In a Nut Shell

As I sit here and watch the new episode of Psych, I will attempt to put into words all the major events of the last few months. Where to start? Hmm,well, I guess I will go back to The Full Monty. For anyone who does not know, The Full Monty is a musical about a group of men who were laid off after the Steele Mill at which they worked was closed down. Unable to find jobs the men decide to try stripping in order to make some money. The play is about the struggles men and women face when it comes to body image and other personal issues. For this play I was a Staff Carpenter and Scenic Charge Artist. The rest of the crew and I spent many hours building and painting and hanging lights. There were a few moments when many of us thought the show would never come together in time. However, in the end the show when brilliantly. Well, almost. There were a few lights and hazers that decided that they wanted to stop working in the middle of the show, but other then that brilliant.

Next was the Bloomsburg fair. It was similar to many small town fairs with farm animals and food that is capable of giving you a heart attack just by looking at it. My favorite part was the giant horses named Fred and Charlie. Their heads were like five or six human heads put together. Then there were the baby chicks and rabbits. So cute. Oh and you cannot forget the people. It is like Walmart's best all in one area. Over all it was kind of fun.

I think the next event was my dads birthday. My brother surprised him with skydiving. They looked very funny in their little suits and cone hats. They both had a blast, and I do not think we will ever hear the end of it.

I went up to Potter County for a weekend. That is where our hunting cabin is located. My grandfather and parents where up there for bear season. Yes I know that it is ironic. Baers hunting bears. Haha. Sorry it was funnier in my head. I took a lot of pictures while there. It was nice to get away and relax.

Then was the first part of the seventh Harry Potter movie. It was one of the best I think, so far. It was closer to the book then some of the others. I think that is why I liked it so much. I am excited for the last one.

Thanksgiving break was . For the third year in a row I ran in the Turkey Trot and the went to our family reunion/Thanksgiving lunch. The Baer family were being themselves like always. I few of them chose to dress up for the Turkey Trot. There were two Pilgrims, two Indians, and one Turkey. It was quit funny to see a bunch of people chasing a giant Turkey through town.

The Saturday after, my parents and I went to an anniversary dinner in Duboys for family friends of ours. It was a nice place but the service was not the best. After dinner was over I went to play laser tag. Yes it does still exist. Who knew. It was a blast. I wish we had a place with laser tag back home.

On Sunday after we got back I packed up and was ready to head back to school. Until I went out to my car of course. Apparently the valve stem in one of my tires was leaking air. So basically I had a flat tire. I could not get it fixed until Monday so I could not get back to school in time for my classes. Then Monday was the first day of hunting season in PA so there were a total of three guys working at the only car shop the was capable to fix my tire. Once I finally got it fixed I headed back to school.

On Tuesday I went to Williamsport for a Union call. We were loading in Mama Mia at a local theater. On Wednesday we loaded it out. It was a very interesting experience. I was on the electrics crew. I just have to say that that was a lot of cables. I mean a lot. Then this morning We left at 3am to do a load in for the same show in York. For this call I got to be on the properties crew. It was I lot of fun. I got to meet some really cool people. I am so tired though. it has been a lot of work in one week. Not to mention all the work for some of my classes. Especially since it is the last few weeks of classes. I am definitely ready for break.

Well that was my last few months in a nut shell. I hope I can write more often but I do not know if that will happen. At least not untill this semester is over.

Venting!

Sweet Jesus! I cannot stand Spanish. Let me rephrase that. I suck at Spanish! No... I suck at learning any language! What is it about languages that makes them so hard for me to learn. I feel like the dumbest person in the world when I am in my Spanish class. I never no the right answer. Well, lets be honest, I never even know what we are supposed to be doing. When you are teaching someone Spanish, why would you teach them in Spanish. Why would they be expected to know what you are saying when they are just learning basic words and phrases. I am just really struggling with it and I do not like not knowing the answer to something. It really pisses me off that I have to take three semesters of a language that I will never be able to truly comprehend; therefore, will never be able to use in my lifetime! Oh and the best part is that if I do not get at least a C in this class then I have to take it again. At least when I took Latin it helped me with word recognition and spelling. With Spanish I get nothing.

A New Day and a New Start!

So today was my second day of Spanish as you all know. Good news! It went well. Great in fact! Well, as great as a second day of Spanish can be. I actually felt like I was supposed to be there. Also, I answered a few questions during class, and I understood a little more of what she was saying. Then, I went to Theater Seminar. It went well too. I spook a good bit and was able to comprehend where people were coming from, and how that influenced their responses. On top of all of that I even learned a lot today. Which, if I am being perfectly honest, I love to do. I like getting a new perspective on an issue. It just always fasinates me that people can be studying the same subject but view it in so many ways.

The rest of the day I will be spending in the theater for the stage craft class. It should be fun. We are showing the class how to use tools in the shop. (Not that they do not already know how to use them.) Also, I met a few new people yesterday. They are in the theater but we were never truely introduced until these past few days. That is all for now.

New Classes

Well, the first two days of classes are almost over, and what an interesting two days it has been. First, on Monday, I had Spanish. Let me just say that I am not a huge fan of the language. I would rather eat dirt then go to that class tomorrow morning. Anyway, when the teacher first walks in I think well she seems like she is a nice lady, until she opens her mouth and begins to start speaking. Everything she is saying is of course in Spanish. I felt like such an idiot just starring at her, but I had no idea what she was saying to us. I could pick out words here and there, but it has been a whole summer since I have learned this language for the first time so I really do not think it was fair that she expected us to understand her. Then, she asks us to answer questions that are being projected onto the screen. Well, at least that is what I think she said since everyone around me started to write stuff down. When I looked at the board I had to figure out what the questions were asking me so that I could try to come up with something to put on the paper, but I could only make out half of the words. When I realized that other people were quickly filling up their papers I had a short little paragraph. Then when it was time to pass them forwards I noticed that some people had wrote in Spanish. That is when I really started to panic. I think you know why.

When the class was over I got out of there as quick as I could. That was one of the worst first classes I have ever had. Not to sound arrogant, but I am a smart person. There is just something about Spanish, or and language for that matter, that I just have a lot of trouble understanding it.

Next was my Theater Seminar class. It is a 400 level class for students that have had a lot of theater experience. Let me just say that this is really only my second year working in a theater, so I felt a little intimidated. But then I started to feel a little better since I was not the only sophomore there. There are some really great people in that class so I think it will be fun but productive at the same time.

Later that day I headed over to the theater for Stage Craft. Me and two other sophomores are staff carpenters for that class. This means that we get to boss people around and try to get the stage ready for the current production that is currently in the making. It should be a fun class since I get to do some painting for the current play Anna Frank.

On Tuesday, my first class was Foundations of Art 1. This class I think will be my favorite. It is basically an art class. For anyone who does not know I am a big fan of painting and drawing. plus it is in the building directly next to my dorm. After that I have Acting 1. I am almost looking forward to this class as much as my Spanish class. The worst part about it, is that it is over and hour and a half long and of course we will have to learn how to act. I think I will like the teacher and the other students, just not the class.

Well that is about it for the first to days of class. In the future Nicole and I plain to be a bit more social and meet some new people on campus. That should be fun, and I will keep you posted on that if anything happens. For now wish me luck on Spanish tomorrow!

Back at Good Old SU

I have been back at Susquehanna since Wednesday. To be honest, I was really nervous before I left to come back. I was confused about why I was having those feelings and why I was not ready to see my new friends again. Also, I was sad to leave my family. However, now that I am back and settled in, I know that this is where I want to be. I believe that the nerves that I had were both excitement about a new year with new classes, and nerves of a new routine.

Since back, I have been having more fun then I think I ever had last year. I went to the Theater picnic and got to meet the new freshman. After, I went to the hypnotist and then Casino night with a few friends. I think they were surprised at how social I was. Last year I was so quite because I missed out on all the freshman stuff and did not get to know anyone till the end of the year. Now that I know people I talk a lot more and I do not think anyone was expecting that. Last night Kelly, JT, and I hung out in the theater for a little before heading over to Trax for the 90's party. The band was good but they did not play good dancing music. It was more fun when Matt was DJing.

Classes start Monday. They should not be to bad this first week since we are just starting but we will see. I cannot wait for stage craft that should be fun. Katie, JT, and I are the staff carpenters. I think the three of us will make a great group. We are all very good carpenters. Plus I will be painting a lot during these classes. My title is Scenic Charge Artist for Anne Frank. I am excited to be in charge of something like this. It will look really good on my resume. Speaking of that, I should probably start putting that together.

Anyway, This year should be lots of fun, and work of course. It would not be called school if there was no work involved. My roommate should be here any minute to move in so am I going to go. I will try to write more often.

July

July has been very eventful for my family and I. On the tenth we went white water rafting in Harper's Ferry. It was interesting because the water was down due to the heat we have had lately. Since we couldn't put everyone in the large raft my uncle and I both rode in duckies. They are single person rafts that are similar to kayaks. At first I was terrified. I thought I was going to fall off and then I wouldn't know what to do because I was all alone. I kept thinking, "Why did I sign myself up for this?" Once the BTI guys had all of our rafts loaded up, we got the speech about what to do when we are on the water. It made me feel a little better but I was still a bit nervous. Next we all loaded onto the bus that would take us to where we would get into the river. There was one guide that was very obnoxious. He told about twenty jokes on the way there and they were the cheesy ones that are not very funny. I do not think a second went by that he wasn't talking.

Once we got to the river, the BTI guys unloaded our rafts and got us ready to go out into the water. Once we were out in the river, the guides showed us how we were to get back onto the raft if we were to fall off. They then asked us if we wanted to jump into the river and practice getting back onto the raft. Of course, I am not a big fan of water that I can not see the bottom of so I said no. There was no way I was going to jump in the water if I did not have to. My cousin and mom both jumped in. I was not surprised about my cousin, but I was about my mom. She is more scared of murky water then I am. The my uncle went in. It was funny because he could not get back in. It also scared me because he canoes all the time, and if he couldn't get back in then what was I going to do if I fell in?

Once everyone was ready we started down river. At that point I was scared and excited at the same time. After about the first twenty minutes I really was getting the hang of it. I was getting less and less scared and starting to have more fun. By the end of the trip I did not really want to be done. I never thought that I would have that much fun rafting but I really did, and I thing that anyone who hasn't done it should really try it. It is just one of those experiences that I will never forget.

On the fifteenth and sixteenth, we went to Hershey Park. The first day we planed to stay at the water park all day. My uncle got our family a private cabana that comes with free drinks and a private grill. There were lots of cool things about it like when you order something from the grill they bring it to your cabana so you don' t have to go get it. The cabana also had a private entrance to the lazy river so there were no waiting in lines every time we wanted to cool off. It was a very relaxing day until we decided to ride the Fahrenheit. I road with my cousin and when it was over she was so scared she was crying. I was smiling because it is a serious rush. She told me that she was never going to ride it ever again and I just laughed because I know she had fun she was just not expecting it to be such a thrill. The next ride we got on was the Wildcat. I love the older rides because they are the classics. The fact that they are so old and rickety is what makes them so fun. Right before we left we road the Fahrenheit one more time. It is an awesome ride.

That night we stayed at a Marriott. They are so fancy I almost could not believe it. We only stayed there because my aunt stays there when she travels for work. The bathroom had real granite counters and the room had a closet in the wall. It was the nicest hotel I had ever stayed in.

The next day we had a private cabana again so that when we got hot after riding rides we could come back and cool off. The first ride we got on was the Storm runner. What surprised me the most was that there was practically no line and we were on the ride within five minutes. Next we got on The Great Bear. The line was about fifteen minutes and it was the longest line we waited in all day. After that we road the Super Duper Looper. There was no line and we got right on. It was funny to ride the older rides after the newer ones because they were kind of lame compared to the new ones. We road some more rides and then we went back to the cabana and got in the wave pool. It was nice to relax after being in the heat for so long. after a while of cooling off we road a few more rides and then headed to chocolate world. After buying some sweets we headed home.

On Saturday I headed to Citi Corp. to play some mudd volleyball. This is the third year in a row that I have played there, but I was really tiered from being in the sun for two days straight. This year our team name was The Muddy Lamas. Something about it being lucky for Dave and Mandy. I guess they were right because we ended up winning the tournament. It was a lot of fun but by the end I was whopped. As soon as i got a shower and dinner I passed out. That is the most tiered I think I have been in a really long time. Anyway, July has been very eventful so far and I still have Zack's birthday party to look forward to. That should be interesting.

Summer So Far

Well my first year at SU is over and now it is the middle of the summer. So far I have seen a few movies, been swimming, went to a Brooks and Dunn concert, had a birthday, and of course worked a lot. Anyone who has worked in a restaurant, especially a fast food one, should know what I mean when I say that it sucks. One week there was no AC and it was hotter inside then it was outside. That means it was over 100 degrees in there with the ovens running. Oh, I work at Arby's just to clear that up. Anyways, I have worked there for a few years now, except for when I was at college of course. I really should not complain since it is a job and I do get a good amount of hours.

About two weeks ago I went to a Brooks and Dunn concert with my good friend Chelsea. She got tickets for her birthday which just happens to be the same day as mine. The concert was at Hershey Giant Center. I had been there a few times but I was not completely sure how to get there. I had a garmen with me but it did not really help much at all. We got lost a lot and I think that it was partly because there was so much traffic that it was hard to read signs and watch traffic at the same time. I guess you could say that we were not really lost, more like we went in circles a million times. Anyways, we eventually got there, and we were in plenty of time to sit in my jeep for a little while and play hangman. When we finally got out we waited in line by the doors and watched people. That is one of my favorite things to do since people can be very interesting.

The opening singer was Taylor Dickerson. I had never heard him before but he was not too bad. He was sixteen which is funny because he sounded like he was thirty or forty. The second singer was Gery Allen. I only knew a few of his songs. In the second to front row I could see he had a few major fans( aka: crazy women screaming there lungs out before he even came out to the stage). I think the people in front of them were not to happy about it. Neither were the people behind them sitting down. The person sitting next to me was drunk of course and at one point he offered me a beer. I did not take it both because it was warm and I was driving. He also tryed to hold my hand which I was sure to tell him it was never going to happen. Other then that it was a really good concert. I am sad that it is Brooks and Dunn's last tour or Last Rodeo as they called it. We only got lost once going home. I think we had more fun getting lost then we would have if we hadn't.

I guess that is all for now. I hope the second half of the summer is just as eventful.

Old Friends and New Memories

I am thankful every day for the friends that I have. They are the most amazing and unique group of girls that I have ever met. There is Kayla who knows who she is and she will always know what she wants and go for it. She is such a strong independent individual. Then there is Danel who is intensely creative yet insanely indecisive. However, I think that is what I like most about her. She is very in the moment and that quality makes me jealous. Next is Kristy. She has such a strong personality. She knows what she wants and she usually gets it. That might sound like a bad thing but its not. I wish I had the courage to stand up for myself like that. Then there is Meg. Crazy, artistic, strange Megan. She is like no one else I know. She is spacey but ridiculously intelligent. Then there is Sara. The quiet one of the bunch. She is shy yet when she lets her hair done she can be very fun. I love this group of girls. Last but not least is Katy. She is a very passionate person and she cares so much about her friends. I have known some of them since kindergarten, and they are like sisters to me. I am so glad I know them and I wish everyone could have friends like them. They always know how to make me smile.

I love you guys!

Championships

So today was a great day! This weekend was the Track and Field Championships. Saturday was the first day and let me just say that the women's throwers did awesome. Javelin and discus were the two events yesterday and all of the women got Pr's. Jess one of the freshman placed seconded in disc and two other girls placed third and fourth. In jav are two girls both did amazing and got places on the podium. Today was just as great! Caitlin placed first in hammer, I got second and Sam third. It was so crazy that we almost could not believe it! The best part was that Sam and I both PR ed buy huge amounts. In shotput Madelin placed first and Sam got second. Shibs and I both got 7th and 8th. The funniest part of this weekend was the fact that we all were wearing mudguards. Delbs, our throwing coach, told us that buy having something to bight down on, it centers you and gives you more balance and strength. I guess he was right because we all did amazing! Thanks Delbs! Oh and our shirts were Kick Ass!

Over all both the men's and women's teams got second too Moravian. However, although it was disappointing to lose by 17 points for women and 6 for men, SU has never came within 100 points from Moravian. So I would have to say that this year was a great one for the SU track team. We will definitely be the ones with free t-shirts next season! Watch out Moravian!

Relax People!

I am not 100% sure were I am going with this post but I feel like I need to get some things out there. I know that for a lot of college students, finals are coming up and time seems as if it is working against you. You have so many projects and exams to study for that you feel like the world hates you and wants you to fail miserably. If this applies to you I want you to know that you are wrong. First of all the world can not possibly hate you, and secondly you are being overly dramatic. I know some teachers can be very tough and sometimes no mater how hard you study for something you will never get the grade you want. But listen to me when I say IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD! If you do your best to prepare for a test, all you can do is your best and hope that it is enough. Do not complain to the teacher that the test is to hard or that it is not you fault. It is. It is up to you how you do. I am so tired of hearing people complain that the teacher does not think that they have a life. Trust me, the teacher knows because they have a life too, and they have to grade everything that you turn in. I know that it easy to blame someone else when you do not want to take credit for something, trust me I have done it many times in my life. But now I am old enough to realize that I am responsible for my own choices.

Another issue I have is when people rub their grades in other peoples faces. Just because you get a better grade then someone else does not mean that you are smarter then them and therefore "better" then them. Everyone is good at something, but not everyone is good at the same things. An example is that I am awful at spelling but I am fairly good at grammar. All I am saying is that you should try to be modest about things when you do not know who it will make others feel. You may be degrading and putting someone down when you wave your achievements in their face. Now, it is different if you are having a conversation with someone and the topic comes up. I am not saying you should not talk about your achievements you just should not be arrogant about them.

I guess at this point I am just ranting. I think what I am trying to get at is that if you think your life is bad you should know that someone, if not many, have it worse off then you. Getting a bad grade does not mean that it is the end of the world and that you are worthless. Also, getting great grades does not make you a better person then anyone else. So if you are worried about something that is not going to change your life; relax, breath, and just do your best. It will turn out okay.

Friends, Family, and Big Fat Failures.

This past weekend was a busy one for me. The play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, was taking place this weekend at SU. For anyone that does not know I am a Theater major with an emphasis in production and design. Well anyway, I was running the sound board for this play so my parents, aunt, uncle, and cousin were coming up to see it. Saturday morning I also had a track meet at Shippensburg University. Since Ship is on the way from my house to SU, my mom came up to the meet to watch me throw. I was nervous as always but right before my flight was getting ready to throw, one of my best friends, Kristy, showed up. She goes to Ship so I had told her about the meet earlier in the week. I had not expected her to remember because with finals coming up I thought she would be very busy. I was very surprised and happy when I saw her; however, she made me even more nervous. My first throw was okay but not quit what I was hoping for. The second throw I fouled. Before my final throw my coach came up to me and said, "Now fucking throw this one like it is land marks and I will be fucking pissed if it sucks." I am not even kidding. That is exactly what he said. So while I was trying not to be any more nervous then I already was, I also knew that I needed to take it seriously since championships are next weekend. So I went into the circle and I tried my best. Once I let go of the hammer, I felt like it sucked. It felt slow and just not how it should. But, I took it as a mark and left the circle. Once I left I realized how far the hammer actually went and I started to get excited. When I found out that I got a PR of over five feet I was really happy. My throw was 38.93 meters. So since my very first college track meet a few weeks ago, I have broke the women's freshmen record in hammer at SU three times.

Later that day, my mom and I met up with the rest of my family and we went to dinner at BJ's. We talked about a lot of things like the play and how the past few nights had went. I told them about Cobra Starship coming to SU and how they used the bathrooms in the theater area so a lot of people got to meet them. Also, the same night the fire alarm went off right before the play was about to start. We had fake fog for the play and apparently someone thought it was real smoke and pulled the fire alarm. Anyway, after dinner they dropped me off at the theater so that I could get ready. Everything went great and they liked the play which was good. The next morning we all went to breakfast before they headed home.

Sunday night was the last night of the play. I was there extra early and I had made sure that I was completely ready, or so I had thought. When the lights came on and my cue came to start the music I accidentally stated the wrong song. The director was right in front of me so I immediately went into panic mode. I turned it off and the girl on stage that was supposed to be singing was just standing there not knowing what to do. Everyone started to laugh and the director yells out "Start again!". So the girl goes back behind the curtain and this time I get it right. The rest of the show goes great and the whole time I was so nervous that the director and stage manager were going to yell at me. After it is over I find out that it was okay and that no one was even mad. Most people in the audience even thought it was part of the show. However, I still feel bad and I do not think that I ever want to run the sound board ever again.

Meeting Andrew McMahon!

This weekend has been one of the longest weekends of my life. There has been great moments and terrible ones. I guess the only place to start is at the beginning. Friday, April 9 was where it all began. At 12pm I was sitting on a bus on may way to a track meet at Bloomsburg University. When we got there after a 45 min ride I was so happy to finally get off of the bus. One of our coaches drove, and I am not exaggerating when I say she ran over three curbs and almost hit a car and a pole. Needless to say I never want to ride with her again. Anyway, after we arrived we realized too late that Bloomsburg is in the mountains and the track is the highest point placed right up on top of a hill. After checking my phone I found out that it was 45 degrees with winds of 15mph. It was freezing and no one was prepared. The throwing events that were taking place on Friday were women's hammer, men's hammer, and women's javelin. I was throwing women's hammer, and for anyone who does not know what that is it is a metal ball attached to a long wire with a handle.

The throwing circle, we soon found out, was extremely slick. One of the girls on my team fell while warming up because it was so slippery. All of the girls throwing hammer did very poorly. The girl who is the best on our team did not get any marks because she could not get any grip on her shoes. The men's hammer did not go much better either.

Later on that day, my friend Nicole picked me up from the track meet and we went to dinner. After dinner we went back to Bloomsburg University to wait in line for the Jack's Mannequin concert. Around 7:30 we were let in. We ended up being right at the front of the stage! It was so exciting and I almost could not believe it. The girls next to us were wasted before they even got there. Later during the concert one of them even pulled a small bottle of Yeager out from between her boobs. They were the loudest group of girls I had ever met. I have to say though, they were very nice and also interesting to listen to. The cover band was surprisingly good. The singers name was Kevin Hammond and there was only one other guy with him playing a percussion box. He had a singer songwriter kind of style. I was impressed by how good they were live.

Then after they played for about 45min, Jack's Mannequin came on! Just so every one knows, they are the first and only major band I have ever seen in concert. The first time I saw them was in February of this year because they came to Susquehanna University. I know that only two concerts is kind of sad but what can I say. Anyway, Andrew is amazing and anyone who has not seen him live really should. The concert was awesome of course except for the crazy mob of people behind us. They kept shoving us trying to get to the front of the stage. By the end of the concert only one girl pushed her way to the front, and she attempted to say that she did not mean to. Yeah right! She knew what she was doing.

After the concert was over my friend bought the cover band's CD and then we set off to meet Andrew. We found the group of people waiting by his bus and we prepared ourselves for the long wait in the freezing cold weather. Only after about 30 minutes, the two guitar players came out. Then about 2 minutes later Andrew came out. I was more excited then I thought I would be but I did not act crazy I promise. My friend and I ended up being very close to the beginning of the line. When it was finally our turn I had him sign my iPhone cover since it is all white. She got her ticket stub signed. Then, we got our picture taken with him using my iPhone camera which unfortunately does not have a flash. At this time it was midnight. The good news is I was able to lighten it on my computer. Anyway, Andrew was so sweet and I am very glad I had a chance to meet him.

I ended up going to bed around one in the morning. Although it was worth it, it was not a very smart choice. In the morning I had to get up at 7 am for the rest of the track meet at Bloomsburg. Saterday there were more events therefore more people went so we took a bigger bus. Again it was freezing, but at least this time the sun was out. At 10 am a had to throw shotput. Like the day before, no one did well in the throwing events. The meet was over around 4pm or a little after. The worst part about the day was that all the throwers ate were bagels because the runners ate all of the food that was supposed to be for our lunches. Needless to say I was really hungry and had a massive headache most of the day. Also, I am now sunburned so my inter face looks like Rudolf's nose.

Later on that night, I went to Applebees with some of my friends from SU, and then we went to the movies to see Date Night. It was hysterical. By the end of the day I was so tired that I immediately passed out as soon as I got in bed. Today, I am doing as little as possible and it is very nice.

A New Book Idea

So I have this crazy idea for a book. It will be about the different people you meet on this earth. I have had this vision for a while but I have never really done anything past just thinking about it. There are so many types of people out there, and all can be categorized into groups. Some examples of what I am talking about are the aggressive drivers, the ignorant racists, the people who do not know how to dress their own age, the crazy cat ladies, and on and on. These are the people that you know, that you might be related to, or they might just even be you. Now, I am not saying that all of the people in one group are exactly the same. I am saying that they just so happen to have certain qualities that are very similar. Also, some people may even be in more then one group. I am also not saying that these people are bad people. I guess I could even put myself in some of these groups so I should say I do no think that we are bad people. I believe that there are just certain qualities about us that are extremely obvious.

Today in my Non-Western class we watched a video about Sports teams using American Indians as mascots. On this video were two main groups of individuals. There were the aggressive ignorant racists and the persistent minority protesters. The main team that was being criticized against in the movie was the Illinois Illini. Their mascot was the Illini chief. It was a student dressed up in an American Indian outfit with a eagle feather head dress. The woman that was offended was an American Indian. She was the persistent minority protester. She believed that the mascot was disrespectful and degrading to the American Indian population. She said that the people of the town did not understand how what they were using as a symbol for their teams was mocking the traditions of Indian tribes. First of all, the outfit of the Illini chief was not a traditional Illini wardrobe. Second, the dance that was being portrayed was not an American Indian dance. It was something that the students playing the role created.

Now, on the other side of the argument were many of the people on the school board, in the staff, and also the student body and alumni. These people were representing the aggressive ignorant racists. They believed that what they were portraying with this mascot was tradition. They claimed that it was to represent those people that were on that land before them. They truly believed that what they were doing by having this mascot was the right thing because it is what the majority wanted. It was also a tradition at the school so they did not care that it offended anyone.

I think the problem with this argument is that people do not like change. The majority group was so against changing what they knew as their mascot that they were ignorant to the effects it was having on others. They did not want to believe that what they were doing was wrong because lets face it, no one wants to admit that they are wrong. However, it did offend American Indians and in many ways. I mean, if there were teams called the Kansas Jews or the Georgia Negros, there would be many many people coming forth and standing up against it. The thing is, is that American Indians are such a small population that there is not a lot they can do to make a difference. What is the difference between kunt or red-skin. They are both extremely offensive. Yet there is not a team using a "kunt" as a mascot. It is just not right. As red-skin or the Illini chief are degrading to the traditions of the American Indians. After all, they were driven of this land by most of our ancestors. Don't we owe them a bit of respect.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is that there are many types of people out there. Whether good or bad they are still there. Although we may not understand their ways of life we should at least respect them. And if that means changing what we want to think is right to what the minority tells us is wrong then so be it.

My First Blog

So, this is my first blog EVER. In all of my eighteen years on this earth, I never would have thought that I, Jen Baer, would be one to write a blog. But, here I am blogging away. I guess I have my friend Katy to thank for this. She herself has a blog and it inspired me to start my own. I have always been a dedicated reader, however, I have never been a fan of writing. I guess I just always figured why write my own stories when there are so many other interesting ones already out there for me to discover.

Anyway, this weekend was Easter. I never really understood this holiday. It is a day were you can stuff your face with as many chocolate bunnies, peanut butter eggs, and marshmallow peeps as you want and no one will say anything. Personally, I could never finish an whole peep. They taste like rubber (not that I have ever eaten rubber). However, I do love chocolate and peanut butter. I have to say though, I did not eat any Easter candy Yesterday. I was very proud of myself. I am not usually one to turn down food. It is a weakness of mine. Anyway, back to Easter. Who sat down and said, "Hey lets take bunnies, chicks, and pastel colors and throw them together to represent the day Jesus came back to life"? It just seems like a very strange concept to me. I guess it is just another one of those mysteries that will always go unsolved.

My family does not do a whole lot on Easter. We get up and work out because we always have to work out before we stuff our faces with yummy food. Then we go visit my Grandparents for a little while. Later on, we go home and eat ham, with a few other sides, for lunch. Some years, such as this one, my aunt Lara, uncle Joe and Bailey come over to eat with us. Next is the group nap time that lasts about an hour. After that we always eat dessert. This is my favorite part. The rest of the day varies except for dinner which is always leftovers.

A few years ago when my family at least pretended to be normal, we always did these huge Easter egg hunts. Each kid in the family would have a dozen eggs all the same color. Then they would be hidden all over the yard. Some were easy to find but others were more difficult. I remember, there was always one that had money in it which of course was the hardest to find. Mine for some reason were always pink. This crazy event always took place at my aunt Theresa's house. I also remember that she would make jello eggs. They were so yummy.

Once that ended, we started going to my Grandparents house and then just the past five or so years we have been hanging out at home. I actually like the staying at home thing. I guess it is because I have finely discovered what things are truly important to me. My immediate family being one of these. My family is close. I think that is because we are the kind of people that work hard for what we have and do not care what other people think about us. We also just get along (most of the time). Even when we do not agree, we eventually realize that we do not have to agree on everything. And little things like disagreement should not come between us. I was always told, "You can pick your friends but you can't pick your family." I am thankful every day that I was given the family that I have.