Photo Credit: PostSecret.com
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
It's Raining in LA...
Your subconscious mind is bringing up strange and interesting ideas today. If you are a musician or artist it is a good day for kicking back and doing what you do best. You will be positively inspired right now, and your creativity is likely to get noticed.
As expected, this past week was one of the most tiring thus far. From now until finals week, I will be working 24 hours a week and only be getting paid for 4 of those hours. You would think with that, school, extracurriculars, and a hint at a social life, I'd be too burnt out to worry about other little things. But during that one hour that I keep for myself to relax and get ready for bed, my mind inevitably wanders.
My graduation pictures arrived at my house a couple days ago. Wearing that black cap and gown, even for five minutes, was weirder than I imagined. I can't believe I'm graduating in a few months. (Then again, I still can't believe I'm 21.)
I was always nervous to venture off campus and find a job in "real LA." Yet I think doing so and moving to an apartment away from school made the difference. I can finally see myself living and working here which, if you know me at all, is a complete turn from freshmen year. For a couple weeks in September, I was stressing myself out over graduation and what to do after college. I think since then I've tried to step back and just enjoy things. If you look back at any part of your life, I think you can agree that things move more quickly than we'd like them to. Unfortunately, we can't control time, so the best we can do is go along with the ride. And, as we all know, only our actions in the present determine what will happen in our future. As long as I feel like every thing I do (from school to work to going out with friends to enjoying a movie) is purposeful, I guess I have nothing to worry about.
I find myself making time to see people every week. I randomly text or e-mail my friends from home just because I'm thinking about them. I miss my family more, and when I was home in October I spent more time with them than usual. But if you haven't heard from me in a while, it's probably because I haven't heard from you either. So call.
It's November. Every weekend from now until Christmas break will be full of activities to balance out the daily grand that has become my life as a senior. Next week, formal. The week after that, our other sister visits. The week after that, LAS VEGAS... for my first legal trip there and a much needed vacation. Then, my week long celebration of Thanksgiving at HOME. Then the weekend before finals. And finally I can begin my Christmas festivities. And then in four months, I graduate from college....
As expected, this past week was one of the most tiring thus far. From now until finals week, I will be working 24 hours a week and only be getting paid for 4 of those hours. You would think with that, school, extracurriculars, and a hint at a social life, I'd be too burnt out to worry about other little things. But during that one hour that I keep for myself to relax and get ready for bed, my mind inevitably wanders.
My graduation pictures arrived at my house a couple days ago. Wearing that black cap and gown, even for five minutes, was weirder than I imagined. I can't believe I'm graduating in a few months. (Then again, I still can't believe I'm 21.)
I was always nervous to venture off campus and find a job in "real LA." Yet I think doing so and moving to an apartment away from school made the difference. I can finally see myself living and working here which, if you know me at all, is a complete turn from freshmen year. For a couple weeks in September, I was stressing myself out over graduation and what to do after college. I think since then I've tried to step back and just enjoy things. If you look back at any part of your life, I think you can agree that things move more quickly than we'd like them to. Unfortunately, we can't control time, so the best we can do is go along with the ride. And, as we all know, only our actions in the present determine what will happen in our future. As long as I feel like every thing I do (from school to work to going out with friends to enjoying a movie) is purposeful, I guess I have nothing to worry about.
I find myself making time to see people every week. I randomly text or e-mail my friends from home just because I'm thinking about them. I miss my family more, and when I was home in October I spent more time with them than usual. But if you haven't heard from me in a while, it's probably because I haven't heard from you either. So call.
It's November. Every weekend from now until Christmas break will be full of activities to balance out the daily grand that has become my life as a senior. Next week, formal. The week after that, our other sister visits. The week after that, LAS VEGAS... for my first legal trip there and a much needed vacation. Then, my week long celebration of Thanksgiving at HOME. Then the weekend before finals. And finally I can begin my Christmas festivities. And then in four months, I graduate from college....
Monday, October 27, 2008
Can You Please Spell Gabbana? / Life Comes at You Fast
Caller: Vanessa, please.
Me: May I ask who's calling?
Caller: Sean from DNG.
Me: Will she know what this is regarding?
Caller: Yes.
Me: And you said you're from DNG?
Caller: Yes, like Dolce and Gabbana...
This morning after I got ready for my day, left my apartment, got into my car, and made the drive toward campus for the thousandth time, the following raced through my head: "I do this every day. I feel like this is one sure thing. You can't be sure of anything."
Every single day of my life for the last two weeks has been completely different, logistically, emotionally, etc. My first semester has really tested my ability to adapt to change, and until now I think I've been succeeding. For the first time this year, academics was probably last on my list of priorities. I've added commitments that basically ensure weekends provide my only free time (if even then). When I've seen my friends, my mind is so consumed with thoughts of other things that I can barely carry on interesting conversations. And I re-acquired my talent for bitching about unimportant things.
It's baffling how one quick motion can put you completely off balance. But I guess I'm lucky I noticed it well in advance of it ruining my second-to-the-last semester of college. This week, I'm forcing myself to take charge. When I make it to next Sunday with all commitments successfully completed, then I can decide what I really have time for.
Oh, and if you haven't visited PostSecret.com this week, stop what you are doing and click immediately. The new ones are thought-provoking, to say the very least.
Me: May I ask who's calling?
Caller: Sean from DNG.
Me: Will she know what this is regarding?
Caller: Yes.
Me: And you said you're from DNG?
Caller: Yes, like Dolce and Gabbana...
This morning after I got ready for my day, left my apartment, got into my car, and made the drive toward campus for the thousandth time, the following raced through my head: "I do this every day. I feel like this is one sure thing. You can't be sure of anything."
Every single day of my life for the last two weeks has been completely different, logistically, emotionally, etc. My first semester has really tested my ability to adapt to change, and until now I think I've been succeeding. For the first time this year, academics was probably last on my list of priorities. I've added commitments that basically ensure weekends provide my only free time (if even then). When I've seen my friends, my mind is so consumed with thoughts of other things that I can barely carry on interesting conversations. And I re-acquired my talent for bitching about unimportant things.
It's baffling how one quick motion can put you completely off balance. But I guess I'm lucky I noticed it well in advance of it ruining my second-to-the-last semester of college. This week, I'm forcing myself to take charge. When I make it to next Sunday with all commitments successfully completed, then I can decide what I really have time for.
Oh, and if you haven't visited PostSecret.com this week, stop what you are doing and click immediately. The new ones are thought-provoking, to say the very least.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
I Miss My Girls
Photo Credit: PostSecret.com
I miss my Fab Five. Counting down to Thanksgiving weekend...
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Problem with Labels... and Perspective
Photo Credit: Sex and the Ivy
"What people forget with labels is that they fail to capture the uniqueness of individual relationships."
Read the full entry at Sex and the Ivy
My friend Lara sent me a blog entry written by a Harvard student about the pressure of her friends and society at large to label her personal relationship. Today I had a conversation with a friend from home about the inability to label friendships.. as well as the impossibility to fully understand any relationship from the outside. Yet, towards the end of the summer, I was having several conversations with friends about the problems in their relationships with significant others. And I was offering my opinions as if I could predict the outcome of future actions. I do believe in the uniqueness of each relationship. However, I also believe in the truth of the human experience. As I've said before, we are unique in our combination of experiences and history. But not one of our qualities is completely original. When something goes wrong in a relationship (or even when something goes right, perhaps according to societal standards), friends generally take the 'I saw that coming' stance. Often, friends see the problems more clearly than the person in the relationship. Then again, relationships outlast fights and frustrations and overcome outside opinion and obstacles. So my question is... Who really sees relationships more clearly? The couple? Or their friends?
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wake Up and Smell the Truth
Photo Credit: dpatterson.blogspot.com
As I was walking to class today, the school newspaper caught my attention. More correctly, something sticking out of the newspaper caused a double take on my part: a supplemental ad for Walmart.
I've been to Walmart once in my life, but I hear about the great prices. Blah blah blah. However, more frequently I hear about the protests against the corporation. Unfair wages. General abuse of employees. All kinds of issues against justice and rights. I do believe our university continually contradicts itself on the global issues it stands for.
1) People across the country stand against Walmart, yet my "progressive" campus allows newspaper sponsorship, we can assume, for the purpose of advertising money.
2) Social justice groups annually protest the unfair treatment of hotel employees at the Hilton LAX, yet Student Life approves the use of the hotel's facilities for another student group's formal.
3) A multi-year campaign for campus diversity ends with the following facts (And note that the term "diversity" has frequently been defended to include not only race and ethnicity, but socioeconomic background and hometown/out-of-area students):
-Every year admissions follows a pattern of 12% acceptance of certain racial groups.
-This year, 1/3 of the freshmen class is on financial aid, compared to the 3/4 of the graduating senior class who are.
4) Tons of people on campus promote environmental change, yet recycling is not exactly encouraged and definitely not enforced. Composting? I don't even think a fourth of the population knows what that is.
We shout SOCIAL JUSTICE! DIVERSITY! CHANGE! from the rooftops, yet fail to instill these values in all of our students. Many students are or become advocates for global issues, but far more graduate without educating their whole person. According to a member of the Jesuit community at Santa Clara University, this entails "an integrated humanism, faith and scholarly inquiry, and engagement with the world in pursuit of justice." As of now, our university is lucky if alumni exemplify one of these missions of growth.
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