Over the past 13 or 14 months or so a lot of things in my life and the world around me have changed. Some have been small, some have been had no real impact on my life and some have just been overwhelmingly exciting.
To start with something small that has really had no effect on my life, just kind of caught me off guard. Rolling Stone recently changed the format of their magazine.
(Old RS on the left, new RS on the right)It's childish but I really enjoyed the old style of the magazine, I liked the over-sized format that stirred away from the regular tradition. I started reading RS about 5 years ago and I've always been intrigued by their writing style and the efforts to get out stories that aren't all about "rock-n-roll." I haven't claimed their strong liberal views for mine nor have a agreed with every article I've read in there, but I have agreed with their bluntness to get their point across. But I'm just not feeling the new format of the magazine; let's stick with tradition, please?
12 months ago in Sept. 2007, I changed my major at the University of Cincinnati. I switched from early childhood education to journalism. I had no idea what I was really getting myself into but I knew that I wanted to write.
Here is some back-story, in high school I thought about possibly becoming screenplay writing, but nixed that idea because there were no schools around this area with field that I knew of. So I went with ECE because I thought that I could work with children, boy could I have been more wrong. I did a little student teaching and I just couldn't handle watching children for eight hours a day, five days a week. Don't get me wrong; I'm happy that there are people out there who are willing to do the job. I give them all my respect because education is so important and I thank every last teacher for at least doing the job. Our country couldn't exist without you!
(Ralph Kemphaus, one of the best teachers ever!)But back to journalism, I changed majors and over the course of a year I've swooped out my 2.2 GPA for a 3.5 GPA that I'm much more proud to claim. I've been able to get back into writing, which I've always thought was something I was good at. I've taken classes with awesome teachers such as Kathy Wilson, who has written some of the most creative columns my eyes have ever seen. I've made a few new friends that I'm glad to welcome into my life. Rick Pandorf has been one of those people who will read my work, tell me whether it sucks or not and then tell me how to correct it. Without him I seriously would just be going to classes and heading home, instead of sitting around I actually having someone to talk to in-between classes and someone I can try and coordinate schedules with so I can have someone to keep me company for a change. Yet most of all journalism has given me the chance to actually do two things that I love. Currently this quarter I'm enrolled in a photojournalism class and photography is truly where my heart lies. Without photos life would be so blayne. And I'm just happy I can finally putting my cameras to real use and make my writing actually meaningful (at times).
On my 21st birthday I attended my last official service at Montgomery Community Church (MCC). Later that night I went to my second Core group meeting for Rivers Crossing Community Church (RC3) and everything changed that night. I finally felt like I was part of something that was worth my time.
Now I owe a lot to MCC. Will Basil, pretty much my best friend, started letting me go with him on Christmas Eve, 2003, and I've only missed about five services in the past five years, definitely a feat all in itself. But at MCC, I met a lot of amazing people, just to name a few: Sara Durham, Tyler Chandler, Matt Smith, Jeremiah Griswold and most of all Paul "PT" Taylor. I was baptized by PT, where we got a standing ovation!, and it was one of the best days of my life. I'm so happy to be a follower of Jesus Christ and none of this would have even happened if it weren’t for the invite from Basil all those years ago.
(My mentor Paul Taylor)But I stopped going to MCC because PT has been a mentor to me and has been leading me for years now into become my own leader for Christ. I also left MCC because the last time I stepped in the side doors I received no "Hello," no "How are you?" and no warm welcome. The atmosphere felt so stuck up and unwelcoming; it was not a place that I wanted to continue to go to church.
RC3 has been different. I've been able to step up and have my say on a few things: I've been able to take part in the services (even if it is eating 7.5 donuts); I've been able to play photographer during important services; I was able to help baptize my mom; I'm able to help get the church running on Sunday morning.
Most importantly I've made a ton of new friends that now make up my new inner circle. Jos and Ginger Hall have probably been the two most awesome people I've met in the past year. Jos has been there to help set me straight, give me the advice I need to hear and introduce me to just the right people. Spencer Hewes rings a bell as someone else from Rivers Crossing that has had a big impact on my life. Spencer is so mature for his age and has been able to speak the Word of God to me when I'm hesitant to listen. A few others that pop into my mind are Travis Soles, Seth Kidwell, Tyler Trampler, April Beck, Grace de Guia and Brandon Gilliam. Brandon and Jos as a team are a riot, they are two of the funniest and funnest people to be around sometimes and I just absorb every chance I can get to hang out with the both of them.
(Jos and Ginger Hall, Megan and Brandon Gilliam)To quote Fall Out Boy's song "What a Catch, Donnie", "I've got troubled thoughts and the self-esteem to match / What a catch / And all I can think of is the way / I'm the one who charmed the one / who gave up on you."
The first and last parts go perfectly with my personal life. A lot of the main people I talk to know that I'm not always thinking right, there is always one screw not tightened on tight enough. But the last part is the most important, because I give up on a lot of people. Over the past year my main group of friends has changed quiet a few times. I've only had a handful of friends that I've kept close this past year, or even since high school. I just don't tend to keep a large group of friends, I try to keep it at a minimum because of the lack of trust I have at times. It's just always been that way, but this past year I've noticed it more. I guess it's the fact Basil is the one of the only person I know I can count on hanging out with, a lot of other people leave this gray area as to whether or not they are going to be willing to hang out or not.
(Myself, Sara Durham and Will Basil)But one of the bigger changes in my life will come to later today when I go to vote for the next President of the United States. This year I feel like my vote is going to count for something, that my vote might actually going to mean something, that I'm going to finally have my voice heard. This nation needs to be revamped, it needs to have a breathe of fresh air breathed into it, and we all need to have a different change of pace after eight years of George W. Bush. I acknowledge that I voted for W in 2004; at the time I felt it was the best decision for me, and I still stand by that. I don't agree with 75 percent of the things has done since then, but John Kerry would not have done much better, I guarantee it.
This year I'm going to the polls to vote for the candidate that I feel best suits my views. I don't agree 100 percent with either candidate, nor I necessarily like either of their running mates. But for the issues that I find important such as education, energy and the war on terror, I side with Barack Obama. I know a lot of people do not agree with him, but the thoughts that he is a terrorist or a Muslim are far from true and quiet ignorant. Obama has big plans for education, from preschool to college and in-between with K-12. Our children are the future of our country and making sure that they are educated should be one of out top priorities. The teachers of this nation need more respect then they receive, they need a pay increase and then need the attention from the parents so they can do their job properly.
New forms of energy need to be developed. Yes I think oil is important and we need to do some drilling but we don't need to chant "Drill, baby, drill," like they did at the Republican National Convention. We need to learn how to use water, our waste and wind to our advantage. Landfills are being stacked higher and higher each year with expansion growing by the numbers. Some people have figured out how to run cars off of waste, we just need to learn how to do enough of it to run our automobiles within the next decade, otherwise people are going to lose their houses to our used cell phones and iPods.
To quote John McCain, "Bomb, bomb, bomb, Bomb, bomb, Iran." That's not going to help us, even if you were joking McCain. It was a tasteless joke that you should be ashamed of. To claim that you’re a Christian and all you think about is going over to another country and blowing up the place is unacceptable and definitely not the way Jesus would have acted. I feel that we do need to take the chance to talk to some of these other world leaders and get inside of their minds. We need to hear them out and figure out what they are wanting. I don't think we need to go into these meetings alone, but they need to be done. This war needs to see the light at the end of the tunnel, not the light at the end of a barrel. We're spending more money in Iran and Iraq then we are on special scholarships for college students. Where should our priorities be? On an endless war or right here at home? I think the choice is easy.
With Obama I think he will be able to carry out most of his goals within the next four years if he gets elected. It's time to change the way America is run. Whoever the next president is, they will start to decide the future of my children. And even though I don't have a girlfriend or a family, I need to start planning ahead. Why not start now?
"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." -Andy Warhol.
No comments:
Post a Comment