That’s where we are now…down to the wire. Only another week and half of Junior year!

However, this past week has been full of hard work…and fun!

Last Saturday was springfest. Although The Rocket Summer was rained out, Hairbangers Ball was pretty awesome! But lets get real, the highlight was me in a dunk tank to help raise money for the Senior Gift Committee…

Also notable this week, I was asked to MC the Cardinal Dance Company’s first showcase! So, that was a lot of fun! The company put together around 20 dances of varying styles…–Hosting with Marc Dahlquist!

On the floor, the epic mural is finally done!

Finally, the NCC Express show we had was a great success! Everything went really well for that show!

Also, the Fire, as of today, are tied for the lead in the division! They are destroying everyone in the league with their goal differential!

This week has been pretty tough to talk about in that there isn’t too much to mention. We are on the verge of week 9, which if you have read my or peer’s blogs, you know it is a crazy time. I have papers and projects and all of that goodness that comes all at the same time (or very close together anyway).

However, it is spring term, putting an extra weight on EVERYTHING. Summer is just around the corner. The majority of my friends at other school are done with school. The lack of motivation is unreal.

Yet, with those motivation issues, there are small things that keep my coming back to a focused, concentrated state. First, Honors Day. As I said previously, it is a great celebration of the great things people have done at this place. It is all very inspiring. Second, Dr. Caliendo gave a “Last Lecture.” It was not really a last lecture so much as what he wants to leave behind as a legacy from what he has learned from his education and life experience. Being one of the most intelligent, level headed, well rounded individuals I have met, I was very motivated to get myself back on track.

The Fire play tonight and are only 2 points out of first place in the East!

Only a few more (major) projects to go…

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Now playing: Squirrel Nut Zippers – Trou Macacq
via FoxyTunes

As you may know, I am a Resident Assistant in one of our first year halls. With that comes the tradition of creating a floor mural. Our mural is turning out to be really sweet! There are a lot of steps we are going through to make it turn out right. What you will see in the pictures is the original wall that we painted white. From there, we sketched up the original design created by one of my residents. After that, we taped up the intricate design of the lettering. Then, we were ready to paint in the black. We should be close to done next week.

I was recently interviewed and accepted into the Blue Key Honor Society. Blue Key is an organization dedicated to Leadership, Scholarship and Service. The induction will be on Honors Day, May 13th. Honors Day is a very special time on campus. We celebrate the great things people have done on campus in the past year. Along with this day, we have the Rall Symposium. Rall Symposium is an event where students present their undergraduate research. Many of the projects are funded through the college by the Richter Grant Program. Basically, you go out and do your homework with a particular field of study and find a way to advance the field in some way.

Also, NCC Express is putting on a community show May 23rd at 7PM at the Naperville Band Shell. We are going to collect books to disperse to high need areas! Come out and support, if you can!

The Fire are about to play in….10 minutes! Last week they beat the Revolution, securing 2nd place in the standings!

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Now playing: Simon & Garfunkel – The Dangling Conversation
via FoxyTunes

Hope. That is how the second act of Laramie Project ends, talking of hope. These days, we are bombarded with messages of hope, but I fear these messages are coming from, and for, the wrong places.

As politicians spout off speeches and ads about hope, we have satiated to the message. It no longer has the initial impact it once commanded over the populous. These messages are good in they they bolster confidence in the government and inspire people to turn out and vote, regardless of political affiliation. However, in every hope slogan, it is used in a materialistic way. Hope to lower gas prices, hope to have faith in the government, hope to have faith in a politician, hope that the national debt will be paid down. The list goes on and on.

But in the Laramie Project, it is different. Hope in this context is about people, not things. It is hope for a future free of hate. It is hope for a climate of understanding. It is hope for tolerance regardless of gender, orientation, religion, color, race, preference, creed, sect, and so on (Sounds like a certain man who had a certain dream?).

It is about people. Life is all about the connections between people, while we are here. Why waste that time hating, grudging, and making life worse for another person? How can one justify taking away life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness from someone for any of the aforementioned reasons?

With that, I leave with a piece Psalm 133. It is utilized in the Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein (we are singing it right now in choir). This comes from, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of the song. The English translation is:

Behold how good,

And how pleasant it is,

For Brethren to dwell

Together in unity.

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Now playing: Goo Goo Dolls – Iris (Acoustic)
via FoxyTunes

This week is tech week for the Laramie Project. That plus increasing strain on the classroom makes life a bit tricky. Nevertheless, I am working it out!Laramie is a rather controversial show as it deals with the murder of Matthew Shepard from 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming. It was seen as a hate crime because Matthew was a homosexual.The show revolves around interviews conducted by the Tectonic Theater Company. They went to Laramie several times, conducting over 200 interviews to create this piece of theater. This show explores ALL aspects of the situation in Laramie and does a good job of presenting nearly every feasible viewpoint.Regardless of one’s viewpoint, this is, truly, a worthwhile piece of theater. More than that, the acting is superb (66 characters portrayed by only 8 people). Each of these actors are very accomplished and have worked for only 6 weeks to bring about an AMAZING piece of theater.Again, the Fire have improved their record! The game was not televised, but I had one of my residents there updating me! Only 2 points out of first place…