I want to blog about our IS class since this is my last blog. I have thoroughly enjoyed being in class with everyone. The people in our class are fantastic, and it will be sad when I don't get to see you all next semester. Katie Tressel has now become one of my good friends, and I met her through IS. I also loved talking to Josh, who always makes people smile, and Emily and Kelly, who are kind and cheerful. And, of course, who didn't love hearing about Heidi's mail and her thing for the guy at the bank? She is one of the most interesting, hilarious, sunny people I have met this so far this year. I mean, the guy advice that people wrote her from home was seriously hilarious and always made me laugh.
It has been great having our discussions every day in class and I am so glad I have had the opportunity to know these people. I am looking forward to our last day Thursday when I am done with finals, things aren't stressful, and I get to see everyone one last time before break. It will be fun (except for the writing prompt that is planned. But that's all right, I don't mind those much). The Michael Crichton aspect of the class was really great as well, and Timeline is one of my favorite books. I know I will read it again. The science of the class was interesting and broadened my education, especially since I won't have many science classes as a music major.
So, for the last blog I'll write, thanks for an awesome semester! It was fun to see everyone every day and hear about all their experiences.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
My Mom
Gilmore Girls is my favorite TV show. It is about a mother and a daughter who are only 16 years apart, so they are really close. They are almost more like best friends than mother-daughter. Besides the fact that they are hilarious together, I like this show partly because I am also really close to my mom.
My mom is probably the person I miss the most from home. She is the person I tell everything to and is always there for me when I am stressed out. I have called her countless of times this semester all in a frenzy about the things I have to get done. She has been extremely kind and understanding and has listened to me for as long as I needed to talk.
In high school I wasn't super social and stayed home a lot. Because of this, I often spent weekends at home. This was when my mom and I would rent movies for a Friday night. It was always really fun, and reminded me of Gilmore Girls again because they also have movie nights. Even though most people went out with friends or partied on the weekends, I had fun just being with my mom watching a movie. It sounds lame and sort of cheesy, but it's the truth.
My mom has been the one person I can tell anything to and will listen to what I have to say. She has come to all my band, choir, jazz band, and show choir concerts, as well as all my piano contests, festivals, recitals, and college auditions. Not to mention the millions of college visits I did last year. I guess I just wanted to write a bit about her because she means a lot to me, and she more than deserves a place in this blog.
My mom is probably the person I miss the most from home. She is the person I tell everything to and is always there for me when I am stressed out. I have called her countless of times this semester all in a frenzy about the things I have to get done. She has been extremely kind and understanding and has listened to me for as long as I needed to talk.
In high school I wasn't super social and stayed home a lot. Because of this, I often spent weekends at home. This was when my mom and I would rent movies for a Friday night. It was always really fun, and reminded me of Gilmore Girls again because they also have movie nights. Even though most people went out with friends or partied on the weekends, I had fun just being with my mom watching a movie. It sounds lame and sort of cheesy, but it's the truth.
My mom has been the one person I can tell anything to and will listen to what I have to say. She has come to all my band, choir, jazz band, and show choir concerts, as well as all my piano contests, festivals, recitals, and college auditions. Not to mention the millions of college visits I did last year. I guess I just wanted to write a bit about her because she means a lot to me, and she more than deserves a place in this blog.
My Roommate is Sick
My roommate Amanda is really sick tonight. She has severe stomach pains that started out as heart burn. Apparently stuff like this have been going on since the beginning of her freshman year in high school, but tonight it is especially awful. It is stressed induced, so that would make sense with the night before finals. I feel terrible for her and don't wish I could do something to help out. Our friend Kelsey went to get her medicine and I am staying with her in case she needs anything. I wish I could do more, but there's nothing much to do.
I feel terrible that she has a final tomorrow and is this sick. It makes me feel incredibly lucky that I am not ill from stress the night before all the craziness starts. It's given me some perspective on my situation. I have been complaining about my finals and my juries and all my stress for weeks now, especially these past two. However, I have it a lot better than Amanda does, since I can still function and am not in severe pain. It reminds me that there are a lot of people out there who have bigger complications than a theory final tomorrow and other busyness the rest of the week. Just something I was thinking about.
Sarah
I feel terrible that she has a final tomorrow and is this sick. It makes me feel incredibly lucky that I am not ill from stress the night before all the craziness starts. It's given me some perspective on my situation. I have been complaining about my finals and my juries and all my stress for weeks now, especially these past two. However, I have it a lot better than Amanda does, since I can still function and am not in severe pain. It reminds me that there are a lot of people out there who have bigger complications than a theory final tomorrow and other busyness the rest of the week. Just something I was thinking about.
Sarah
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Christmas Traditions
With Christmas coming up, I figured I would talk about what my family does over the holiday season. We have already put up our Christmas tree this year. We put it up over Thanksgiving break (but after Thanksgiving Day of course). We have a fake Christmas tree, so we all gather together and fluff the "branches"to make it look realistic. We listen to Christmas music, like Dean Martin and Manheim Steamroller. After the tree is up we put up the ornaments and other decorations around the house. This isn't a tradition that is really unique, but it is nice and fun all the same.
During the Christmas season one of my favorite things that we do every year is making Christmas cookies. My mom, brother, sister and I all have fun cutting the cookies out of the dough with Christmas cookie cutters. It is also fun when they come out of the oven and we can frost and decorate them however we want. They also taste really great! We have made Christmas cookies for as long as I can remember, and it has always been fun.
Although these traditions aren't anything that looks really great or unique to others, they are special to me because they are with my family and we have done them for years. It just wouldn't seem right if we didn't do these things together every year. I am excited to go home this Christmas because being away from my family has made me appreciate them more, especially my siblings. I am so looking forward to Christmas break and seeing them all again!
During the Christmas season one of my favorite things that we do every year is making Christmas cookies. My mom, brother, sister and I all have fun cutting the cookies out of the dough with Christmas cookie cutters. It is also fun when they come out of the oven and we can frost and decorate them however we want. They also taste really great! We have made Christmas cookies for as long as I can remember, and it has always been fun.
Although these traditions aren't anything that looks really great or unique to others, they are special to me because they are with my family and we have done them for years. It just wouldn't seem right if we didn't do these things together every year. I am excited to go home this Christmas because being away from my family has made me appreciate them more, especially my siblings. I am so looking forward to Christmas break and seeing them all again!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Debate
I haven't blogged about our debate yet! I meant to do this ages ago, but caught up with a bunch of stuff. I thought the debate, though stressful, was a good learning experience. I had never debated like that before, all organized with the rebuttals and Q/A sessions. It was nice to be able to go through that, even though I didn't necessarily like it at the time. It was a very high stress situation, which was not really my cup of tea, but afterwards I think it was good for me to try.
As I am not a confrontational person and did not have a really strong opinion on the matter, I was happy to just share information at the beginning of the debate. I am not very good at thinking on my feet, which is why I did not want to be in the Q/A section of the debate. Even the rebuttals would have been a bit nervous-making for me. So I was happy with my position, though I did sort of feel like maybe I should have said something later. However, I feel like I really brought forth valuable information and contributed to the group in that way, talking also for at least 4 minutes.
The thing that was the most difficult was Heidi being gone. Originally, it was supposed to be me, Heidi and Katie for the first 15 minutes of the debate presentation. Everyone else had their slot to talk too. This was to try to make sure everyone got the chance to say something since it was such a big part of everyone's grade. However, with Heidi not there, it meant Katie and I both had to talk at least 7.5 minutes each. This was very difficult because neither of us had planned on talking that long. We thought we together would cover 10 minutes, and Heidi the other 5. So, in our debate, Katie and I did cover ten minutes together as planned...only Heidi wasn't there. This then got screwed up because other people had to jump in out of place, messing up our order. So although it was planned fairly well, it did not do as great in practice because of this inconvenience.
However, I know this is not Heidi's fault or anything, and in no way blame her for this or am angry. I just wanted to point out why we were so low on time and why things weren't as smooth as they could have been.
Other than that complication, I thought the debate went fairly well, better than I thought. Although I was nervous, it was good for me to share the information and to participate in something I otherwise would have never participated in. It was a nice activity even though it was not one I normally would have liked.
Sarah
As I am not a confrontational person and did not have a really strong opinion on the matter, I was happy to just share information at the beginning of the debate. I am not very good at thinking on my feet, which is why I did not want to be in the Q/A section of the debate. Even the rebuttals would have been a bit nervous-making for me. So I was happy with my position, though I did sort of feel like maybe I should have said something later. However, I feel like I really brought forth valuable information and contributed to the group in that way, talking also for at least 4 minutes.
The thing that was the most difficult was Heidi being gone. Originally, it was supposed to be me, Heidi and Katie for the first 15 minutes of the debate presentation. Everyone else had their slot to talk too. This was to try to make sure everyone got the chance to say something since it was such a big part of everyone's grade. However, with Heidi not there, it meant Katie and I both had to talk at least 7.5 minutes each. This was very difficult because neither of us had planned on talking that long. We thought we together would cover 10 minutes, and Heidi the other 5. So, in our debate, Katie and I did cover ten minutes together as planned...only Heidi wasn't there. This then got screwed up because other people had to jump in out of place, messing up our order. So although it was planned fairly well, it did not do as great in practice because of this inconvenience.
However, I know this is not Heidi's fault or anything, and in no way blame her for this or am angry. I just wanted to point out why we were so low on time and why things weren't as smooth as they could have been.
Other than that complication, I thought the debate went fairly well, better than I thought. Although I was nervous, it was good for me to share the information and to participate in something I otherwise would have never participated in. It was a nice activity even though it was not one I normally would have liked.
Sarah
Christmas With Wartburg
Considering a lot of my time has been spent in Christmas With Wartburg rehearsals lately, I figured I better blog about them. So far I have mostly enjoyed these rehearsals. I have not enjoyed the amount of time they have taken out of my schedule, but actually being at rehearsal is nice because I get to hear the choirs. I am very impressed by them, as I am still used to hearing high school choirs. I haven't been able to make one of their concerts yet, so getting to hear them through this is really convenient and enjoyable. I also have a good amount of friends in the choirs, so it is nice to be able to support them by telling them how much I like their songs.
I also like being around the choirs because I used to be in choir in high school. I wasn't that great but did it mostly for fun, however, now I don't have the time to be in a vocal ensemble at Wartburg, especially with being involved in Wind Ensemble. I do miss singing a bit though, as it was a part of my life since fifth grade. It is just great to be around singers again during these rehearsals, especially when they are singing Christmas songs.
Besides being around the choirs, rehearsals haven't been as bad as I thought because I am used to long rehearsals like this. They remind me of being in the pit in my high school musical "Bye Bye Birdie." Being in the pit was pretty fun, but it did take up a lot of time. This is similar to Christmas With Wartburg, only I like it much more than the pit. At least with Christmas With Wartburg you are still "on stage" and not under the stage and hidden the whole time. Also, we get solo pieces, where in musical pit you usually play background/transitional music the whole time.
All in all the rehearsals aren't as bad as I thought. Everyone was saying how long and frustrating they would be with the choirs, but I don't believe it to be that bad, especially after working in my high school musical. I just hope the performances will show how hard we have been working, for it really does take a lot of work and coordination to put this together. Everything seems to be running fairly smoothly though, so I think it will go well. Hope to see you there!
Sarah
I also like being around the choirs because I used to be in choir in high school. I wasn't that great but did it mostly for fun, however, now I don't have the time to be in a vocal ensemble at Wartburg, especially with being involved in Wind Ensemble. I do miss singing a bit though, as it was a part of my life since fifth grade. It is just great to be around singers again during these rehearsals, especially when they are singing Christmas songs.
Besides being around the choirs, rehearsals haven't been as bad as I thought because I am used to long rehearsals like this. They remind me of being in the pit in my high school musical "Bye Bye Birdie." Being in the pit was pretty fun, but it did take up a lot of time. This is similar to Christmas With Wartburg, only I like it much more than the pit. At least with Christmas With Wartburg you are still "on stage" and not under the stage and hidden the whole time. Also, we get solo pieces, where in musical pit you usually play background/transitional music the whole time.
All in all the rehearsals aren't as bad as I thought. Everyone was saying how long and frustrating they would be with the choirs, but I don't believe it to be that bad, especially after working in my high school musical. I just hope the performances will show how hard we have been working, for it really does take a lot of work and coordination to put this together. Everything seems to be running fairly smoothly though, so I think it will go well. Hope to see you there!
Sarah
A College of Which Church?
The article we read in class the other day, "A College of Which Church?" by Mike Townsley and Professor Bouzard was really interesting and controversial. I've heard a few of my friends talk about this article before I read it and they all thought that Mike Townsley was really rude and completely wrong. So, when I read it, I was ready for him to be completely off-base and ridiculous. However, I did not find him to be as horrible as they made him sound. Yes, I think he made a lot of claims that were not very well supported, but some of what he said would have bothered me too. For instance, it would have been a little frustrating to me to go to Chapel and hear someone say they decided to believe in a "savior" that's better than Jesus. I strongly believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, and to denounce this in a church service would quite upset me.
I know I am very conservative on the matter, but I in no means dislike other religions or other people of other religions because of this. And neither does Townsley. He said that it would be fine to interact and learn about other religions outside of the church service setting. I believe this to be completely true. However, Professor Bouzard's counter to this accusation was really good. Quoting the ELCA constitution and therefore proving that Townsley was only partially informed was a great pull to his argument. He also said that truth can be found in every person, no matter what religion they are. Although I believe that every religion has a nice aspect to it that can be learned about, I think Christians should be very careful in how much they filter into their own beliefs, for they could easily be swayed into thinking that the other religion is Heaven-leading too. For this reason, I believe that we shouldn't have those people speaking in a Christian service. Sorry if this sounds completely prejudiced. I really am not trying to be, but when it comes to my beliefs I get fairly defensive. Again, I have no problem talking and learning from them outside the church, and do not by any means think they shouldn't go to Chapel in general. I just don't think that they should speak at a service, making it look like the church advocates their religion.
The things about Townsley that made his argument flawed were mostly twisting information to fit his own argument. Not only did he only quote part of the ELCA contract, but he also said a "verse and prayer from another religion" was quoted during Holy Communion, omitting the fact that it was during a memorial service of a 9-11 attack. In this circumstance, I personally wouldn't have a problem with this quotation as long as it was during something like this. This twisting of information reminds me of State of Fear and how each side of the debate took information to meet their own needs. Also, as Professor Bouzard pointed out, Townsley did not speak to any of the pastors or religion faculty--a serious blow to his credibility and argument. In addition, making the claim that Wartburg is not a Lutheran-based college at all was extreme. I believe Wartburg has great ministry opportunities to give here, and to say that it is not meeting those expectations is quite ridiculous.
Townsley had many problems with his argument, and I believe that he could have done a better job of supporting his claims and with more thorough research. However, the point that he made about someone speaking at a Chapel service about how Jesus was not the only way to Heaven was something that I found to be fairly valid. In the other cases I believe the Professor Bouzard was correct in what he was saying. Also, Professor Bouzard just had a better argument in general that was much more credible than Townsley's.
Sarah
I know I am very conservative on the matter, but I in no means dislike other religions or other people of other religions because of this. And neither does Townsley. He said that it would be fine to interact and learn about other religions outside of the church service setting. I believe this to be completely true. However, Professor Bouzard's counter to this accusation was really good. Quoting the ELCA constitution and therefore proving that Townsley was only partially informed was a great pull to his argument. He also said that truth can be found in every person, no matter what religion they are. Although I believe that every religion has a nice aspect to it that can be learned about, I think Christians should be very careful in how much they filter into their own beliefs, for they could easily be swayed into thinking that the other religion is Heaven-leading too. For this reason, I believe that we shouldn't have those people speaking in a Christian service. Sorry if this sounds completely prejudiced. I really am not trying to be, but when it comes to my beliefs I get fairly defensive. Again, I have no problem talking and learning from them outside the church, and do not by any means think they shouldn't go to Chapel in general. I just don't think that they should speak at a service, making it look like the church advocates their religion.
The things about Townsley that made his argument flawed were mostly twisting information to fit his own argument. Not only did he only quote part of the ELCA contract, but he also said a "verse and prayer from another religion" was quoted during Holy Communion, omitting the fact that it was during a memorial service of a 9-11 attack. In this circumstance, I personally wouldn't have a problem with this quotation as long as it was during something like this. This twisting of information reminds me of State of Fear and how each side of the debate took information to meet their own needs. Also, as Professor Bouzard pointed out, Townsley did not speak to any of the pastors or religion faculty--a serious blow to his credibility and argument. In addition, making the claim that Wartburg is not a Lutheran-based college at all was extreme. I believe Wartburg has great ministry opportunities to give here, and to say that it is not meeting those expectations is quite ridiculous.
Townsley had many problems with his argument, and I believe that he could have done a better job of supporting his claims and with more thorough research. However, the point that he made about someone speaking at a Chapel service about how Jesus was not the only way to Heaven was something that I found to be fairly valid. In the other cases I believe the Professor Bouzard was correct in what he was saying. Also, Professor Bouzard just had a better argument in general that was much more credible than Townsley's.
Sarah
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