Hello everyone!
So sorry for the long delay but never fear, I am back once more! And did I have fun this weekend. And no, not because I got smashed or got laid or any of the other vulgar things, you dirty minded readers!
Just kidding ;).
But really, I had fun. My younger sister came to stay with me here in Missouri. She is a junior in high school and is starting the college search. It was a bit iffy at one point, but she will be considering my university for the next four years of her life. The iffiness was due to my presence. Does she want to attend the same university that her older sister goes to? The world waits in suspense for her answer.
So anyway, she slept in my dorm and we hung out for a little over a day and a half. She took a tour and attended an info session. I showed her my room, introduced her to my friends, and took her to a frat party.
I can just see the look on your face. Yes yes, I took my sixteen year old sister to a frat.
And now I need to spend the next couple of paragraphs defending that decision so I won't loose readers as fast as Brittney Spears loses the shirt on stage.
First of all, I knew the frat I took her to well. I had frequented their basement for many a night of dancing (on my part) and drinking (on their part). This frat, frats in general here at WU, are not like some of the other frats I have heard about. Generally, I believe they are a bit tamer than other might be, perhaps owing to the general tame nature of WU students or some other factor, I do not know. Well, ok, so I'm a bit naive and of course I don't know everything that goes on in the house, and the drunk boys are always a risk factor, but I took her in a large group of my friends from my floor and she was always within seeing distance, so I didn't feel too threatened.
Anyway, on with the story. So parties at this frat happen in the basement, which has half the room taken up by the elevated dancing floor, a mixture of wood and those lights in the floor like old disco movies, and the other half plain tile for beer pong. They set up the long tables and anyone and everyone can set up a game with the beer and cups that are provided until supplies run out.
At first, I kept her close to the group of friends who was dancing, staying beside her every second. Then, I let her go.
Having lived with her all my life, but for the past school year, and having tried to be the advice giving role model older sister, I know quite a bit about her personality. She cannot take advice. I'm the same way with certain things. She has to make her own mistakes before she can learn.
She has been pushing our parents to let her out, let her have some freedom to experience life like "all the other kids get to cuz thier parents actually understand and let them" (quote from one memorable parentals vs. sister fight). Hookah bar. Under 18 club. Concerts two hours away with parental supervision. And its always a screaming fight when they feel these things are outside the realm of "things a 15/16 old should be doing".
So I took her to a frat. A relatively safe frat with people all around who knew her and what she was (not a college student). A place where I was there.
A place where she could make a mistake and not completely ruin her future. A place like WU.
This is why I want her to go here. I believe it is a relatively sheltered environment where she can grow with risking getting taken advantage of too badly.
That night, I let her make her own decision, just like many a college freshman get to make the first night away from their parents. I do not know if she drank or not. Yes I was there and she was always in my sight, but I was not carefully cataloging her every move.
I'm like the military, man. Don't ask, Don't tell. I don't know if she drank or not. I don't know if she took a hit from some joint. But we where back in the room by 4am and she had had a great time.
I don't think I made a mistake that night. It's a decision that everyone will make, and should be free to make. Alcohol is a choice. We need to let people make that choice.
LPin
Friday, April 9, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Life is still great though Spring Break is over (let's hear it for trying to be positiive)
So hello, hola, bon jour, long time no speak...or write, as the case may be.
I spent Spring Break back home, along the rolling wheat of Oklahoma. Ok, just kidding, it's winter. There is no wheat. Everything is brown and dead. But, never fear! I had a marvelous time RELAXING for once this year. Family, friends, and a whole week rolled out like our driveway, clean, familiar concrete, waiting for me like I was never gone. It still has that stain from the 4th of July where we burnt so many Snakes (the little black tablet that, when burned, slowly grows into a long tube of soft black ash) that the spot is permanently black.
I certainly hope your free time was as relaxing. Or will be, if you, like some friends at other universities and colleges, have spring break this week. Or even if you (like some fortunate people I am extremely jealous of) have a two week Spring Break. Are you going home to see family and friends? Are you already home, at an education center in your home state? Or perhaps you are simply staying at your univeristy or college, to relax and party there, in your new home away from home. Regardless, I wish you much relaxation and very little homework.
I, like many, thought to "get ahead" in my work, or at least caught up. Silly me.
I did do some work, but, of course, not nearly half of what I had planned. But, I can't bring myself to regret it. I enjoyed myself, my mother, my father, and my sister, all the things I never missed so much last semester. Just another two months or so. We can do it, yes we can! (I can't believe I basically quoted Bob the Builder, but, there you go, this is what happens as the mind grows soft being assaulted with exams and essays every day).
So, of course, back to the point of the blog, alcohol. I myself didn't drink anything, and neither did anyone I hung out with (at least while they were with me). I'm not sure this is really too relevant to the alcohol experience on my campus, but, the way I see it, the univeristy experience as a whole is interconnected. Professors talk to one another, students interact, one campus's experience, good or bad, with alcohol, reflects on all.
That's a good place to end for right now, as I have been advised that my posts are too long and no one is going to spend half an hour reading my long posts. Even if they are WELL THOUGHT OUT and WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY IMPROVE MY READERS' LIVES.
See ya next time (and I'm not bitter, can you tell?)
LPin
I spent Spring Break back home, along the rolling wheat of Oklahoma. Ok, just kidding, it's winter. There is no wheat. Everything is brown and dead. But, never fear! I had a marvelous time RELAXING for once this year. Family, friends, and a whole week rolled out like our driveway, clean, familiar concrete, waiting for me like I was never gone. It still has that stain from the 4th of July where we burnt so many Snakes (the little black tablet that, when burned, slowly grows into a long tube of soft black ash) that the spot is permanently black.
I certainly hope your free time was as relaxing. Or will be, if you, like some friends at other universities and colleges, have spring break this week. Or even if you (like some fortunate people I am extremely jealous of) have a two week Spring Break. Are you going home to see family and friends? Are you already home, at an education center in your home state? Or perhaps you are simply staying at your univeristy or college, to relax and party there, in your new home away from home. Regardless, I wish you much relaxation and very little homework.
I, like many, thought to "get ahead" in my work, or at least caught up. Silly me.
I did do some work, but, of course, not nearly half of what I had planned. But, I can't bring myself to regret it. I enjoyed myself, my mother, my father, and my sister, all the things I never missed so much last semester. Just another two months or so. We can do it, yes we can! (I can't believe I basically quoted Bob the Builder, but, there you go, this is what happens as the mind grows soft being assaulted with exams and essays every day).
So, of course, back to the point of the blog, alcohol. I myself didn't drink anything, and neither did anyone I hung out with (at least while they were with me). I'm not sure this is really too relevant to the alcohol experience on my campus, but, the way I see it, the univeristy experience as a whole is interconnected. Professors talk to one another, students interact, one campus's experience, good or bad, with alcohol, reflects on all.
That's a good place to end for right now, as I have been advised that my posts are too long and no one is going to spend half an hour reading my long posts. Even if they are WELL THOUGHT OUT and WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY IMPROVE MY READERS' LIVES.
See ya next time (and I'm not bitter, can you tell?)
LPin
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Life is great due to Spring Break!
Yeah, cheesy title, but hey no classes! No lectures! No new homework piling up, suffocating us under three hours plus of homework per lecture!
I am at home, though many of my colleagues have donated their vacations to volunteering for that cause or this one. There are groups from various organizations on campus going to Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, North Dakota, California, and Africa! Crazy as heck man!
So I was absolutely swamped before with the biology test. bit I think it turned out okay. Many of the questions were VERY similar to some one the problem sets, as in, word for word the same, and, since I basically memorized the problems sets, I feel pretty confident on those questions. Then all I had to do was turn in a Spanish composition (which I also feel good about) and I was home!!!!
Everything has come together, perfect, cake and pie (easy as pie, piece of cake -Dean Kootz). Know what that's like? The ulitmate rush of every responsibility, that had been a ten pound stone tied to your neck, pulling, pulling, pulling down, gravity making you its b--ch. Then, break comes along and suddenly you're floating and free, you can stretch your back. It pops deliciously and suddenly you have all the time in the world to read, watch TV, ride horses, whatever. Feels great, feels good, doesn't it?
For some reason, the schools in Oklahoma, my home state, have spring break next week, so all my friends attending OU, UCO, SWOSU, and the like aren't around to make trouble with me. However, everyone who goes out of state has the same break, so we'll hang out during the week and wait for the weekend...then...PARTY!! Not that there's much to do in Oklahoma. Don't get me wrong, I love my home, but it's got its ups and downs. Some clubs, a salsa place I want to hit (the dance, not the sauce), so it'll be good.
As for alcohol, maybe, maybe not, we'll have to see.
For now, so long, fare well, goodbye.
I am at home, though many of my colleagues have donated their vacations to volunteering for that cause or this one. There are groups from various organizations on campus going to Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, North Dakota, California, and Africa! Crazy as heck man!
So I was absolutely swamped before with the biology test. bit I think it turned out okay. Many of the questions were VERY similar to some one the problem sets, as in, word for word the same, and, since I basically memorized the problems sets, I feel pretty confident on those questions. Then all I had to do was turn in a Spanish composition (which I also feel good about) and I was home!!!!
Everything has come together, perfect, cake and pie (easy as pie, piece of cake -Dean Kootz). Know what that's like? The ulitmate rush of every responsibility, that had been a ten pound stone tied to your neck, pulling, pulling, pulling down, gravity making you its b--ch. Then, break comes along and suddenly you're floating and free, you can stretch your back. It pops deliciously and suddenly you have all the time in the world to read, watch TV, ride horses, whatever. Feels great, feels good, doesn't it?
For some reason, the schools in Oklahoma, my home state, have spring break next week, so all my friends attending OU, UCO, SWOSU, and the like aren't around to make trouble with me. However, everyone who goes out of state has the same break, so we'll hang out during the week and wait for the weekend...then...PARTY!! Not that there's much to do in Oklahoma. Don't get me wrong, I love my home, but it's got its ups and downs. Some clubs, a salsa place I want to hit (the dance, not the sauce), so it'll be good.
As for alcohol, maybe, maybe not, we'll have to see.
For now, so long, fare well, goodbye.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Good to Be Back
So my fine followers, how are you?
No, I have not died or any other nonsense, thank you for worrying! And to those of you who were just annoyed and pissed off, where is this girl, god, "I actually get over here to read and she doesn't write"...blah blah blah, well I'm back now so keep your hair on. And for the indifferent crowd, "I don't care about you at all why should I?" Great, welcome, just sit there and be quiet, bystanders to your own life.
Ok sorry, that last bit was a little rude, but come on people! Life is meant to be lived so stop sitting there looking blankly at the professor when asked a question and making me answer just because no one else will.
Rant over, promise.
So, last weekend was fun, NOT! Spanish composition, a book to read by Thursday, and a Biology test. Doesn't sound too bad right? You have the same and you still went out, drank, danced, had fun?
Well good for you! Clearly your Bio professor was not displeased with the mean of your first exam, and clearly did not decide to add two more problem sets and another two lectures (which equals two chapers in the book) to improve our scores. Sigh.
So, I spent the weekend making painfully specific outlines for cellular respiration, every little intermediate for glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, the Cori cycle, and the Calvin cycle. Metabolism is a bitch. Oh the upside, I did not get drunk and go banging around the floor at four in the morning either. I am not sure as to the identity of the four-am-smashing-into-waller, but I think it is safe to say he had a good time. This was the weekend too. The weekend before the week before spring break, everyone still on campus, night ripe for the debachery. I was invited to two private parties, both of which advertised alcohol, "bring a few dollars if you want to drink the high priced shit" and "come for jolly ranchers, Delaware style". As I'm not really sure its a legitimate drink or just something the guys made up because of the color, I'll explain - a jolly rancher is a lime green or cherry red drink that looks like a cup of liquid jolly rancher and tastes like an electric shock. I can never remember what goes in what drink, but I'm pretty sure its either vodka, Everclear, or a mixture of both, with some other things to make it nice and colorful. Does something interesting for your lips as well.
The frats, of course, had their typical get togethers. Evidently this was the weekend for a few open parties, and people had fun. Drinking happens mostly in the basements at the frats, on the long tables where beer pong is played like craps, the large, pressing group of warm bodies laughing and yelling while the competitors let cute girls blow on the sticky white ping pong balls for luck. The music down there is pretty typical of that on any top ten radio station, hip hop, pop, and a bit of the faster R and B stuff. For the past few weeks, the frats have been having rush and private get togethers, so this week they opened and people had fun returning to them.
Sidenote, there are not sorority houses here at Wash U-no don't go all femi-nazi on me, they have thier suites in the Women's Building, but there is some deal the they made with the school that instead of houses they get suites and...I really don't know, but sororities don't have houses, so its just, "let's got to the frats".
So the weekend was typical. Dancing, hanging out, drugs and alcohol if you were so inclined. I, of course, just heard about all this the morning, or more accurately afternoon, after. Nothing really wild happened apparently. Not like rush week, or the first week of school, people pushing thier limits, celebrating thier new freedom miles away from condemning adult eyes. Glassy eyed zombies trying to dance, all thier ligaments seemingly cut and flopping. The floor wet and slippery with spilled beer from slap cup while music beats throughyour ears and your chest.
Univeristy has calmed down pretty much. Just drinking for the heck, because we can, is getting old. It feels like things are settling. The subtle tension, the pushing to do and try it and more and now seems to have abated. Any pressure to do anything has seemingly abated as the inevitable wheel turns and the newness luster loses its sheen. That, or I'm just really worried about this Bio test and have become blind to everything else.
Good luck and hasta manana, I promise!
No, I have not died or any other nonsense, thank you for worrying! And to those of you who were just annoyed and pissed off, where is this girl, god, "I actually get over here to read and she doesn't write"...blah blah blah, well I'm back now so keep your hair on. And for the indifferent crowd, "I don't care about you at all why should I?" Great, welcome, just sit there and be quiet, bystanders to your own life.
Ok sorry, that last bit was a little rude, but come on people! Life is meant to be lived so stop sitting there looking blankly at the professor when asked a question and making me answer just because no one else will.
Rant over, promise.
So, last weekend was fun, NOT! Spanish composition, a book to read by Thursday, and a Biology test. Doesn't sound too bad right? You have the same and you still went out, drank, danced, had fun?
Well good for you! Clearly your Bio professor was not displeased with the mean of your first exam, and clearly did not decide to add two more problem sets and another two lectures (which equals two chapers in the book) to improve our scores. Sigh.
So, I spent the weekend making painfully specific outlines for cellular respiration, every little intermediate for glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, the Cori cycle, and the Calvin cycle. Metabolism is a bitch. Oh the upside, I did not get drunk and go banging around the floor at four in the morning either. I am not sure as to the identity of the four-am-smashing-into-waller, but I think it is safe to say he had a good time. This was the weekend too. The weekend before the week before spring break, everyone still on campus, night ripe for the debachery. I was invited to two private parties, both of which advertised alcohol, "bring a few dollars if you want to drink the high priced shit" and "come for jolly ranchers, Delaware style". As I'm not really sure its a legitimate drink or just something the guys made up because of the color, I'll explain - a jolly rancher is a lime green or cherry red drink that looks like a cup of liquid jolly rancher and tastes like an electric shock. I can never remember what goes in what drink, but I'm pretty sure its either vodka, Everclear, or a mixture of both, with some other things to make it nice and colorful. Does something interesting for your lips as well.
The frats, of course, had their typical get togethers. Evidently this was the weekend for a few open parties, and people had fun. Drinking happens mostly in the basements at the frats, on the long tables where beer pong is played like craps, the large, pressing group of warm bodies laughing and yelling while the competitors let cute girls blow on the sticky white ping pong balls for luck. The music down there is pretty typical of that on any top ten radio station, hip hop, pop, and a bit of the faster R and B stuff. For the past few weeks, the frats have been having rush and private get togethers, so this week they opened and people had fun returning to them.
Sidenote, there are not sorority houses here at Wash U-no don't go all femi-nazi on me, they have thier suites in the Women's Building, but there is some deal the they made with the school that instead of houses they get suites and...I really don't know, but sororities don't have houses, so its just, "let's got to the frats".
So the weekend was typical. Dancing, hanging out, drugs and alcohol if you were so inclined. I, of course, just heard about all this the morning, or more accurately afternoon, after. Nothing really wild happened apparently. Not like rush week, or the first week of school, people pushing thier limits, celebrating thier new freedom miles away from condemning adult eyes. Glassy eyed zombies trying to dance, all thier ligaments seemingly cut and flopping. The floor wet and slippery with spilled beer from slap cup while music beats throughyour ears and your chest.
Univeristy has calmed down pretty much. Just drinking for the heck, because we can, is getting old. It feels like things are settling. The subtle tension, the pushing to do and try it and more and now seems to have abated. Any pressure to do anything has seemingly abated as the inevitable wheel turns and the newness luster loses its sheen. That, or I'm just really worried about this Bio test and have become blind to everything else.
Good luck and hasta manana, I promise!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday - the day before Friday
Buenos tardes and howdy do everyone!
So today was a pretty typical Thursday. My writing class, then chem recitation immediately followed by chem lab. Lab was nice today because, since we have to turn in a computer generated plot, the lab report was not due today at the end of lab. I also think I might understand how to do the report without asking my TA every single question! Yay for us!
So I looked at yesterday's post, and I realize that the title made no sense whatsoever. Zilch. None. Zipo. So, if you will, kind reader, I would like to explain what the title might have meant had the topic under discussion been what I had intended it to be.
Alcohol. Yes yes, I know, I always write about alcohol but this is different. This is lab-alcohol. The alchohol that is made in a test tube by thousands of tiny little one celled organisms that take in glucose, do some fancy and surprising complicated procedures (they don't even have brains! No, nuclei don't count), and voila! you get alcohol. Lab-alcohol.
Ok, you got me. It's not really alchohol, or rather, not the stuff you were thinking of. Not the stuff that makes your throat burn and your nose scrunch up. Not that. Ethanol. Another form of alcohol that is made during alcoholic fermentation, the process that makes bread dough rise. And what are those darling little single celled organisms?
That's right! You guessed it: yeast! I am paying thousands of dollars and working my ass of reading hours per night just to go to lab and watch yeast make carbon dioxide in a tube. God I feel smart.
Anyway, the point. The point is that is all the alcohol I have come into contact, visually, spacially, or otherwise, in the last four days. People got work to do, man. Can't be showing up smelling of booze to the class of the person who's going to write your recommendation to med school. Which is almost literally half the school here. Everyone wants to be a doctor or an MD PhD, everyone want to do research, everyone is awesome. And we are. Everyone of us has done something to get us noticed, to get us into this school with an acceptance rate (according to 2008 edition of Fiske's guide to colleges) below that of Harvard.
So long story short, this is not an ordinary campus. My experience might be different from the "typical" experience. But it is representative of a certain population of American college students and their activities. Ok, I'm not sure where I was going with that, but there you go.
Tomorrow, I believe I will be drowning in books, not booze, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out to make tomorrow's blog interesting. Sianara (yeah i can't spell it, laugh it up people, go out on the web, find the correct spelling, and comment it to me just so you can be that one person who corrects the grammer/spelling of the blog. go on. i dare you) and see you later!
So today was a pretty typical Thursday. My writing class, then chem recitation immediately followed by chem lab. Lab was nice today because, since we have to turn in a computer generated plot, the lab report was not due today at the end of lab. I also think I might understand how to do the report without asking my TA every single question! Yay for us!
So I looked at yesterday's post, and I realize that the title made no sense whatsoever. Zilch. None. Zipo. So, if you will, kind reader, I would like to explain what the title might have meant had the topic under discussion been what I had intended it to be.
Alcohol. Yes yes, I know, I always write about alcohol but this is different. This is lab-alcohol. The alchohol that is made in a test tube by thousands of tiny little one celled organisms that take in glucose, do some fancy and surprising complicated procedures (they don't even have brains! No, nuclei don't count), and voila! you get alcohol. Lab-alcohol.
Ok, you got me. It's not really alchohol, or rather, not the stuff you were thinking of. Not the stuff that makes your throat burn and your nose scrunch up. Not that. Ethanol. Another form of alcohol that is made during alcoholic fermentation, the process that makes bread dough rise. And what are those darling little single celled organisms?
That's right! You guessed it: yeast! I am paying thousands of dollars and working my ass of reading hours per night just to go to lab and watch yeast make carbon dioxide in a tube. God I feel smart.
Anyway, the point. The point is that is all the alcohol I have come into contact, visually, spacially, or otherwise, in the last four days. People got work to do, man. Can't be showing up smelling of booze to the class of the person who's going to write your recommendation to med school. Which is almost literally half the school here. Everyone wants to be a doctor or an MD PhD, everyone want to do research, everyone is awesome. And we are. Everyone of us has done something to get us noticed, to get us into this school with an acceptance rate (according to 2008 edition of Fiske's guide to colleges) below that of Harvard.
So long story short, this is not an ordinary campus. My experience might be different from the "typical" experience. But it is representative of a certain population of American college students and their activities. Ok, I'm not sure where I was going with that, but there you go.
Tomorrow, I believe I will be drowning in books, not booze, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out to make tomorrow's blog interesting. Sianara (yeah i can't spell it, laugh it up people, go out on the web, find the correct spelling, and comment it to me just so you can be that one person who corrects the grammer/spelling of the blog. go on. i dare you) and see you later!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Lab-Alcohol vs Drink--Alcohol
Hello all! I hope you're grades are doing better than mine T.T Espanol es muy desagredable right now (those are cognates people, not actual words you have to translate). My professor obviously did not like my attempt to use imagery language in spanish. Ah, well, my fault for actually trying to challenge myself instead of sticking to the rote, formulaic writing style we learned in lower level courses. Sigh. Do you every feel like that? You actually put forth a lot of effort to make something good or do something nice for someone and it blows up in your face. BOOM! Soot, ashes, big mushroom clouds and little people screaming "Godzilla, Godzilla!"
Oh, right, sorry, wrong catastrophe.
So yesterday I wrote about choices, and the fact that here I feel like I do have a choice. I was talking with some of my floormates, and they brought up a good point. In some groups, "cliques", if you will, the choice might now feel like such a possibility. I am not really one for being exclusive simply for its own sake, but cliques are a part of life no matter where you go. Here, I feel like there are very few closed groups, but then again I have probably had a decent conversation with only 10% of the WU's population. There probably are groups and people who would judge me for openly deciding not to drink. There probably are people who will talk behind my back and laugh about my decision. So my plan to be different, to be upright, blah blah blah = BOOM! social ostracism and labeled uncool for the rest of eternity...or at least the next four years. Know what that feels like? Yeah, it's not good.
But, hey, this is university. Not an espcially large one, maybe 10,000 people, but big enough that there are OTHER types of people on campus as well. These people could care less what you do, as long as you do not condem their choices; I would hazard to say the majority of people would fit into this category. Here, the majority is so strong that I feel like those who would sneer in a different situation would not want to rock the boat and ignore it. And hey, let's face it, no matter what situation - drinking, not drinking, party, sport, formal, high school dance - at our age, everyone is too concerned with how other people are looking at them to concentrate too much on looking at you. Face it, it's the truth. I do it, and you do it, no matter how much you say "oh no! I'm self confident" and "It doesn't matter to me what other people think of me" blah blah blah.
No. You do care. I care. EVERYONE CARES. It's human nature. It's how we survive. And it should matter. How we are seen will affect what job we get, what grad school we get into, and how we see ourselves. Not to get too philisophical, but, yeah, take it or leave it.
Regardless, though I do care how people view me, I don't let it affect what choices I make (too much). Not drinking does take some courage. It's different from the stereotype and puts you out there to be accepted or rejected. WU makes it easier. Most people here tend to be more academically focused and not as prone to judgements (ok I now everyone makes judgements, you get the point). Alcohol is a prominent part of campus life. You're not getting away from it. But, at the risk of repeating myself, right here, right now, I feel like it is a choice.
Today, no parties, if there is any drinking, it's not very visible or wide-spread, and we all have tests, labs, essay due tomorrow. Work work work for now. Good day and hasta manana a todos.
Oh, right, sorry, wrong catastrophe.
So yesterday I wrote about choices, and the fact that here I feel like I do have a choice. I was talking with some of my floormates, and they brought up a good point. In some groups, "cliques", if you will, the choice might now feel like such a possibility. I am not really one for being exclusive simply for its own sake, but cliques are a part of life no matter where you go. Here, I feel like there are very few closed groups, but then again I have probably had a decent conversation with only 10% of the WU's population. There probably are groups and people who would judge me for openly deciding not to drink. There probably are people who will talk behind my back and laugh about my decision. So my plan to be different, to be upright, blah blah blah = BOOM! social ostracism and labeled uncool for the rest of eternity...or at least the next four years. Know what that feels like? Yeah, it's not good.
But, hey, this is university. Not an espcially large one, maybe 10,000 people, but big enough that there are OTHER types of people on campus as well. These people could care less what you do, as long as you do not condem their choices; I would hazard to say the majority of people would fit into this category. Here, the majority is so strong that I feel like those who would sneer in a different situation would not want to rock the boat and ignore it. And hey, let's face it, no matter what situation - drinking, not drinking, party, sport, formal, high school dance - at our age, everyone is too concerned with how other people are looking at them to concentrate too much on looking at you. Face it, it's the truth. I do it, and you do it, no matter how much you say "oh no! I'm self confident" and "It doesn't matter to me what other people think of me" blah blah blah.
No. You do care. I care. EVERYONE CARES. It's human nature. It's how we survive. And it should matter. How we are seen will affect what job we get, what grad school we get into, and how we see ourselves. Not to get too philisophical, but, yeah, take it or leave it.
Regardless, though I do care how people view me, I don't let it affect what choices I make (too much). Not drinking does take some courage. It's different from the stereotype and puts you out there to be accepted or rejected. WU makes it easier. Most people here tend to be more academically focused and not as prone to judgements (ok I now everyone makes judgements, you get the point). Alcohol is a prominent part of campus life. You're not getting away from it. But, at the risk of repeating myself, right here, right now, I feel like it is a choice.
Today, no parties, if there is any drinking, it's not very visible or wide-spread, and we all have tests, labs, essay due tomorrow. Work work work for now. Good day and hasta manana a todos.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Good Tuesday morning everyone!
I love Tuesdays. I have one class at 9am then NOTHING for the rest of the day. I can work, I can sleep, I can write really long blogs secure in the knowledge that I have hours and hours ahead of me, hours to fill with doing things I should be doing instead of reading random stories on the internet. Or blogging, I suppose. Since it's not going to get me into med school, raise my GPA, or give me memorable life experiences to write my personal statement about, I suppose it must be relegated to the pile of things labeled "Procrastination".
Anyway, my personal philosophical struggles are not exactly what I want to write about. Or maybe they are, since I just spent a whole paragraph on them. ANYWAY, alcohol. Yesterday I was owning that essay and going over general chemistry, looked up, saw it was midnight, and promptly went to sleep. So let's talk about yesterday.
Monday. The start of the week. When you look at your calendar and sadly observe the many square blocks of weekdays that separate you from the weekend blocks. It's sad, believe me. So, Monday as normal, class 9-12, finishing up chemistry tutorial, filing for a chem exam regrade (I need those four points that TA cheated me out of!), more class 1-3. Chem office hours 3-4, dinner with some friends 6-7, ALAS (Asso. of Latin American Students) meeting 8-9, and floor meeting 9:30-10 (I believe I have already implied my OCD, so don't judge).
For those of you who do not have "floor meetings", it is one of those institutions the university sets up to help transition the freshman into the community, make sure the freshman floor becomes a tight knit group so they feel comfortable. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. My floor is somewhere in between. We know everyone on the floor, name, face, generally what they are studying, but, as a whole, we're not the friends who-share-every-deep-dark-secret. It's not anything bad, in fact, I think we, as a floor, function well together, some annoying, slovenly habits, some slightly too sensative complainers, but overall, we're good.
The point of this floor meeting was "diversity". They gave us sheets of paper that had statements like "I identify as multiracial, mixed, or come from a combined heritage" and "I identify as middle class". There was also "I identify as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgendered" and "I have felt ashamed of myself on the basis of my gender/race/socio-economic conditions/sexual orientation". Anonymously, we put a checkmark by the ones that were true for us and handed in the sheets. Our RAs handed the sheets out, and while we stood in a circle, would read out a statement. Whoever had a checkmark on their sheet would step into the circle. After five statements we all would pass our sheets two to the right.
I was really impressed with this exercise. Without singling anyone out, embarrassing anyone, or outting anyone, the floor was able to see percentages of us who had certain opinions, identified a certain way, or had certian life experiences. During our debrief, talking about our reactions, many students said they would "be more concious of the things [they] did or said", now aware of some of the things they had assumed were not present among us.
One subject of the exercise was alcohol. "I enjoy drinking alcohol". "I am uncomfortable around alcohol". As expected, most of the floor stepped into the circle on the first, but not all, maybe six or seven people out of the forty something on the floor. Of course, that does not mean that they don't drink alcohol, simply that they do not enjoy it, but it was something to think about.
Our floor is pretty representative of WU. The majority drink and enjoy it, alcohol a part of the social scene, a given. There are those who do not like the taste of alcohol, but drink it anyway. However, some students choose not to drink. At all. My representative was one of those people.
Not drinking is a decision I made during high school. I have heard others' reasoning, alcohol has too many calories, it's expensive, it's illegal, etc. I do not drink because of my family. Alcoholism is a prominent condition in one branch. I have seen it destroy relationships, jobs, and people. It is something I simply choose not partake of.
Ok, way too serious! I don't drink. Yeah, you got that. But that doesn't mean that I care if anyone else drinks. My decisions are for me, not for everyone in the entire world. I can't say the same of the other individuals who have chosen to be non-drinkers, but this is my truth. I go to parties, I dance, I hang out with people who drink.
For those of you thinking "oh, she must just hang out with other non-drinkiers," have you not been reading? Did I not write that the majority of people drink? How could I choose to only socialize with non-drinkers!? I can't even tell one from the other!
So, yeah. Most of my friends drink. I still party with them. I play drinking games with them for g-sake! That is one thing I love about WU. Your choice about alcohol really is NOT AN ISSUE. You can choose to drink and not become social outcast #1. You can choose to drink, have the same fun, and no one cares. If I want to play kings or the animal game, no one care if my cup is full of orange juice minus the vodka or just coke (sidenote, yes I say coke for all caffeinated beverages. Want a coke? Sure, I'll have a Dr. Pepper). And, yes, I make it clear that it is just juice. I don't let them assume since no one can tell by the color.
On my campus, alcohol really is a choice, and I am free to choose either way.
Ok, now, back to biology. Only a hundred pages to go! Happy tuesday and good luck studying!
LPin
I love Tuesdays. I have one class at 9am then NOTHING for the rest of the day. I can work, I can sleep, I can write really long blogs secure in the knowledge that I have hours and hours ahead of me, hours to fill with doing things I should be doing instead of reading random stories on the internet. Or blogging, I suppose. Since it's not going to get me into med school, raise my GPA, or give me memorable life experiences to write my personal statement about, I suppose it must be relegated to the pile of things labeled "Procrastination".
Anyway, my personal philosophical struggles are not exactly what I want to write about. Or maybe they are, since I just spent a whole paragraph on them. ANYWAY, alcohol. Yesterday I was owning that essay and going over general chemistry, looked up, saw it was midnight, and promptly went to sleep. So let's talk about yesterday.
Monday. The start of the week. When you look at your calendar and sadly observe the many square blocks of weekdays that separate you from the weekend blocks. It's sad, believe me. So, Monday as normal, class 9-12, finishing up chemistry tutorial, filing for a chem exam regrade (I need those four points that TA cheated me out of!), more class 1-3. Chem office hours 3-4, dinner with some friends 6-7, ALAS (Asso. of Latin American Students) meeting 8-9, and floor meeting 9:30-10 (I believe I have already implied my OCD, so don't judge).
For those of you who do not have "floor meetings", it is one of those institutions the university sets up to help transition the freshman into the community, make sure the freshman floor becomes a tight knit group so they feel comfortable. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. My floor is somewhere in between. We know everyone on the floor, name, face, generally what they are studying, but, as a whole, we're not the friends who-share-every-deep-dark-secret. It's not anything bad, in fact, I think we, as a floor, function well together, some annoying, slovenly habits, some slightly too sensative complainers, but overall, we're good.
The point of this floor meeting was "diversity". They gave us sheets of paper that had statements like "I identify as multiracial, mixed, or come from a combined heritage" and "I identify as middle class". There was also "I identify as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgendered" and "I have felt ashamed of myself on the basis of my gender/race/socio-economic conditions/sexual orientation". Anonymously, we put a checkmark by the ones that were true for us and handed in the sheets. Our RAs handed the sheets out, and while we stood in a circle, would read out a statement. Whoever had a checkmark on their sheet would step into the circle. After five statements we all would pass our sheets two to the right.
I was really impressed with this exercise. Without singling anyone out, embarrassing anyone, or outting anyone, the floor was able to see percentages of us who had certain opinions, identified a certain way, or had certian life experiences. During our debrief, talking about our reactions, many students said they would "be more concious of the things [they] did or said", now aware of some of the things they had assumed were not present among us.
One subject of the exercise was alcohol. "I enjoy drinking alcohol". "I am uncomfortable around alcohol". As expected, most of the floor stepped into the circle on the first, but not all, maybe six or seven people out of the forty something on the floor. Of course, that does not mean that they don't drink alcohol, simply that they do not enjoy it, but it was something to think about.
Our floor is pretty representative of WU. The majority drink and enjoy it, alcohol a part of the social scene, a given. There are those who do not like the taste of alcohol, but drink it anyway. However, some students choose not to drink. At all. My representative was one of those people.
Not drinking is a decision I made during high school. I have heard others' reasoning, alcohol has too many calories, it's expensive, it's illegal, etc. I do not drink because of my family. Alcoholism is a prominent condition in one branch. I have seen it destroy relationships, jobs, and people. It is something I simply choose not partake of.
Ok, way too serious! I don't drink. Yeah, you got that. But that doesn't mean that I care if anyone else drinks. My decisions are for me, not for everyone in the entire world. I can't say the same of the other individuals who have chosen to be non-drinkers, but this is my truth. I go to parties, I dance, I hang out with people who drink.
For those of you thinking "oh, she must just hang out with other non-drinkiers," have you not been reading? Did I not write that the majority of people drink? How could I choose to only socialize with non-drinkers!? I can't even tell one from the other!
So, yeah. Most of my friends drink. I still party with them. I play drinking games with them for g-sake! That is one thing I love about WU. Your choice about alcohol really is NOT AN ISSUE. You can choose to drink and not become social outcast #1. You can choose to drink, have the same fun, and no one cares. If I want to play kings or the animal game, no one care if my cup is full of orange juice minus the vodka or just coke (sidenote, yes I say coke for all caffeinated beverages. Want a coke? Sure, I'll have a Dr. Pepper). And, yes, I make it clear that it is just juice. I don't let them assume since no one can tell by the color.
On my campus, alcohol really is a choice, and I am free to choose either way.
Ok, now, back to biology. Only a hundred pages to go! Happy tuesday and good luck studying!
LPin
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