Done for the year

Since this is the last blog of the semester, I guess I’ll do the normal thing & reflect upon my first semester here at Virginia Tech. It has definitely been filled with it ups and downs. I can’t pretend that I’m not excited to be going home in a week. When I lived in Hampton, I remember thinking that I couldn’t wait to get out of that place. It was a city with a small town feel. I had been in classes with the same kids since elementary school and I was definitely ready for a change. Sadly, a lot of my friends decided that they wanted to stay close to home & go to schools in the local area such as Old Dominion, Christopher Newport, & Thomas Nelson. They are still doing the same things that they did in high school & can go home at any point on time. But college is a little different for me. I am stuck in Blacksburg unless I plan to go home for like a week in advance.
It has also been a big culture shock. My high school in Hampton was mostly black. There were a good number of white people but it was by far mostly black. It has been such a culture shock for me not to see that many people who look like me in my classes or walking across the Drillfield. It’s not easy being trapped 5 hours away with no one to relate to. So it took some time for me to adjust to this. I have recently started watching BET because I miss black people so much, which I never did at home.
Another big adjustment for me has been making friends. I had my set group of friends in Hampton & I never really had to make new friends. One reason is that because not many people actually move to Hampton. Most people have lived there all their lives & probably will never leave, which is their choice. But I can’t imagine living there until I’m 89, which is why I came to Virginia Tech; I was more than ready to experience new things. But anyways, I never really learned how to be outgoing & make new friends. So coming to Tech with no friends meant that I had to make all new ones so I wasn’t a recluse who stayed in my room all day. I do think this made me pick up valuable social skills that I’ll need later in life. But for right now, it was pretty uncomfortable. A lot of people seemed to come here with friends from high school. I didn’t have that comfort zone to stay in when I first got to Tech so I pretty much just hung out with my hall mates all the time. I still hang out with them a lot because they are amazing people but now I’ve made friends outside of my dorm so school is a lot better.
Now my grades aren’t looking so hot. I am not doing well at all. My goal for this semester has officially become to not be on academic probation. That’s all I can hope for right about now. And it makes me angry when I hear about the things that they’re doing at other colleges! They’re learning about high school stuff & I’m stuck learning about a cells intermolecular membrane, stuff I could care less about. It’s so frustrating that other people are taking classes that they actually like & care about. But not me, at least not until next semester. I just want to save the environment or teach environmental science in high school. I think that may be one reason that I did not do as well as I expected, I am not interested in any of the classes that I’m taking. It’s very hard for me to put my all into something that I don’t care about & know that I will never need in the future. The bigger problem is definitely my study skills & study habits or lack thereof. I have never studied more than a day in advance of the test. So this pretty much screwed me over in most situations. Especially in biology where I didn’t pay attention in class or study that well. I am just hoping to get a D out of that class. It wasn’t so bad in chemistry because I had seen half of the material before so it was easier for me to pick some of that stuff up. I think I can pull a B- out in that class but the more realistic thing is a C+. I knew coming into college that I would definitely not do as well as I had done in high school. I’m not one of those people who sets goals really high so I just expected that I’d do about the average my first semester of college & then gradually get better. I have definitely created a big hole to dig myself out of for the next 3.5 years. So I used my one free pass this semester & all of the rest I really have to put the pedal to the metal. I have set my goal for next semester to become so much more motivated. I can’t have this whatever attitude about school anymore. My parents are paying thousands of dollars to send me to this great school & I would feel horrible if I screwed it up.
All in all this semester was one big learning experience. I learned how much I appreciate my mom & how much she did for me. I never had chores or a curfew so I could pretty much do what I wanted. I also miss how easy high school was. I could do nothing & still get an A. But college is a complete turnaround from this. The most valuable thing that I have learned is that I can either sink or swim in this place & no matter what happens, it is completely my fault. I have no one else to blame.

Thanksgiving Pt. 2

Since I talked about what I thought thanksgiving would be last week. I’ll blog about what actually happened this week. Sorry you guys have to read so much about my life.
I suppose I’ll start at the beginning. I went home Friday morning with two of my friends from Tech who live near me. The car ride was pretty boring because we were all ready to just get home & start our breaks. But, it was ok. We stopped in Charlottesville & uva for a second wearing all of our tech stuff. Needless to say it was pretty awkward & we really stuck out. But I don’t mind representing Virginia Tech wherever I go, even in a dreadful place like Charlottesville.
Once I got home from the car ride all I did was sleep for like two days straight. None of my close friends came home for their break until Tuesday or Wednesday so I had an extended time to myself. A couple of my friends stayed home to go to community college so I hung out with them while I waited for the “crew” to arrive. But I enjoyed getting that time with them because they are a fun group of people. The only drawback is that I am a VERY very poor college student. I did manage to spend only $20 during the whole week that I was home. Thanks to my lovely friends who love to pay for me.
Another thing I enjoyed about being home was seeing all of these great movies. While in Blacksburg, I never get to see new movies. The extent of my movie watching is like one movie every couple of weeks with my hall mates. The first movie I saw over break was Ninja Assassin. I saw it with one of my really good guy friends & he loved it. Me, not so much. It was FULL of blood. Seriously, every other scene was somebody cutting off somebody else’s head. I covered my eyes for half of the movie because I didn’t want to see all of the blood. The guy I was with had to keep asking me if I was going to make it through the movie. Another thing that bothered me was that it involved stealing children. And I love kids, so it hurt my little heart! Another movie that I saw was precious. This one was a tear jerker. It was about an overweight 17 year old girl who was still in junior high school. She had issues with being a dark skinned African American girl. Her mother was also very abusive & resented her for being raped by her father. She viewed it as Precious stealing her man. She was more concerned with keeping her man than the health & safety of her child. Precious also had two children by her own father, one of which has down syndrome. She also didn’t know how to read or write, barely knowing her ABC’s. This movie was wonderfully put together and it had an all star cast, lots of Oscar buzz surrounding this cast. Everybody played their role well & it really illustrated the struggles within the African American community, such as wanting to be lighter or even wanting to be white. And my biggest movie accomplishment was finishing the first season of the Golden Girls (I’m debating getting the second, not so sure I can afford it though :/). Not only did I get to finish it, but I also got to watch it with somebody really cool (the same guy that dragged me to ninja assassin). I don’t even remember how I convinced him to watch the Golden Girls, but he did. He didn’t like it so much, he didn’t laugh at all. But I was cracking up the entire time because these women are funny. But I guess it is not exactly the right show for 19 year old guys. Nevertheless, I enjoyed spending time with this guy and watching my girls at the same time.
Not I’ll actually talk about Thanksgiving day. It was pretty typical. My mom did end up cooking dinner because I came home & asked her to. It was just the normal Thanksgiving dinner. My mom, grandma, brother, great aunt, & I all ate dinner together at my mom’s house. It was very peaceful. And then later on that day I went to eat dinner at my paternal grandma’s house. After dinner, we all watched my beloved Dallas Cowboys beat up on the Oakland Raiders. It was simply wonderful watching them win! Normally, I wear my lucky Cowboy pants & slippers but since I wasn’t at home, I couldn’t. But they won without my lucky pants. It was really exciting, especially because I love to talk bad about all of the other NFL teams. But overall, my Thanksgiving day was pretty boring.
But the best thing about Thanksgiving break was definitely getting to see all of my old friends. It was very interesting to see how we’ve all changed! And believe me; all of us have definitely changed. Some of us have changed for the better, some of us for the worse, in my opinion. The biggest difference to me was the lingo that people came back with. I’ve met people from all over the country while here at Virginia Tech, but I haven’t picked up that much lingo. On the other hand, my friend at Howard came back & I could barely understand what she was saying. There was a legit language barrier. Another difference is that most of friends like to party a lot more. I don’t need to go out to have a good time but a few of my friends do. I enjoy spending time at home with friends; I don’t really need to go out to a club or a party every night to have a good time. Yet, some of my friends do now, so that was a big change. Before we could easily all hang out at somebody’s house & have a good time but it seems that now they’re looking for more, which is completely understandable. Overall, I completely loved my Thanksgiving break & I can’t wait to go back for winter break. I miss some of the people in little old Hampton already.

Thanksgiving!!!

I finished my blog & paper TWO days early. Feeling accomplished 
In anticipation of the upcoming Thanksgiving break, that’s what I’m going to blog about! I realllllly can’t wait to spend a whole week at home! Normally, I just go home for the weekend but that doesn’t give you a chance to settle in or anything. Most of the time I don’t even unpack my bag because I know I’ll be leaving a short 48 hours later. Another problem that this short break poses is that I never have enough time to accomplish anything. I have to balance spending time with my friends versus spending time at home with my family. And the last couple times my friends have won out which makes me feel like I’m neglecting my family. It’s just a no win situation. But all of that will be solved over this week long break! It gives me time to study for my chem lab final, spend time with my family, and my friends. In fact, there is a whole day over the break dedicated to family. That day would be thanksgiving.
My thanksgiving day is one of favorite holidays! It’s a day where you can just feast & feast & feast all day. I love to eat so this is just the perfect holiday for me. Thanksgiving is also the one day of the year that I like to get up early. Even though I’m 18, I love waking up to see the Macy’s Day parade. In recent years I think that viewership has declined but I still love it and I hope they do not take it off of TV! It’s just so fun to me to watch this huge parade and it is one of my goals to go & see it in perfect one day! EVEN BETTER, I would love to be in it! Omg that would be amazing. But I don’t think that’s going to happen so I’ll just stick to trying to get tickets. But I think they’re really expensive which is sad. Anyways, I do not understand how people don’t like this parade. It’s so historic and big. I think it’s the biggest parade in the world, it lasts 3 freaking hours! It’s just such a tradition for me that I can’t imagine a thanksgiving not watching it. It’s great to wake up in the morning, watch the parade, and smell the food cooking in the house.
I’m sure the way that I experience thanksgiving is not the way that others may celebrate it. For starts, both of my parents are only children so I do not have a lot of aunts and uncles. Secondly, my parents are divorced and hate each other, so I get to have thanksgiving twice, which I do not mind. So I live with my mom (when I’m not in college) so logically that is where I start my day. I wake up, watch the parade and maybe help cook a little. Normally, the only people at our dinner are my mom, my younger brother, my grandma, my great aunt, & I. I like it that way because it makes me feel close to them. Last year was the first time that thanksgiving was held at our house and I was not happy about it. Normally it is at my grandma’s house, but about a month before thanksgiving last year, my great grandma passed away. And with her passing away so close to the holidays, it was a little hard for us to eat in the house that she shared with my grandma. But it definitely wasn’t the same, which was hard for me. I’m one of those people who really values tradition and having it at my house really bothered me. It’s not as cozy for one. My house is pretty modern & large & open, like most houses built this century. But my grandma’s house on the other hand is smaller and cozier. It was probably built in the 1950’s or something so even the architecture is different. But all in all it was special because I got to spend time with my family.
As every child of divorced parents knows, you try not to choose a favorite parent. But sometimes you just can’t help it. My mom & her family is definitely my favorite by far. The reason is because I grew up around her family more so than my dad’s. My parents have been divorced ever since I was 7, so it’s not like its new or anything. After the separation, my mom, brother, & I moved from Richmond to Hampton. Hampton is about 10 minutes from my maternal grandma & 15 from my paternal. And somehow, I managed to spend most of my “grandparent” time with my maternal grandma & great grandma. They basically took the place of my dad in my life. So I do not feel like a guest when I visit the house. I don’t hesitate to take my shoes off and open the refrigerator like I live there.
But anyways, thanksgiving at my paternal grandma’s house is much more awkward. I don’t really like the way she cooks as much and I also don’t know her as well. I sometimes feel bad that I haven’t put as much into our relationship as I should have especially now that she is getting older. The only people who normally eat there are my grandma, step grandpa Mack, my dad, my younger brother, my dad, Mack’s sister, & myself. It’s pretty awkward for the most part. After dinner we all gather around the television and watch football. I always root for my boys (Dallas Cowboys)! This is really the only time that all of us interact together. Sometimes my two families eat at the same time (and we always start off at my mom’s simply because we’re there) so we come after everybody else has already eaten.
But despite all of my family drama, I’m super excited for this upcoming break & holiday.



Thats a pic of charlie brown at his thanksgiving dinner! its another one of my holiday favorites! i have it on dvd just in case i miss it on tv :):):):):)

Reality TV

I absolutely hate drunken people! Especially ones who decide to throw up everywhere. And especially ones who decide they want to throw up outside. That is just nasty & unsanitary. This one drunken girl may have cost me my perfect apartment in fox ridge! Everything was going well on the tour; my mom loved the apartment & thought the price was good. So we were leaving the apartment with the fox ridge guy & this girl stumbles out of the building next door, looking all disheveled & nasty, & throws up in the grass. This was just feet in front of my mom! Needless to say, she is not happy about me living off campus anymore nor is she happy about Fox Ridge. So I would just like to say thank you to random drunk girl for ruining my next year. Now that I have got that out of my system, on to what this blog is actually about, reality television.
I admit that I am a reality television addict. It is just so darn interesting! Every time I’m done watching a show, I wonder why I just wasted an hour of my life watching that crap but I still can’t wait until the next week. Some of my recent additions include for the love of ray j, my Antonio, real world/road rules challenge, & true life. All of these shows are on MTV or VH1, which says something. These channels were created to play music but now all they play are TV shows. The only time they play music is late at night/early in the mornings. I wouldn’t mind seeing more music on these channels instead of crappy TV shows. One of the shows that annoy me the most is Cribs. Why in the world would I want to see how much more celebrities have then I do? I just don’t get the appeal of the show. All it does is make me angry. Especially now since they have teen cribs where it shows rich kids & how much they have. Some of them basically have their own houses & cars. It’s crazy! Thank you for flaunting how much you have when everybody else in the world is suffering. Great idea for a reality show MTV, great idea.
Another show that is pretty darn ignorant when it was on the air was flavor of love. I was embarrassed to be black for the whole time that VH1 aired that show. That is not how most people are. Flavor Flav is out of his mind & a media whore (I absolutely love Perez Hilton, that’s where I got the word from). I think the only reality TV couple that has actually worked out is Trista & Ryan from the first season of the bachelor. I think now they’re married with kids, which is cute & lucky for them. But 98% of reality TV show couples do not work out. How could they? I don’t think you can fall in love in the course of a few weeks, especially when it is watched by millions of peoples. Also, people aren’t going to be there true selves when the cameras are rolling. They’re going to show out for the cameras because often times they want work on TV after the show is over. They don’t really care about the other person involved. People also let the competition get to them. They transform into the person that the other person wants to be just to win. I feel that a lot of these people aren’t genuine. They just get so caught up in the competition & backstabbing the other contestants, that they lose track of themselves in the process. But the part that I would have the biggest problem with is the fact that so many other people would want & be with the same person that I like. Out in the real world we call that cheating. I just wouldn’t be comfortable watching the guy I was with kiss 19 other girls. It’s also pretty gross, especially with the swine going around. I’m frowning up just thinking about it. I would also feel pretty disrespected. But in the world of reality television, there is not much respect.
A reality show that I really LOVE & that I think has a good impact on America in particular is biggest loser. That show is just so inspirational. At 8 pm on Tuesday nights that is the only thing that I am doing. Since obesity is such a big issue in America these days, the biggest loser is so relevant. It inspires people to make a positive change in their lives. And not just by taking the easy way out & getting plastic surgery. This show encourages people to do it the healthier & nastier way – good old fashioned diet & exercise. This is what America needs. Some overweight people are more concerned with the cosmetic aspect of their obesity, not the health aspect. Carrying around so much extra weight is not meant for your body. I was watching this show on TLC about Manuel, he used to be the heaviest man in the world (and he might still be, I don’t remember). But he was over 1,000 pounds. A man who weighs 1,000 pounds! That’s crazy! That is ten times more than I weigh. TEN TIMES. That is just crazy. He couldn’t get out of bed or bathe himself. He was a grown man in his 30s who couldn’t get out of bed & who depended on his mother to bathe him & do basically everything for him. Anyways, he tried all these different remedies to try & fix his weight issue but none of them had long term effects. That’s why I like the biggest loser. It encourages techniques that will last a lifetime. You can never go wrong with diet & exercise. If I had to pick one reality show to go on, it would definitely be the biggest loser. It kind of makes me want to get fat, just to lose the weight on that show



That sexy man in the pic is flavor flav - the guy that lots of women want on his relaity show...gross!

Election

Today is Election Day! Today is Election Day!! Today is Election Day!!! And I got the chance to vote in my first election! I’m really excited because this is the first election that I’ve been old enough to vote in. It would’ve been really cool to vote in the presidential election in November so I could’ve voted for Obama. But luckily, my vote wouldn’t have mattered too much because he won by a landslide. But in this election, I feel that my vote is more important. Even though the republican candidate is up by double digits, I still want to get my vote out there for the democrat. Maybe the polls are wrong & he can pull out a win. I really feel that he is just the better person for the state of VA. McDonnell honestly just seems like a complete slime ball to me. He has passed, tried to pass, or said things that are completely ridiculous. For one, he said that working women were detrimental to the home. So basically he wants women to stay at home where they can be barefoot & pregnant. That is just completely ridiculous to me. Women can work just as well as men. Another thing that bothers me about him is that he wanted to define marriage as between a man & a woman. He wanted to change the VA constitution so that it would be defined like that. That is just taking it a step too far. Something about him just bothers me & it’s unsettling that this person could be running the state that I live in for the next 4 years. I would hope that I could trust the person running the state but with McDonnell, I definitely cannot! He represents the old Virginia, not the progressive Virginia that I would hope we would be moving closer to. And after the November election, I was convinced that Virginia was finally moving forward. But a McDonnell victory tonight shows that Virginia is not ready for change (a cliché I know, but it’s the only way I could think to phrase it). I’m looking at the political map of Virginia on CNN & it looks similar to the way the map looked in November. The bigger cities & metropolitan areas such as Northern Virginia, Richmond, & Hampton Roads are predicted to go towards deeds. While the more rural areas, Southern & Western Virginia, are expected to go towards McDonnell.
Why is it that cities always seem to be more liberal while rural areas seem to be more conservative? My guess is that cities are filled with more diverse groups of people who come from all over the country & the world. Sometimes at Virginia Tech, I feel like one of the few democrats within like a 20 mile radius. And it may be because Virginia Tech is in a more rural part of the state. But that doesn’t make sense because people come from all over the state, country, & world just to come to school here. Which is why it’s so surprising that people here are so conservative. I thought that because there are so many different types of people here that there would be varying political views, but that is not true at all. Virginia Tech is not very racially diverse but it is socio-economically (not really sure that’s a word but I’ll roll with it) diverse. People at VT come from all different economic backgrounds. So it just doesn’t make sense that VT is so conservative. Especially since people our age (college students) are supposed to be pretty liberal. If any of you 4 guys are republicans, I would love for you to explain your position on issues. Because frankly, I don’t understand it in the least (kind of like biology). I think it is an incredibly selfish position that republicans have on most of their issues. Side note: I’d like to apologize if this blog is a little boring because of all the political stuff. So I’ll blog about something else now because it’s starting to bore me.
So for the next 300 words I’ll talk about my exciting weekend. Well, by anybody else’s standards, it wouldn’t have been a lot of fun. It didn’t involve alcohol or a slutty costume. I went home & simply hung out with my friends until 5 am every morning. We played games like Apples to Apples & Monopoly. And I discovered that I am probably the worst monopoly player on the planet. Literally every time I rolled the dice, my partner & I had to pay the other team money. My partner got really frustrated but it was all in good fun. But it made me miss home a lot more then I have this whole semester. I wish I could be home again before thanksgiving but luckily that holiday is only a few weeks away. I’m really looking to forward to spending a whole week with the people that I spent this last weekend with. It showed me that I can definitely go out & have fun dressed in jeans & a t shirt & not be drunk. And that I can just chill out with cool people & do fun things for a weekend. It was so relaxing! I got a good night’s sleep in my own bed. There weren’t loud people until all hours of the night & it was just great. I wish I lived close enough to go home every weekend. But I don’t. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love the college atmosphere & lifestyle. The way people choose to live their lives is their business but I’m just not the big partying type so going to a more relaxed atmosphere was really nice for me. Hopefully my apartment next year (with Melissa ) will be a place for me to relax here in Blacksburg. Since Pritchard, is most definitely NOT that place. Hopefully I can squeeze one more trip home in before Thanksgiving.
P.S.-that is a picture of my friend & I campaigning for Deeds (unfortunately he did not win & I would like to express my displeasure. BOOOOOOO. That definitely ruined my night.)

First Dates

Lol. Ok. So, I couldn’t think of anything to blog about so I looked for some conversation starters that people use on dates. So yes, this is going to be like an awkward 1st date. Hope you enjoy! By the way, I don’t understand why people use talking points in real life. Conversation should be natural, I feel like these kind of make it more awkward. And these come from all different website such as askmen.com, Facebook, & Yahoo answers. I just picked some of the ones that were pretty simple.
The first question is: “Ask your date what they did that day & if it was a good day.” Yes, I had a wonderful day. My dad, brother, & grandma drove 5 hours from Hampton just to be here for family day. I enjoyed spending time with them since I haven’t seen them in awhile. Them coming to campus means a few more dollars in my bank account, new clothes, & more food in my food container. But I really did enjoy seeing them. It’s hard to be trapped away from your family & the only way to get home is a $110 ticket. So it was exciting to see the people that I grew up with for 18 years again. I wish my mom could’ve made the trip but she does not like to spend time with my dad so they can’t be together (actually I wouldn’t say that on a first date because that’s a little too much information, but I need the words).
The next question is: “Ask your date what the last movie they saw was.” The last movie I saw was fame. It was okay, nothing special. I may be the wrong person to ask because in general, I hate musicals. Nobody bursts into random song in the real world. It would be pretty amazing if they did though. The only musical I liked was hairspray. The songs were so darn catch and the story line was really appealing. It was something to which I could relate. It wasn’t just some bubbly musical, it was life! I’m really excited to see paranormal activity though. I’ll be going home next weekend & seeing the movie with one of my close guy friends. He claims that he is not going to get scared so we’ve made a little bet. If he gets scared, he has to buy me a cheeseburger. He has yet to decide what he would want if he wins. But I don’t think it really matters; I’ve heard that this movie is super scary. Like, people come out of the movie theater shaking & they can’t look at the screen. Apparently the last 30 minutes are really bad. (This is also something that I wouldn’t talk about on a 1st date. I don’t think the new guy wants to hear about one of my “guy friends.” I wouldn’t want to hear that my date has tons of friends who are girls. Something just doesn’t sit right about it. But maybe that’s just me.)
Next question, “Where has your date traveled & where they like would to go some day.” I have never left the east coast of the United States. I go to Boston & Martha’s Vineyard most every summer; my family has a house there & are originally from Beantown. But more exciting is where I would like to go. I would love to go to the Mediterranean. The pictures online look so pretty. Specifically, I would like to go to Greece. The water looks so blue. Not this murky blue that even the cleanest spots on the Atlantic look. I would love to spend one summer in Greece, just relaxing on the beach. I also love the history of the area. Learning about ancient Greek & Rome was always my favorite part of world history class.
“Ask your date about music.” My favorite song right now is sweet dreams by beyonce. I mean it is stuck in my head constantly. I randomly start singing it & the people on my hall are really starting to get tired of me blasting it all the time. Oh well, I love it!
But enough of this awkwardness. I would never actually ask any of these questions on a 1st date. They’re pretty awkward & weird. And if somebody asked me these questions, there may be a chance that there is not a 2nd date. I mean really, what if somebody asked you these questions on a date? It should be natural; nobody should try & force the conversation. If a conversation is forced, you are not really getting to know the person; you’re getting to know the website that they got their talking points from. I’ve never gone on a really bad date so I don’t really have a funny story to insert here. But I can tell you some things that I would hate to happen. It would drive me crazy if the guy was a sloppy eater or not a gentleman. It annoys me to no end when guys do not hold doors or when they see me carrying something heavy & don’t at least offer to help me. That reminds me, the other day I sneezed & my roommate didn’t even say bless you! It’s just 2 words that are common courtesy to say. I just don’t know where some people’s manners have gone. I don’t know if their parents never taught them or if they just don’t deem it necessary but I find it kind of rude. Just say bless you, it’s the right thing to do. I wish everybody on the planet had more manners. I bet it'd be a much better place. This is what I love about Christmastime; everybody is so nice & friendly. But for some reason, this type of spirit seems to wane down gradually during the year. And I just wish it wasn’t. I wish people acted like it was Christmas every day. Hopefully this will happen :)

P.S.-Thats a pic of my family! I <3 them!

Childhood Dreams

So I’m going to talk about balloon boy like everybody else in the world. It’s kind of cool to think about. Not really anymore because we all know it’s a hoax & now his parents are going to jail. But if you just look at the idea, I think it’s pretty darn cool. The movie up just came out (which I wish I could’ve seen) and it kind of ads to this storyline. That also makes me wonder if that’s where his dad got the idea from. But anyways, it’s kind of like a childhood fantasy, to just float away in a balloon. I think it was a few years ago that a man actually did float away in his lawn chair. He was middle aged & just decided one day that he wanted to float away. I think everybody feels like that sometimes. You’re having problems with school or the significant other or your friends and you just sometimes want to float away. And it would be amazing to be up there amongst the clouds, your mind just completely free from worries. It seems like you could just lay back, relax, & stare at the clouds. But now I’m thinking about the practical side. You are however many feet up in the air & if a bird comes along & pops all of your balloons, you’re a goner. So it’s pretty dangerous. I am too scared to get on a roller coaster so I know I could never actually do this. If there were some safer way to, I guess I would. But I guess the safer way is called an airplane. And people still die if that crashes. Maybe people just aren’t destined to be up in the air. If we were I think we would have wings. That kind of shows that people are always trying to do things that maybe they just weren’t meant to do. For example, tear down the rainforest. How selfish of a human being do you have to be to tear down what little of the rain forests that we have left? I mean seriously, is your money worth killing hundreds of animals & trees? I think not. Nothing that you are going to do with that land is that important, especially if you’re going to build some polluting the factory that’s just going to kill the environment even more. Some people fail to understand that they are harming the world around them, that they have to live in. Some people say it doesn’t affect them personally but yeah, it does. But nobody realizes it until they get some lung disease or some other bad disease from all the toxins that they breathe in. Nobody ever cares until it’s too late, which is so sad. Can you imagine getting all the way up to the sky in your ballooncopter & then not being able to see anything because of all the air pollution? Or coming back down to earth & not having fresh drinking water because it’s filled with toxins? These are the realities that we face now because a select group of people do not care about their impact on the world. They think that the only way that they can have an impact is if they build thousands of factories or have lots of buildings with their names on it. But that’s not the type of impact that I would want to have on the world. I would not want to be responsible for ruining the world. Oh no, I don’t want that on my shoulders. I am comfortable just knowing that I’m making an impact by making simple changes in my life. I always recycle, try to take shorter showers, & turn the water off when brushing my teeth. These things are so small but just imagine if everybody did them? The world would be such a different place. Heck, I’m paying thousands of dollars to go to school just so I’ll learn how to make an impact on the environment. I’m paying all this money just to work for the EPA or some other government agency. Sorry, I really didn’t mean to go off on some environmental tangent!
Anyways, what the up story reminded me of was what my childhood dreams were. At first I wanted to be an orthodontist. This is very weird, I know. But I got braces when I was like 7 so that’s practically the only job I knew. That lasted for a little while but the real thing that I spent most of my childhood wanting to do is to be a storm chaser! I have always wanted to chase tornados! It just seems like so much fun to me! The thrill of trying to find the storm & then watching it develop sound absolutely amazing to me. And I was so serious about this up until second semester of my senior year in high school. I applied to the University of Oklahoma, the best meteorological school in the country. I was even accepted into their meteorological school. My mom paid for us to go & visit the campus since I was seriously considering going out there. The only reason I am at Virginia Tech is because Oklahoma was too far away & out of state tuition is way too much! I am currently researching summer internships where I could get some exposure to storms! And I didn’t want to be one of those fake weather people like on television. No, I wanted to be one of the real ones out in the field. But this was a blessing in disguise, because while at Virginia Tech, I have discovered that I absolutely hate science. I hate science so much that I am switching out of a science major for something I enjoy more, the policy & politics side of saving the environment. This just goes to show you that what you want when you’re little is not necessarily what you want now. And what you want now is probably not what you’re going to want when you’re 45. That’s all folks!

Cool Advertisements

I’m going to do something obvious & do the Mac vs. pc ads. They’re something easy to recognize & funny. I mean, if you don’t know what a Mac vs. pc ad is then you must live in a box. But even then, you’d still know-id bet your box was made out of a Mac or pc box. These ads are everywhere, print, TV billboards, and any other advertising medium. And they are highly effective. They are sponsored by Apple so the argument being made is to buy a Mac for various reasons. The 1st noticeable thing is the outfits that the 2 guys are wearing. The PC guy is wearing a suit & does not appear to be “cool.” He is kind of stuffy & uptight looking. While on the other hand, the Mac guy seems to be pretty laid back & cool. The PC man seems pretty old school while the Mac guy seems young & hip, which is the way Apple markets its products. They are primarily for the younger generation. Seriously, how many old people have you seen with Mac’s? Apple’s target population is young people. The Mac vs. PC ads mix both facts & humor, which is why I think that they’re so popular. They’ve even spawned spoofs that are relevant to us here at Virginia Tech. If you look on YouTube, there is a VT vs.UVA spoof of the ads. They are made by UVA, so they’re making fun tech. But they’re still really funny. And as a Hokie, I know that these ads are just to make UVA feel better about themselves, I know Tech is the better sports school (not sure about the minority part though, they may have gotten us there). The other argument that the Apple people are making is that even though PCs are cheaper, they are unreliable & must be replaced quicker than comparable Mac’s. This is important because price is the big deterrent for people looking to buy a Mac. These ads are trying to convince people that they are worth the money. That is the main argument being made by these ads.
The next advertisement that I find really cool is an ad I saw for WWF. It’s a giraffe pieced together with pennies. I thought that was so cool! I got the argument right away. The argument is that a simple donation of pennies could save a giraffe. That is just a genius way to represent this concept. I chose this ad because saving wild animals & the natural environment is something close to my heart. This ad is sponsored by the WWF, which works to achieve these goals. Their main advertisement means is on clothing & through mailings. They send out free stamps and their apparel is easily found in any department store. In fact, I am using their tote bag right now. Their logo is a panda with the letters WWF underneath. I like this argument because it is pretty simple. The advertisement is trying to get people to just make even a small donation o their cause. Advertisements should be simple so that people can understand them. Nobody wants to sit down & comprehend an advertisement. It’s not like its English or anything. They should be able to look at it & immediately understand the message. The argument being made by this advertisement is very simple, donate a penny and you could be saving a giraffe. Think about if everybody in the world donated just 1 penny to a cause? That’s billions of dollars! Very cool….very cool.
The third advertisement that I liked is this one for a hand sanitizer brand where the lady is holding random hands on the subway bars. The argument here is that you don’t know who touched something before you did. So when you touch it, you’re getting all the germs that they did. When you put it like that, it’s a really disgusting thought. I mean, you have no idea where that person went or what they did. They could’ve gone to the bathroom & not washed their hands after. They could have been extremely sick with Tuberculosis or Swine flu. That’s so gross. It’s really not something that people pay attention to but it’s a real problem. I think this advertisement is effective because it opens up people’s eyes. On the other hand, I don’t think that it makes an effective argument for the product. Their product is only seen in the bottom right hand corner. Somebody might decide to buy a more reliable and recognizable brand, such as Purell. I for one have never head of Dettol. And if my health is in somebody else’s hands, I’d want to pick a nationally recognized brand (yes, I’m a brand shopper, shoot me!). I think this is a good shot at advertising but not quite there yet. They should make the product bigger. But it makes a good argument. Overall, the argument behind this advertisement is pretty cool & obvious. Always carry hand sanitizer!
Hopefully I did this blog right!

Relationships

Soooo these blogs are getting harder & harder to write because I run out of stuff to talk about. But I’ll just go with whatever I suppose. Right now I’m watching this thing on true life about transgender people. And all I’ve seen so far is this guy who wants to get chest reconstructive surgery. But his family is not on board with this surgery simply because it’s elective. That’s a very good point, why would somebody choose to do something that can kill them (but people drink & smoke too)? His/her point on true life is that it is life or death for them, which I also agree with. It would feel so weird to be in somebody else’s body. Like I couldn’t imagine my personality but with a different body. I can’t imagine how hard it is to look in the mirror and not feel comfortable with who you are. Its one thing not to like the weight you are or to think your nose is too big. But to feel like you are supposed to be a completely different sex is so crazy. I just cannot fathom that feeling. Everyday waking up & you’re not where you’re supposed to be. I really feel bad for these people! Their families don’t support them for the most part. The one guy/girl does have a wife. And she stayed with him even after he told her that he was born a woman, which shows true love. I know for a fact that I would definitely not have the strength to do that. If some guy I had been dating for months all of a sudden told me he was born a woman, I would not be happy. I would probably yell & scream & never talk to him again. And it’s not the fact that I don’t understand their situation because I do. I really do sympathize with people who are in that situation. But why not just be honest with your partner upfront? Why hide the truth? That’s the same thing I would ask for in a regular relationship.
Speaking of relationship problems, I guess I’ll but mine out there for the 4 people who read this to see! Before I came to college I was in a pretty intense relationship. And then right around orientation, we broke up because there were so many extra people in our relationship that it was hard for us to keep an eye on what was really important-each other. For example, his mom absolutely HATED me. I mean HATED! If there is something stronger than hate, then she felt that for me. I have no doubt that if she could run me over, she would. The main issue with that was that she was super protective of him & I was always telling him to break free of that because she can’t do that for the rest of his life. So I think he was kind of conflicted between me & his mother and the relationship ended. But then we decided to try it again, we would just keep it a secret & not tell his mother. That seemed like the right thing to do? Nope. She found out & got really mad. She took away his car & his phone & everything a teenage boy could possibly want. And even after all that, we still decided we shouldn’t give up something good, so we tried it once again. We were forced to talk on facebook chat & e-mail, which is really hard, especially with me being 5 hours away from him. And I just kind of gave up on the relationship. I didn’t think it would work if we kept up the way that we were going. Now I’m thinking that I made the wrong decision (as my facebook status states…friend me!). I’m really regretting not letting it run its course. But now I’m stuck with consequences. He’s definitely moved on & his new girl seems like a really good person. And they seem like they don’t have any of the problems that we had. I am wishing that they do well but at the same time I’m hoping that they don’t. I kind of want another chance and I can’t figure out why. We’ve tried it 3 times and it has yet to work out! So why would this fourth time be any different? I just feel differently about him now. And it may very well be because I can’t have him. I can’t even bring myself to throw away the letters he sent me when I first got to tech! I know its so cliché but it’s the truth! They’re still very important to me! I feel like if I’m throwing them away then I’m throwing away a whole entire part of my life & that our relationship was a complete waste. And he says some really sweet things in there so they always make me smile & make me feel better when I’m sad about something. I watched the mail everyday for a straight week waiting for the letter to come. It was kind of ridiculous but I just couldn’t wait to hear from him. And the hard part is that I’ve been dating other guys but I haven’t like them nearly as much as I liked him. I don’t expect it to be right off the back, but there doesn’t seem to be any at all. The bottom line is that I want him back. But in reality, I highly doubt that it’s going to happen. So I guess the only choice I have is to move on. And that’s easier said than done. My friends have taken it upon themselves to set me up on a series of dates, no luck yet though. In my mind I feel like I’m replacing him. And one of his friends told me he’s dating this girl to try to get over me. And in the back of my mind I’m kind of hoping he’ll see this….


That's a pic of us right before I left.

(Real) Music

So just a quick update, I officially have no roommate anymore! It’s like having an apartment (kind of but not really)! Even though I’m deathly ill, I’m still going to enjoy all this space. I kind of want to get a sofa but that might be pushing it. But the second bed is kind of like a sofa! But enough about all my new lovely space, on to what the next 900 words of my blog are going to be about....music & the weather?
I just listened to the blueprint 3 & it was really good. It wasn’t jay-z’s best album but it was really good compared to the other crap that some artists put out today (example-Soulja boy). The music on the market now really bothers me. When artists like Soulja Boy market themselves as hip hop artists, it gives hip hop a bad name. Soulja Boy is a rapper but he is NOT a hip hop artist. And yes there IS a difference. People who aren’t familiar with hip hop or rap music think that artists like him are what hip hop is. That’s why people have the impression that all the guys wear baggy jeans & the girls wear tight booty shorts. Which is not how it is-that’s so what the media has transformed it to be, which is completely not true. It’s about community & coming from nothing to something & speaking about something more than guns and hoes. It really is a culture and it is so hard for me to define it. But it’s more than where you came from or what you’ve now become. It’s a culture but that does not mean everybody in it has similar beliefs. I guess the common thing between everybody in the hip hop community is a love of good music. And not necessarily hip hop music but anything that sounds good & takes real talent to make. None of this auto tuned stuff that has been hitting the airwaves recently. It’s such a stupid fad and it has gotten on my nerves from day one! Why should people who are talentless make millions in the music business? I could be a big superstar without having any talent. It’s ridiculous! This is another thing that’s responsible for the decline in real music. Jay-Z has a whole song dedicated to how stupid auto tune is (even though later on in the album he has a song with kanye west that has an auto tuned chorus…let down!). Death of auto tune, the song by Jay-Z has a beat that uses real instruments and it has a message that is relevant to society. When I first heard this song I was at my breaking point with auto tuned stuff. I felt like if I heard one more song that was auto tuned, I was just going to turn my radio off & never turn it back on. He even says in the song “this aint for iTunes.” This means that he isn’t trying to please anybody, he’s just trying to be real about it. And that’s what the hip hop/rap is missing these days. I don’t think people should support artists who don’t know what they’re talking about and are only out there to make a profit. I feel that music that makes the biggest impact is music that comes from the heart and expresses a message. In 20 years when our children talk about what kind of music we listened to in the “olden days,” I don’t want them to think that auto tuned or senseless rap music is representative of the music from our generation because it most definitely is not. And that’s another problem. I think artists are just making records to make money and not thinking about their impact on listeners. They may say that they’re trying to rap about where they came from and that’s all fine & dandy, but spin that into a positive message about how you made it out of the ghetto. Every single song does not have to be about how you carry a gun, just got out of jail, or have so many hoes. They glamorize that lifestyle but it is not a good lifestyle to live in at all. Thankfully, I have never experienced it but I have family members and friends who did. And it’s nothing to take lightly. Some people are struggling to eat and can’t find work. And here these rappers in their million dollar homes and hundred thousand dollar cars are bragging about how hood they are & how great it is. No-that’s just b.s. These people have left the hood many years ago & never looked back. It’s just so disrespectful to me. People are choosing to live this lifestyle because they somehow think it is cool. I don’t understand. IT IS NOT COOL TO STRUGGLE!!!! It is good to be settled down & life & to be able to provide for your family. That is what these rappers have done so I don’t understand why they promote this type of lifestyle, it is just so hypocritical. I feel like real hip hop artists talk about real things and are actually inspirational. It’s ok to have good music to dance to & to have fun music. But the problem here is when people actually start to take this moment seriously. For example right now I’m listening to Nas (one of the best rappers of all time, he is seriously a lyrical genius). His music makes me bob my head and think about something. This particular song is about paying tribute to those who are going through a hard time. It is like a thank you song, it has a soft beat & it just sounds like real music. I wish more of this type of music would actually make it on the radio. Some radio stations don’t play music like this because it is not popular right now. Does that not make it good music? I think some of the best music never makes it to the radio. How sad is that?


P.S.-I have illmatic as my pic this weke because i think it is one of the greatest albums of all time!!!

My Life in college

I’ve now been in college for a little over a month so I thought id reflect on this path month. To sum it up in one word…I would have to say interesting. It’s been different experiencing all these new things that I’ve never had to experience or deal with before. So it’s definitely been a change. And while I don’t think that I’m fully adjusted, I do think I’m getting there and I’m trying to make changes.
The biggest adjustment for me has been living with someone else. The honeymoon period for me & my roomie is definitely over! It’s become so bad that we’ve had to get our RA involved (theres going to be a meeting so she can mediate at 9 tonight). It’s just hard to live with somebody who is the complete opposite of you. I’m a free thinker, I don’t like to follow schedules, I need noise or light to fall asleep, & I’m not very organized. I like to just go with the flow & if something doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t happen. I believe that you can’t map out your life perfectly; it will not follow the plan. But my roommate would strongly disagree with me. I’m in the end, I just feel like we’re super opposites so it’s really hard for us to live together. Tech should have done some personality test to see if we were compatible. But even our study conditions are opposite (when I actually study); I like noise &TV, while she prefers perfect quiet. And I just can’t operate in silence and darkness. But both of us have to learn to make sacrifices. Well maybe not right now, because she may be moving into another room. But eventually, both of us are going to have to live with other people so we need to start getting used to. But before I came here, I never thought I was that hard to live with. I had a lot of friends at home & I was always known as the “nice one.” So I’ve never had to deal with conflict or somebody who didn’t like me (or the way I lived). So having somebody come in & feel that the way I live is stupid is really crazy to me. I’ve always been so liked! But now I’m truly starting to believe that everybody can’t like everybody. So hopefully by next blog post, I will have the whole room to myself, which is pretty small.
Another big adjustment for me has been classes. I am still adjusting to having to actually put work into classes. In high school I did absolutely no work & could comfortably pass all my classes. But now, after an epically failed test, I’m starting to realize that I need to study. My RA is giving out study bucks & at the hall meetings my RA said that everybody had gotten one. But then I said that I hadn’t received any and she said that’s because I’ve never actually seen you studying. And then my roomie (yes that roomie) said that’s because she really doesn’t study, which is true. I would much rather be watching TV (the biggest loser is on now) or listening to the blueprint 3 (not jay-z’s best, but still pretty good). But since I got a 54.5 on my biology test, I’m realizing that I have to put more effort into my classes. I can’t just slack off and expect good grades to fall in my lap. But it just takes so much effort to get out of bed and actually do work. But I’m going to try and make an effort now. I really do want to succeed in college. But I’m one of the few people who is not motivated by failure. And I think that is one of my biggest problems. I am not scared by flunking out of college or failing at driving, or something like that. I don’t care if I fail a couple tests or quizzes. I know that it’s not the end of the world and I’m not going to die. And some people like to complain if they get an 80 or something. I will gladly take an 80!
My third biggest adjustment to college is the diet. I eat so much now! And I think I have only eaten one green thing since I’ve been here and that’s only because one of my hall mates forced me to. I eat the unhealthiest things. My typical diet consists of burgers, a lot of pasta, and burgers with pineapple. While all of these things are delicious, they’re also a heart attack waiting to happen.
I just feel like I need to make a lot of changes if I'm going to succeed here in college. So i'm going to start changing right now!

Black Athletes

Is it just me or do black athletes have a tendency to look crazy in front of the mainstream media? I just witnessed Serena Williams cuss out a referee in tennis and this thought occurred to me. Why do black athletes, as opposed to athletes of other races tend to act out? Is it because the media is racist? Is it because we really are crazier? Or is it because there are simply more black athletes than any other race?

Michael Vick got caught for dog fighting, Plaxico Burrus shot himself, Terrell Owens is well Terrell Owens, LaGarette Blount punched an opponent, Stephon Marbury ate Chapstick and now Serena Williams cussed out a ref at the U.S. Open. These are just a few examples of black athletes messing up and getting caught by the mainstream media. There are too many others to list here.

I do believe that there is a slight bias in the media. It is going to be a bigger story if there is a black athlete is messing up then if a white athlete is messing up. It has become somewhat typical for people to think that this person is going to be black. As of now, people have come to expect it. And I admit that I am one of those people. Oh another professional sports player messed up, and I think to myself I bet he’s black. For example, Michael Vick got caught for dog fighting two whole years ago. And it is still a big story in the media. There were even constant updates while he was in prison. It’s like they just wanted to hammer the point in (he hurt a dog, big deal??? If somebody could explain that to me in the comments, I would appreciate it). Now that he has gotten his career back, people are still criticizing him. On the other hand, Big Ben (quarterback for the Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers) has recently been accused of rape (a much more serious crime). And people must have already forgotten about this, because I haven’t heard any updates in a few weeks. The media has decided to let him move on with his life and football career.

And I think that the response to this media bias by the African American community has been to stand behind our athletes. I fully support all of the athletes listed above. I think that they made mistakes but the media has not let them move on from their mistakes. And I also think that they were punished more severely because they are black. In fact, the DA in the Plaxico Burrus case said that he wanted Plaxico punished to the full extent of the law. This to me is another example of racism. Think about this, if a black person carries a weapon, he’s a drug dealer and some kind of criminal. But if a white person carries a gun, the NRA is all over it and defending it as a second amendment right? That does not seem fair at all. I believe Plaxico is being punished for being both an athlete and being black. He did not go out and kill anybody, he accidently shot himself. But yet, the DA wants him prosecuted to the full extent? Something does not seem right.

I know this is a controversial topic. But seeing how the media is treating all of these people really made me angry. It made me see that something isn’t right in the way that these people are being covered by the media.

What's your threshold?...boy did i get off topic...

College football kicked off this weekend! Well actually, it sort of punched off. The governing body of college football, the NCAA decided it would be a great idea to kick off the season with every member of the team shaking hands before the game. This is supposed to promote sportsmanship throughout the rest of the season (yeah right!). This sportsmanship didn’t even last past the first day. The kickoff game of the 2009 season was played between Boise State & Oregon on Boise States bright blue field. The game began just how the NCAA wanted it to. The two teams shook hands and then played a good game of football. As any competitive person would know, the game got a little heated and tempers flared. By the end of the game the tension was at an all time high.
One of the Boise State players, Byron Hout, decided it was a great idea to taunt one of the Oregon players (who had just lost the game). Hout put his hand on the Oregon player, LeGarrette Blount’s, shoulder & said something bad enough to make the Oregon player punch him square in the jaw. He hit him so hard that the Boise State player fell to the ground (I thought football players were supposed to be able to take hits, but whatever). After hitting him, the player had to be physically restrained by teammates, coaches, & refs. Out of anger, he even hit one of his own teammates. And as he was being escorted to the locker room, he got into a verbal altercation with fans in the stadium. He yelled and made threats toward him. The whole situation was embarrassing for Oregon & frankly all of college football. Needless to say he was punished severely. He will be suspended for the rest of the season, his senior season. He will still keep his scholarship & be able to go to class & still participate in team activities. Now, I do think this punishment is a little bit harsh. I think the NCAA & the team came down a little bit hard because it is the beginning of the season & they wanted to set an example. His actions were wrong and they did set a bad example but the punishment did not fit the crime. Yes, his actions were inexcusable and childish but suspension for the rest of the season is crazy. It’s freaking football! It’s going to get heated, especially in a tough game.
Another problem I have is what happened to the other player who first instigated contact with him. He did not get suspended or face much disciplinary action. He is going to face individual discipline from the team. He instigated this fight and he receives no punishment? Doesn’t seem very fair to me. If the NCAA is going to pretend to be tough then they should at least level punishment fairly. The whole entire fight wouldn’t have happened if this guy just could’ve kept his mouth shut! This guy ruined somebody else’s college football career and he gets no punishment.
I really have a problem with the way the NCAA handled this situation. Yes, Blout’s actions were wrong and inexcusable and he deserves to be punished. But the other person in the situation deserves to be punished as well. I would recommend a 1-2 game suspension, but for some reason this guy is not going to receive any punishment. That’s like self defense in a murder trial. If somebody is coming toward you with force and you are scared for your well being, it is human nature to react first. You react first so that they will not hit or kill you first. That is what Blount was doing when he hit Hout. Every single person on this earth has a threshold. And after something reaches this threshold, they can’t take anymore. They are not in control of their actions anymore; all they can think about is retaliation.
My personal threshold is that I have a low tolerance for stupid things. For example, when people are making excessively loud noise or just people who say stupid things. There is no need for people to say these things. I just feel like they waste everybody’s time and energy by making them listen to these ridiculous things. If you have stupid thoughts, please keep them in your head! This is like a public service announcement to everything. If you think something is stupid, it probably is, so please don’t say it.
But this is really the only thing that makes me angry. I generally have a high threshold. I can sometimes be referred to as a push over. I just like to make sure everybody is happy (my extravagantly handsome friend Nathan Mack with a heart of gold calls me Nanny Mildred because I’m so nice). I care about people and it’s much easier for me to go along with what they say. This is sort of a double edged sword. I end up putting myself last but I end up pleasing all the people around me. They end up happy but I don’t always. But in general I feel good about helping other people! I always had what I wanted growing up so I think I should give back to people who are less fortunate then I am. Some of my friends have had it tough and I don’t mind sacrificing a whole afternoon to help with a yard sale, for example.
Because I am always willing to give back to others, I have excellent friends! We’re always willing to help each other out and I know I can trust them. One of them, Nathan, is sitting next to me right now, keeping me company while I write this blog. My friends are willing to help whenever I need them and I am willing to do the same thing for them. But these have been my same friends from high school. The challenge now that I’m in college is how to make new friends that are as good as the old.

Addison Siegel: Scorpio Man

“Determined and Forceful, Emotional and Intuitive, Powerful and Passionate, Exciting and Magnetic,” These are the qualities typical of a man born between October 24 and November 22, making him a Scorpio. Addison Brian Siegel, born November 9, embodies all of these qualities. Addison is from Chatham, New Jersey. He lives with his mother, his father, his younger sister Chelsea, & the family dog Everett. Sports have played a big part in his life since he was little. He has been playing baseball as a catcher since he was able to hold a bat. As a senior, he was the high school varsity baseball captain. He even led his team in batting average. He also loves to play tennis. He has also played since he was little, but had to stop in high school because tennis season coincides with baseball season. The Yankees are a big part of his life. He loves all things Yankees! He is ready to quote any Yankees fact or statistic at any moment. One of his favorite channels is the YES network, an entire network dedicated to the Yankees. Skiing is also important to him. His family owns a house in Stratton, Vermont where they go to get away from it all and ski.

Determined and Forceful:

Addison has had to work hard all of his life. All throughout high school he worked as a lifeguard. He has even saved two people’s lives. They were in the act of drowning and Addison did his job wonderfully and saved their lives. After seeing them struggling to swim, he jumped into the water to save them without a second thought.
Ever since Addison was a little boy, he wanted to be architects like his parents. He looked up to them and respected them; therefore he wanted to be like them. But when he got to middle school, he realized that his strengths were in the math & science areas as opposed to the design. He won multiple awards in the areas of math and science and began taking advanced classes in the areas. He placed first place in the Physics Olympics at his high school and second place in the Conquer the Hill competition, a competition where competitors had to build robots to do various tasks. He is determined to succeed and is motivated my failure. He refuses to fail.

Emotional and Intuitive:

Addison’s family is the most important thing in his life. Every year for Christmas he receives a special Christmas Edition Hess truck from his grandfather (batteries included). His younger sister also describes a brother who always let her hang out with him & his friends, he never excluded her. She describes Addison as “quiet and a good friend.” He even looks up to his parents. At one point he wanted to be an architect, just like both of his parents. They really inspire him to do well and succeed. Family is a big part of Addison’s life and his whole family is very close-knit. They spend much of their time skiing or snowboarding together in Vermont. His sister, Chelsea, describes a time where he refused to teach her how to ski because he did not want to stay on the bunny hill the whole time. Despite this incident, Chelsea and Addison are very close. She describes her older brother as “Quiet, a good friend, athlete, loves sports (especially the Yankees), and he makes a ridiculous amount of movie quotes.”

Powerful and Passionate:

The most rewarding part of Addison’s life has come from his work with his church youth group. While in his youth group, he participated in fundraisers and even a mission trip to Belize. He describes the trip as “Rewarding, tough, sad, depressing, awesome, exciting, and so cool.” In Belize, he got the real experience of what it feels like for somebody to live in poverty. For an entire week he lived in a bamboo hut with the other members of his group while they worked to build a playground for the children in the village that he was staying in. The children in the village were very grateful for the playground that was built. None of them had ever seen a playground before and they had to ask their parents what it was. This trip was very significant in Addison’s life because it gave him a greater appreciation for the life he had. It was the reason for his “I can do almost anything attitude.” He realized that he has a lot to be thankful for so he lives his life to enjoy what he has. It has also taught him never to complain because there is always somebody out there who is worse off than him. These are the philosophies that Addison chooses to live his life by.
Addison also enjoys reading books and watching movies. He enjoys spending a night in just reading a good book, although he does not have much time for that now because his college schedule is so demanding. His favorite author is Michael Crayton, the author behind Jurassic Park and E.R. His favorite books by Crayton are “The Last world” and “Andromeda-State of fear.” He loves “all of the unrated movies” and the classics. His favorites include Star Wars, Harry Potter (yes, he has read all of the books), Wedding Crashers, Pineapple Express, and Stepbrothers. He is very passionate about the movies and the books that he reads. His sister claims that he makes an insane amount of movie quotes.

Exciting and Magnetic:

When Addison walks into a room, he seems like Mr. Joe Cool. He is very extroverted & excitedly talks about the party he went to last night. When asked what he would change about himself he said he would not change anything because “I can do almost anything.” He has a magnetic personality and is willing to open up about anything. He is also extremely fun to listen to. He talks with excitement in his voice and uses great details (even though sometimes they are a little exaggerated). Addison has no trouble making friends and has already made many friends here during his short time on campus.