Purdue Football!

I must admit that one of the best things about going to Purdue has to be the extreme amount of school spirit that comes with the football season! It is great going to a big ten school that has an awesome football team! I love waking up to the train and tailgating with all of my friends and family. You can't help but feel proud to walk into a wave a black and gold as you enter Ross-Ade Stadium. These games really bring everyone together. I also think it is just the coolest thing to see alumni coming back for the games. Whether they graduated 5, 10, or even 30 years ago...once a boiler, always a boiler! You can see the pride on their faces as they come back and see all of the new students decked out in Purdue gear to make it to the game. Some of them even bring their little kids to the games in tiny football jerseys! (cutest thing ever!) This past Saturday I actually stayed for the whole game (obviously they can be very long!) and got to see the end of the Boiler victory! And not to mention, how awesome was it that Neil Armstrong came? And that everyone who graduated and was involved at Purdue somehow came back to celebrate for homecoming. Our football team works so hard to represent our school the best they can and everyone loves it! Boiler Up!

Fall to Winter...

As many of you may have noticed, the weather is not quite what it used to be! The days are getting colder and it is beginning to get darker earlier! Now, with this change of seasons, I believe there comes pros and cons. Let's get my idea of some of the bad out of the way. First, I'm just not too fond of cold weather! Especially being on a campus where I walk everywhere I go, this colder weather makes me not want to walk as much. You also have to layer clothes which makes it take a lot longer to get ready. And, if you're cold inside there's not much you can do considering you can't go outside to warm up or anything! For me, when I'm cold, I just don't want to move because I seem frozen solid! Now for some of the pros! TO begin, this weather makes it look absolutely gorgeous outside :) The leaves or snow on the ground on campus are right out of a picture book. Also, scarves are one of my favorite accessories to wear! And sometimes it's just fun to bundle up! Now, while sometimes the snow can be really annoying and just a plain pain in the butt, sometimes it's great too! Looking outside and seeing a fresh blanket of white is so relaxing. And, let's be serious, it's a ton of fun to make snowmen and get in snowball fights! To wrap this all up, the change of the seasons is also home of my three favorite days of the year. My birthday (November 14!), Thanksgiving, and Christmas! The weather just kind of makes these days feel right :)

Ecological Footprint Quiz

CATEGORY ACRES
FOOD 5.4
MOBILITY 0.5
SHELTER 5.4
GOODS/SERVICES 5.4
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 17

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON.

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.

IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 3.8 PLANETS.


Well, after viewing my results, I have to say that I am both shocked and honestly, not. I am shcoked that I myself lead a very demanding lifestyle, and that if everyone lived like I do, we would need 3.8 planets! However, this was a little expected. Not to say that I am high maintenence or anything (because I don't think that I am), but because the world leads very different lifestyles than what it used to. For example, nowadays virtually everyone drives. Nobody seems to live close enough to their jobs to where they could walk. On the other hand, this most likely could be avoided if more people would settle for public transportation. The exhaust from our cars, busses, trucks, and other modes of transportation are slowly but surely destroying the ozone layer. Hence, global warming. Not only this, but the amount of garbage that Americans produce is growing and slowly becoming unstoppable. Once landfills reach their capacity, there is nothing to do but start another one. This could be prevented by recycling. But many either claim or they don't have the time or are simply too lazy. Now, is this fair? In all honesty, no, it isn't. If America and other "well-developed" countries insist on consuming more than their share of resources, than we must also give back. For example, recycle, don't drive as much, or use public transportation more often. I don't think by any means this would call for a complete lifestyle change. It is the little changes that count. In other words, yes, we all need to become a bit more responsible and "clean up our messes."

Next week at a glance...

After a particularly stressful week, I am looking forward to one that hopefully won't be so bad! This week I had two exams on Monday and a ton of homework in between. To top it all off, I've been sick the whole time (I swear all of Purdue has this "bug") and all I want to do is sleep, sleep, sleep. So, I'm excited for the upcoming week! My whole pledge class is moving into our sorority house for a week! Yes, a whole week. They are not telling us what exactly we are doing but I know they are going to have activities and functions planned for us. I think this is a really good idea because we are all going to be living in the house together next year and this kind of gives us an idea of what next year will be like. I also think this is going to be a good experience because we will get to know each other a little bit better and we will get to bond not only as a pladge class, but as a house. I think it will also be fun to live with my sister! She's a senior in the house. Granted, I do live with her at home, I think this will be very different but in a good way! So all in all, I think (at least I hope) next week will go a lot better than this one!

"Something Borrowed"

I recently finished reading an awesome book, so I figured, what a perfect place to write about it! The book is called "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin. Let me first say that I power read it in about a week flat because I couldn't put it down! Now, let me also say that I know this book is a very girly book and really has no intellectual meaning behind it, but hey, it's still reading. So, it's about these two best friends (Darcy and Rachel) and the story is told from Rachel's perspective. They have been best friends since forever and are actually very different from each other. Darcy was the popular one in high school with all the boys after her, and Rachel was the average looking one with the brains and determination. Rachel is turning thirty and has yet to meet the man of her dreams even though her childhood plans told her she should be married with children already. Darcy on the other hand, is engaged to an all around great guy, Dex. To make a long story short, Dex and Rachel begin seeing each other and start to fal in love! Obviously, this is a problem because Darcy is her best friend! Now, I won't give away the ending because I know you are all just dying to go out and get the book. But I will say that the ending is very unexpected and twisted, so I highly recommend this fantastic read! (especially the girls :)

Cape May!

Since this week we have been on the subjects of "vacations" or "breaks", I decided to write about one of my favorite vacations. I've talked about New York and how I love the fast-paced city. However,right next to New York is New Jersey and I love this spot also. Specifically a little town called Cape May. Twice my family has gone to New York and then driven to New Jersey. Once during the summer and once during the winter. Cape May is the cutest little town right on the ocean and it is quite possibly one of the most relaxing places I have ever been. Yes, I'm sure a lot of people retire there, but still! Even being young, it is nice to go to a quiet and relaxing spot. My family and I even went there for Christmas once. All of the little shops are decorated in the spirit of the holiday and there are lights everywhere. Even though it's cold, it was fun to walk on the beach and just spend time with my family. My aunt, uncle, and grandparents have all gone too. We would play games and all just hang out. During the summer, it's great to lay out at the beach and go into the ocean. While there, my sister and I would spend the entire day at the beach! I think everybody needs to get away from the stresses of everyday life sometimes.

Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner and today I realized that I have yet to get a costume! So I decided to go shopping with a friend down the hall. This got me thinking. I know that Halloween is a day to dress up, go to theme parties, and give candy to the little trick-or-treaters, but in all honestly I have no idea what Halloween really is. I celebrate it every year and don't know why! (I hope I wan't alone in this) Sad? I know. So I decided to use a wonderful resource, my computer dictionary, and find out for myself! As many of you already know, Halloween is celebrated on October 31st. This is the evening before All Saints' Day, and is therefore also referred to as All Hollows Eve. Originally, it was called Samhain, one of the eight pagan sabbots, and it marks the third and final harvest of the year. It is also a night to remember the dead and some even think that on this night the spirit world and the normal world become one. Well, some of this sounds a little creepy to me, which I guess is why Halloween is known as a scary holiday! And trust me, I am a big wimp. I love getting dressed up and eating lots of candy and seeing the cute little kids run around in their costumes! I love decorating my house (and yes, my roommate and I do have Halloween decorations is our room!) and just getting in the mood for fall. I like to think of this as fun, not scary! Last year I went to my first haunted house and believe me, I will never go to one again! So I will just stick to the candy and cute costumes :)

Fall Break

This past weekend was absolutely great! As you all know, it was fall break, and it was also the first time I've been home since I got here. Let me tell you, it felt so good to be home! I didn't realize until I got home how much I missed it. I loved being able to see my family and my friends. And to be honest, I think they liked being able to see me too! My dad picked me up on Friday afternoon and I came back Tuesday night. On Friday, after being with my parents for a little and eating an awesome dinner (it's nice to get away from the dining halls!), I met up with some of my friends who were also home for the weekend. I missed them sooo much! It was great to be able to actually sit down with them and hang out again rather than just talking on the phone. While I was home, my mom and I also went shopping. I have to say, it's hard living five minutes from Woodfield, and then coming here where the closest mall is Tippecanoe and about an eighth the size of what I'm used to. What can I say, I'm a girl :) I also went back to the salon I work at to visit and get my hair done. It was really good to see everyone! I hung out there for a while and then got lunch (sushi!) with friends. All in all I have to say it was a very relaxing weekend, which I think is what I really needed. I got to just lay around at home a lot, be with friends and family, watch TV, and read. I loved it! But, I am glad to be back! (minus all the work I have to come back to)

Epigraph

One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. We must not remember that Daniel Webster got drunk but only remember that he was a splendid constitutional lawyer. We must forget that George Washington was a slave owner...and simply remember the things we regard as creditable and inspiring. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect men and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth.
--W.E.B. DuBois

This statement is very powerful, and I can't help but agree with it. The same still seems to be true today. However, like many, I didn't know of the other side of the story until I read Loewen's first chapter, "Handicapped by History: The Process of Hero-making". People who are viewed as "heroic" seem to be perfect and flawless. No one seems to want to see the bad in some or accept the fact that they aren't perfect. History tends to tell the life of a person and only focus on what they are famous for. It may leave out many facts or instances for fear of changing someone's views on the person. The truth is, no one is perfect and people make mistakes. In a way, this may give some false hope. Many look up to them and don't know the whole truth. So, as W.E.B. DuBois stated, giving all of the facts may make history lose its value. It is possible that knowing everything may make history "unglamorous" to some. For example, Loewen tells of Woodrow Wilson. The large majority of the United States knows Wilson for leading our country into World War I and establishing the League of Nations. These things are very true, and while he still deserves credit, many don't know the other side of him. He was actually an extreme racist and wanted the continuation of segregation.

Live, Laugh, and Love :)

I thought it would be a really good idea to pick a quote I like and write about it and what it means to me. Instead, I stumble upon three words that pretty much sum up a lot. Live, laugh, and love. I know that everybody has heard these words before, so I decided to give my opinions about what they really mean. To begin, live. I think this means to live life to it's fullest. You are given one life, so take advantage of it! If you have things you want in your life, go for them. Have fun and "enjoy the ride". It is easy to let life fly by us. Live everyday. Next is laugh. In my opinion, this is so important! Laughter is one of the best medicines. Laughter involves smiling, and it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile :) Laughing makes you feel happy and relieves stress. Sometimes, you just can't take life too seriously. You will enjoy it more the more you laugh. And sometimes, it's good to laugh at yourself. One of my favorite things to do is laugh until my stomach hurts. Finally, is love. I've heard, "A life without love is no life at all." Yes, this means loving your boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife. However, I thinks this means a lot more. I think it means to also love your family, your friends, the people and the things aroung you. Hopefully, everyone can love what they do. Love the little things around you. Most importantly, just love life.

My Favorites

This week I'm very unsure about what to write about. So, I've decided to write about some of my favorite things! These are things, or people, that make me happy and really make me enjoy life. I think it's important to sometimes reflect on your favorite things, or what you are grateful for because it makes you appreciate them that much more. It is very easy to take things for granted. So here are some of my favorites...
-my family
-my friends
-summer
-softball
-good conversation
-my job
-my school...go purdue!
-rainy days when I'm inside in comfy clothes :)
-driving aimlessly
-reading
-pictures
-talking...loud :)
-making new friends
-movies
-sleeping late
-the CuBs
-the Bears
-Chicago in general!
-pizza
-chocolate chip cookies
-any kind of music
-facebook
-taking naps
-Diet Coke from the fountain
-laughing
-smiling
-Christmas season
-my birthday!
-the color yellow
-learning new things and actually understanding them
-"Friends" "Grey's Anatomy" "I Love Lucy" "Boy Meets World" "One Tree Hill"
-shopping...especially for shoes!
-Woodfield


These are just to name a few! I'm still not sure why I chose this subject but I think it gives a very good idea of who I am. These things, people, and places make me love life :)