It has been said many times before, but I am coming to a new understanding of what it means when someone says college students are preschoolers. Of course, I get excited when I learn something new and I think it is the coolest thing ever and sometimes I need my mom to pick me up and kiss me on the head. But let me add something to this extended metaphor: preschoolers develop a thing called "false beliefs", which is the understanding that what someone thinks can be wrong, including their own thoughts.
In the past few weeks, I have been struggling with how to deal with differing opinions. When growing up, views on things that other people held were different, but not drastically. And if they were, it always seemed I could prove them wrong. It seemed I was always right. I have come to the difficult realization that my views on things may be wrong and there can be multiple truths on something. Just as preschoolers develop the ability to control their emotions, I am learning how to control my feelings when someone has a dissenting opinion, especially when someone is close to me.
There is something unique to college-age students though that differs from preschoolers - the development of being able to appreciate differing thoughts and see them as valuable. My college emphasizes the importance of interfaith and inter-anything conversation. The valuing of opinion is what makes something change for the better. And I'm slowly getting to that understanding of that value.
And although preschoolers and adults are different, I think I am still entitled to a few naps and for my mom to pick me up off the sidewalk and kiss my scrape and tell me it's all going to be ok.
Peace!
-Nicole
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
The Study of Women
"Well behaved women rarely make history." -Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Hellooo, sorry it's another late night post. hope you are well.
I LOVE my Women's Studies class. It is one of the best I've ever taken at Concordia and am so glad it's a minor for me. Honestly, if Concordia offered a major in it , it might be my second major. It has introduced so many concepts, caused so many "Aha!" moments, and has caused me to reconsider specializing in Gender Psychology.
It's a lot of learning though. And that's definitely a great thing, but learning can also be uncomfortable sometimes. It's hard to take a class where we read a lot of writers who have a keen awareness of inequalities still present today. I mean, it is a great class. Great professor, great classmates, great subject matter. Still, when you learn about things that maybe ought to be fixed in your society, it can be a bit disheartening to realize that there's still a lot of things that need improvement. Even worse is the realization that you yourself are a part of some of those systems responsible for inequality. To realize that your own thoughts contribute to a social construct that marginalizes and condemns people is sobering. You begin to see things everywhere, and it's happening to me not only in the context of Women's Studies, but in the context of my Developmental Psych class as well. I can't look at a child without having stage theories of development and certain milestones pop into my head.
I guess that's ultimately what are education is about though. No one ever said it would always be comfortable, plus the very point of education is to fight against our natural ignorance of some things. Sometimes we just aren't naturally exposed to information and that's why it's important to actively seek out knowledge.
In my religion class we just covered Genesis, and of course the concept of Original Sin. My professor is a firm believer that sin took place not because of willful disobedience, but of ignorance and immaturity. After all, isn't it all based in the desire for knowledge. The God of most faith traditions is an omniscient being and we desire to be more like God.
I am being exposed to many, many things here at college. Being exposed to my own ignorance as well as other viewpoints may be uncomfortable at times, and it comes at a pretty steep price, but if anything is worth paying for, it's knowledge and awareness.
Have a wonderful week and please enjoy the remainder of Autumn.
-Megan
Hellooo, sorry it's another late night post. hope you are well.
I LOVE my Women's Studies class. It is one of the best I've ever taken at Concordia and am so glad it's a minor for me. Honestly, if Concordia offered a major in it , it might be my second major. It has introduced so many concepts, caused so many "Aha!" moments, and has caused me to reconsider specializing in Gender Psychology.
It's a lot of learning though. And that's definitely a great thing, but learning can also be uncomfortable sometimes. It's hard to take a class where we read a lot of writers who have a keen awareness of inequalities still present today. I mean, it is a great class. Great professor, great classmates, great subject matter. Still, when you learn about things that maybe ought to be fixed in your society, it can be a bit disheartening to realize that there's still a lot of things that need improvement. Even worse is the realization that you yourself are a part of some of those systems responsible for inequality. To realize that your own thoughts contribute to a social construct that marginalizes and condemns people is sobering. You begin to see things everywhere, and it's happening to me not only in the context of Women's Studies, but in the context of my Developmental Psych class as well. I can't look at a child without having stage theories of development and certain milestones pop into my head.
I guess that's ultimately what are education is about though. No one ever said it would always be comfortable, plus the very point of education is to fight against our natural ignorance of some things. Sometimes we just aren't naturally exposed to information and that's why it's important to actively seek out knowledge.
In my religion class we just covered Genesis, and of course the concept of Original Sin. My professor is a firm believer that sin took place not because of willful disobedience, but of ignorance and immaturity. After all, isn't it all based in the desire for knowledge. The God of most faith traditions is an omniscient being and we desire to be more like God.
I am being exposed to many, many things here at college. Being exposed to my own ignorance as well as other viewpoints may be uncomfortable at times, and it comes at a pretty steep price, but if anything is worth paying for, it's knowledge and awareness.
Have a wonderful week and please enjoy the remainder of Autumn.
-Megan
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Roots
1. There is no age limit to Sea-doo jet boats
2. Always remember where you came from
3. Good food brings people together
Hello! It's Malyn again.
Last weekend, I journeyed home (a four-hour bus trip from Concordia) to see my great aunt and my mother's cousins. And it was beautiful. I get to see them only once about every 3 years, and my great aunt is 87. She's in good health, but I don't always know how many more times I'll get to see her.
Anyway, my mom's side of the family hails from Indiana (Terre Haute, to be specific), and they all have really great Southern-ish accents and are very down to earth. You spend a few hours with them and you start belly-laughing at their stories, and when you leave you say, "Baeh!" instead of bye. There's always loads of great home-cooked food- my aunt loves cooking and then everyone else brings things to share.
We sit around a large table and eat and talk. Most of the stories are from about the 60s, when many of them were children - that side is notorious for pranks and mischief. I also get the chance to hear about the days when my late granddad and my great-aunt were children. There's a famous story where my granddad was trying to learn to drive but couldn't stop the car, and so was swerving everywhere trying not to hit things - he finally ran it into a tree at low speed in order to stop!
This sense of spontaneity and fun usually leads to pretty enjoyable things. My aunt Ann lives on a lake, and so usually we go out for boat rides. Last year they bought a Sea-Doo jet boat, one of these:
We decided to try and give my great-aunt a ride on it. Her hips aren't great anymore, but she was up for it and we managed to get her on (in doing so my mother almost fell into the water - it was all a very hilarious situation). She and my aunt cruised around and had the time of their lives.
Always remember who you are and keep in touch with family. I'm blessed to have so many great relatives - I know many people aren't so lucky. It was a wonderful weekend and I'm glad to have such a lovely family!
peace and have a fabulous week!
-Malyn
2. Always remember where you came from
3. Good food brings people together
Hello! It's Malyn again.
Last weekend, I journeyed home (a four-hour bus trip from Concordia) to see my great aunt and my mother's cousins. And it was beautiful. I get to see them only once about every 3 years, and my great aunt is 87. She's in good health, but I don't always know how many more times I'll get to see her.
Anyway, my mom's side of the family hails from Indiana (Terre Haute, to be specific), and they all have really great Southern-ish accents and are very down to earth. You spend a few hours with them and you start belly-laughing at their stories, and when you leave you say, "Baeh!" instead of bye. There's always loads of great home-cooked food- my aunt loves cooking and then everyone else brings things to share.
We sit around a large table and eat and talk. Most of the stories are from about the 60s, when many of them were children - that side is notorious for pranks and mischief. I also get the chance to hear about the days when my late granddad and my great-aunt were children. There's a famous story where my granddad was trying to learn to drive but couldn't stop the car, and so was swerving everywhere trying not to hit things - he finally ran it into a tree at low speed in order to stop!
This sense of spontaneity and fun usually leads to pretty enjoyable things. My aunt Ann lives on a lake, and so usually we go out for boat rides. Last year they bought a Sea-Doo jet boat, one of these:
We decided to try and give my great-aunt a ride on it. Her hips aren't great anymore, but she was up for it and we managed to get her on (in doing so my mother almost fell into the water - it was all a very hilarious situation). She and my aunt cruised around and had the time of their lives.
Always remember who you are and keep in touch with family. I'm blessed to have so many great relatives - I know many people aren't so lucky. It was a wonderful weekend and I'm glad to have such a lovely family!
peace and have a fabulous week!
-Malyn
Monday, October 1, 2012
Getting Political
"I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians." -Charles De Gaulle
First, happy Monday. Second, I'm so sorry for getting this out so late. It's National Coming Out Week which means we're super incredibly busy. It's SAGA's biggest week of the year and we've got events going on every day. When you couple that with work and tons and tons of homework--it gets busy.
One of the things I hear most often from my friends these days is that they can't wait until the election is over. I know many many people who have worked with the campaigns either interning or doing other types of organizing or volunteer work, and from what I gather they're just so exhausted. Here's the thing though...as much as we wish it wasn't so, politics are important.
I'm always incredibly bothered when people in my generation (or anyone really) dismisses politics or elections. I know I'm so biased as far as all of this goes, but dang it, these decisions are going to affect our future! People are always complaining about the state of our government, yet those same people don't go out and exercise their right to vote. I think most of you know that I'm a MN resident, and so the Vote No campaigns for both amendments are hugely important to me. In fact, I'm lending my face to a video on Thursday through SAGA and Campus Democrats.
I get sick of politics too. Believe me, I do--but at the same time I get even sicker when I think about what will happen in our future if people refuse to become educated and consider these issues before election day. Many college students feel underrepresented by their government, something they have every right to feel, but if we made our voices heard through democratic processes, maybe our elected officials would acknowledge our demographic. Why should they think of the college age population if the college age population doesn't bother to vote?
For me, as for many of my friends, this election season rests on some very tender nerves. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I wasn't doing something to try to help out some of these campaigns. Some of them won't even affect me personally but I know SO MANY people who would be affected. I'm not going to stand back and do nothing. It's just not my style.
If you need to register to vote, you can go to https://www.gottaregister.com/ and if you're a first time voter in MN, we are lucky enough to have same day registration, so lucky you! If you need to vote absentee in MN, you can go to http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=211 Also, if you need to vote absentee in any state, you can just google "Vote absentee (insert state name here)"
With that, I hope all you folks age 18 and older will hit the polls on November 6th!
With love and hugs,
Megan
First, happy Monday. Second, I'm so sorry for getting this out so late. It's National Coming Out Week which means we're super incredibly busy. It's SAGA's biggest week of the year and we've got events going on every day. When you couple that with work and tons and tons of homework--it gets busy.
One of the things I hear most often from my friends these days is that they can't wait until the election is over. I know many many people who have worked with the campaigns either interning or doing other types of organizing or volunteer work, and from what I gather they're just so exhausted. Here's the thing though...as much as we wish it wasn't so, politics are important.
I'm always incredibly bothered when people in my generation (or anyone really) dismisses politics or elections. I know I'm so biased as far as all of this goes, but dang it, these decisions are going to affect our future! People are always complaining about the state of our government, yet those same people don't go out and exercise their right to vote. I think most of you know that I'm a MN resident, and so the Vote No campaigns for both amendments are hugely important to me. In fact, I'm lending my face to a video on Thursday through SAGA and Campus Democrats.
I get sick of politics too. Believe me, I do--but at the same time I get even sicker when I think about what will happen in our future if people refuse to become educated and consider these issues before election day. Many college students feel underrepresented by their government, something they have every right to feel, but if we made our voices heard through democratic processes, maybe our elected officials would acknowledge our demographic. Why should they think of the college age population if the college age population doesn't bother to vote?
For me, as for many of my friends, this election season rests on some very tender nerves. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I wasn't doing something to try to help out some of these campaigns. Some of them won't even affect me personally but I know SO MANY people who would be affected. I'm not going to stand back and do nothing. It's just not my style.
If you need to register to vote, you can go to https://www.gottaregister.com/ and if you're a first time voter in MN, we are lucky enough to have same day registration, so lucky you! If you need to vote absentee in MN, you can go to http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=211 Also, if you need to vote absentee in any state, you can just google "Vote absentee (insert state name here)"
With that, I hope all you folks age 18 and older will hit the polls on November 6th!
With love and hugs,
Megan
Friday, September 28, 2012
Accepting help
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“Nothing makes one feel so strong as a call
for help.” – Pope Paul VI
Happy Friday!
Everyone seems to be getting sick. And not
only are we all sick down here in the Lou, it’s test time. From chemistry to
German to archaeology, professors tend to pick the same weeks and/or days to
give exams. It’s actually quite remarkable.
Although I haven’t gotten sick yet (knock
on wood), I wasn’t able to go to any of my classes last week. This means that
my entire week this week has been devoted to getting caught up in all my
classes and I know others are in the same boat. It’s not easy. It’s harder if
you try to get through it on your own.
Growing up, I was always taught that you
should be independent and not rely on anyone. I think this could have been a
really good lesson to learn, but it got taken a little too far. Until recently,
I thought that I was weak if I asked for help. I “should” be able to solve my
own problems. Life doesn’t work that way.
We all have needs. Sometimes they can get a
little scary and overwhelming. We can’t do everything on our own. My social
psychology professor would say, “People are cultural animals; we need each
other to survive.” We all need a little help sometimes, but learning to ask for
help is hard and accepting that help takes strength. They're a couple of the best lessons I've ever learned.
Stay strong and have a wonderful weekend!
Bekka
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Growing Pains
It's been a month since I've been back on campus. I have reorganized my room more than once, freaked out about grades a few times, and have had a few very busy days. I didn't realize it had only been a month until tonight, when I was adding a ton of events to my calendar on my computer. It seems more time than a month has passed - a lot has happened and it seems to be painful at times.
I used to have terrible growing pains when I was younger. My legs would throb and would be sensitive to touch. I never really understood why I had them - I wasn't too active and they would happen at the weirdest times, like in the middle of church or art class. To my 8-year-old self, it was a pain that was bothersome and I really didn't see the point of all that pain.
Of course now, I understand the purpose of growing pains.* A growing body means the body is changing and new things are about to happen. The outcome will always be positive - a body that is stronger and bigger than before. But until then, the growing may be painful. The past few weeks back on campus have been that way - a bit painful. I thought that once I was back on campus, this would just pick up where I left off. But I am finding that that isn't true. My friends, most of whom lived on the same floor as I did, are now scattered across campus and everyone is involved in different things. All in all, it has been difficult to stay connected.
It's been a growing pain. I'm learning that keeping connections with friends will be a continuing process and even more so, making new friends is more difficult than it was last year. It's not that I don't want to meet others, it's just difficult to get out of my comfort zone. I know that growing pains are necessary, but as many a parent will say, massaging the legs helps with the pain. What I need to do is stretch myself a bit more - stretch out my hand to meet someone new, help out an organization, and stretch myself to explore things I may have never thought of before.
Although growing pains are bothersome and complaining may help for an 8-year-old, I think it's high time for me to stretch myself up and out of what I know - there is so much more out there I have yet to learn about. My world I have created of a small group of friends can't last forever - it needs to grow, change, possibly be flipped on its head. There needs to be more of me, a big, greater, better me and isn't that the point of growing pains?
Peace!
-Nicole
*Although scientifically, growing pains are not connected to rapid, sudden growth, but for the purposes of this post, I'll just stick with the common understanding.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Sicko
"One of the most sublime experiences we can ever have is to wake up feeling healthy after we have been sick." -Rabbi Harold Kushner
Hey, it's Megan. Hope you had a great Monday.
Well, family weekend was great and I was glad my aunt could make it up to spend it with me. I think we both had a good time and were able to partake in activities on and off campus. Unfortunately, I was sick the entire time.
Nicole and I have both suffered through the plague that hits campus every few weeks or so and my body hit the wall today. I feel okay to an extent, but my throat is shot and I've been struggling with a hacking cough. I even took off of work tonight (at the insistence of Nicole as well as my protesting throat) so I could get my homework done, relax a bit, and get to sleep early. As of writing this, I only have 15 pages left to read! Also, I don't work until Sunday unless I pick up a shift, so now I can but more of my body's faculties towards healing up. I think it was probably a good decision.
See, Nicole has enough sense to take time off from class and such and rest if she's sick. Me? Not so much. Even today, I got home after class and all I could think about was how much work I have to do and how much I actually wanted to get all of it done. Even if I was setting aside time to feel better, I wanted to instead use that time to get homework done. My friend, Steph, eventually forced me into bed and even tucked me in. It pays to have friends in college. The lesson in all of this? I clearly need to put my health higher up on the list of priorities and not always on the back burner. Health is important--never ever forget that. I've seen way too many people lose it or suffer with chronic conditions to not be taking better care of myself. But, I am learning, and I am surrounded by people who are willing to force me to take care of myself, even if that's not my highest priority at the time.
So that's where I'm at. The next time you hear from me, I will be good as new, but also perhaps a bit poorer from having had to buy so much medicine. :P
Be happy and well, but most of all, be healthy!
-Megan
Hey, it's Megan. Hope you had a great Monday.
Well, family weekend was great and I was glad my aunt could make it up to spend it with me. I think we both had a good time and were able to partake in activities on and off campus. Unfortunately, I was sick the entire time.
Nicole and I have both suffered through the plague that hits campus every few weeks or so and my body hit the wall today. I feel okay to an extent, but my throat is shot and I've been struggling with a hacking cough. I even took off of work tonight (at the insistence of Nicole as well as my protesting throat) so I could get my homework done, relax a bit, and get to sleep early. As of writing this, I only have 15 pages left to read! Also, I don't work until Sunday unless I pick up a shift, so now I can but more of my body's faculties towards healing up. I think it was probably a good decision.
See, Nicole has enough sense to take time off from class and such and rest if she's sick. Me? Not so much. Even today, I got home after class and all I could think about was how much work I have to do and how much I actually wanted to get all of it done. Even if I was setting aside time to feel better, I wanted to instead use that time to get homework done. My friend, Steph, eventually forced me into bed and even tucked me in. It pays to have friends in college. The lesson in all of this? I clearly need to put my health higher up on the list of priorities and not always on the back burner. Health is important--never ever forget that. I've seen way too many people lose it or suffer with chronic conditions to not be taking better care of myself. But, I am learning, and I am surrounded by people who are willing to force me to take care of myself, even if that's not my highest priority at the time.
So that's where I'm at. The next time you hear from me, I will be good as new, but also perhaps a bit poorer from having had to buy so much medicine. :P
Be happy and well, but most of all, be healthy!
-Megan
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Photo Prompt - A Sacred Place
Hey hey; Katie here!
Today I'm trying something new: a photo prompt.
Ready?
Sacred place: somewhere that at any time, you can go there to think, rest, relax. Somewhere that nothing can hurt you, or where you can let all your pain come out. Your sacred place is anything that you want it to be.
The last few days/weeks I have been extremely overwhelmed with all the changes finally sinking in. Its finally coming to my attention that college is my permanent place for the next four years (well, except summers..). Its so strange to think about how much is changing, and maybe I wasn't as ready as I thought. I am blessed to have amazing friends and family that have been my cheerleaders the past weeks without even knowing it.
Automatically, when I think of my sacred place I think of my church. I have been at the same church for 18 and a half years, so its definitely become a second home for me. But, then I thought about it some more and I happen to have many sacred places. My bed, when I need rest or comfort; Starbucks, when I just need a little boost; and almost anywhere I'm with my family. Knowing that I have so many places/people to fall back on makes everything in life a little better. Baby steps, right?
Have a happy Thursday & rest of your week!
xx Katie
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
We Just Finished Our First Broadcast!
This is a lovely video Megan and I created shortly after we finished our first KORD Radio broadcast. Check it out.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Listen LIVE to Megan and Nicole!
This evening is our first broadcast of our new radio show, Dorm Room 318!
6pm!
See that link right above? "Listen to KORD Radio?" Yeah, click that. And listen to Megan and I rock the mic... or possibly make a fool of ourselves. Either way, you should listen.
Also, 'like' our page on Facebook.
Happy listening!
6pm!
See that link right above? "Listen to KORD Radio?" Yeah, click that. And listen to Megan and I rock the mic... or possibly make a fool of ourselves. Either way, you should listen.
Also, 'like' our page on Facebook.
Happy listening!
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