Goodbye to Taleah

Unfortunately Taleah has graduated and wont be the editor of the blog anymore. This would be unbelievable sad except that she is working at Union as a recruiter and I am hoping to rope her into writing occasionally (all the time) since she has a unique view on things.

My name is Michelle Current and I am the new blog editor. I guess you could say I was sort of the editor last semester ... but lets not talk about that. Epic fail.

A very brief bio: I am a senior communication major double emphases in journalism and public relations, my favorite color is green, I dye my hair every few months (purple unless I have job obligations), reading is only fun if it has nothing to do with school and sleep is the only activity worth daily pursual.

My sincere desire is to have a blog post everyday. I really wanted to start at the beginning of the semester, but life has a way of getting out of hand (also known as flying semi-trucks driving cars off the road). I'm sure some (if not most) of you drove through the evil blizzard/death storm to get back to school. I did and because of the weather conditions a car re-ended me making this last week a paper shuffle. I don't understand why insurance companies are such a pain to work with.

Anyway.

Something topics that will be covered in the next few weeks:
Grad school
Study tips
How do I keep from killing my roommate
When does Nebraska's winter end (never)
Unusual hang outs
Places to go when cabin fever strikes

If you are interested in writing for the blog let me know.

Wear No Shoes

How important are shoes to you? What is it like to go without shoes for a day? Today go without shoes and see how one pair of shoes can greatly benefit a child's life.



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Name this Koala

Here is a Koala the blog has inherited. It needs a name, occupation, it's purpose for being in Lincoln, NE (it's native home is China), and other factoids pertinent to it's existence.

Hopeless vs. Hopeful

I’m a tad confused. Doesn’t the word hopeless mean that a person has no hope or any bright expectations for the future? Thus, if someone is a hopeless romantic shouldn’t that mean that they have no hope about romance? However, it seems that everyone uses the phrase ‘hopeless romantic’ completely out of context. When people say that someone is a ‘hopeless’ romantic shouldn’t they really mean a ‘hopeful’ romantic.

Hopeful romantics are the psychotic people that still believe in fairytales. You know those friends that you roll your eyes at because of their obsessively annoying conquest for their ever elusive “true” love. You can spot a hopeful romantic by their continuous lamentation about perfect relationships. In my opinion, these types of people are basically junkies who get their fix whenever they encounter a love story.

Hopeless romantics on the other hand are the compassionless cynics of the world (i.e. myself). These jaded people are the ones who watch movies and laugh when Romeo and Juliet die. To die for an idealistic, unreachable feeling that doesn’t even exist is a silly way to die. These hopeless people believe that love is a myth and will never accept someone else’s devotion because it can’t possibly be real.

People’s personalities decide if they are romantic, but their experiences make them either hopeful or hopeless. If someone has an excruciating experience that involves love then, they will be a hopeless romantic, but if they have an enriching experience they will become a hopeful romantic. Either way the person is still a romantic at heart. However, please do not get any of these definitions confused with someone who places entirely to much effort into caring about emotions. Because then we are on the subject of what makes an Emo kid and that is a blog in itself.



Michelle Current

In the words of Satan

Part 3: Student's Testimony

Drinking. It’s been the hot topic lately. I’ve heard many disappointed remarks saying they want new reasons why we should abstain from drinking and more personal stories instead of their distant relative’s story. Here’s mine*.
I threw on a hot outfit, snuck out of my house, trudged though my neighbor’s backyards (so nobody would see me walk in our street and tell my parents), hopped a fence to get into the adjacent park and stepped into my dream car owned by a hot guy four years older than me. Our destination? To his friend’s house to get drunk.

It was a small kickback with five of his buddies (whom I didn’t even know). We spent most of the time listening to music, playing beer pong, hanging out, and flirting. Of course we had a fun time! I consumed approximately two beers during the game and I didn’t feel any different. I didn’t realize that drunkenness from beer is delayed and so I asked for more alcohol. I had a shot of Vodka and that did it for me, I was drunk. For a first-timer, not knowing of the delay is dangerous because it can lead to alcohol poisoning when he or she drinks more in order to get drunk.

A common reason for avoiding alcohol is the embarrassment from acting stupid while being drunk. But that never happened to me. Some people don’t like not being able to remember the night. But that didn’t happen to me either. I didn’t experience any memory loss regarding my drunken actions. Another reason to abstain is the vomiting all night and hangover the next morning. But neither of those two happened to me. Other reasons we often hear are the medical complications that come later in life. But we have so much time until then that many of us brush it off.

When Taleah asked me to write my story, I told her I couldn’t because I didn’t regret the fun I had that night (However, I do regret my foolishness and being so naïve). She told me that’s why I should write it; it’s my connection with those who enjoy drinking.

The part that convinces me not to drink is the impaired judgment that I experienced. Mr. Hottie-Man found us a ride back and I didn’t see why since he wasn’t drunk nor did he consume much alcohol! I still can’t believe my rationale! Alcohol can also increase sexual arousal and when coupled with impaired judgment, it can contribute to one’s loss of virginity—not mine, thank goodness. For those who’ve already engaged in sex, it might lead to cheating in a relationship, or lead to pregnancy from unsafe sex.

Also, as Christians we want to be imitators of Christ and set examples for other believers (and non-believers). But how can we be in leadership positions or lead worship if we get drunk on the weekends? Trying to conceal our secrets eats away at our soul, self concept, and integrity.

My parents woke up, realized that I was gone and started calling me two hours into the party. Yes, I did get into trouble and had to sit through some talks (with one of my girl friends discretely holding me up). A few nights later, I told my parents that my choice to drink would be a one-time thing and in the 2 ½ years that have passed since that night, not one drop of alcohol has touched my lips.

I applaud and encourage those who haven’t experimented with alcohol. For those of us who already have, perhaps the decision to abstain from is stronger since we know what we’re missing. Are you strong enough?

* I do not want my story to encourage one-time-experimentation to satisfy one’s curiosity. We all make mistakes, but it is important that we learn from them and not make them a second time. It’s best to learn from others’ mistakes.

-Luciana S.

Reactions to the Awareness Worship

The following quotes come from students who attended the alcohol awareness worship.

“I’m pretty sure I taught that same health lesson three weeks ago to my fifth graders.” Emily Carlson

“What impressed me was the audience was respectful and listened to what they said.” Mollie Cummmings

“I felt it was nice, but honestly they didn’t say anything we didn’t know already. We didn’t gain anymore knowledge about alcohol or the situation.” Chipo Chibende

“I didn’t feel that they were very sincere and from some of the comments they made afterwards I knew they weren’t.” Mariah Wood

“I would have respected them a lot more if they said XYZ happened. We made a mistake, apologized for it, then moved on to the topic at hand. Instead of raising my respect level, it lowered it.” Dani Diede

"I wanted powerpoint with that presentation." Isaac Huston

“It was good with the all students and no staff. It was easier to talk.” Jenny Leslie

"When are we going to have a real alcohol awareness program? Last year there was a whole week on it." Taleah Valles

What's your opinion? Not just on the worship, but more importantly on the subject of alcohol. How can you raise awareness? Is there an alcohol problem on Union's campus (or any Adventist campus for that matter) and what are you going to do to combat it?

Leave a comment.