New Worlds

Using blogs in a class is new for me.  I'm finding it difficult to know precisely how to respond to all of your interesting ideas.    But, I can see from these blogs that all of you have skills that you can use in writing your essays.   Hence, I will say again.  "We aren't bad writers, we just have had enough experience with certain types of writing."    And, that includes me.  I'm not experienced at blogging!  I struggle to consider how to make these entries interesting to other people. 

Life in Melting Pot: Amongst the Bereans

As Americans, we tend to forget what freedoms we have. One of the biggest ones that I have noticed is that of religion. Just this past Sunday I talked to two individuals who shared with me their personal experiences with Church.

The first person I had the pleasure of talking to was Tina (whose full name is too hard to write and/or say). Tina is from a Russian-speaking country known as Bellerose where there is basically one type of church: Orthodox. She herself could not tell me the complexities or the basic doctrine of it because she never really attended it except for Easter services, as was a cultural tradition in her country. She told me that when she came to America, she was in awe of the vast number of different churches and was enthralled by my explanation of the cultural aspects involved with our Bible-Belt region. For me, this was a harsh realization that we do not know how good we have it in America by having the freedom to choose a church (not just Christian by the way).

The second person I spoke with was Eugene. Eugene comes from a family of missionaries who ministered to China and Korea. He told me that in China, the only ones who are allowed to profess Christianity are foreigners, and there is no such thing as a “denomination” there. Because of the strict governmental control, no one worries over the small aspects of religion that lead to quarrels amongst believers, but rather unite as one and focus on their faith in God and Jesus Christ. In such a free country we often forget that we have the right to believe what we want and gather with those that believe likewise.

So what? Why should we care about other nations’ policies about religion when we really don’t care about religion ourselves? I do not write this to force my beliefs on anyone, although I will say that I am proud to claim Christianity, but rather as a reminder that Americans forget that they can believe and gather as they please or choose not to without risk of consequence. This is something special when one takes a look at the world as a whole.

The Enigmatic Woman: Y U SO MEEN?

Blog the Second:

Women. Yes, I believe that one word should constitute an entire sentence. What other word is so jam-packed with various meanings that you could hardly get them all out in less than an hour? Certainly not a word as simple as ‘men’. Eat, sleep, and sex: isn’t that the preferred stereotype? You might be surprised at how many people believe wholly that men are as shallow as a dried-up stream: just enough depth to come up with a new variation of “Violets are red, roses are blue, I have Chlamydia and now so do you” (Why yes, those are indeed mixed up. How astute of you.) While this is most definitely an adequate description of some men (I’ve even met a few of them here), it’s hardly the norm.

Why am I talking about this? Wasn’t this blog supposed to be about women, and not the social stereotypes about their sexual counterparts that are so happily perpetuated? Where’s the nearest bunker in case Skynet becomes autonomous? While I can’t help you with that last one(try Richmond), the others are fairly simple. I was recently conversing with a gal from back in high school. Let’s call her Daise. Daise is a gold digger. Yes, those are currently the nicest words I can think of to describe her. Quite simply, not a person I prefer to associate with (but I don’t turn away any distraction when in procrastination mode). I was still quite excited about the events which transpired the night before, and so I told her about them. After the initial round of picture sharing, her reaction: “Damn, she’s hot. ‘d ya fuck her?” Why no Daise, I did not in fact ‘fuck her’. A man is perfectly capable of enjoying a nice cuddle without trying to stick his penis somewhere. If you'd take your nose out of your boyfriend's checkbook every once in awhile, you might actually notice that.

/rant

Weekend One

My weekend started off like the last couple of weekends I’ve been in college with me , my laundry and my guitar sitting in the gazebo outside of Blueridge waiting for someone from my family to come and pick me up. Once I got home, thanks to my parents, I almost automatically was on my way to my friend Chloe’s house so that we can go see the movie My Idiot Brother. We got there twenty minutes late. For this fact we decided that we should just go for dinner so we spent the rest of the night over at the Outback Steakhouse discussing what were the top ten bands of the last ten years (Coldplay was number one).

Saturday I did a very magical thing that im pretty sure I will have a love affair with for the next four years. Sleeping in. once I got ready for the day around four P.M. I started on homework till I had to go meet my friend Storey in town for a sociology project. Sadly the car that we needed to use to get back into town had had its air on all day long…… I don’t remember the exact rules of what I’m allowed to put in this thing but I will insert a nice evil angry face >:(. I wont lie this made me feel better. So once we got it working I was able to go meet up with my partner on our project where we decided to demonstrate extreme isolation with a basketball and a picture of Justin Beiber ( I will explain this next week).

Sunday was church which was quite interesting due to the fact that of 9/11 and I was given a little trading card like thing with a picture of a terrorist on it and I was asked to pray for this man and I had a childish moment with this for the fact that the person next to me got a full biography on this guy while I only guy two sentences on mine. For the rest of the day I spent my time between napping and doing math homework. Next weekend I’m going to do my best to get you the scoop on my roommates weekends and how he likes to spend them.

Viva la Weekends.

Latin: Feminine, Masculine and...Neutured?

When you take any foreign language course, you learn about nouns and how they have different sexes. Most of the time, you have either feminine or masculine, right? Feminine has its own set of rules, and masculine has the same. But in Latin, you also have a type of noun called neutered. This means that it is neither feminine nor masculine, and that it follows its own set of rules, despite the fact that it closely relates to masculine.

If you have taken any foreign language classes, then you know that when you structure your sentences, then you have to make sure that all of your nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, etc, are in the proper gender, and number. So instead of having only two genders to choose from, in Latin you have three, and they are not always easy to see. For example, if I wanted the say “the roman boy” I would say, “puer Romanus”. If I wanted the say “the roman girl,” I would say, “puella Romana”. If I wanted to say “the roman war”, I would say, “saxum Romanum”.

If you look at the word ‘roman’, you would see that in each example, it had a different ending. The ending signifies the gender and number, or whether the adjective is feminine, masculine, or neutered, and whether it is singular of plural. Now, this is just a very basic example, but it does show the differences rather well.

I’ve only been taking this class for a little over three weeks now, but I think I am starting to get the hang of all of the rules. Hopefully, by the end of the semester, you will also have a good amount of knowledge of Latin, but don’t always take what I say as absolute truth. I’m only learning too.

A Place Called Home: The Dorm Life

To tell the truth, I was terrified to live in a resident hall with no one I knew. I was always the shier one, making me fear the thought of sitting in my room by myself with nothing to do. I feared that I would have a miserable time and become so bored I would return to my hometown every weekend. However, I have found these thoughts to be wrong.

The Anna Smith Resident Hall was built in 1950. It has been home to many girls since then and as of August 20^th, 2011, it is my new home. Everyone is adjusting to this change differently. Some leave quite often, while others socialize in the lounge and basement. I find that the basement is the main area to socialize and bring guests. During the week one may find the residents taking a break from their academics to relax, watch a movie, or play pool. There were times back in my home town that I grew bored and couldn't find a thing to do. However, I have yet to grow bored in Anna Smith. Whether it is playing cards, having a movie marathon, or studying, there is always a place and a person to accompany you.

There is no need to fear living in a dorm for people are welcoming and there is almost always a movie playing that you can join or someone sitting in the lounge who will listen when complaining about your classes. For some they may hate the dorm life, but for me, there is hardly a dull moment in Anna Smith.

Arthurian Literature: Erec and Enide

Having just finished this short story, Erec and Enide, by Chretien De Troyes, I cannot help but feel lost in the medieval world of King Arthur and his loyal knights. However, there is still a part of my mind, even in the midst of a thick plot scene, that is unable to imagine this story as having ever occurred. The writers of this time period create characters that are so unreal that it is very difficult trying to picture them in my mind. Erec is described as the most handsome, intelligent, and gallant of all the knights in King Arthur’s court, except for Gawain, and that no other man had achieved as much success as a knight at his young age. Enide is illustrated to be the most beautiful woman that Nature could have fashioned, and it is said that Nature had spent so much time on her that no other woman has ever been as beautiful as her. Not only that, but she is also full of good sense, of noble birth, and is humble. Now, after reading about these characters I have learned two things about those who lived during that time. First, they did not attempt to make the characters believable, since they are basically described as perfect, or even the story overall, which includes giants and dwarves. Second, men had very high expectations for woman, just as they do today. Women were expected to be beautiful, or they were worthless. They were expected to obey every command of their husbands without a second thought, and this was considered being “well bred.” As much as I enjoy these magical stories because of the heroism and the dreamy knights and battles in the name of love, I realize that all of these things are fantasy, and that sometimes a touch of realism can go a long way.

Berea Lost: Music In Berea Part 1

As we come to college, we enter a new world. We all share some similarities but are very diverse. We all enjoy similar things but the specifics of each are different.

Take, for instance, music. There are countless types of music. With so many different styles of music there will be a great diversity in what students at Berea like to listen to. A friend of mine, Bethany Pastore, loves to listen to Bach and Beethoven as well as Lil Wayne, Eminem, the Beetles, and Coldplay. Another friend listens to a few afore mentioned artists as well as country stars like Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flats, and etc…

I, for one, am not a big fan of heavy metal, rap, or the rock-n-roll that has been dubbed “oldies”. On the other hand I occasionally will listen to The Beach Boys and The Eagles. The majority of the time, I listen to music composed by John Williams and other movie score composers. In fact, I have over 45 different scores and soundtracks on my iPod touch. The other music I listen to includes pop artists like Lady Gaga and Ke$ha and country artists like Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw, and Carrie Underwood. I have over 300 albums that come from over 200 artists. My friend Bethany doesn’t like country music at all while I don’t like Lil Wayne.

Every person is unique in the things they enjoy. Just last week, at King’s Island, there was a country music tribute and while I could sing almost every song, most of the others didn’t recognize any of the songs. As we go on through the school year, we should see college as a way to see our differences and learn how just because we are different doesn’t mean we are wrong, just unique.

In Part 2, music in Berea as a Utopian Society.

The Transitions of a Freshman

One of the transitions I will discuss in my blog throughout the semester is decision making. In college your skills at making rational decisions is essential to your success as a student. The everyday simple decisions you make subconsciously can effect your efficiency. The schedule that I had to turn in for this class helped me to contemplate how to get the most out of my precious time. The decision I made to stick to my schedule has been very beneficial to me.

My microeconomics has given me a given me an interesting way to think about decisions I make daily. In my class we have talked about making decisions at the margin. This is best explained by always having your marginal benefit outweighing your marginal cost. For example, should I spend an extra hour playing basketball at the gym or go back to my room and study for tommorow's exam? The marginal benefit of playing more basketball does not outweigh marginal cost of not being as prepared for the exam. Therefore, I wisely go back to my room and study for the test. One of the reasons I find my microeconomics class so interesting is due to the fact I can actually use information I learn in my daily life. Hopefully this"formula for success"consistently persuades me to make the best possible decisions throughout the semester.

The Social Hermit: Forced Socialization, Physical Reaction

The weather is changing, rain becoming more frequent as the temperature continues to plummet and rise each day with indeterminable intervals. As the heat of summer has slacked off, more and more customers have started to arrive at the little shop I work in and, to my unfortunate discovery, the customers that come with the winds of fall tend to be more gabby than normal.

Every day whilst in the lull between groups of customers I run through my head what I will say to the next people that come in, trying to think of any plausible (or even highly unlikely) scenario so that I can be able to comfortably chat with the clientele like the older, more seasoned students that I work with. But, despite the number of times that I run through these senarios in my head, as soon as a customer comes in, everything I thought of disappears, all my carefully worded welcomes and conversation pieces fly out of my head like a bat out of hell. All I can manage to stutter out is a semi-friendly “hello” or “hi” and sit there in an awkward silence until either they or a coworker starts a conversation or until they make their quick get-away. I cannot explain why I am unable to speak when a customer comes in, but all I do know is that I feel a tightness growing in my chest, my shoulders tensing, and anxiety filling my stomach.

Now, this reaction doesn’t happen all the time, like what happened at the beginning of this week. A friendly woman from Michigan and her friend came in, and as soon as she saw me she exclaimed “Oh! Look at you making brooms!” and so she began her flurry of questions about where I was from, what I’m studying, and general questions about the broom making process, her enthusiasm slowly coaxing me out of my shell. Customers like that amiable lady are a favorite of mine, they quickly wipe away the awkward silence and fill the air with a strange type of warmth. Before she left, she complimented the store as well as my work (which honestly isn’t that grand) with the upmost sincerity. I can only hope that I will one day be able to start conversations the way that woman did with customers, but perhaps that is a skill that only comes with age.

BC Soccer: Leaving it all on the Field

"That's the first goal I've ever scored in my life- I have to call my mom!"
A mass of white jerseys rushed over to congratulate our sole senior, Danielle
Goldman, as she cried out for no one in particular to hear.

Last year our team scored three goals throughout the season and lost every game, but Friday night we managed to score two goals in one half and almost come away with a win. The first half didn't look too promising when the halftime buzzer sounded and the scoreboard read a 2-0 lead to visiting Ohio Christian. However, we came back with a sense of urgency, we put everything on the line, and maybe we lost the game but as a team we improved greatly.

As a group we may be less skilled than some of our opponents, but no one can compare to the size of our heart. When touches and passes or techniques don't go our way, our fight to get the ball back or chase it to the end line is what makes us a tough competitor no matter what the score. And sometimes when you work hard, the touches and passes or techniques can fall together too. Friday this happened. Everyone was working so hard that the small technical things we worked on in practice seemed to just click together with the flow of the game.

There's such a satisfying feeling of knowing you tried your hardest, knowing you gave it your all, then a loss isn't so bad. There's nothing more you could have done because you left everything you had on the field and you feel a sort of accomplishment in the emptiness that's left. I don't think there's anything else like that.

In life you don't get the things you want every time, but next time, maybe, the prized object that's always just beyond your reach will finally be within your grasp. Until that time, for the women's soccer team at least, we'll just leave it all on the field.

Rules of HvZ and My Revelation.

I sat down and thought... What do I do until HvZ officially begins? I couldn't think of anything aside from the rules and ways to join in, so I expanded my topic slightly while still keeping the original theme. HvZ was created and intended to help people interact with each other, have fun, and break up the monotony of college life. I have set out to find other methods of helping this goal, and in some cases warding off the dreaded "Freshman 15."

I'll elaborate on the rules of HvZ before announcing my newly discovered "game." The rules are simple.

1. Everyone must have a white and red bandanna.

2. All players must have their bandanna displayed on their arm unless at a "safe zone" such as a sporting event, job, etc.

3. Follow all school regulations. The examples used, "Don't climb trees. Don't climb buildings. And don't chase the squirrels..."

4. Do not shoot non-players.

5. Don't skip work or classes... I mean, it's a fun game and all, but is it worth failing out or being put on every type of probation possible?

These are the major rules to HvZ. As for being in the games, you must first go to an orientation meeting to fill out a liability waiver. This would probably be the time that the first game would be announced. Then you register and when the day arrives, you go out and play your hardest.

As for all the new ways to have fun at Berea, keep checking back for updates. I'll send it to you as soon as the information becomes available to me.

A Unique Family

As it turns out, most of the rehearsals that have started for Turandot are like little family reunions within the theatre department family. While we've only been rehearsing certain acts so only certain actors are there, it's nice to get together with smaller sections of the 'family' before we get together as one big cast to do our full run-throughs. Around the theatre building when we're not doing rehearsals, you can still catch sight of cast members and it's nice, but it's even better when you can get everyone together on stage to go through warm-ups and simply enjoy being on stage.

But, what makes the theatre department so different from the other families?

To me, I believe it's a sense of pride of what they do. Everyone there gives one hundred percent toward their acting and behind-the-scenes work, even if it could be the world job in the world, or they get hurt doing something. There's not a single complaint that goes on, only constructive criticism that floats around from one actor to the other. Everyone is so supportive of one another, always wanting the others to succeed in things that don't even have to do with theater. As is the truth around most of Berea, the students and faculty are kind and welcoming as well.

Of course, what's a family without a few fights? So far I have yet to witness any, but I've heard rumors of them and a bit of bickering here or there over a scene or something similar, but that's part of what makes a family, right?

Lost in a New World: Part 2

As I search to find the a remnant of my former self, i encounter new people. They say they're from a foreign land as well. Although I've never seen them back home, they must been from other countries and states. Places I've dreamed of going on day, and these people are in front of me. I begin to associate with them little by little and as I do the more I learn more about their homes and culture and whatever else we talk about. They introduce me to this music I've never heard before called dubstep. The sound enters my brain like a cotton swap cleaning my ears. The bass so loud so heavy it draws my in like lambs to the slaughter. I find that as I draw deeper in the music, a little more of myself I begin to sense. I might know where to find my old remnant. The music leads me to myself like GPS, the closer I am the more I feel him. I know he's here, my heart won't stop racing, I reached my destination and I justed missed him. I was close; this new world might not be as bad as I thought. Even still I evaded myself, almost like I didn't won't nothing to do with me. I must find him so we can be one, and he can share he's experiences with me. For the mind wonders like clouds drifting in the air and easy to spot and retrieve. Mine on the other hand, is a shadow and it's not sunny out.

"What did I Decide"

Since the last time I posted, I was talking about the decisions that college students have to makes as a whole, and the negative and positive outcomes that they have. Now I am going focus on myself, and the decisions I make throughout course of my semester. Well I had a little bit of trouble in chemistry, and it was mostly with conversions, but I went to tutoring Thursday night. Now I have a better understanding of conversions, and I know where to put them in the problem. I was five minutes late for Biology, and I missed the announcement about a quiz on Friday. Well I found out about it around nine Thursday night, so I stayed up all night studying the book and my notes. The positive was that I did okay on my quiz, but I had my chemistry class at eight that morning, so I was so tired that I could hardly focus on what he was saying. Later on that evening I had the choice to go to Lexington, but I decided to stay home which was a big mistake because I sat in my room all night, and I watched movies by myself. I was planning on going to bed around midnight because I was going get up around nine, and I was going to do some laundry and homework, but I did not go to bed until four in the morning, so I woke up at eleven. When I went down stairs to wash all the washers are full, but I was able to get one in the next thirty minutes. I also finished a section of homework.

Cameron Cole

-Small Rant-

This has nothing to do with our blog, but I felt I had to share this.

The convo we had today really pissed me off. It wasn't because of the speaker, but of what took place during and after the convo.

First of all, I have a weak stomach and a tendency to pass out when things are discussed that are similar to today's subject. So this led to me having an interesting time... I sat there and kept hoping he would stop for a minute, or at least slow done with all the details. Half way through his presentation, I am ready to hit the floor, so I quickly exit the building to get some air. I knew this meant I couldn't get back in, but I figured it was better than being carried out or more than likely left there on the floor. After I regain my composure, I begin hearing music from inside the chapel. When the music ceased, everyone left. I went to speak with someone regarding the convo counting towards my total and I was basically told, "You did the right thing, but I can't help you."

I don't know what exactly went on, but it seemed from where I was at that I was screwed out of a convo because I wasn't able to watch the music being played.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Small Things in a Big World

The convo today was another example of the impact of little things. The speaker today was a medical doctor, not naming names, who had developed an artificial lung for temporary treatment of respiratory illness. The main three differences between his invention and the preexisting respirator was its size, its impact on the body, and the invasiveness of the opperation. Which do you think was the most important? if you guessed any of them, you're wrong. Any one of these are great, but the combination gives a small, seemingly insignificant difference: the patient can still move about for very short periods of time. Normal artificial lungs leave the patient bed-ridden, often for months or years. The ability to move for a very few minutes every day, even if it takes the whole time just to walk to the bathroom and back, has actually saved lives. You may ask, "How could three minutes of hobbling do anything?" That three minutes keeps muscle from atrophying, meaning that the patient can leave the hospital months earlier, and therapy is over years sooner. The weakness people have after an operation opens the door for new illnesses, and the minute amount of exercise the new lung gives them boosts the imune system greatly.

In the end, it is always the little things that make the world go round. The deffinition of small means diferent things to different people. We can mean it in terms of size, or signifficance, or duration, but no matter the definition of the word, it is the little things that define our suroundings, our lives, and our futures. Three minutes can save a life the same way twenty-two millimeters can end it. All we need to do is notice it.

Small Things in a Big World

When college begins, the first things you notice are the big things. A new home, a new life, and new expiriences. But I notice the little things. Like tongs. Everybody uses them, but they mess up the burgers, making it impossible to add all of the condiments. So, I ask people why. The typical answer is an akward silence, and an askance glare. But some people answered me. "Because the guy in front of me does." That made me notice that people behind me didn't use the tongs, just because I don't. What could this mean? My answer: We are subliminal lemings. You'd think that we'd learn better than to follow strangers around now that we're in college.

College Weekends

As I enter Berea College I realize that there are a lot of changes happening to me at once that I have to get use to. Random classes throughout the day, working around those classes at the art store (which is an awesome job by the way I actually typed this there) and adding the load of homework and music ensembles to it I have a pretty busy week. There is a light at the end of the tunnel however that most kids on campus seem to look forward to. The Weekend! The weekend is the holy land of free time and fun (sounds like Chuck-e Cheese).

Through this blog I’m going to address how all kinds of college students spend their weekend. I will tell the stories of awesome weekend escapades or really, really boring ones doing homework and everywhere that is in between. No names will be used in this blog to protect the interests of the people I talk to about their weekend experiences. If I am however, somehow in the story I may drop my name here and there. What I want to show through this how college kids “blow off steam” if you will and how they relax (or chill if you read Isaac Ball’s blog). Though this may be a very broad topic to cover I feel that it is something that will be enlightening and also may give readers new ways to relax. Viva la Weekends (long live the weekends).