously. As in, it's viewed as unnecessary. That kind of amazes me, but in a "it was bound to happen, just not so soon" way. I still plan to get married, mainly because the whole "white wedding" scenario really appeals to me on some level, but I suppose I can see not wanting to deal with all of that. It's cheaper not to get married in a lot of cases, and when you can just live together and have civil union or whatever, then why not? I still feel like it's a nice thing and a necessity-- as I probably won't live with my boyfriend or anything like that until we get married, but to each his own.

Peace.

Blah Blah Blah

Funny how the information from classes can actually relate to real life sometimes.

This is why communication trumps math on every level.

=)

Grandma's 65th Birthday!

I'm heading to Arnie's on 28th Street to celebrate the 65th year of life of my maternal grandmother.

Gotta' go!

=)

=)

I watched Valentine's Day last night. It was such a wonderful movie. So sappy, but so wonderful. It's amazing how a movie can put you in a certain mood. The transition was crazy while I sat and watched the movie with my family and Derek. At first we were all just lounging on the couch, but by the end of the movie Derek had his arm around me and we were holding hands. The sappiness from the movie soaked into us. Not that I mind, I love him after all.

Anywho, I just thought it was interesting how much media of any kind can affect people. Plus I like to talk about the boyfriend. :) I'm a girl, it's how we roll.

Peace.

Taylor Swift...

Is my hero.

I love that she writes about her actual life. I do that a lot too. Not in song form, mind you. But I love to write stories about big events in my life and poems about emtional times and journals about the rest. Someday someone is going to have a lot of fun reading my life off the pages of my 5 journals and my various blogs and stories on my computer.

Ahhh the joys of having a passion like writing. I can't imagine life without it.

Ah life.

CN 406 is really really really difficult. Like crazy difficult. Not because the material is hard, just the application of all of the theories and all of their tiny little pieces is hard. It's incredibly odd to be in a stituation where you love something so much but it drives you absolutely insane at the same time. I find myself in that position with only two things in my life. One is throwing clay on the wheel, and the other is communication theory. Don't get me wrong, I don't plan to ever give up either, but they can be very discouraging at times. I just hope that test last night went better than it seemed to have gone.

Peace.

Oh 90's Music, I love you.

I just love it when I turn on iTunes and songs from the 90's play. They really make my mood improve regardless of the style or lyrics. I think it's because the associated memories are from a happier and easier time in my life. I loved the 90's. Back when I was young and alive and ready to try anything and meet anyone. Lately I'm so bogged down with school and work and the needs of other people in my life that I don't get a whole lot of time to just enjoy myself and play games and sports and just be.

I really miss having practice. I miss that part of high school more than anything else. It was always such a rush to play a match or a game and to show up for practice everyday and let out all of my anxiety. That always pumped me up for homework or whatever else was to come that night. I remember when we had to have softball practice on graduation day. I was so much more stoked for graduation after practice than before. Definitely a great experience even though I'm sure I whined about having to go at the time. It was just nice to have that comradary that comes with a team.


Anywho, must be off. Peace.

Journalism?

I feel like I finally understand why I could never be a journalist. I want to write about things that interest me, not whatever I happen to be assigned. This realization has narrowed down my job options significantly, and I LOVE that. I really needed something to show me what I am meant to do, and at this point, knowing what I don't want to do will work just as well. I'm still going to apply at MSU for Communication grad school, but beyond that I think I'm going to look into real work in the real world. I'm not sure what I'll do yet, but I'm excited to find out!

Peace.

About that homework...

I still haven't gotten it done. I can't find my notes for my cnf piece, MacArthur is just kinda' boring and I hate writing about speeches because it's nearly impossible to track what's most important vs. least, and on top of those things I still have no idea how to study for Dave Weinendy's tests!! Granted, I got a good grade on the last one, but I'm still terryfied!

This week is going to give me a panic attack.

Think that would at least help me to not have to turn some of these assignments in?

Peace.

Audrey

I think Audrey keeps me going. It's a good thing I know her and I see her once a week, because without her I wouldn't know what to do. She talks to me about her life. She tells me how much having me around helps her. She gives me a purpose and I give her one too. We share hope and love and stories. I am so thankful for her.

Who would've thought that getting in the pool to help out one day could turn into a lifetime of friendship... I hope anyway. :)

Peace.

College.

So how about this college life? I always used to laugh when I would see those bumper stickers that said things like "Sleep. A social life. Good grades. You can only pick two. Welcome to college." But now I see how incredibly true they really are. I'm exhausted all of the time, but I finally have a balance between school and friends/ family. My freshmen year I decided to give up the grades. Sophomore year I had the social life on the back burner. Junior year I leaned towards grades and sleep, but social life got more prevelant, and now... all about the socializing and studying.

The tough thing is, I feel like without some socializing I would go insane. I am doing homework constantly, even while I hang out with my family or my boyfriend. I barely have time to watch tv or get on Facebook (except at work). Even while I'm supposed to be working, though, I often do my homework when we're not too busy. It's insane! They definitely don't train you for this in high school. I hear friend's younger siblings talking about how hard their high school classes are and I literally laugh out loud and say, "wait to see what college is like, then let me know if you think this is hard." And it's not even as much that the work is harder, it's just more intense. All the work (in most classes) is necessary. And when you get a homework assignment or you have a test and you don't study for it, you're basically shooting yourself in the foot.

In high school I never studied, but I always got A's. It was a wonderful thing. I miss it a lot. Especially during weeks like this. In the next 8 days I'll have had to write a four page article for Journalism, a 1500-5000 word essay for Creative Non-Fiction, and study/ take one of only three tests in my cap stone communication class. It's gonna' be rough. And the worst part is, I'm so so sooooo sick of writing. I was absolutely in love with it before. I mean, hell, it's my minor after all. But now I just don't even want to do it anymore. I'm sick of being told what style to write in or what my topic will be. It's not fun anymore. I have three writing classes this semester and that was such a bad idea! It's nice to have the journalism class and the creative non-fiction class at the same time because then I can compare and contrast, but then on top of that I am doing an independent study writing for the website and all three are piling up and making me hate my life a little bit.

I think this is a life lesson, though. It's showing me that I won't have a main career in writing. I can always do some freelance stuff and some writing for fun, but never will I be a novelist or a journalist or a poet or anything. It's just no fun when you have to do it to survive... or in this case, to get good grades.

Anywho, off to tackel some serious homework, peace.

I hate registration.

So once again the registrar's office makes my life far more difficult than it needs to be. I soooo hate registering. I always have my classes picked out as soon as the schedule is online. I have my advising meeting first (or at least I e-mail my advisor back first) every single time, but I have not had one semester when the registrar has not totally screwed things up for me.

So frustrating!!

I have to stop typing before I get all peeved off again.

Peace, and good luck.

Afterall, you're my wonderwall.

So today I was reading Facebook, as I do most Tuesday mornings, and I was happy to see all of the posts about getting out to vote. Heck, even Facebook itself had a vote button going and a count at the top of the screen to show how many people voted already today. It was awesome! However, as I scrolled down through my news feed, I noticed that one of my friends, a very politically charged one, said he wouldn't be voting today. One of his friends, a fellow environmentalist and Christian had commented saying he agreed and wouldn't be voting either. I was in shock. How could someone so opinionated and so good care so little about voting?

So, being the rather blunt person that I am, I commented too. I said I was surprised at the lack of caring he had and that if he wanted the government to stop wasting resources and start using morals and values, he ought to get out to the polls.

My comment did not go unchallenged, though. And then, of course, although my arguments were incredibly logical, they were challanged by those who don't care about government and apparently don't realize just how much the government affects our lives. I'm sorry, I'm a Christian just like these people, but God doesn't balance the state budget. God doesn't fix roads. God doesn't give tax breaks or food stamps or medicare and medicade. God doesn't run the state or the country, especially not if faithful people don't elect like-minded people for office. I really don't see a way that you could possibly avoid understanding that.

Seriously, it's astonishing the level of ignorance and irresponsibility abounding in the US today. And beyond that, I'm a little bit sad to be a person of faith today. If all that God has done for us and taught us means so little that you can't even try to help those around you by voting in people who are also faithful, then I don't want to be associated with you.

So PLEASE, for the love of God and country, go out and vote today. And if you don't, and I hear you complain or see you at a rally or you even so much as comment on taxes, I swear I will slap you silly!

=)

Elections

Tomorrow is the day, the day when America heads to the polls and proves how awesome democracy can be. I hope that everyone takes the time to go vote. Too many people in this country complain about the situation we're all in and then don't do anything about it on election day. To me, that's total bull shit. If you're not willing to help your situation or the situation the rest of the country is in by taking five minutes to read up on candidates and then another ten minutes to go to the polls and cast a ballot, then do NOT complain about anything the government does. You don't deserve to, you could've made a difference and didn't. Way to go.

That is all.

Breakdown, Breakdown whooooaaaaoooooooo!

That's right, folks, I'm headed for a breakdown. Just like Relient K.

Did you know that it is nearly impossible to get a good nights sleep when you are worrying about what to write for class or what grad school to apply for, or what to write for your personal statement, or whether or not to job search????????????????? Yea, it's bad news bears, let me tell you.

I'm hoping life gets easier soon, because this is totally nuts and I am unable to handle it for much longer.

I miss fall break. :(

Rain is a good thing.

But this kind of wind still has me worried. Last time we had a bad wind storm (aka last summer, which wasn't even as bad as this is supposed to be) the tree in my back yard fell down. Another part bent so far onto the house we had to take it down. I'm hoping for a better outcome this time, but not really confident on that one.

Anywho, can I just say that schools that stay open, not even a two hour delay or anything, during a tornado watch are just plain unintelligent. Why in the world would you put your students in harms way if you can avoid it? And where is this happening most today? North of Grand Rapids, where the world is a field and there are barely even hills to break up the intensity of the twister. Good thinking guys! Sheesh. I hate to say that my High School is one of those that apparently doesn't have a policy in place for this type of weather situation. I vote all schools enact a policy like this, asap!

Good luck and God speed with this weather ya'll.

Peace.

Back to school, Back to school.

Soooo I am a bad scheduler and somehow managed to make an appointment to interview a woman on campus for 3pm... when my only class today ended at noon. That was stupid.

Also, the corner really needs its own cell tower so everyone can talk/ text from down here. I have full bars for internet, but absolutely no way to communicate via phone.

Yea, this post is mostly whining because I'm sad that we're done with Fall Break already. Ohhhhh well. Only 1 and 1/2 semesters left!!

I feel old

Did you know that when you displace three ribs on your back it makes the pain a LOT worse to carry your golf clubs around. Pretty awesome, huh? I probably should have considered that before carrying my clubs during our scramble today for class, but I didn't and I'm paying for it. My back KILLS. Class tonight should be interesting and fun to get through. I hope we get out early because it's almost fall break.

Yay. K Peace.

"Wild thing..." "Yes?" "You make my heart sing."

I am in a perpetual state of tiredness, boredom and impatience with school.
I still have no idea what to do with my life, but I'm meeting with the communication arts and sciences graduate program manager person at MSU next Thursday. That's exciting, let me tell you.
I have officially written my life to death.
I need a change of pace. Alaska in March is sounding fabulous.
I have to seriously step up the grad school applications.
I wonder if anyone has actual written my letter of recommendation yet?
I am being very self centered in this post.
I always am, though.
I'm going to get back to "work" now.

Peace.

Panda Puffs are awesome.

3 things:

1) Being gluten free doesn't suck so much now that I know basically everything comes in a gluten free form... even brownies, and that gluten free form is quite often delicious.

2) Fall break is in 3 and 1/2 days. :) YESSSSSS!

3) Chiropractors are your best friend, go visit one. But if they tell you they need to see you every week for the rest of your life (or twice a week) run away. That's total B.S. You do NOT need it. I promise.

Peace.

Oh P.S. Aquinas should seriously sell Peace Tea. They're like the only people in the world without that memo. Losers.

Sick

Being sick during exam week is a tradition i would like to avoid from now on.

Thanks.

Chris Laporte won ArtPrize 2010!!

I am so happy for Chris! He totally deserved it! That drawing was so technically beautiful, and the story behind it with the enhanced features and the spirit of his father was just incredible. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to talk to him about the piece and to see it up close. He is such an awesome and humble guy. I couldn't have picked a better winner myself. And Svelata was a perfect second place winner. Both pieces were amazing. Actually the 1000 and some pieces were all well done. I'm so proud of Grand Rapids for hosting such an awesome event and of the people around here who understand and appreciate the event. Even if that did make for a VERY long line at the Art Museum last night! :)

Go GR! Congrats Chris! =) You make AQ proud!

Peace.

P.S. GO BLUE!!

Thursday

I feel that Thursdays are like turning 20. There's not much said about them, except that it's almost Friday-- just like being 20 just means you're almost 21. They aren't good for much, except maybe getting in a game of golf (which I always do... until next week, anyway)-- just like being 20 is good for nothing except adding a year more to your lifespan. I feel bad for Thursdays, and being 20 for that matter. Always overlooked and underappreciated.

Anyway, I'm going to see ArtPrize tonight... finally! I'm excited to see Chris Laporte's piece up close. I interviewed him for the AQ Homepage and now will be writing  a second piece about him for The Saint, and he's an awesome guy. Very humble and fun. I hope he wins!

Peace be with you!

Wow.

I got the highest grade in my class on our Communication Theory exam... and it was only an 86%.

This is going to be a seriously intense semester!

Life's got that box of chocolates thing down!

A- Chris Laport is AWESOME. Great guy, great artist, very humble. I like him.

B- I'm stoked the Halloween season is here because hay rides and haunted mazes are incredibly fun!

C- I second guess myself and my writing way too much and I need to stop that.

D- My favorite nearly brother and sister in law are coming home in May to visit from Alaska!!

E- My back hurts worse after the chiropractor than it did before, and I hate that I went to allow that to happen.

F- Living gluten free for one day is hard. The next three months are probably going to suck. Luckily... I have panda puffs. :)

G- I really need to go see ArtPrize.

H- I need to go now and write a couple of articles for the homepage.

I- Peace

J

Things I learned today.

1) Going to the chiropractor HURTS.
2) At some point in my life, I broke my neck and never knew. (But it's cool, because it's healed now.)
3) I think being a Jackrabbit (aka student at South Dakota State University) would be awesome!
4) Regent University is a more conservative Christian school than Calvin and Cornerstone combined.
5) I broke my tailbone and never knew... I do a number on my body, I guess?
6) I obviously have an awesomely large pain tolerance.
7) I should avoid gluten because it hates me
8) If there was any food-like item I would choose to be allergic or sensitive to, it would NOT be gluten.
9) People at MSU don't call you back.
10) Even college graduates are sometimes immature.

Realization

Whenever I'm on top of the things I have to get done, the people I'm counting on are not.

Writing articles is awfully hard to do when the people you need to interview refuse to call you back.

Never do that to an interviewer of any sort. It's just not nice.

Peace.

P.S. Happy Red Flannel/ Pulaski Weekend!! =)

Accomplishment

So here's what I have to say about class: I thought I would love taking the classes that are "easy A's." Ya' know, the time fillers. But it turns out I hate that. I want to be accomplishing something in class, not just wasting time when I could potentially be accomplishing something else! So this morning I skipped my first two classes-- golf and ceramics-- to spend some time doing things I deem more necessary. And I loved every second of it. This blog is the last thing on my to-do list and I finished all of it before I even would've been out of golf. (That ends at 2:15pm.) So this is a lesson for myself for next semester-- register for classes you care about and that you can feel accomplished after having taken. Afterall, next semester is my last as an undergraduate student, and I want to make it worth while! :)

Alaska

I wish to travel to Alaska. To feel the chill in the air. To see the Moose that is sure to try and run in front of my vehicle, as deer do in good ol' Michigan. To look for a bear, but not get to close. To hike a mountain. To go down to the spit. To be in a wonderland of the new and exciting. To look normal when openly carrying a gun.

I want to travel and to see all of the things I've read about for years but never got to see. I want to go every place that Johnny Cash mentions in I've Been Everywhere, and then see more. I need to create a bucket list and do all of it before I'm too old or too sick to care. People say life is what you make it, and it's time that I make mine a bit more interesting.

Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up is...

I realized something today. Half of the reason I want to go to grad school is so that I can teach communication. I know if I get an assitantship they'll want me to teach that since it's what I have a degree in, and I really don't mind at all. I'm kind of pumped that I'll get the chance to share something that I'm passionate about with the students at another school. My talk today with Dave Weinandy helped a lot. He said that grad school and an assistantship in it is something I have to do. He's so encouraging and I love that. I need someone who is like that in my life. My parents are only worried about money. My friends tell me to do whatever I want to do. My boyfriend obviously wants me to stay with him, but feigns encouragement. It's nice to have someone sincerely believing what they are telling me.

Finally.

Anyway, homework is waiting to be done. Catch ya' on the flip side.

Peace.

Holy Sore

Memo to those thinking about being crazy like me: If you haven't played softball in two years, remember to stretch a LOT before you go play all day. And stretch after as well. Otherwise you're bound to feel terrible like I do today. Can't even move without looking ridiculous. It's awesome.

Peace.

Weekend to come

This weekend is sure to be a crazy one with a golf outing on Saturday and a softball tournament on Sunday. Right now, back to homework... gotta' get it done!

Happy Hump Day

So in the course of one day I have managed to: throw out a whole bowl of cereal after dumping bad milk into it, barely choke down 5 bites of the anti-hunger oatmeal, have my phone totally die twice, be a half hour late to work, walk around Rivertown Mall one and a half times with nothing to show for it but a sweater that may or may not be accidentally asymetrical, and only eat half of my lunch because of my lateness to work.

It's soooo one of those days.

When I get out of work tonight I have to go to my Uncle's funeral... and after that I'm going out for a beer. I think I will have more than earned it.

Peace.

Dogsitting Journal

I am dogsitting tonight. Two adorable Boston Terriers. One of them is a tiny little gal who snorts like a pig when she breathes too hard. The other is a bigger boy, about the size of a boxer, that just loves to jump around. Both of them are cuddlers, which makes it difficult for me to be typing this (they like to be on my lap and on the keyboard). They are precious little guys.

Dogsitting in this foreign house always makes me extra aware of my surroundings and of myself, however. I am all alone, and I hate it. The house is big and empty and unfamiliar... making it terrifying. Luckily it is in a community on a cul de sac so it's not as scary as it could be. But being alone is also odd because as much as I feel rushed and claustrophobic normally because of all the people and stuff going on in my life, being alone is boring and allows my mind to wander and think about too much sometimes. That is an especially bad thing today since I have no homework to distract me and tomorrow is the funeral for my great uncle. A man I was just starting to know well. A man I loved and cared for. It's going to be hard and I would rather my mind stayed away from that subject, but all alone I have little to deter those thoughts.

So here I sit, (or rather, lie) on a couch in a foreign home with two tiny dogs curled up nearby. Trying to keep my mind off of the bad and hoping the night goes by quickly and without a storm (it's getting awfully gross looking out there). I guess we'll just have to see how this goes.

Peace.

Success!

I have officially written and published my first article for the AQ homepage! It feels so good to have it done. I'm proud of myself, and I'm excited to keep writing. I have two more articles to write still and I cannot wait to get started. Hopefully I will have time to get everything done that I need to before Sunday rolls around (it's my next due date). I feel like I'm very busy all of the time lately, but it's so worth it!!

Now if you'll excuse me I have to get back to the grind I call school work.

Peace.

Writing an Article is Hard Work

So here I am, on my first assignment as a writer for the Aquinas Homepage and I am realizing this is not quite so much like riding a bike. I wrote and was Sports Editor for my high school's newspaper. I even got an honorable mention for an editorial from the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association. But writing an article now is like pulling teeth! Maybe it's because I just don't know that much about what I'm writing about, but I feel an insane amount of pressure for this piece. It's my first and I want it to be awesome. Plus, as Rob has said in class, this is something where people will see the work I produce everyday. I don't get to have a bad day or a bad article because everyone who reads it will know. Talk about stressful!

So I'm just doing my best, using a great lead from those we've discussed in class, and running with what I've got! I guess we'll just have to see how it all turns out.

Peace.

Like sand in the hour glass...

I am feeling slightly irritated today and therefore in order to avoid ranting like a lunatic, I will just finish this post with a single sentence:

I may end up with an ulcer before this academic year is complete.

How stupid people can be.

Lately I've been noticing a trend in the stupidity of people around the world. That trend: stupidity is increasing. Need an example? How about the intolerant fools who burned the Qu'ran outside of the mosque in East Lansing. And no, it didn't stop there. Through text messaging and a world that is getting smaller by the second, people in India found out about this hate crime. And how did they go about solving (or rather doing the complete opposite of solving) this issue? They set fire to the only Christian Church around. Yep, that's right, lots of intelligent, well thought out decisions being made lately.

So here's my question: What is so tough about being tolerant?

Honestly, I consider myself a Christian, but I don't attend church. I'm just spiritual and I like to learn as much about all faiths as I can. But even within the giant umbrella that is Christianity, I still find myself being looked down on or judged for not having an "identity" within some church. Well guess what? Not going to happen. The doctrine and dogma of the Church get in the way of my faith and my relationship with God. Is that wrong? No. Is agreeing with a specific denomonation or religion or faith wrong? No. If you walk around this planet and meet a person of every faith you can bet that you will find at least one person that feels that God is telling them that their beliefs are right in some way. So who is right? The athiests? The agnostics? The Christians? The Jews? The Muslims? The Buddhists? Or any other group? Who knows!? And honestly, why does it matter? I have a good friend who is Jewish, another who is a devout Catholic, and still another who is Muslim. Yes, I have more Christian friends than any other faith, but I grew up in the Bible belt, it was hard to avoid.

All I'm saying is that being tolerant is not that difficult. It's just not hating. It's far easier to love and to keep your obnoxious and uneducated opinions to yourself. So let's all start trying a little harder to do so. Please.

Peace.

Oh what a post.

Nature Valley Bars RULE!

I have decided that exercise is important, but there's just not enough time in my day. It seems like I'm either totally exhausted when I get home from work or school or both, or everyone else is (and I hate working out alone). So there I sit, on the couch. BUT I've found a way to remedy this recently. I play the wii. Not only is it fun to play (Wii Fit Plus, specifically), it's also fun to watch, so no one is annoyed that I'm taking over the TV with my exercising.

The inventors of the Wii were geniuses.

Another day, another blog entry

Has anyone else noticed the guy who walks around with a walking stick, no shirt, and war paint? Yea... I wanna' know his name.

Blog Blog Blogger

So I've noticed that the more I blog, the less I have to say. So I'm getting inspired by the actual news this time.

In recent news: The Asian Carp Debate

I really don't see why people are so adamant about keeping the canals open when they are clearly the reason for the Asian Carp moving into the Great Lakes. I mean really. We have found the actual species past that fabulous shock fence thing that they put in, so clearly it's not working. The fish aren't stupid, they know where they need to go for food and they're willing to risk it to get there. So close the canals, at least until we can get rid of a majority of those ugly little creatures. We don't need boats as much anymore, we have trains and airplanes and trucks (oh my!).

And that's how I see it.

Grad School

So first I would like to ponder for a moment about whether or not yesterday was part of the weekend. I hope it was, because I didn't post anything on here. This is one of those situations where it would have been sooooo much easier to ask for permission than forgiveness. It's rare that it doesn't happen the other way around, but it does happen on occasion.

Anywho, the subject of today's blog: Grad School.

Here's my dilemma. I want to go to grad school for something basically unrelated to what I am receiving my undergrad degree in. There are some similarities, but they are pretty different degrees, regardless. Even bigger than the dilemma of trying to go to school for something that I don't have a lot of classroom experience in, is trying to find an institution that will be a good fit for me and my aspirations.

So far I am pretty set on either attending Kent State or Michigan State. Both schools have a sports administration program, but Kent also has a sports and leisure management option. And Kent doesn't require the GRE for those with an undergrad GPA higher than 3.0... something I definitely have and plan to keep. So here's my deal, Kent State is 7 hours (give or take) away from home for me. I've never even gone to summer camp that far away from home, much less just picked up and moved! I mean, it's Ohio, so it's not going to be a huge culture shock or anything, but it still scares me to think about going far away from friends and family and everything I know.

I guess this is something a lot of people go through even thinking about where to get their undergrad degree. I was lucky that Aquinas was a great school with programs I wanted and only 20 minutes from my hometown. Now I have to put my big girl pants on and try to get into a University that's not only nowhere near my hometown, but nowhere near anything familiar. I'm just hoping this is what I'm meant to do and where I'm meant to be!

Peace.

Livin' on the edge.

So did anyone else hear about the goats that wandered out onto a bridge in Montana? Apparently these two gals decided to go for a stroll and froze when they realized they were on the six inch ledge of a railroad bridge over a not so populated road. They were stranded there for two days before anyone could get the poor little things down! Luckily some nice folks driving by spotted the animals and called the local sheriff as well as the humane society, and with a little help from a nearby mining company's cherry picker the goats are now safely at an animal sanctuary where their owners are being sought out.

Crazy story isn't it? It's nice to hear a story about animals being saved from what could've been a terrible fate since there have been so many local stories recently of animal cruelty (especially to dogs). Thank goodness there are still some good people in the world!

Peace.

Rain rain go away, must you fit my mood today?

I am working on a project with Professor Mboko of the management department here at AQ. The project is for homecoming and it centers around alumni who are now living internationally. I thought it would be a cool experience to see where Aquinas alumni are today, but I never thought that I would get such insight from those who have come before me and walked these halls.

I received my second email response from an alum today, and his response to one of my questions was unexpected and made me think. He said that Americans are so lucky to live in a place where the world revolves around the consumer. Business caters to consumers, not the other way around. This particular alum lives in London with his wife right now, and he says that business in Europe is totally different. He basically said that we're spoiled and we don't even realize it, and I think even though we might know that deep down, we often times forget. It's funny to think about how much we take for granted in this country. Let's look at the miners in Chile, for example. If that same thing had happened in the US there would be a huge lawsuit, picketing, non-stop news coverage (live coverage, that is), and President Obama would have made about 12 speeches by now. But in Chile it's different. Yes there is lots of news coverage, but it's not about lawsuits from family members or presidential speeches. This news surrounds how well the miners are doing and their families praying and holding vigils outside of the mine. It's funny to think how different that situation could have been here, and how much worse it would have been made out to be.

I just thought I would share that thought with you. Kind of interesting to think about life outside of the US. Doing this project has really made me want to travel abroad for awhile. Spend time in a place with different cultural norms. I think everyone needs to do that once in their life.

Have a nice day now. Peace.

Keep on a rockin' me babe-ay

Have you ever noticed that the music you listen to either directly reflects or directly affects your current mood? Or maybe I'm the only one who lets music be that important in her life. Either way, that is exactly what music does to me. Take this morning, for example. I climbed into my truck, all ready for a long day of work and school, and the radio was tuned to B93. Now I love B93, don't get me wrong, but this was just not a Martina McBride morning. It was more of a calm music morning. That being said, I turned the channel a few hundred times before finally trying Way FM. Good choice. It had a perfect blend of slower jams and some more upbeat songs to keep me awake before my coffee kicked in.

When I got to work I was in a spiritual mood because of my previous Way FM drive, so Pandora was immediately set to Third Day radio. However, after a couple of hours of the slower stuff making me want to fall asleep, I started singing Steve Miller in my head. Now Pandora is on Steve Miller Band radio, the perfect blend of classic rock styles to get me through lunch time (at least).

Now sitting here listening to Steve and his compadres (Boston, ZZ Top, etc), I feel like I'm back in my yard working on cars with my dad, or at the farm where I work in the summertime. Funny how music can put you in a certain mindset depending on the style, the lyrics, or the tone. It's cool and creepy at the same time. Maybe those crazy screaming parents aren't so wrong about song lyrics affecting child behavior afterall.

Anyway, that's my story for the day. Happy Hump Day!

Ta ta for now.

This I Believe

My Creative Non-Fiction class has been reading the book This I Believe, which is a collection of short essays (less than 500 words) from various people of differing backgrounds all stating what they believe. The beliefs in question are supposed to be the very core beliefs of the people writing. So throughout my time reading these essays I have been thinking, "What do I believe?" Today it came to me. I believe in choices.

Choices are often overlooked, I think, because we are forced to make so many so often. What to wear, what to eat, what to drink, who to call, what to say. Do I get on Facebook and update my status or do my homework instead? What should I write my paper about for class? Which college should I attend? What should I major in? Grad school or no grad school? Should I try out for the tennis team? All of these are choices that are so common in our lives that we may not even think of them as important or life altering, but they are.

Every choice I have made has effected my life in some way. I remember the summer of 2009. I had just gotten back from a graduation weekend trip to Philadelphia and had gone to my boyfriend Derek's house for the evening to visit him and his family. Derek is an avid freestyle motocross rider and had been trying for nearly a year to get me to ride with him. I, being terrified of everything, (especially high speeds with no roll cage), so I had previously refused. May 14, 2009, however, I agreed to ride on the back. As we rode I began to feel free. I made the choice to ride and to enjoy myself with no reservations. After awhile we took a break and I made the choice to ask if he would teach me to actually drive the bike. He agreed, and I chose to get on. That choice is one that is still having a huge impact on my life. I crashed the bike that day, and I tore my ACL and MCL, and chipped a piece of bone off of my kneecap. Not what I was expecting, obviously. The choices we make, even the small ones that don't really seem like choices at the time, can have an enourmous impact on our lives-- in both good and bad ways.

So I believe in choices. The choice we make every morning to have a positive attitude or a negative one. The choice we make in deciding what we believe. The choice we make when we consider who to speak with or what to say to each person we encounter in our day. Communication is a choice. Life is a choice. Writing is a choice. Without choices there is no freedom and no life. This, I believe.

Damn I missed a post... no more of that!

Monday, sunny Monday. It's a hot one out there folks. Golf class was rather steamy this afternoon, but that's okay because I have officially improved! Score one for the good guys.

Let's talk Aquinas for a second, shall we? Starting with all of the changes around campus. I am a senior this year, meaning for the past three years of my life, Aquinas has been something of a home base for me. I have formed a pattern over the last three years of where to hang out between classes, what to order for lunch at the corner, and where the best seat in the house is in every hang out available on this campus. Unfortunately, AQ has totally screwed that system up! For example, the hangout/ homework area in lower wege has been wiped out and replaced with offices of people I have never seen before in my life. I'm not entirely sure what they do, but clearly they're important because they beat out the commuter hang out for space. Then there's the fact that you can no longer create your own sandwich at the corner. You may have a prepackaged thing or nothing at all. And while you eat your prepackaged, 3 day old, soggy breaded deliciousness, you can now sit only on couches, where you must hold your food in your lap, or on hard wooden chairs in the lower section. The booths I once loved deeply are now gone (but not too far away, they're in the Moose, weird). This campus is crazy now, and not at all what I knew and loved. Sure there have been some nice changes like more computer kiosks and a couple of nice plasmas for event postings and such, but mostly the changes are just odd and seemingly unnecessary. I miss my sandwiches and my booths and my ugly purple couches separated from one another with totally inadequate glass walls.

I suppose eventually I'll get used to the changes and I will once again establish a routine, and knowledge of the best seat in every house. I have to accept this change and move on. After all, in May I will be done with Aquinas forever and I will say good bye to this school in the biggest change of all to occur on campus this year, the Stirrus Sports and Fitness Center (from now on, known as the "Stur"... so much simpler).

So I say to you all, good day and good sandwich hunting.

A Real Issue

For quite some time now I have kept my mouth tightly shut when it came to debating the proposed mosque in NYC. I felt like every opinion was already out there for people to read so there was no point in adding another to the mix. However, I now realize that if I do not speak about my feelings on this particular issue, I will eventually explode. So here it goes:

I can see both sides of the debate over this mosque, and I don't fully agree or disagree with either side. As a matter of fact, I've come up with a compromise that could potentially please everyone.

There is already a mosque 4 blocks from ground zero, therefore adding another should not be a big deal (unless the people opposed to the new mosque would like to explain why they never fought to move the original). Using this reasoning, I propose that the mosque be built where it has been proposed, but on the condition that it not open on September 11th as was originally proposed. Although the motive may be peace (I hope that is the truth, anyway), I think that it is coming across in the wrong way. If the mosque were to open in the Spring or Summer, or even at the beginning of Ramadan (in August), it would show the compassion the Muslim people who are proposing it have and it would also be a gesture of friendship and healing toward the families who lost loved ones that day.

It's a small compromise, but I believe it could be an effective one. Something that could start to bridge the gap between Islam and America. As Mayor Bloomberg said, we are fighting terror with freedom in the U.S. To not allow this mosque would be letting the terrorists win. We would fear them and hate them, and that is EXACTLY what terrorism is about. Instead, we need to be strong and allow freedom to shine through no matter what.

America is a beautiful country. It is full of passion and patriotism, and hopefully one day it will do away with prejudice. This could be just the first of many steps in working toward that goal.

Blogging Attempt- Take 1

It is officially my very last first week of school. That's just crazy! For seventeen years I have attended school, but soon that part of life will all be over. I never thought this day would come, and now that it's here I am terrified! What an odd sensation to have worked toward something for so long and then when it arrives, to wish it would hold off for awhile. It's scary to look for a job, to give up summers off and spring breaks, and to just be grown up. I guess it's time to put on my big girl pants and handle it, though. Who knows, this time next year I could be incredibly happy and wonder what all the fuss was about. You never know.

=)