Second Semester

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For a while now, I have been trying to battle the idea that I’m not as happy here at SUNY Oswego as I could be just because I feel as if I’m not in the right residence hall. As it happened, I, for some reason, made a lot of friends who live in Johnson. Well, I do know why that is, but it wouldn’t really be necessary or productive to this blog entry to explain.

I live in Oneida Hall, which, of course, is basically all the way on the other side of campus, opposite of Johnson, so needless to say, walking over to Johnson to see my friends is a long walk. It’s a walk that I don’t mind, however, as long as the weather is nice, but the weather isn’t always going to be nice. I already find myself incredibly cold some nights on my way back to Oneida, and that’s only going to get worse.

It would seem like the most sensible option would be to cut down on how frequently I visit them when the winter hits, and it starts getting cold and snowy, but that really isn’t an option to be honest. My friends here are my world, and it isn’t my fault that they just happen to live in Johnson. Another sensible option might be to simply try to make more friends in Oneida, but I don’t see that as an option either. I just don’t feel like I belong in Oneida. I have one person in Oneida that I feel really close to, and that’s it, which is opposed to the seven that I can think of who live in Johnson. I am therefore proposing to move into Johnson for the second semester, or if I can’t get into Johnson, which would be preferable, then at least Riggs, which is located right next door to Johnson.

When I’m in Johnson with my friends, I feel like I belong there, and it feels like home to me. I simply don’t feel that way in Oneida. I have filled out a wait list form and have my fingers crossed, praying that this is going to happen. Like I said, I see myself feeling a lot happier as well as more emotionally and physically comfortable here at SUNY Oswego, so I’m really hoping that my request is accepted!

Yes We Can, and Yes We Did!

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Well, as I said I would, I am planning to use this blog entry to communicate my experiences last week in Pennsylvania. For those of you who don’t know, I travelled to Pennsylvania last Monday, November 3 and stayed throughout the presidential election to campaign for Senator Barack Obama, soon to be President Barack Obama. It was one of the most inspirational experiences of my life.

Monday was mostly made up of the bus ride. We left Oswego at approximately 9:30 a.m. and got to Pittsburgh at around 6 p.m. We then canvassed, which involved separating into groups and travelling to staging locations. The one I went to was right in Pittsburgh. We were given flyers which said to vote for Obama tomorrow, 11/4, addresses and directions to get to those addresses. We then walked around neighborhoods and posted these flyers on doors, encouraging those registered to vote to go vote and to vote for Obama.

That evening was then followed by a powerful and inspirational pep rally. The night didn’t end until 2 a.m., as I then participated in an event called Midnight Madness, in which I posted posters, flyers and stickers around the Pittsburgh University campus encouraging students to vote and to vote for Obama. This is a bit off topic here and seemingly random, but I really loved Pittsburgh University. It was so beautiful and just seemed like that perfect image of college life and the way I had always imagined it when I was younger. It honestly caused me to consider it as a graduate school.

Tuesday then called for a 7:00 a.m. wake up call, so running on about 3 and a half hours of sleep, I canvassed once again, this time in Washington, Pennsylvania. This was a bit of a culture shock to me, because it was so foreign and different from what I am used to. Washington is a large city with many, many buildings that are very, very close together, and walking around it trying to find homes wasn’t the most exhilerating part of the trip. We then travelled to Uniontown, which, as we were told, is about forty miles outside of the border of Maryland. This town seemed to be more Conservative, as we came across a large number of McCain/Palin signs and also received a large number of hostile facial expressions from people who had obviously made note of what we were doing.

Before leaving Uniontown, I phonebanked for approximately an hour. This involved receiving a long list of telephone and cell phone numbers and calling them to ensure that each household who was registered to vote had voted or was intending to vote and that they had voted for Obama or were intending to vote for Obama. The staging location was even willing to provide transporation for those who wanted to vote but had no way of getting to the polls. This made me feel productive and made me feel like I was doing my share to voice my opinion in ways that would actually matter statistically.

After a long and dedicated day, it was now time to party. On the ride back to Pittsburgh to attend the campaign party, it had been announced on the radio that Obama had won Pennsylvania. This was, needless to say, quite something for us to hear, because we all knew in our hearts that we had made a difference and that we had had something to do with this victory. I could feel it in mine, and I knew that everyone else could too. The party consisted of guest speakers getting the very, very large crowd of people excited and in anticipation as we watched CNN while it aired the election’s final moments. At around 11 p.m., CNN showed that there was only about a minute left until the final polls closed, and when it got to zero seconds remaining, the crowd said in unison, “1…2…3!” and magically, at 3, BARACK OBAMA ELECTED PRESIDENT was presented on the screen as the entire room applauded, cheered, screamed and threw its arms up into the air. I cannot recall any moment in my life that I had been happier than at that moment. Not only had I been waiting for this for so long, but I knew I had played a role in it and that all of our hard work had paid off.

When we got on the bus at around midnight, the noise and the excitement was not quieted until the radio show we were listening to broadcasted Obama’s victory speech, which we listened to in its entirety. Of course, Obama has always been an excellent public speaker, as his campaign has proven time and time again, but I guarantee that that speech will go down as one the most powerful in history. I would think that the opening would be the most difficult, and he even nailed that. “For those wondering whether America can accomplish anything, tonight is your answer.” Listening to the speech increased my inspiration and feeling of confidence, if that was even possible, because I kept thinking, “this guy is going to be our president.”

We had made history. This election, which had in store so many groundbreaking elements which made it historic, was my very first election, and I had done more than just vote. I had actually participated in it and campaigned for it, and I had made a difference. I have, as you can probably imagine, suffered a great deal of persecution from McCain supporters and Republicans, having been told that I helped a Socialist win the American presidency and that I helped activate a blind motivation amongst millions who couldn’t even tell you why they were planning to vote for Obama, but what’s nice about living in a Democracy is that they have the liberal right to feel that way and to even voice it, and I feel that by doing what I did last week, I helped preserve that right that all of us have.

Teamsters eagerly awaiting our chance to make a difference:

Teamsters!

Staging location in Washington:

Staging location

Staging location:

I Need You!

Doorknob flyers that we distributed in Uniontown:

Vote Obama today!

Campaign party:

Campaign party!

VICTORY!:

Oh, yes we did!

As close to meeting the great one as we got:

The great one himself

Although I took most of them, I didn’t take all of these photos, and I therefore feel that it would be appropriate to make note of this so that it doesn’t appear to anyone as if I am attempting to take credit for what isn’t mine. Some of these were taken by acquaintances that went on the trip as well. I had the unfortunate experience of having the camera that I was using stolen, but I suppose that you have to have something bad happen to you in order to undergo such an amazing experience!

Swim for the cure

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Hey guyss!

I’ve been meaning to write this blog for a few days now, but on last Thursday (11/6), The Men’s and Women’s Swim team participated in a National fund-raiser called “The Hour Of Power”, which is a program that raises money for cancer.  The theme of this year’s fund raiser was “Cancer Sucks”.  On Thursday, Many Collegiate and Club Swimming teams all participated from their respective practice pools.  Starting at 5:00 we split up into 6 different relays (one relay per lane), and did continuous 50 relay sprints for an hour.  Prior to this event the swimmers ask different people or companies to sponsor them for this event, thus matriculating a profit that is all given solely to cancer research.  This was a really fun event to do, and the atmosphere that I felt during the actual event was very powerful.  Although it was very difficult, our team held together well and swam in good spirits for the event.  I feel that everyone gave it their all, and this proved to be a very moving event for our team.  I’m not sure how much money we raised, but it felt good to know we were swimming towards a cure to this detrimental disease.

Cancer is a horrible  disease that has effected an immense amount of lives, and many people that are close to me.  I really enjoyed participating in this fund raiser because cancer really does “suck” and any opportunity that I get to help others get answers to finding a cure, I’ll take.

Vet’s Day Open House

Posted by & filed under Vacation, work.

So it’s been a busy busy time over at the admissions office as we’re prepping for an Open House this upcoming Tuesday.

Open Houses, although busy busy days, are probably one of the best ways to get a look at the school since there are very few times when you have this many administrative & academic departments all in one space making it so much easier to find answers to all those questions that everyone has, or at least I know I had while I was looking at schools.

Oswego does a fantastic job coordinating the open houses to make as many things available as possible for anyone coming to look at the school.

There will be tours of the campus, residence halls and various campus facilities as well.

Want to see what a class at SUNY Oswego is like?  There are sign ups to sit in on classes going on throughout the day.

Have specific questions for different departments or want to find things to get involved in?  There’s a mix and mingling time for 2 hours with faculty & staff from over 50 student service and academic departments, plus representatives from a number of our completely student driven clubs & organizations.

But don’t take my word for it, there’s gonna be a lot going on this upcoming tuesday you should check it out for yourself

for more info, to see the detailed program and/or to register to come here’s the link!

http://www.oswego.edu/admissions/visit/index.html

Road Tripping for Change ’08

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Today, I am leaving to go to Pennsylvania for Road Tripping for Change. The purpose of the event is to encourage citizens to hit the polls on Tuesday to vote for the democratic candidate, Barack Obama. The trip was basically promoted by SUNY Oswego Students for Barack Obama, which is how I found out about it. Everything, including housing, board and transportation, was paid for by Obama’s campaign and is therefore free for those of us going. Needless to say, I am very excited. This election is very important to me, because not only is it the first that I am participating in, but I am also a very strong supporter of Barack Obama for many reasons. So much is at stake right now, and what is sacrificed and what is gained depends primarily, if not solely, on who becomes America’s next president, so this opportunity, this chance, to help make a difference was an idea that I couldn’t even consider passing on, especially since it is completely free!

When I return, I will be writing a blog entry about my experience. I will also hopefully have some photographs that will help give everyone an idea of what this experience was like. I see it as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity, which, again, is why I couldn’t pass it down, especially since this is my first election in which I can vote. I will be returning either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, depending on whether or not Obama wins Pennsylvania (if he does, we will be holding a celebration Tuesday night), and not to intentionally shove my beliefs down peoples’ throats, but I am going to bluntly say that I am hoping for the nation’s sake that I will be returning Wednesday.

Great concert, poor promotion

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On Sunday, November 2nd at the Campus Center, I attended a concert that featured The Score, Thieves and Villains and Nightmare of You. I have been a fan of Nightmare of You for a couple of years now, and I just find it somewhat disappointing that I had to find out from a friend of mine in Manhattan that they were playing here tonight. If it wasn’t for her randomly mentioning it in casual conversation over AIM, I never would have known about it, probably not even afterwards since there were less than twenty students at the concert, none of whom I knew. My point is that I really do think that when events like this happen on campus, students should be made aware of it. They shouldn’t have to find out from friends who don’t even live here. There really should have been more promotion, because I didn’t see any posters around campus.

Anyway, I want to use this blog entry to talk about my concert experience, not to rant about that. The concert was, in my opinion, amazing. Admission was $5.00 and was paid before the concert began. Nightmare of You was the only band I had heard of prior to attending the concert, but that turned out to be ironic, because I enjoyed the first band, The Score, the most. I loved the energy in their music, and all of their songs were extremely catchy. Of course, I was under the impression at that point that there were only two bands playing and therefore assumed that it was Thieves and Villains that I was watching, so when their set was over, I headed over to the merchandise table to buy the Thieves and Villains album that they had for sale, only to discover later that it was the wrong band, but it was okay, because even though not nearly as good as The Score, they were good as well. What’s also really exciting is that The Score’s album, Songs for a Halfway Home, will be available legally for free download in a couple of weeks, as the band’s frontman pointed out at the concert.

The second band, which I eventually discovered was Thieves and Villains, was also good but not as good as The Score. Although their music was also energetic, it didn’t have the same power, emotion and melodic catchiness that The Score’s music featured. Also, (which was actually a problem for all three bands) the sound system obviously wasn’t adjusted correctly, because the bands’ instruments were too loud and therefore drowned out the frontmens’ voices, making them difficult to hear. Their set was short, as they only played a handful of songs.

Lastly was Nightmare of You. I recognized a few of the songs, because, again, this was the only band that played that I had heard of beforehand, and they therefore influenced me to go to the concert initially. In fact, when I went, I thought they were the only band playing. However, even though I also enjoyed Nightmare of You, they were also not The Score musically. The Score was definitely my favorite set, and I am now very excited for the album to be released online.

Again, however, I’m sure that there were students on campus that like at least one of the bands that played and would have loved to have gone but didn’t because they didn’t know about it. In the future, even if it means having the concert in a larger location than the Campus Center food court (a band called Out of Hiding is playing here Wednesday in the Hewitt Union Ballroom, and it’s a free concert), events such as this really should be more heavily promoted so students actually know what’s going on and are aware of events such as this. I’m sure that it was advertised somewhere, but if I didn’t see it, then it wasn’t made obvious enough, because I love music and am constantly looking for opportunties to hear new bands, as I’m sure other students do as well.

Getting from point A to point B…well sort of

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Oh how I love the winter time! Last week, I was heading to the library with a friend and we had to body slam the door leading out of our dorm building. It was so windy, and when you add a little bit of rain or snow in the mix, it’s a blast.

I really do love the winter time. I love snowboarding, snow shoeing and throwing snowballs of course, but I could easily do without the cold temperatures and the wind. Everyday I ask myself, why would the blind chick choose a college on a lake, where it will snow ten feet and the wind will blow you around? Well, because I love Oswego, that’s about the best answer I have for you.

Sometimes, walking to class, my white cane will just fling up in my hand and it looks like I’m carrying a flag with just the pole part. I think I need ten pound weights at the end of it so that it will stay on the sidewalk when it is very windy outside. That way, when I am at a store, they won’t ask if I’m buying that mop, shower curtain rod, or fishing pole. Putting weights at the end of my cane will help me in so many ways. Could you see me trying to walk with a light-weight cane, with huge weights at the bottom of it?

Oswego is such a beautiful campus and city itself. It is so nice being in my dorm room when the waves are crashing and the sun is shining. Or walking to class along the lake and the leaves are changing colors, but wow do we get a crazy winter!

I’m so happy that the bus picks up and drops off right in front of the doors at my dorm building. This will be my means of transportation 100% during the winter, because there is no way my broken mop, shower curtain rod and I are traveling across campus in the snow. The bus is nice and warm, the drivers are very nice, and there are no snow banks to get lost in.

No matter what the weather is or how cold it is outside, there are so many things to do both indoors and outdoors, whether it be snow sports, or staying in, keeping warm and watching a movie with some friends in the lounge. Sometimes I wish I was down South going to college, using my cane in the sand on the way to class, but in all honesty, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Poetry Club

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Reflecting on my high school days, I recall an annual magazine called Galleries that I took part in. Each year, my school released this magazine that contained student-written poetry as well as artwork. I enjoyed writing poetry and submitting it to the magazine, having students and teachers read it when the magazine was published and comment on it. Of course, their interpretation of what I had written didn’t always match what I intended when I wrote it, but that’s what art is all about. I’m also not going to say that my poetry is anything stellar, because it definitely isn’t. Poetry and free-writing are simply ways for me to express myself, and I feel as if those feelings are not fully expressed unless they have been published somehow.

As far as I know, SUNY Oswego doesn’t have such a club or publication, and I think that it would be very beneficial, or at least creatively stimulating, to the campus’s environment if it did. Even if it wasn’t a separate publication (even though I believe that would be the best route to take) but instead published as a section in the Oswegonian, at least students have a way for their work to be published. I also think that it would be a good idea, because I think that for some students, the thought of having their work published would encourage them to write outside of the classroom. As someone who writes as often as he can, I know that, for me, writing independently, especially creative writing, helps me relax, and again, also helps me express myself in a way that I wouldn’t know how otherwise.

SUNY Oswego really should have this available to students, and it doesn’t need to be exclusive to poetry. All forms of creative writing, such as short stories, could be published as well, and this goes back to what I said earlier about students being encouraged to write outside of the classroom, because it works both ways. If students are encouraged to write, then other students are encouraged to read, and the more students who are reading, the higher the incentive there is for writers to keep writing. I wouldn’t know how to go about initiating such a club myself, but I definitely think it can be done with a group of students who also think it would be a good idea.

Self Evaluation

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Last week was a fairly busy week for me, but honestly I learned so much in one week. I would say that this week I spent so much time observing everything around me,  from people I spoke with, to the environment I was working in; and I found  out that observing is good for the soul it allows you to self reflect.  There was something that sparked my attention last week, and it struck me to think about my observation; Now when reading further, I ask that you do not think about this blog as an opinion or a judgmental statement, but rather as a simple observation theory about true self development.

This is what I learned, People love to compete, and often they create secret competitions that allows them to compete; but they don’t compete to win, they compete for self fulfillment and completeness, and this I will explain later on. People who compete for those reasons are the ones who I believe have missing elements in their lives.  So to explain things a little better,  I would say people hate to feel incomplete or out of the loop. So remember when I said that people who compete in that way are the ones with the missing elements in their lives; Well because they have missing elements they find things that will fill the spot of the missing elements; and this is where the competition starts.  Now because the spots of the missing elements are filled they begin to feel like: A) They are ahead of the competition B) they are complete because the empty spots are filled. But here is the problem, in order to be in the competition or ahead of the competition; you have to find elements that have substance and elements that have true meaning. This is a lesson that can help towards finding true happiness. By no means am I trying to define “True happiness” but most importantly to say that really there should be no competition, people should not just do things for their “secret competitions.”  Honestly the competitions are not meaningful at all.

So with that shared, you’re probably thinking this girl is about to get real philosophical on us, but that is not what this blog is about.  It’s not even about my theory. The theory was needed in order for you to understand what I would be saying in the rest of this blog. This Blog is about Self Evaluation; Evaluation of one’s self, your purpose, your circle, your commitments and even your engagements.  There is something that I learned from my advisor, and not necessarily that he taught this to me by telling me, but more so because of a little joke  that I have with him, but I realize that the joke is true.  I told him earlier last week that the reason why I enjoy going to him is because it’s like a counseling session, and he is no ordinary counselor who tells me what to do and how to do it; but he allows me to evaluate myself and find those elements with true substances.  

So to put an end to the competitions and those  elements  with no substance,  the first step to take is to find someone,  a mentor, a friend whose perspective you trust, or even yourself.  Just simply take some time on your own and evaluate yourself. In order for it to work you have to evaluate with an open mind logically and critically. The main purpose is to find those elements with substance that works for you and eliminate the ones that don’t. Now remember elements can be anything; from the things you eat to the people you hang out with, “your circle.” When you find the elements with substances, enhance on them, and if you have tons of elements with no substance but don’t know how to let them go, first thing I would like to encourage is trying something new, take the opportunity to step outside of your element and those things that constrict you. Then you should also try this thing that I would like to call “process and Progress.”  Think like this, slow process can bring forth huge progress, but only through deliberate and critical engagement of defining a purpose.  Try it, it might work for you!

To end this I would like to say self evaluation is not about being in the competition, it’s not even about winning the race, it’s about YOU having what it takes to deliver and accomplish through empowerment and true achievements.

 

Do you have what it takes?

Posted by & filed under Brainstorming, Uncategorized.

As we speak, thousands and maybe even millions of people are attempting to have your biggest dream(s). A woman named Beth, a guy named Joe or even a young man named Timothy who is in the 10th grade is desperately planning to be just a good as you are. Let’s not forget little Chantel who just entered pre-kindergarten. Chantel is a sweet girl I’ll be sure to introduce you to her later. But there is a news flash; someone just booked a plane ticket in your name and guess where you’re going? I don’t know but maybe at the end of this blog you will have a better idea….

The next 60 years for many of us won’t be nearly and I’m on a stretch by saying remotely of anything of the past 60 years. It has been projected by many sources that the next workforce won’t be able to expect to work the same job for thirty years, retire, and ride into the sunset. There is more of a high chance that a person will change jobs on several occasions if not changing career paths at some point in the process as well. With a great financial crisis that is facing our country now who knows what a financial meltdown would be like 60 years from now. In any event it’s important to learn how to be ready for such cases and why not plan now for it.

So I guess I’ll introduce you to Chantel. I haven’t met Chantel. I actually just made her up, but needless to say there is a Chantel that is out there somewhere in the world. She’s in pre-kindergarten and she just turned 4 about several months ago. Chantel has big dreams and undiscovered talents. What would be her potential in 20 years? What would you say or how would you feel if I said she or anyone else could take, perform, and deliver your job better than you can? Where will you be 20 years from now? How will you get there?

The biggest message that I can stress to you, myself, or anyone else is that you are just a fragment of a larger picture with billions of others. With that said, how would you compete against the rest? What would you do in order to acquire the knowledge? Where would you start? I bet you thought I had or have the answers, but I don’t. I have somewhat of an ideal format for myself, but at the end of the day whether it is right or wrong my methods work for me. I challenge you to figure out what works for you? Look at the people you’re surrounded by, the responsibilities that you take on, and the work that you produce.These are all small steps to a much larger framework of things to be done. The bell has just sounded and its boarding time so be sure to catch that plane. Is everything packed? Did you make it to the terminal yet? You do have your ticket right?