Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Quick Update
Hello everyone, as I currently write this, I am sitting in an airport internet terminal waiting for my connection. I am on my way to Cologne, Germany. I will be studying abroad for 3 months there which has been a long time coming. I will be posting more updates about my travels and experiences.....
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The Big "Aristotle"
Wow, it has been so long since my last edition - well, with Alpha Kappa Psi events, 3 consecutive weekends of being out of town for at least 4 days (including Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Portland for my brother's wedding), finals, and more work - I just couldn't find anytime to write. But now I am back. I still have summer school, and work, and trying to prepare for my upcoming trip to Germany, but I will try to keep up with a few more editions before I leave... Now on to business.
I have never been a fan of Shaquille O'Neal. My utter distaste for him started when he was on the Los Angeles Lakers and beat my beloved Portland Trail Blazers. Now anyone who knows me will tell you that I am one of the most passionate sports fans around. I grew up rooting for the Blazers and they are near and dear to my heart, my favorite sports team of all time. I also never root for any other team in the Pac-10 other than my Ducks. I couldn't care less that the Oregon State Beavers have won two NCAA baseball championship back-to-back. So it understandable that I would never be a fan of Shaquille O'Neal even though what he did to the Blazers was so, so long ago. I cannot stand Shaq's arrogance, his smugness, and his attitude. He thinks he is funny, and he calls himself "the big Aristotle."
But tonight I watched his new show on ABC called "Shaq's Big Challenge." In this self-help reality series, he takes 6 overweight children in Miami and tries to help them lose the weight, gain never-before-seen self-confidence, and hopefully inspire others watching the program to follow in their footsteps. Naturally, Shaq thought that this would be an easy task. But man was he humbled tonight. I was just as shocked as he was when I saw these kids.
One was a video-game addict that never gets outside and still has a baby-complex way of life. One comes from a Cuban family with traditional large meals, and he just can't stop. One gained all her weight from depression when family problems came. The last three kids are just as overweight if not more, and because of their own unique reasons. After they all failed the Presidential Fitness Test, he took them to a child obesity specialist and there Shaq received the biggest shock of all. Every child was diagnosed morbidly obese. Shaq said that he knew what the two words meant, but not that the two words together could mean something so bad.
Well, if you saw the show like me, I am sure you are horrified as well. But for the first time ever, I saw a different side of Shaquille O'Neal. I saw genuine compassion, concern, and caring for these children. When he received the news from the doctor at the children's clinic, I could see the dismay and sadness on his face that these kids could die if nothing was done to help them. Although he still displayed is normal arrogance and cocky attitude, he showed me that he is not only about running over every single other player in the NBA and winning 4 championships.
So when the new NBA season starts, I can go back to rooting for any team that Shaq plays against. I can't wait until that first game when Greg Oden (a guaranteed Blazer come Thursday's NBA draft) goes up against Shaq. But for now, I will continue to watch "Shaq's Big Challenge" and be rooting for him to help these kids turn their lives around, as long as he doesn't rub that "Big 'Aristotle'" attitude onto them.
I have never been a fan of Shaquille O'Neal. My utter distaste for him started when he was on the Los Angeles Lakers and beat my beloved Portland Trail Blazers. Now anyone who knows me will tell you that I am one of the most passionate sports fans around. I grew up rooting for the Blazers and they are near and dear to my heart, my favorite sports team of all time. I also never root for any other team in the Pac-10 other than my Ducks. I couldn't care less that the Oregon State Beavers have won two NCAA baseball championship back-to-back. So it understandable that I would never be a fan of Shaquille O'Neal even though what he did to the Blazers was so, so long ago. I cannot stand Shaq's arrogance, his smugness, and his attitude. He thinks he is funny, and he calls himself "the big Aristotle."
But tonight I watched his new show on ABC called "Shaq's Big Challenge." In this self-help reality series, he takes 6 overweight children in Miami and tries to help them lose the weight, gain never-before-seen self-confidence, and hopefully inspire others watching the program to follow in their footsteps. Naturally, Shaq thought that this would be an easy task. But man was he humbled tonight. I was just as shocked as he was when I saw these kids.
One was a video-game addict that never gets outside and still has a baby-complex way of life. One comes from a Cuban family with traditional large meals, and he just can't stop. One gained all her weight from depression when family problems came. The last three kids are just as overweight if not more, and because of their own unique reasons. After they all failed the Presidential Fitness Test, he took them to a child obesity specialist and there Shaq received the biggest shock of all. Every child was diagnosed morbidly obese. Shaq said that he knew what the two words meant, but not that the two words together could mean something so bad.
Well, if you saw the show like me, I am sure you are horrified as well. But for the first time ever, I saw a different side of Shaquille O'Neal. I saw genuine compassion, concern, and caring for these children. When he received the news from the doctor at the children's clinic, I could see the dismay and sadness on his face that these kids could die if nothing was done to help them. Although he still displayed is normal arrogance and cocky attitude, he showed me that he is not only about running over every single other player in the NBA and winning 4 championships.
So when the new NBA season starts, I can go back to rooting for any team that Shaq plays against. I can't wait until that first game when Greg Oden (a guaranteed Blazer come Thursday's NBA draft) goes up against Shaq. But for now, I will continue to watch "Shaq's Big Challenge" and be rooting for him to help these kids turn their lives around, as long as he doesn't rub that "Big 'Aristotle'" attitude onto them.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Tragedy at Virginia Tech
It has been a sad week. I came home Monday morning after class, turned on the TV, and saw the absolute horror of what occurred at Virginia Tech. I ended up doing exactly what I did on 9/11 - I just watched. I couldn't say anything, I really couldn't feel anything at that time. I just sat there and watched the day as it unfolded. I eventually went to class, and mentioned it to a few friends. But then I came home and just started watching again. At the end of the day, as I went to bed, I thought about what I had seen. The next morning, two main emotions came to me that I have been feeling the rest of the week.
I first felt heavyhearted when I woke up that morning. I remember feeling sad on 9/11. When I woke that morning, I tuned in to my favorite morning radio show. As I got ready for school, I heard them talking about it. At first I thought it was a joke, maybe a new movie coming out. Intrigued I turned on the TV and saw the reality. It was all we talked about that day in classes. But now there is a big difference between my feelings that day and those of this week. What I felt on 9/11 was just a general feeling of shock and sadness like the rest of the nation. But this time, it is a much deeper sadness within me, mostly because I am connected a great deal more to the events in Blacksburg than to the ones in NYC. I am a college student now. I walk through campus every day just like those students did. As I walked to class Tuesday morning, I couldn't help but to look around my campus and image what that would have been like here. The sadness just stuck me so much harder. And then I started to think about all those young men and women that died, and the last things they might have said to their friends or parents. I called my mom tonight and told her I loved her, and thanked her for all the help she has given me these past few years.
The second emotion I have felt all week is one of amazement. I am amazed at how the students at Virginia Tech, at schools around the nation, and the world have come together in a time like this. Facebook as become a source of grieving, counseling, and connection for everyone. Monday night I immediately found three Facebook groups to join. One is now the largest tribute group to VT, with over 282,000 members. There is a VT logo that holds within it the logos of schools across the nation. Another group is the largest group here at my school. I followed the likes of others that had taken the VT logo atop a black ribbon, and placed their own school's logo underneath it. I made one for my school, and it became the picture for the group. The final group is one that calls for Facebook to change its website colors to orange and maroon. I believe that if little steps like that can truly help heel even one person, that Facebook should do it. I have just been absolutely amazed at the use of the Internet to deal with these events.
I am thankful for every opportunity that I have gotten in life. I am also thankful that something like this hasn't happened directly in my life yet. I will be praying for a long time for all those affected by that tragic Monday morning. I am certainly going to take something away from this. I don't know what yet, but it might even be that I try a little harder in school. Those 32 students that died don't get to go to college anymore.
There is one last thing I want to leave her. J. Russell Denney, one of the admins of the VT tribute group on Facebook, said
"Forget any and all college affiliations today. For today, we are all Hokies."
God Bless.
I first felt heavyhearted when I woke up that morning. I remember feeling sad on 9/11. When I woke that morning, I tuned in to my favorite morning radio show. As I got ready for school, I heard them talking about it. At first I thought it was a joke, maybe a new movie coming out. Intrigued I turned on the TV and saw the reality. It was all we talked about that day in classes. But now there is a big difference between my feelings that day and those of this week. What I felt on 9/11 was just a general feeling of shock and sadness like the rest of the nation. But this time, it is a much deeper sadness within me, mostly because I am connected a great deal more to the events in Blacksburg than to the ones in NYC. I am a college student now. I walk through campus every day just like those students did. As I walked to class Tuesday morning, I couldn't help but to look around my campus and image what that would have been like here. The sadness just stuck me so much harder. And then I started to think about all those young men and women that died, and the last things they might have said to their friends or parents. I called my mom tonight and told her I loved her, and thanked her for all the help she has given me these past few years.
The second emotion I have felt all week is one of amazement. I am amazed at how the students at Virginia Tech, at schools around the nation, and the world have come together in a time like this. Facebook as become a source of grieving, counseling, and connection for everyone. Monday night I immediately found three Facebook groups to join. One is now the largest tribute group to VT, with over 282,000 members. There is a VT logo that holds within it the logos of schools across the nation. Another group is the largest group here at my school. I followed the likes of others that had taken the VT logo atop a black ribbon, and placed their own school's logo underneath it. I made one for my school, and it became the picture for the group. The final group is one that calls for Facebook to change its website colors to orange and maroon. I believe that if little steps like that can truly help heel even one person, that Facebook should do it. I have just been absolutely amazed at the use of the Internet to deal with these events.
I am thankful for every opportunity that I have gotten in life. I am also thankful that something like this hasn't happened directly in my life yet. I will be praying for a long time for all those affected by that tragic Monday morning. I am certainly going to take something away from this. I don't know what yet, but it might even be that I try a little harder in school. Those 32 students that died don't get to go to college anymore.
There is one last thing I want to leave her. J. Russell Denney, one of the admins of the VT tribute group on Facebook, said
"Forget any and all college affiliations today. For today, we are all Hokies."
God Bless.
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