Southern Vampire Series

I've been reading the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris since my Aunt Sandy gave me the first book when I was in middle school (these are the books the HBO show True Blood is based off of, so it was a little racy for me at the time. Or maybe still is. I'm not sure.). They're kind of tawdry, but there's also this really interesting social commentary that creates a world where homosexuality is totally accepted, but instead it's vampires fighting for basic human rights. You watch them argue that they are tax paying citizens, and the frustration of their marriages only being legitimate in certain states, that kind of stuff. I'm not sure what it says that we're replacing gay people with vampires, but if you don't read too much into that, the basic premise is a pretty uniquely fun way to advocate gay rights.

Anyway, they (the books) were kind of terrible, but I loved them. Eventually they became so disorganized she had to get herself a continuity director, because she kept screwing up details in her story, but the writing was still pretty ok and she made some pretty awesome characters. There's something to be said for a woman who loves God and remains feminine and loving, but still isn't afraid to shoot someone. Maybe it's a weird sense of southern culture, but I like the idea of keeping your manners without taking shit.

Since it was a whole series that I finally finished, instead of a book, I'm just going to throw in the teaser for the next season of True Blood rather than add some quotes (although, the TV show is completely off the books now. The first season was pretty accurate, but now the only thing similar is a few of the characters).

Enjoy.

Things I learned Junior Year:

1. How to drive in Cleveland! I am most excited about this, because I came to BW specifically to enjoy the city, and then I never went there. Somewhere between perfect strangers offering us warm clothes waiting in line for the Captain America casting calls, and working Exxopolis, and seeing shows in the theater district, I fell in love with Cleveland. Next year, I will be spending way more time there.

2. The joy of Chicken Quesadillas. Seriously, what took me so long.

3. How to drag a breakup out as long and as painfully as possible. Somewhere in there also remains to be said that happiness is not the same as pleasure, and sometimes doing something that doesn't make you IMMEDIATELY happy is what you need to make you happier later.

4. The boring subject of independence. Seriously, if you have to talk about it as much as I did, you don't have it. I finally came to terms with the fact that yes, I only know how to love in an all-consuming way, but right now I just don't have the energy or motivation to go there. I don't half-ass relationships, and I'm just too lazy to want one right now. And that's ok.

5. How to do a shot- my birthday was painfully PG-13, so the next day my roommate sat me down with a shot glass and a bottle of water and we practiced. I still don't like them and won't be volunteering for any, but at least I won't look like a child. (But seriously. The way to my heart is with an amaretto sour, not tequila)

6. How to have guy friends again. I remember being a freshman and thinking it sucked that I didn't have the history I did with my friends at home, and not really being able to trust the guys I hung out with (my issue, not a reflection of their character). I also remember seeing upperclassmen with fraternity guys that they had been friends with since they were baby zetas, and wondering what it would be like to carry a friendship like that. 3 years later, and I've got it.

7. Sometimes, you just have to put on some mascara and go out, even when you'd rather sit at home and watch The OC. You don't remember the nights you got enough sleep.

8. But, sleep is seriously important if you aren't going to eat well. If you're going to have one terrible health habit, you don't get to slouch on the other ones. Pick one. I usually chose going to bed early and eating oreos for dinner. However, I also had to learn the hard way that it is possible for a 21 year old to seriously let herself go, and now I've got a lot of work to do. It's also allowed to me gain a different perspective; I was obviously not fat, and would kill to get the body I started the year with back. I don't know what I was complaining about. And for that matter, even with all the extra weight I put on, I can still be beautiful-- it just takes good taste and recognition that tube tops will no longer be my style (as if they ever were).

9. All of my first amendment rights, and that I want to be a bad ass journalist someday. The kind that people will want to murder, because what I have to say is so important. Veronica Guerin is my new hero.

10. How to rock climb! Kind of a strange thing to pick up, but I can now do all the knots and balay (sp?) for someone, and climb using all sorts of techniques. It's a really cool experience, to be high up in the air and trust that the person holding your rope won't drop you, and your coach isn't lying to you that you won't fall if you let go of the rock you're clutching. There are so many things that your body will tell you to do that is just wrong, and having the mental willpower to let go and do what you know will keep you moving is pretty cool. It's also a little unnerving, to realize that what your first reaction would be is just wrong, and that your body doesn't know as much as you think it should. I think I've always had this conception that my body would take care of me, and I would just snap into some type of consciousness that would allow my reactions to take control. But actually, that would be wrong. You have to know what you're doing, and sometimes that means doing the opposite of what feels like it would make sense.

Silver Linings Playbook

Ok, so I'm still behind on posting some of these other blogs that I have saved but not yet edited, but in the meantime I've finished a few books, so let's get started on that.

“Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible for us to endure nobly.”

“When life reaches out with a moment like this, it's a sin if you don't reach back."

"You need to know it's your actions that will make you a good person, not desire.”


Ok, well apparently it's impossible to find quotes from the book online, and I didn't highlight the ones I loved because I thought it would be easy. So, you'll just have to read it yourself, which I suggest you do. 

Quote of the Week:

Hold yourself for a higher standard than anyone expects of you. Never excuse yourself.

 

-Harriet Ward Beecher

I haven't forgotten!

I have a long list of unfinished blogs from the end of the semester, but sooner or later there will be an influx of all the drafts that are waiting.

In the meantime, I finished reading Silver Linings Playbook, Dead Reckoning, and finished the 5th season of True Blood.

Right now, I'm just trying to figure out what gets donated and what goes into storage and what I can try and sell while I downsize from apartment back to small room.

Horn-Tooting, Leadership, and Finals Frustration

Quick Rant today-

I'm currently running for a leadership position in a group I'm involved in (not Zeta), and it is just so disorganized I could tear my hair out. First of all, the last time this group met myself and one other student were the ONLY people to show up. Secondly, they waited until last week to send an email out saying "Oh, wait. We need to get a new exec board!" so we were instructed to send a small paragraph to the president explaining why we wanted to run. So I did.

Shortly after, the president decided it would be put to a vote (genius idea), and asked that we write another paragraph on ourselves and why we'd like to run for the position we chose.

This is where the frustration comes in. I know it's partly because in greek life we are so diligently trained about what it means to be a leader. But there are leadership training opportunities for all of campus, and greeks are the only ones that show up, so it isn't fair to say we're getting the upper hand. We just take advantage of what the school offers, and very rarely does any other group. So, while being Greek doesn't mean you are a leader, it does mean that I have been to workshops, retreats, and training, and I have a lot of information to help aide me in being a leader. So while one person might say "I have strong leadership skills," I can say "I'm a certified Peer Educator" (which really, after a 12 hour training session, needs to mean SOMETHING).

So, when people ask for stupid paragraphs like this, I get frustrated. Because they have gone one of two ways:
- People talking about how smart they are academically, which has little to no relevance on how they will serve as a leader. I get it, you've won awards, or independent studies, or done research. But can you plan an event? Have you ever run a meeting? Are you a people person??
- People talking about other things they have held leadership positions in. You were a tutor? Ok, that's good start. You were an RA? So you probably have had the training.

But what have you done?

One of the things we were taught is to not list our leadership positions, but to list our accomplishments. When you get a leadership position, it's because of what people think you can accomplish. Did you meet their expectations? If I asked the group, would they say you served them well? I'm not nearly as proud of becoming vice president as I am of planning our Senior Celebration, or doing the hours of paperwork required to turn into IO. Getting the position is about what you did before. People want to know what it was you did with it once you got it.

Another small pet peeve of mine; if you can list 5 or 6 executive positions you've held at one time, that means you can multitask- but it also means you either neglected 3 of those positions, or none of them required much of a time commitment. Depending on the individual, once you exceed about 3 positions I start assuming that they did NOT require the level of work that an executive position should. For instance, in many greek chapters, we aren't allowed to serve as an executive council member on both our chapter's panel and the Panhallenic Council panel. It's just too absurd to believe it could be managed well, since both require multiple meetings a week and are more or less a full time job. So if you can hold 6 presidential positions at one time, I'm just going to go ahead and assume that you are either in possession of a time turner, or you aren't committing the same amount of time as my one position requires. I'm not saying those positions aren't significant. I just don't think you can count each leadership position the same, and while I only have a few I can list, they're worth just as much. It's like comparing a person that takes 17 credits of 100 level classes, and a person taking 12 credits of 400 level classes. Just because you have more, doesn't make you better.

Does this sound feisty and pouty? Probably. I'm just so tired of greeks getting a bad reputation. It isn't fair that people will write off my positions as being not important, but we all work so hard. How many other groups on campus have to follow an emergency protocol plan, and practice it? How many other groups are watched so closely as to have EVERYTHING they do be approved through multiple stacks of paperwork? We are running a business.

So, yeah. I'm pouty because I'm not going to get the position. In the end, I know that I'm gaining more from my position in Zeta and Dance Marathon. But for now, I'm going to sulk before my last final.

I believe in soapboxes when you feel under appreciated.

Saturday Night!

This is our big YOLO moment of the semester, and it's happening tonight!

Nostalgic for Summer...

Ever have one of those songs that you listened to way too many times, in a really short period of time? Panic at the Disco's second album makes me think of my trip to DC in high school. Every time I hear Fall out Boy, I  think of my vacation to North Carolina. There are songs for people, obviously- but the songs for a place, and a time, are what really stick. Of Monsters and Men are the soundtrack to Europe, and I can't hear City and Colour without thinking of my dorm freshman year.

I was thinking about summer, and what a struggle it was- but the moments of peace, those are what stick. My mom taught me a long time ago- you forget pain. The feeling will go away, and you'll only have a vague memory of what was going on. But happiness, contentness, being at peace- that sticks with you forever.

I don't know if I always believe that (I'm pretty sure when she first told me that, it was in reference to child bearing), but I do know that I can hold on to those good moments and ignore the bad. Which is why I like listening to this song. It's my song of summer, my moment of peace.