size does matter

I don't want to talk about the election. It is what it is. Congratulations Obama. Moving on.

What I do want to talk about is ketchup packets. 

Why are they so freaking small? Seriously, does anyone ever use just one? When you go through Grab 'n' Go at Nelson and ask for ketchup, you require more like fifteen packets to complement your lunch. Having tiny packs does not save space, because you just have to get more of them. It does not save time, because you just have to rip open that many more. If they were bigger, it would save on time and the material that they are made of.  Plus, then I wouldn't have to write pointless blog posts about ketchup when America just elected its first African American president. 

Well, I was enchanted.

I was not expecting to enjoy the movie Enchanted. I thought it would just be another movie that my mom would enjoy and recommend to me, and that was it. I was expecting a movie directed toward kids who wanted to pretend that their tastes were grown-up, with McDreamy thrown in to appease the female crowd. 

What I expected was not what I got. When I looked past the top layer of the story, I found a witty tale that was subtly able to poke fun at itself. A lesson that every child learns at a young age is that if you can laugh at yourself, other people join in with no malicious intent. I found myself laughing out loud several times when Disney emphasized the classic points that make up a fairy tale with a comical slant. Some of my favorites were when Giselle first met Edward and they decided to marry the following morning and when McDreamy dryly commented about other characters happening to know the spontaneous song performed in the street. 

This movie also helped me to take a closer look at how Disney movies affected me throughout my younger years. Most specifically, Disney taught me that no matter what situation I'm in, even if I'm on my death bed -which may or may not have been constructed for me my dwarves- all I have to do is find the right boy to kiss and all my problems are solved. Awesome. Thanks, Disney.

Nobody needs two first names.

It amazes me how fascinated I am by other people's lives.

I spent half an hour tonight, like I do every Monday night at ten, getting wrapped up in the lives of a group of friends that live in LA. Or more specifically, The Hills. I found myself empathizing with a boy that Audrina broke up with, feeling irritation toward Spencer for how he treated Stephanie's new boyfriend, and making predictions about Lauren and Brody's relationship. I engaged in a debate about Lo Bosworth's positive and negative qualities like I knew her personally. I gasped out loud (twice) when I saw the teasers for next week's episode- and I was not alone in doing so. What makes their lives so interesting that I will spend half an hour of mine just observing? I don't know, but what I do know is that Audrina needs to get her stuff together.

I mean, really. Justin Bobby? Bad choice.

educated voting. ha.

This clip is from the Howard Stern show on October 1st. 

I mean, really? How sad is this? It's funny until you realize that these people are picking the next leader of the Free World. 

not pretty.

Let's talk about this.

OU's campus is beautiful.

The pond over by Walter? Not pretty. It's dirty.

Someone fix it, please.

girls just wanna have fun

...and also avoid the Freshman 15, myth or not.

As a college girl, I'm somewhat concerned about my physical activity. Not because I'm obsessed with my appearance, but because I want to be healthy and exercise is beneficial. Nelson Grab n Go is not helpful to my aspirations to remain healthy; nor is my class schedule that sometimes prevents me from going to Ping and getting in a real workout. Luckily, Seventeen is looking out for me and other girls like me and the weekly newsletter included a link to some videos that show simple, quick exercises that I can do in my dorm room if I don't have time to run all the way over to the rec center. 

Thanks Seventeen. 

i am Yours

I told you in my last post that I was feeling the need to write. This was the product of that necessity. This is what I have to write about.

Here's what I'm learning. I'm excited about it. I want to share it with you. 

I am not my own. I do not belong to any other person. I am not of this world. I belong to the Lord. It is for freedom that Christ has set me free. That includes freedom from myself and who I used to be and who I am. I am no longer a slave to what I once was.

I've been hearing a song around our dorm room a lot lately called Who Am I by Casting Crowns. Listen to the words. Who am I? I am Yours. I have nothing to fear, not from the world, not from myself, because I am Yours. By myself, I'm nothing. I've done nothing to earn anything, but it was given to me. Purely through the love God has for me, I've been given an identity as a follower of Christ. I have the opportunity to serve the living God, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, who was and is and is to come. I'm not bound to the frustration or entitlement or jealousy or bitterness or lack of trust or anything else that comes with being of this world. I belong to something greater, and I'm so freaking excited about that.

I've had to learn this before. I'll probably have to learn it again. But no matter what I go through or what lessons I have to learn, I am still the Lord's. Nothing can change that because nothing can separate me from the love of God. Ps check out Romans 8. I have nothing to fear. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" - Jeremiah 29:11. Why would I fear anything? I am loved deeply and powerfully by the Creator of the universe. And that is what I will find my identity in.

the urge to herbal

This morning, I felt something that I hadn't felt in a while.

Not the urge to Herbal...I felt the need to write. 

I needed to get my feelings out on paper, if for no other reason than to make sense of what I was thinking. I needed to translate my ideas into concrete phrases. For the past several weeks, everything I've written has been forced - writing for the sake of getting something done, not writing for the sake of writing. I missed the urge to grab a pen and a notebook or the scramble to get to my MacBook before I lost the words turning around in my head. 

I've realized that I need to write about things I care about - politics do not inspire me; anything I write in that area ends up sounding stiff and uncomfortable because it doesn't resonate anywhere inside me. Maybe it's naive to expect to feel something every time I write. I guess that's the optimist in me. So my next project is finding out what I enjoy talking about, what passions I have, what I can cover and retain my integrity as a writer. Any suggestions?

irony

So I've spent the last several weeks complaining about the people standing on corners all over campus, pestering me about registering to vote in Athens. I've purposely crossed the street to avoid these awkward exchanges. I thought that the representatives coming into my classes were wasting my time, because I registered in Athens my first day here and anyway, I registered in my hometown months ago.

Here's the problem: I tried to look up my name on the Secretary of State's website in the voter database, and I don't think my registration went through either place. 

Ahhhhhh.

seasons of love

So tonight I heard about this book that I want to read really badly. It's called The Five Love Languages, written by Gary Chapman.

From what I've gathered, the premise of the book is that people prefer to display and receive love in five different basic ways: through words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Knowing which method someone else responds to best can drastically improve relationships. It certainly couldn't hurt. 

Has anyone else heard of this or read it? 

I'm also wondering which love language I speak, if you will. Are some of these methods better than others? Which one do you identify with the most?

opportunity knocks, and other similar cliches

let me know if you want to be a part of this.

no, im not going to tell you anything other than that.

You know you like them too.

Confession time: I read teen magazines kind of religiously. We're talking cover-to-cover, scrutinizing every word. I love them. They're fabulous. My dad came down to Athens last week to hang up a mirror in my dorm and my favorite things that he brought me were the new issues of Seventeen and CosmoGirl. 

The good news is that thanks to the current evolution of media, I can now enjoy my favorite magazines in cyber-version as well as print. I get a Seventeen e-newsletter once a week, as opposed to the physical version that I receive once a month. Although I prefer the concrete edition, it's still fun to open my mailbox and see an update from my favorite publication. 

So...I've decided to share the wealth. Here are my favorite things from the most recent Seventeen Weekly: 

Penn Badgley Interview -- 17 Questions. Get it?

Win a Halloween Costume -- Because we go to OU. We need Halloween costumes. And this one's free!

America Ferrera Interview -- It's a video...it goes along with the whole idea of incorporating different types of media. Plus America Ferrera is sweet. 

Communication Style Quiz -- This didn't actually come in the e-mail, but it is on the website. And you're probably a J major so you should learn about your communication styles. And these quizzes are ridiculous, but they're also ridiculously fun.

Tell me baby, what's your story?

Now Playing: Tell Me Baby - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Walking across East Green today, I realized something.

In high school, even when you're walking down the hallway you're hyper-aware of everyone else around you. Everyone knows you and where you've come from and where (they think) you're going. At least that's how it was in my high school. I could have named every person in my graduating class; for most of them, I could tell you their friends and what sport they played; for several, I could rattle off future plans and what they liked to do. I've gotten used to people watching everything I do. Since I got here, I've realized something: nobody cares. When I walk from my dorm to Ping to work out, I pass countless people that are wrapped up in wherever they're headed. They don't care where I'm going or why or who I am. If you're reading this blog, chances are you already know me and care about me (i.e. my roommate, hey Erika) or you're in J101. The friends I've formed here are not based in the fact that I attend Ohio University; they are based in the fact that I am a journalism major, I live in Jeff hall, I'm from Plain City, and I'm living for Jesus. The friendships I've made here so far have the potential to grow deep because they're based in common interests. 

But I still don't know the majority of the people that I pass walking around campus. As I was walking today, I started wondering about all the people around me. I'm a journalism major, so I'm naturally curious. For every person I passed, I started wondering who they were. What is his name? What makes her tick? What's the most important thing that's ever happened to him? Who does she want to become? I'm interested in knowing who people are and why. Everyone has a story, and everyone wants that story told. I want to hear them. 

So tell me...what's your story?

Is that seat taken?

Something that I have learned since beginning my classes is that people like to have their space when seated in a classroom. Although it is enjoyable to sit with your friends or acquaintances so you have a chance to chat when time permits, nobody wants to experience the awkwardness of forced conversation with a stranger. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule; there are plenty of friendly people who could facilitate a conversation with almost anyone who happened to take the seat beside them.  For the majority of college students I’ve encountered so far, it is an unwritten rule that if a classroom is fairly empty, a student should leave at least one vacant seat between them and the person next to them if they don’t know each other.  As the available seats are taken, it becomes more and more acceptable to take a seat right next to someone else. 

            Although this unspoken guideline is widely practiced, I’m not a fan of it. How am I supposed to meet anyone in my classes if I don’t sit next to anyone? I decided to take a seat next to some unknown person in all my classes. In each one, the reaction was the same. The person glanced up to see me, smiled, and then got back to whatever they were doing before I came along. When I sat down, they invariably shifted their weight to the opposite side and slid their things infinitesimally to the side with the vacant seat.  People always seem ready to take their social cues from the people around them. For example, after I sat down, if I took no notice of the person next to me, they followed my lead and only glanced occasionally at me out of their peripheral vision. If I smiled in a friendly way and introduced myself, they seemed glad to reciprocate and engage in small talk until the start of class.  These reactions made me realize that any unfriendliness is usually just an effort not to bother surrounding people.  

Blush

"People are the only animals that blush - or need to."

-Mark Twain

So much of our lives are defined by what other people think. Clothing styles are chosen to get a desired effect on other people. Lifestyle choices are often made in an effort to fit in. Even college decisions are made partly because of the prestige associated with the school. Teenagers live in both the fear and the hope of standing out and making other people notice them. 

Sometimes the awareness of others' attention leads to greatness- the desire to be recognized as the best swimmer in Olympic history, the desire to be known as someone who improved a culture's way of life, the desire to make a difference being important to someone. Other times this can only lead to destruction. Living for the approval of others can cause the constant feeling of coming up short and not being good enough. As suggested by Twain, it also causes the feeling of shame when others don't approve of actions or choices. 

So-is that blush good or bad? Is is beneficial to use other people's opinions to make choices? Is it okay to depend on others to decide what decisions are acceptable?

All or Nothing

Reading long chapters has already become routine for me in the week that I've been at college. I've acquired the skill of skimming and zoning in on key passages. In preparation for class on Thursday, I was going over chapter 15 in my Mass Communication textbook and I stumbled upon something that made me take a closer look.

The sub-heading read "Dangers to Journalists." After reading 20+ pages on the state of the mass communications systems around the world, I understood that in other countries, freedom of press can be difficult if not impossible. Government censorship is rampant and in some places, commercial press is virtually unheard of. Something I hadn't yet considered was the very real threat to some dedicated journalists' lives when they cover sensitive topics, especially war.  I was reminded of the stories of Bob Woodruff, Doug Vogt and Jill Carroll, among others. These journalists risked their lives in the effort to bring real stories from the war zones to the American public. These men and women knew their responsibility to communicate to the masses. They were willing to give up everything to carry out the task. A career in the world of journalism requires commitment and dedication in the face of rejection, obstacles, and even literal threats. I have a great deal of respect for those who are willing to take on the task of bringing the truth to the world. 

Decisions

So yesterday I attended my first Journalism 101 class.

It's safe to say that I love it. I'm excited for the direction the mass media is headed, becoming more technologically advanced every day, constantly becoming better able to serve the communication needs of society. Times are changing, and the media is changing with them. It's a time of adaption and creation in the communication world, and I get to be a part of that. I'm confident in my decision to pursue this career.

Speaking of decisions, it's almost time for Decision '08 - the Presidential Election. Everywhere I walk on campus, I can spot someone recruiting voters and making sure that every student's registration is updated. In most of the interactions I've seen, the student is already registered at their current address, ready to cast their ballot in November. Never before has the youth been such a force in politics. The younger generation is demanding change and demanding to be heard. Young people are generally well-informed about the issues they are passionate about - thanks to the media that provides them with that information. Every mass media outlet is overflowing with information and news updates on the campaigns. Journalists are meeting the demands of the public for current facts and analysis on the candidates and their tactics. I'm happy to see my generation take notice of the world around them.