Vehicle Passes and 50-Amp?

There are many different types of ‘Englishes’ a person uses.  There is job lingo, friend lingo, parent/family lingo, and boyfriend/girlfriend lingo.  However, I feel as if the hardest lingo is work lingo.  There are many new terms that you have never heard before because you are not usually around the people that work there, and if you have never been to the place where you work then you may have no idea what they are talking about.  That was me when I first started working last summer.

                The summer before I began college I started working at Scales Lake Park.  It is a local park where kids in the summer come to swim, and through-out the entire year people come and camp on the campgrounds.  It took me a long time to finally understand what everyone was talking about when they said ‘vehicle pass’, 50/30 Amp, water and electric, and primitive.  After a couple of weeks I finally got the hang of it.   However, if anyone who has never camped before walked into the gate house where I work, they would be lost.  Vehicle pass is a slip of usually brightly colored paper we hand to just about everyone that drives through the gate house and pays.  If someone is only coming for the day we write that date on it, hand it to them and they set it on their dashboard of their car.  The pass gets them in and out of the park for the rest of the day.  It also lets the workers know if they have already paid their two dollars and they will not have to pay again.  If someone comes through the gate and is camping the procedure is different.  First, we write the date that they are scheduled to leave on the pass instead of just that day.  This means that they have already paid the gate-fee once and will not have to pay it for the rest of their stay.  Also, on the back of the pass we write the gate combination.  There is a gate that is at the entrance to the park that is locked at night, though the people who stay overnight may need to get in and out of the gate for emergencies or work, so we give them the combination.  They also set the pass on their dashboard and are free to enter in and out of the park as they please without having to pay again.

                The next thing you would need to learn is all of the different camping sites are.  50 amp and 30 amp are what most people who have an RV use.  This is so they can hook up to the water, the electricity, and the sewage system.  It is a little more expensive because you get to hook up everything, but for most people who camp in RV’s it is exactly what they want and are use too.  The people who stay on these types of sites are usually people who spend either weeks or months at our site, or are planning to spend multiple nights somewhere else and are just passing through the town.

Then there are just water and electric sites.  These sites are for the people who have pop-up campers and are usually only staying at the campground for a day or two.   They are only allowed to hook up to the water and electricity and do not have access to the sewage system at the park.

The last type of campsite is called primitive, or tent camping.  This type of site is usually the least expensive and most of the time people only stay there for a night or so.  People that usually stay there are having a birthday party, a get-together, or people who just like to sleep outside in tents.  The people that stay are not allowed to hook up to any water, electricity, or sewage.  They basically have only what they brought with them, that is why we call it primitive.

The next thing I had to learn was all of the different buildings and places people could go in the park.  There are multiple places people can hold receptions, birthday parties, reunions, and have multiple family members stay with them.  The three main ones are the Pavilion, the Old Shelter House, and the cabins.
                The Pavilion is an enclosed building with restrooms, closets, tables, chairs, and air conditioning.  This is where most people have wedding receptions, graduation parties, and other parties where they want an enclosed space for multiple people.  It is the most expensive place to hold receptions and other parties, but it is the nicest place in the park to do so.  The other place people can have receptions or parties is at the old shelter house.  I am honestly not sure why we call it the ‘old’ shelter house, but that is what everyone calls it and that is what I call it now as well.  The old shelter house is exactly what it sounds like, a shelter house.  Concrete floor, tin roof, and picnic tables are all that are there.  It is not enclosed and people are not always happy to use that during the scorching summer months.  However, it is less expensive than the Pavilion and usually works just as well for parties.  And last but not least are the cabins.  There are four cabins in the park all next to each other.  They are somewhat secluded from the rest of the campers and are right on the lake.  Sometimes it is individual families in each cabin, but sometimes families rent out all four cabins for weddings, reunions, or just as weekend get-a-ways. 

The first couple of weeks working out at Scales was difficult because I was not familiar with the terminology.  After a few weeks of repeating the words I got the hang of it and am now very good with the terms and use them quite a bit.  However, whenever I talk to my roommates or anyone else they do not know what I am talking about.  But, after a while it gets easier to know what everything is and it becomes almost natural to talk about work without explaining what I mean.   

Open your Mind

I hate when people are close minded.  They refuse to budge on their opinion.  But actually, their opinion is already right anyway to there is no real point in trying to talk to them.  It is essentially like talking to a wall that sometimes screams back.  I have come to realize that sometimes it is impossible to change the opinion of someone or even have them listen to the opposite opinion.  My dad gave me some advice a couple of years ago and I still remember it.  He said, “Kate, there are some things that you will never be able to change a person’s opinion about, mainly, religion and politics.”  I have learned that he is inexplicably right.

                I know very well that it is very difficult to change the opinion of someone who has held a certain opinion for a long time.  But, my peeve is not their actual opinion, my peeve is how sometimes the person will completely disregard the opposite opinion of a person.  As soon as you voice your own opposite opinion it is like their mind shuts down, their ears close, and the discussion is over because you will not be heard.  Why can they not listen to your side of the story as you had?  And why must they disregard you as though your opinion does not matter when you actually thought that they may have had good points in their argument?  I am not trying to change opinions, I am just trying to be heard and given a chance to voice a different opinion.  Just because someone has a different opinion does not mean that they are wrong, it just means that they see the argument differently than yourself, and it is good to hear both sides of the story.

                There are multitudes of religions in the world.  Many Americans are Christians.  But does that mean that because you are an American you have to be Christian?  To put it simply, no.  Our forefathers did not put freedom of religion under the first amendment so that we would all be the same religion, they understood that different people had different beliefs.  However, some people think that being any other religion than Christian is not a real religion, or that Christianity is the ultimate or highest religion.  I am not saying that these people are wrong, they are entitled to their own thoughts and opinions, but I feel as if they are making hasty judgments about the many other religions that people practice all over the world.  I am not sure why people think that because they practice a certain religion, that their religion is superior to others.  People will sometimes make comments and slurs about the religions that they feel are inferior to their own.  It frustrates me because I feel as if those people do not listen and try to understand the other religions around them.  They think that theirs is the best and only.  They completely write off the rest of the religions and are done with it.  They will not watch certain movies or read certain books that pertain to other religions because they do not feel the need to try and understand the other religions.  I am in no way trying to say that I am better because I have this opinion, I just feel that everybody should try and keep an open mind and try to understand how others feel and why they feel that way.  Eventually, I hope that they can agree to disagree on their religious beliefs, but still are able to be civil to each other and be friends and not judge each other on their different beliefs.

                Politics are a whole other can of worms that should not always be discussed.  Again, everyone is entitled to their own political party.  Though, I feel that it is possible that if people would just get over ‘Oh I am Republican and he is a Democrat, we cannot get along’ we would have the potential to be a greater country.  I know that that could only happen in a utopian society and will more than likely never happen in America, but one can still hope.  It would make life a little easier though if Democrats and Republicans were able to talk it out, have open minds about situations and problems and come up with a solution.  Political debates could be more about listening to the opponent instead of trying to cram your own beliefs down the other’s throat.  It is really not that difficult to listen to the opinion of a person with a different party than you.  You do not have to agree on a subject, but you can try and understand why they see it that way and gain a greater understanding of them and their beliefs. 

                I am not trying to shove my own opinions about certain issues down anyone’s throat.  You asked me what ticked me off.  I could not think of anything for a while.  Sure, there are plenty of little things that make me mad on a daily basis, but to be able to write 1,000 words about them would be a perilous task.  I finally thought of how difficult it is sometimes to talk to certain people who have a different opinion.  I do my best in every situation to try and understand the other side of the argument, but I am forever peeved whenever I am disregarded because my opinion is opposite of the person’s I am talking to.  The world would be a better, easier, and nicer place if everyone kept an open mind, listened to the opinion of other’s and tried to get along.

Employee

I am an employee.  Over the summer I would go to work for hours upon hours.  I would deal with people, lots of work hours, the computer and printer, and the paperwork.  It was not always an easy task.  I wish I had an employee.

                I would have an employee that would arrive at work with wide eyes and bushy tailed ready for the hours of work.  Every customer that came by the park would receive a gracious smile and politeness from my employee.  She would never have bad days where she was grumpy and took it out on the customer.  My employee would know how to handle each and every situation that the customer flew at her, and she would not even break a sweat.  She would calm rude customers down and fix multitudes of their problems.   If customers ever got an attitude with her she would calmly explain the situation and hopefully be able to fix their problem with no further problems.  Even after a nine hour shift she would still have a smile on her face and would be just as nice to the last customer she has as she had been to the first few that had driven in. 

                The employee that I would have would also be able to fit her friends and family into her hectic work schedule.  She would never have to cancel any of her plans whenever she was called into work.  And staying late would never fluster her, my employee’s plans would not be ruined and she would still be able to hang out with whomever she was going to, no matter the time she left work.  And on Saturday and Sunday mornings, she would not complain about having to get up at six, she would take it as a challenge and try to be even peppier so no one would know how early she had to awake that morning.  Nights she got off late would not be a big deal, she would not be tired and would still be as happy as she had started out the day.  The employee would also not even complain about working so much, instead, she would embrace the hours and offer to take any one else’s hours if they needed off.  She would appreciate all of the time she could get working.

                She would also know how to handle every computer dilemma.  No matter the problem, she would be able to fix it, and prevent herself from doing it again.  If there were already an error in the work computer, she would spot it out and be able to change it without assistance or anyone ever noticing.  If she ran into a roadblock on the computer while dealing with a customer, she would hurriedly adjust whatever needed to be adjusted and the customer would never know that there was ever a problem.  If the computer did happen to have problems she would either know how to fix it, or who to call that could fix it.  The printer would also work fantastically for her.  It would never run out of toner while she was busy with many customers lined up.  And, in case the toner did run out on her, she would be able to fix it, and replace it without having it spill all over the floor in the middle of the work area.  Even if that did happen, she would handle it swiftly, break out the broom and do a quick clean up while handling the customers at the same time.

                Another thing that the employee would do great would be the paper work.  She would never mix up where to put the paper work for the customers that rented out the cabins, with the paper work for the couple that rented the Pavilion.  She would also remember to always make receipts and mail the extra ones if need-be.  If she happen to misplace some of her paper work, she would always be able to find it, or if not make copies and put them in the correct spot.  She would also remember to write everything in the book, staple the papers together, and file them away in the correct location.  None of her paperwork would be misplaced or lost, everything would be right where it was supposed to be.

                While my employee is doing all of this I would have all of the time I could have spent in the summer sun, surrounded by friends and family.  She would make my life less hectic and stressful dealing with customers, sometimes over-whelming work hours, technology, and paperwork.  My employee would handle everything with grace and ease, and have a smile on her face the entire day she was working.  I wish this could all be true.

Judgements

Four months ago I was assigned three new roommates for college.  My first instinct was to check out Facebook, the place where social networking occurs all the time, every second of every minute of every day.  My reasoning for looking up my new roommates was to see if I knew where they were from, if we had any friends in common, and or other like interests. I know it is not right to judge people based on their appearances, where they went to school, and what activities they do, but to be honest, I do it and I know that almost everyone else does the same.  Even once I see all of those things listed on Facebook, I still try to keep an open mind, though I may have already pre-judged.   And so began my journey of getting to know Janessa, Andrea and Liz.

                I found my actual roommate Janessa right away on Facebook because her name is rare.  Once I found her, I saw where she was from.  She was from a school in Southern Indiana called Jasper.  Being from Southern Indiana myself I had heard of it, but that was not necessarily a good thing.  Another reason I had heard of it is because I played sports and had played them numerous times in a variety of sports.  Jasper was one of our schools sports rivals.  Coaches would always try to get us pumped up to play them and would be ecstatic whenever we beat them in the sport.  I had also knew that certain people in Jasper were rich and wealthy.  Driving through Jasper you could see where the preconceived notion that all of Jasper people were rich.  I had also heard, and learned from some sport experiences that they were snobs and thought they were better than everyone.  Therefore, once I found out my roommate was from Jasper, my first thought was “Great….Jasper”.  So, I went and told my mom and she told me to keep an open mind, and I did. I realized that just because she was from Jasper did not automatically mean she would be a snob.  I looked into her more on Facebook and saw that she had played volleyball like I had, which was a plus because we already had something in common.  I also saw that she had a boyfriend and was glad to know because I also have a boyfriend.  Later on Facebook, we agreed to meet up for lunch one day and just get to know each other.  I was apprehensive at first, but after getting there all of my Jasper stereotypes flew out the door and I felt so lucky to have found out that not all Jasper girls are snobs and think that they are better than anyone else.

                It took a little but more searching on Facebook to find Andrea, one of my suitemates.  However, at some point I saw that Janessa had added her and I quickly followed suite.  I found out that she was from Vincennes, another town about an hour away from where I live.  I had never really heard about any Vincennes stereotypes so I was not too worried.  Further investigation into her Facebook page I saw that she did dance and ran Cross-Country, I figured she was athletic like myself.  I also saw that she had a boyfriend.  I was immediately happy because I have a boyfriend too and that made me feel better, knowing that she would not bring random guys to our dorm.  By the look of her on her pictures I thought maybe she would be quite, but I hoped that we would get along, because after all, I was still nervous about my actual roommate.  Once we got to the dorm she was quite for the first couple of days, but I have now learned that I was completely wrong and I sometimes wish she would be quite.  But, we get along great now.

                Last, but not least, I found my third roommate Liz.  My first problem was that I could not figure out where she was from.  I had looked at pictures and nothing gave it away.  But there are some things that I learned from her pictures and other things on her Facebook.  I found out she was in band and I was a little skeptical at first.  I do not have a problem with people that are in the band, but I was not necessarily friends with them either.  I liked plenty of the kids in the school band, but I did not usually hang out with them or anything.  They were thought of to be some kind of ‘geek’s, usually made fun of by other people.  So I had wondered how this was going to work out.  Janessa, Andrea, and I had done some type of sport in high school previously and were interested in working out and intramurals, but I was not sure if she would like us because of our different interests.  But, come to find out, she actually does like working out and enjoys participating in our sport interests.  She is one of the nicest girls I have met, and just because she was in band means absolutely nothing to me anymore.

                We are all humans.  To say that we do not judge is a flat out lie.  You cannot honestly say when you walk down the street and you see a person you do not automatically put them into a pre-judged category in your mind.  It is impossible.  But, what I have learned is that your judgments can change.  Just because they are from a certain place you have heard rumors about does not mean that they follow those rumors.  Looks can be deceiving, because they look quite, does not mean that they are quite.  And, just because they participated in certain activities in high school does not mean that they will not appreciate, and maybe even like the activities you enjoy.  Now that I have gotten to know all of these girls, I feel bad for stereotyping them and making too quick of an assessment of them.  They should not have been subjected to the kind of scrutiny I secretly put them under.  We are all great friends now, and probably will be forever.  I am lucky to have known all of these girls and am sorry for have judging them.

What I've Learned from Books

               Books and the art of writing have been around for centuries.  People can read for many different reasons.  Students read because they are forced to by their teachers and for analysis.  Children and adults read for their own enjoyment and pleasure.  Books can take a person to an entirely different place.  The place could be a different time, centuries ago, or it could be a geographical place such as the Andes or the desert.  Books can teach people many different ideals, values, facts, beliefs and many other things.  I even believe books can teach you almost everything you wanted to know, granted, nothing beats the real experience, but books are sometimes just as close to the real thing.  Love, culture, knowledge, and everyday life can all be learned from opening a book.

                Nicolas Sparks is a romantic author that women and girls a like love to read.  His books are so moving that they have been made into movies, and his book/movie The Notebook is now considered a classic love story.  Women and men can both learn a thing or two from Mr. Sparks.  Women are able to see how they should be treated by men, and that they deserve the best and should not settle for anything less.  Men, on the other hand, can learn many different ways to be romantic from the books and movies by Nicolas Sparks.  They can learn how to treat women right, and want women sometimes want, and what they like to hear.  My roommates and I have decided that Nicolas Sparks should hold a conference for all boys and men to teach them how to be sweet and romantic.  The boys should then have to read all of his books and watch his movies to reinforce the ideas.  His books teach about all the different kinds of love there are, but that people should stick with their true love no matter what, this is what his books have taught me.

                As Americans, we like to think we are open-minded and non-judgmental, but we all know that that is not exactly the case.  We are sometimes skeptical of other cultures and sometimes, we completely disregard their beliefs.  I have learned that we should not be so quick to judge; we should instead try and find out more about different cultures.  A simple, and usually entertaining way to do that, is by reading books.  Two of my favorite books of all time are The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.  Both are novels set in the Middle East, recounting tales of the lives of people who live there.  I learned quite a bit about the world they live in.  I had never truly thought about their culture until I read the books.  I had been persuaded by the media initially that all Muslims were terrorists and the country was run by the Taliban.  But, due to further reading, I have found that this is not necessarily the case.  I have grown to understand and appreciate their different culture and I feel as if I am less likely to judge now.  Reading has expanded my views on the world and I now better understand the culture.

                   Another thing that I have learned from reading is that knowledge and wisdom, do not necessarily come from books.  A favorite movie of mine is Slumdog Millionaire.  After watching the movie I found out it was a book and I went to the library, checked it out and read it.  I am glad that I did.  It is also one of my favorite novels.  It taught me some about the Indian culture, but it taught me more about knowledge.  For a long time, I had thought that being smart meant that you had graduated high school, went to college, earned some degrees and bam, you were smart.  But, Slumdog Millionaire (aka Q&A) taught me otherwise.  Book smarts, cannot always keep food on the table when you are out of a job, it cannot always help you repair a leaky sink or change the oil in your car, but common sense can.  In the book the main character Ram Mohammad Thomas wins India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the catch?  Ram never made it past high school.  All of his wisdom and knowledge he gathered from everyday life, from informal education.  He becomes one of the richest men by paying attention to things that happened to him.  This book taught me that though being book smart is a great task, common sense can also help you in your future.

                As I stated earlier, books can transport people into different places.  Books can open your eyes to past events, current events, and the everyday, normal lives of all different kinds of people.  When I was younger my favorite books were The Magic Tree House books.  The books were about two kids traveling in time to complete a mission, but while they were there they learned many different facts about the world they had been transported into.  The books ranged from Ancient Egypt, Revolutionary War, Middle Ages, and many other places and time periods.  These books taught me many facts about the past and how people use to go about their everyday lives.  The books have also created in me a love of travel and exploration.  If I had not read the series, I would not have the extra sense of adventure and interest in many different time periods and cultures.  The Magic Tree House books are the source as to why I love to read and travel. 

                Books open many different doors to walk through and explore.  They open your imagination and help you develop a greater understanding of the world in which we live in now, the world in which was before us, and sometimes the world in which might come.  No matter what types of books people read, they can always learn something every time they crack the spine, turn the pages, and begin to delve themselves into a whole new world.  These are just a few of the things that I have learned from books.

Starting off Right

Eight short months ago, I graduated from Boonville High School.  I was ecstatic to be out of high school and moving on into what I considered, ‘the real world’.  College was going to be a great time spent making new friends, hanging out with them, and having fun.  However, my only concern was not about my social life, I was also nervous about my classes and professors.  School work in college frightened me.  I was afraid that I was not going to have enough free time and that I would always be swamped with work.  My main concerns after graduation in May were, ‘How hard are my classes and professors going to be?’ and ‘Will I be able to get along with my roommates and make new friends?’

                My school related fears in college were tough courses and weird professors.  In high school, I worked hard for my good grades.  But, for the most part, none of my classes were too difficult and I usually pulled out an A, with the exception of Latin and AP Lit, though I got a B in both of those classes so I did not do too badly. I come from a small town, and both of my parents are teachers, so the teachers all knew me and I knew them.  It was easy to have relationships with the teachers because we already had somewhat of a history together.  I was never nervous to ask questions about grades or tests because they knew me and knew I was a good student.  However, in college, I did not know any of my professors and I was anxious to see how I would get along without having previous knowledge of each other.

                Once I got to college, I learned that most of my classes were not as difficult as I had expected and I just needed to work as hard as I did in high school.  Some of my courses are more challenging than others though.  A couple of courses I have learned require countless hours of doing homework and studying for tests, unlike my classes in high school.  Overall, my classes are not too difficult.  My nerves and anxieties have vanished since first coming here in August.  A few of the courses I even enjoy attending.    

As stated earlier, I knew all of my teachers in high school and their differences did not seem odd to me, but in college I had always heard some of the professors may be a little eccentric.  Who ever told me that was not kidding.  For the most part, I have no problems with any of my professors.  Granted, some of them are a little odd, but their oddities are nothing I cannot over look.  I established what I feel as a good student-teacher relationship over the course of the first half of the first semester.  I feel comfortable enough with all of my professors to be able to ask them questions after class, and sometimes even e-mail them.  I realized that I had previously worried over nothing and I am happy with most of my professors and am no longer skeptical.

                I have always had a group of friends that I usually hung around with in high school.  But, only a few of them were going to attend the University of Southern Indiana this fall, and one of my best friends that does go here does not live on campus.  I was scared that I was never going to see her, and then not be able to make any friends.  But, I think the root cause of my fear was something that had happen to one my friends from high school.  One of my best friends who is a year older than me headed to Indiana State last year and was miserable her first couple of weeks in Terre Haute.  She did not have a good roommate and struggled to make any friends and for awhile I thought she was going to come back home.  But, a couple of weeks into her year she made many new friends and hardly came home.    I constantly thought, ‘What if my roommates hate me?’, ‘What if I cannot make any new friends?’, and other ‘What if’s’ ran through my mind in early August before school started. 

My fears seem irrational to me now.  I have gained many friends over the past eight weeks and I think about how silly I was ever worrying about making friends.  I am absolutely in love with all of the friends I have made and I hardly go home anymore.  I was very fortunate to have been roomed with great girls.  We even hope to live together in the future.  I am also lucky that I have made friends with some of the girls on my floor.  I have even branched out and found new friends in the other dorms.  I have had the best time with all of my new friends and I laugh at myself know thinking about how silly I was being, thinking that I was not going to make any new friends.

Many people change once they enter college.  Usually, they change for the better.  I now realize that it is silly to worry over things in college, because no matter what, I will have to make the best of it.  College is one of the best times of a persons’ life, you just have to go out there and do what you do best.  I have worked hard on my schoolwork and I am succeeding in all of my classes.  I have made new best friends and hope to make many more.  I am grateful that my fears have been erased and I am happy to be starting a new chapter in my life.

Welcome to College

                Senior year of high school, graduation in May, starting college in the fall, these are all mile-stones in a young-adults life.  Four months seems like a long time to get everything ready for school, but in reality, you will never again have enough time to do anything.  Time is not your only problem in college, money is a major factor as well.  There are many tips and other ways to help save you some money.  Another great thing about college is new people.  In college you will have to learn to manage your time, your money, and your social life to have a great year, and hopefully three more wonderful years after.

                Time is always of the essence.  The first few days on campus it will seem like you have all the time in the world to do things.  Classes will not have started and sometimes you do not want to attend some of the functions the school is holding.  But, after orientation week, you will soon find yourself wandering where that time went and can you have it back.  Classes in college are vastly different than high school classes.  The first day or so you jump right into your topic, you do not do any ice-breakers or play games, in some classes you start on notes the first day.  Be prepared to have homework your first week of school, and the homework will continue in the weeks to come.  Managing time is a lot harder than anyone has told you, or you have ever even considered.  In college there is usually something going on around campus therefore it is easy to get distracted and wanting to go to the event instead of study or work on school work.  But, you will soon find that that was not the best decision when you enter class next time and realize you did not prepare yourself for the questions your professor fires at you.  You will learn eventually to prioritize your time and accomplish everything that needs to be accomplished once you get into your daily routine. 

                Money goes faster when you do not have your parents sitting next to you.  When you look and see that your wallet is empty, you will begin to learn to manage money.  If you are lucky, you can find an on-campus job, or off-campus, or be able to keep your job back home.  But, since you are a full-time student, the income does not flow as well as it does in the summer when you are not attending school, even if you do have a job.  What I have found works best for me is having cash and not relying on my debit card.  Studies have shown that people who use cash rather than debit or credit cards often save more.  I agree with the study.  When I see my cash flying out of my hand, it makes a greater impact than swiping my debit card through the machine.  I have also found it nice to check my statements on my ‘munch money’, which is printed on all of your receipts after a transaction.  I then have to think of how many more weeks I need to be able to get by on that kind of money and then I say, ‘I can only eat out on Fridays,’.  This helps me budget my money without ever really freaking out.  Another easy tip is to rent your textbooks.  My ‘Intro to Visual Arts’ will probably not be needed after this semester, so instead of buying it, I rented it from a local textbook renting store and saved around $100.  It was simple, easy, and saved me some extra cash.

                Last, but certainly not least, is managing your social life.  Starting college is an exciting, but also nerve racking time.  People do not know you in college, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it.  Roommate assignments are also fun and scary.  The best thing to do is facebook them right away.  The sooner you make contact the better you will feel about rooming with them for a year.  I was lucky enough to live close to my roommate and we scheduled a time to meet and have lunch together to get to know each other.  Luckily, we stayed at Steak and Shake for three hours talking and getting to know each other.  It was a great way to introduce and I felt a lot more comfortable knowing that I liked the girl I was about to be rooming with.  Establishing contact right away helped a lot and took a huge weight off of my shoulders.  But, since I live in a suite, I had two other roommates.  I did not get the chance to meet with them before school started, but we were friends on facebook and that was a good start.  We messaged each other on there, and I found that the Internet is such a wonderful invention, because without it I would have been scared to meet my roommates.  Luckily, my roommates are the best.  We have our own routine set up.  We have movie nights every Thursday, and meet for lunch on Fridays.  We do a lot together, even work-out and study.  Another good way to gain a social life is to try and talk to the people on your floor and try and have dinner or lunch with them.  Do not confine yourself to just your roommates, meet new people and hangout with them as well.  Going to some of the on-campus events, joining intramurals, and clubs are also great ways of meeting new people and making friends.  I have made numerous friends by signing up for intramurals and participating in on-campus activities. 

                College is mainly about going to school and earning a degree for a future job, but do not forget to form new friendships and have fun.  Take advantage of every opportunity you can get.  But do not forget to watch your time, budget your money, and make lots of new friends.

Serving it Up

The sun beams down onto my black uniform.  I grip the racket tighter and bounce the ball twice before I toss it up and go through the arm motions and serve the ball over the net and in the court.  After the rally, I move to the opposite side of the hash mark at the end of the court and serve again.  Tennis is a tedious, sometimes monotonous sport.  Tennis takes a lot of time to improve on, both physically and mentally.  When I first started playing my junior year in high school, my dad would keep telling me that tennis is probably the most mentality based sport I have ever played and that is what I would more than likely have to work on most.  Needless to say, he was right.  Changing the way you think about a sport is a hard task, though not impossible. 

                Growing up, I had always played team sports.  Basketball, softball, volleyball, and pick-up games of football, you name it, I probably played it once.  When playing team sports, my teammates and I had to work together to solve problems on the court and figure out a solution together.  Another thing team sports taught me was that when someone messed up, everyone was to support them and help them improve.  But I learned quickly that playing singles tennis was nothing like that.  When I had a problem, I had to figure out what I was doing wrong and fix it myself, without help from a teammate.  If I kept messing up, I was the one who had to deal with it, because I was only hurting myself when I did something wrong.  That switch was strangely hard to me.  I had never really had to deal with something like that before, being completely on my own on the court. 

My junior year I did not catch on to the mentality until late in the season.  I was constantly beating myself up over little mistakes and other things that it was hard to shake it off, but I finally learned.  But, that next fall I played volleyball and my teammate mentality came back quickly and naturally to me that everything I learned in tennis the previous year flew out the door.  My senior year I tried hard not to let things bother me, which was a complete 180 from junior year when everything bothered me.  My junior year if I did something wrong, my face read that it was the end of the world, but my senior year, I hardly looked like I cared, which was not the case at all.  It was difficult for me to find a balance between caring too much, or caring very little.  It took a lot of time and effort during practices and matches to find my equilibrium again.  The end of my senior year I felt steady during matches and I cared enough, but not too much.

Mentality was not my only tedious task in tennis, the physical aspects were just as tedious.  I never played tennis as a competitive sport until I was sixteen.  Not to brag, but I seemed to pick up a racket and be able to play competitively without any prior training, (I do not count gym class as prior training).  But my junior year when I decided to play tennis instead of softball I was able to take lessons from one of my brother’s friend who had played tennis in high school and he even made it to Regional.  I was excited because I thought it would not be hard and I would be naturally good.  But, to my dismay, I was only average and doing everything the proper way felt awkward and unnatural.  I would go home complaining to my parents that I was no good and I could not do anything right.  They told me that I would not be able to pick up a racket and automatically play like Nadal, even he needed lessons when he was younger.  So I stuck out the lessons and improved tremendously before the season. 

My junior year I played #1 junior varsity singles, beating out a senior who had played since her freshman year.  I continued to improve and I even saw some varsity action.  All of the tedious hours I put into tennis paid off and I was actually pretty good.  My senior year I went back and forth between #1 and #2 varsity single and I had a blast.

Sports tend to be tedious work, especially if they are new to you and you have never played another sport like it.  I took some lessons before trying out to make sure I was qualified, I went to the courts on some weekend to play with my dad, I would even arrive early and sometimes stay late to improve.  I would constantly do the same drills over and over again to improve.  The drills were monotonous, but paid off in the end.    

The annual Fall Festival

I am eighteen years old.  I live forty five minutes away from downtown Evansville.  I have been to the West Side Nut Club’s annual Fall Festival a handful of times.  I do not remember the first time I went, but I have been going for a long time.  When I was younger my family and I would go during the day, considering it was less crowded and easier to take a young child to walk around.  Once I got older my friends and I would head to downtown Evansville and scope out the night scene.  The difference between day and night at the fall festival is astounding. 

                In southern Indiana, the beginning of October can sometimes still feel like the summer months.  The sun beats down on you and you may even see that your skin develops a redish tone, indicating a sun-burn from the sun exposure you may experience while walking around the fall festival.  In October you may think you need jeans and a sweatshirt, but not on the west side.  During the day at the fest you may even start to sweat from the piercing sun, the light crowd of people, and the heat from the food cooking in the food booths.  The weather during the day is a considerable difference to the night.

                Though the October days feel like summer, the nights can get frigid.  When heading out to the fall fest after about five in the evening I always grab a jacket and am wearing jeans to protect myself from the unpredictable weather changes.  It is not unusual to see the festival goers in jeans and sweaters.  On an especially cool night people pull out their winter jackets, bundle up and buy hot chocolate for the long night, fun night.

                During the day, there is a crowd of people walking around, but they are usually the business people who come during their lunch hour from their Evansville job.  It is easy enough to take children and big groups during the sun light hours because the amount of people is not great.  It is easy to walk straight up to a food booth and be served right away in the afternoon early evening.  Though around five o’ clock in the evening, the crowd begins to show.

                Once the sun goes down, Franklin Street has a whole new atmosphere.  More people start to head out to the west side to join in the food, rides, and games.  Especially on the nights during the weekend, the street starts to become crowded and packed.  It is almost impossible sometimes to walk side by side with the person you went with to the fest.  Both sides of the street are filled with people walking, talking, eating, and having a good time.  Once the crowd starts to pour in it is more difficult to walk straight up to a food booth and be served quickly, more than likely you will have to wait about five minutes to get up to the window and order. 

                The nighttime crowd is also different in the aspect of how the people look by their certain dress or style.  During the daytime people are in casual clothing, jeans and a t-shirt, but at night people’s outfits and styles become more unusual the later the night goes on.  At night the guys your mother tells you not to bring home, ones with piercings and tattoos, start to emerge from the converging streets onto Franklin Street.  I always try to stay with the people I went with, and stay close to them the entire night.  My friends and I are always close and will not let anyone out of our sight, though I am sure the ‘scary’ people we see are nice enough, their looks just put us off.

                I have found that during the daytime, the noise is at a minimum, unless some of the elementary schools are having a field day event there.  Since there are not as many people, you can only hear murmurs of conversations from the slight crowd.  Though, if you go down on the right day, as I stated earlier, there are local school competitions going on and you hear the emcee and his play-by-plays of the occurring event. 

                At night the decibel of sound ringing in your ears is at a high as the crowd of people starts to arrive.  People are yelling conversations all around you, and you even seem to find yourself yelling to your friends as well because so many people are talking and screaming around you that you are sure your friends cannot hear you if you talk to them normally.  Music is blaring from the local radio stations and people must talk louder again to be heard over the music.  The voice of the emcee on stage rings throughout Franklin Street.  People are crowded around the stage to see the event, though it is just as easy to hear the event on the speakers up and down the street.  The murmurs heard during the day at the fall fest turn into screams and yells to be heard over the chaos on the street.

                The best possible thing about the annual fall festival is the food.  The smells do not necessarily vary from day to night.  If you ask me, the smell is just as enticing no matter the time you arrive.  The walking tacos, fried Oreos and cookie dough, funnel cakes, and other various items’ fragrance are smelt throughout Franklin Street all week, and even the week after the festival.

                No matter what time of day you go to the fall festival, it is going to be fun if you go with the right group of people.  If you like less noise and crowd, go during the day, but if you prefer more chaos, loud music and lots of people, the nighttime is just for you.  Either time, I am okay to go, since I only seem to go to taste the delicious food that comes once a year to the west side of Evansville.  The annual West Side Nut Club Fall Festival is the place to be the first full week of October.

Wintertime Food

                When the weather starts to get cool outside, the leaves begin to fall, and you wake up and your car winds are frosted, you know it is autumn turning into winter and you are already sick of it.  I am not a big fan of fall and cold weather.  If it were up to me I would have it 80 degrees year round and have it snow only on Christmas Eve and Christmas.  But, these decisions are not up to me, so I must suck it up and enjoy it.  There are a few things that I like about cold weather.  For example, I like my birthday in November, Christmas in December, and wearing hoodies and sweatshirts.  Though, I am leaving out one of the most important things about wintertime:  food.  My two favorite winter foods are pazelles and party mix.

                Pazelles are a type of cookie my mom always makes during Christmas time.  She usually makes them and gives them to the church for their annual cookie walk.  Sometimes, my mom and I leave a few out and eat them ourselves. They are flat cookies that my mom makes in a something that looks like a waffle maker, but it is specifically for pazelles.   I am not exactly sure what they are but my mom usually puts either powder sugar or cinnamon on top of the cookies.  They are a wonderful treat that reminds me of the holiday season and I am always excited whenever I walk into the house and smell the powder sugar in the kitchen.

                Ever since I can remember, in the fall and winter I eat party mix.  Party mix is a lot like chex mix.  You have the different chex crisps, cheerios, pretzels, and anything else you want to put in.  The seasonings are a certain sauce, onion salt, garlic salt, and seasoning.  After you put the right about of ingredients in, you then put it in the oven and bake it for about an hour.  It is a delicious blend of goodness that I cannot even describe because you would just have to try it for yourself to understand.  There is only one major downfall to the delicious mix, your breathe reeks after eating any of it.  But, I have learned to overcome that and I just tend to brush my teeth more often to hide the awful after-taste it leaves in my mouth.

                It is not just my mother and I that make party mix, my grandmother does too.  I do not think that it is a recipe that has been handed down for generations, considering the recipe is on just about any chex crispy cereal box, but nevertheless we have all made it for as long as I can remember.  My grandmother’s party mix tastes different than the one my mom and I make at our house, though it still tastes great.  I am pretty sure the difference is just in some of the type of seasoning we use. 

                As far as I am concerned, I think party mix is one of the best food creations ever, though my father would highly disagree.  My mom and I always make a batch when he is not home, though he can still smell it even after it is out of the oven and is not pleased with our snack.  I am stumped as to why he does not like it, I think he does not like the smell of it and if that is the case I think he is crazy because to me it smells amazing.  But, it is his loss, not mine.  On the plus side, that leaves more for my mom and me to eat.  If my mom and I were to make it on a Sunday, I can almost guarantee that the batch would be gone by the next Sunday.  It is just that good that I can hardly stay away from it!  I went home over the weekend and told my mom that in the next couple of weeks we are going to have to make a batch because it is getting cold outside and party mix is the perfect solution to the cool weather.   

                Pazelles and party mix are the smells that fill my house during the holiday season.  Party mix is by far my favorite snack in the winter time and I am not sure why I only crave it during the cooler months, but I do and I do not plan on changing that now.  I can hardly wait until we make the first batch of the season, it sounds so good right now I would like to go home and make some if I could!  The holidays are a time for tradition everywhere and in my household that means pazelles and party mix baking in the kitchen.

Rec

At a campus with over 10,000 students, around six different colleges, and many different buildings on campus, I tend to spend a lot of my time at the Recreation, Wellness, and Fitness Center, or what the students call it, the rec.  I try and make my way there at least once a day to work out and stay in shape.  I have played some type of sport for as long as I can remember, and I do my best to stay in shape, therefore the rec is my second home compared to the dorm.

                From the outside, the rec looks like another concrete building.  It does not look very big and if you have never been in it, you may not think that there are a lot of things that you can do in there and you may not see why it is a big deal.  But, what is in there is seen after you walk up six concrete steps and entire the rec.

                Stepping in the foyer of the rec and looking to the left and you see that there are different table games, such as Ping-Pong, foosball, and billiards.  To the right, there are tables and chairs for people to relax after a workout.  The last thing is the counter where you swipe your card and are to enter the rest of the rec.

                Downstairs you here the bounce of the basketball, guys screaming and running around, to your left where all of guys are playing basketball.  To your right are the locker rooms and people are coming and going in and out of the locker room.  If you keep going to the left you see the rock wall and smell the odor of all of the equipment and all of the sweaty people in the glass room with the rock wall.  Past the rock wall you hear the slamming of the free weights on the ground or against the metal of the stands.  If you look to your left you will find various rooms, where if you go at a certain time you will hear pop music and feet scraping the floor trying to Zumba or Cardio Kick.  If there are a lot of people you also get the lovely smell of sweat and other body odor.  Sometimes the odors combine from the rooms with the people doing the free weights.  When actually going into one of the rooms for group exercise, you see all of the mirrors lining the wall and hear the heavy breathing of the workout going on.

                Back on the main floor, past the foyer, are all of the equipment and machine weights.  You can hear the belt of the treadmill as people run on it, you can hear the music blaring from various ipods, and see different shows on multiple flat screens that you can also listen to.  There are always people in there working out shaping their bodies.  If you lean over the rail you can see the courts below and still hear the basketball players running around, but now it is easier to see their game.

                The final level of the rec is just a flight of stairs from the equipment.  The four lane track finishes off the rec.  You hear the stomping of people running and their ipods cranked up to get them fired up to run their best.  Sometimes you even see people walking at a brisk pace to just get their heart rate up.  If you stop and listen a little harder you can hear the runners and walkers breathing harder and their lungs gasping for oxygen.  Leaning over the rail again, you can now see just about everything.  You can still hear the belts of the treadmills, the sounds of the basketball games, and ipods in the ears of the students.  You see people pushing themselves on the equipment and the sweaty guys pushing each other around on the basketball court.  The smell is still that of sweat and other body odors, not terribly refreshing, but the smell of the good workout.

                From the outside, the rec may not seem like a good place to get a good workout.  It looks so small and unforgiving with all of the concrete.  But, once inside, you see the multiple places to go and workout and some places to even relax and hangout with your friends and roommates.  Once leaving you feel good about yourself and you are ready to take on the world with your new body and confidence.

We are so HOT!

In Junior High, everyone thinks they are so cool.  We may only have been in eighth grade, but my friends and I thought we were so awesome.  We even thought it was cool to have crushes on some of the boys in high school, particularly the seniors.  My group of four friends and I had a couple of advantages to our crushes, my brother was a senior in high school our eighth grade year, and a couple of the senior boys lived in our neighborhood.  We would go to football, basketball, and baseball games just to see the boys we had crushes on.  Sometimes my friend would go to away sports games with my parents and me to see them.  Though the reason my family went was because my brother played, but we had other intentions.  The summer before our final year of junior high we hung around the neighborhood, constantly outside, to see if we could ever catch glimpses of the boys we thought were so hot.  And, if we were lucky, some would be at my house and we would be able to talk to them, or just stare at them up close.    

                Our eighth grade year the four of us played volleyball together and we tended to gossip about the cute senior boys all of the time still. One weekend we had a volleyball tournament in Mt. Vernon, about an hour away from us.  I cannot remember if we won the tourney, but I do remember the bus ride home.  We had asked for the bus driver to turn the radio up so we could sing and dance to the songs on the local station.  The station is called ‘Hot 96’.  Sometimes people would call in and say, ‘This is so-and-so and we are HOT!’  In the back of the bus we had heard someone do this and one of us had a brilliant idea, we should call the station and say something.  We were not sure what we should say and we thought for a little bit, and then we came up with the perfect saying. 

                After lots of giggling and making sure the coach was not watching us so we could use one of our cell phones we called the station.  Somehow, after a couple of tries, they let us talk on the radio.  For the sake of embarrassment, I am not going to use real names, only initials.  This is what we said, “This is M, A, B, and Katie and we think G, K, B, and M are HOT!”  After the call we were all giggling and laughing so hard and everyone else on the bus was confused to why we were laughing.  As far as I know, the four of us never heard it on the radio, though I think someone told us they heard it.  All I know is that we hope none of those boys heard us because I think some of them knew we had major crushes on them and that would have been more embarrassing than anything if they heard us on the radio confessing our undying hotness that we had for them.

                I have not said anything to my friends about this for awhile, but I am sure if I did they would remember it just as well as I have and laugh as much as I did remember that summer and all of the silly things we did for the senior boys that we thought we just so hot.

Daddy Jack

I am eighteen years old and I only have one grandparent still around.  Before I was born one of my grandfathers died, and at the age of seven I attended both the funeral of my dad’s mother and my mother’s father, both funerals within a month of each other.   Since I was so young, I do not have a lot of memories about my grandparents that are no longer here, but I do remember a few things about my grandfather.  Daddy Jack, which is what my brother and I called him.  He was born in the late 1920s and lived most of his life in Washington, Indiana, where my grandmother, his wife, still lives.  He lived through the Great Depression, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and other wars.  I do not know if he served in any other wars besides the Korean, which I am not completely sure on anyway.  But, I do know that when he served he was a secretary, not a Solider.  I also know that he was a beer distributer in Washington and had three children.  Other than that, I am not sure on his background and I wish I knew more, and I know that all I have to do is ask. 

But some things I do know are this:  he was a lover, not a fighter, he was a slender Irish man, he wore fedoras and other hats, he played chess and the piano, and he loved to read.

 The fact that he was a lover and not a fighter is exemplified in the fact that he never saw combat and was too sweet to ever engage in any brawl.  There are pictures of him from the war, in army holes and other various places, but my mother and grandmother look at them and smile because we all know that we did not see anything and he was just goofing around, because after all, he was a secretary in his own little room. 

Cavanaugh was my grandfather’s last name.  He was Irish through and through, without the red hair though.  He was a beer distributor for a long time, and I think that should explain a lot.  His stature was also Irish.  He was a short slender man and probably could not hurt a fly, even if he wanted to. 

Though I was only seven when he passed away I do remember the hats he wore.  I know he wore fedoras and he would hang them up whenever he came inside from a chilly day.  It seems so silly to remember, but that is what I tend to picture him in. 

There is a picture in my house of my grandfather and brother playing chess.  They are both staring quizzically at the pieces and I did not know how to play.  Daddy Jack tried to teach me, but I was younger than eight and my attention-span was no bigger than that of a gold fish I’m sure.  After he died I remember wishing I could have paid attention long enough to learn, but I eventually learned and realized he would be proud, though he would have probably beaten me if we would have ever played.            Another thing I am sure he would be proud of me is that I have learned to play the piano.  I took lessons before his death, but continued for a couple of years in his honor.  I now own some of his piano books.  He wrote in some of them and I try to play them how he rewrote them and I feel accomplished when I play it the way I think he would play it.

 Last, but not least, is the den in my grandparents house dedicated to books.  The bookshelf covers one entire wall and there are a couple of other small bookcases in the room.  This is where he loved to be, sitting in his old brown, leather recliner.  I am so impressed when I walk in there, because I like to think he had read most, if not all, of the books in that room.

I wish I could have been able to know my grandfather longer, but now I can do nothing about it.  I only have fragments of memories that faded long ago, but I remember a few things.  One thing that I will always remember is how excited he seemed to get whenever my brother and I showed up to their house.  Whether it be for random visits, or the holidays.  We only live an hour away, but with two young kids, it was sometimes hard to get us to go up there, but we always tried.  He seemed to have this glow about him whenever he came up and he always had a warm, loving smile on his face.  Another memory I have is embarrassing, for me.  When I was younger, I was the demon child.  So, when in trouble, I would be sent to sit in a corner or on the steps.  I do not remember what I did, but I remember I was in trouble at my grandparent’s house and had to sit in the corner.  Apparently I looked quite pathetic and Daddy Jack came and sat with me because he hated me sitting there by myself.  It’s silly now and I laugh at the thought, but I know he loved me very much and hated to see me in trouble.

Daddy Jack died two days after my eighth birthday and five days before my brother’s twelfth birthday.  We went and saw him in the hospital on my birthday, and I remember feeling bad that he was not able to live long enough to make it to my brother’s.  His death was no true shock to us.  Before I was even born he was sick, in and out of hospitals.  I was never fortunate enough to see him looking 100% healthy, but I never knew what was really wrong, except for he never had too long to live.  The last memory I have is at the funeral home.  I had barely turned eight and I had been to the funeral of my other grandmother a month prior to this one. I was upset, but only being eight I did not know all of the implications of death and funerals, but my twelve year old brother did.  He loved my grandfather as much as I did, but they seemed to have formed a tighter bond.  They always played chess together and my brother even wanted to attend Georgetown University in footsteps of Daddy Jack.  And, on the day of one of his showings, when we all went up to pay our respects, I remember watching Matt, and watching him lean over the casket, and kiss Daddy Jack’s forehead, one last time.

I hear stories people tell of him being a sweetheart and being goofy.  My family tells stories about him that I wish I was there to see.  The stories always tend to make us laugh and I am grateful that we have good, funny stories to reminisce on.  I miss my grandfather and I know my grandmother does too.  They were the best grandparents any child could ask for and I was fortunate enough to know Jack Cavanaugh for even seven short years.