Please stay safe

A couple days ago, I received an email alerting me to a sexual assault on campus.

Now, I by no means want to trivialize sexual assault by saying this, or even remotely imply that the victim is ever at fault (the gender of the student was not actually specified).  I also don't know many details, such as if the two people knew each other.

However, the email did say one thing that caught my eye: "The student and the assailant left the [party] together and went to a nearby residence hall."  It was here that the assault happened.

I want to ask this: why?  Why did these two go to a nearby residence hall together?  If they knew each other, were very close friends, this is understandable.  However, if they didn't know each other, and one didn't want sex, maybe the whole thing could have been prevented.  (Unless, of course, that was forced too, which I don't know).

So here's what I want to ask you all: Guys, RESPECT WOMEN!  Girls, keep yourself safe.  Don't lock yourself alone in a room with a guy you don't know won't try to pull shit on you.  Especially if he's drunk.  It's just a bad idea.

Estoy Pensando en (many strange languages)

My week has been Spanish-intense. For some reason, with four classes, I've had more Spanish homework this week than all my other classes combined.

One assignment a day, for three days. A short story (page and a half) due today. And, thanks to my tendency to want to get things over with as soon as possible, a 7 minute presentation about Flamenco yesterday (which turned out to be around 5 minutes long).

I've been having trouble sleeping lately, which has involved some interesting experiences.

For instance, on Monday night, I was half awake for part of the night thinking about homework assignments that I thought I had to do... or, thought I was in the process I was doing. (After my first 30 hour week of work as a lifeguard this summer, I was half awake in the middle of the night thinking I was supposed to be guarding a pool, and for that reason wouldn't let myself fall asleep... God forbid I should sleep on duty.)

Tuesday night, I was nervous about my presentation the next morning, and a bit preoccupied about my short story as well. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking in Spanish about the essay I wanted to write to provide context for my presentation. I knew I didn't have to, but I wanted to. (I know, right?)

It gets weirder, though. Last night, everyone around me (mostly people I don't know) was working on the same homework assignment. It involved programming in Python, something I have little to no experience with (unless looking over other people's shoulders who are programming in other languages counts). There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. I quietly studied for my psychology test.

Then I went to bed. I was burned out from studying and math homework. And I woke up in the middle of the night convinced I was a computer programmer, and trying to program something. It took me a couple hours (still in the middle of the night) to figure out why. Not that that broke my delusion, of course.

(Another game recommendation: Pandemic, the game where everybody wins... or everybody loses.  Lots of fun, if you prefer collaboration to competition.)

A Rant on Ranting

I was going to write a post about this article because I think the points it makes are awesome, or at least important and interesting.  Then last night, I had an experience.  An incredibly awful experience.

Yes, last night I panicked.  My math professor hadn't covered all the material we needed to know for our homework which is due tomorrow.  He'd changed his office hours to a time I was busy.  And my job was suddenly feeling like the straw that would break the camel's back.

But math.  Math wasn't working.  You know how frustrating it is when math doesn't work?  And that was the half the assignment that the professor did cover in class.  So I panicked.  Naturally, this wasn't productive.  I got nothing done.

The next day I actually tried to do the parts I didn't know how to do.  They were ridiculously easy.  I felt kinda ridiculous.  Moral of the story?  Don't complain about an assignment being difficult until after you've tried to do it.

Sometimes ranting is fun.  Like ranting about music.  Like getting a song stuck in your head and realizing the first line of the song is "I was riding shotgun with my hair undone in the front seat of his car".  Really, Taylor Swift?  I liked your lyrics.  They were good.  What's this about?

Sometimes, ranting can make you realize that you weren't keeping an open enough mind.  Such as when I ranted about said lyric and someone responded:  "Where else would you ride shotgun?  In a stagecoach?  With an actual shotgun?  Cause that would be badass."

Everything will be okay, though.  "Time will tell if we can stand the test of time."  (Damn song lyrics.  Why you so silly?)

P.S. The link is to an article about bias and failure in medical studies.

P.P.S. Buy THIS GAME.  It is the best thing ever.  (That is an endorsement by one of the awesomenest redheads ever.)

Once Upon a Time

The cry of every college student who values sleep and grades:

Didn't I have a life once?

Last semester, I was overloading.  I'm still alive.  Somehow.

Then break happened, and I couldn't nearly as easily schedule in time to write blog posts.  Or be on the computer much at all.  Now that I'm back on campus, I thought it'd be easy to get started again.

I guess not.  Somehow, with a normal course load, I'm even busier than before.  This may partly be because of another venture that I'm rather more devoted to at the moment: the forum a group of church friends and I started up a few years ago.  In a burst of inspiration, we decided we wanted to have a place online where we could talk about things that interested us as Christian teenagers.  Mostly college students now, we're still trying.

Interested?  Check it out: www.disciples4friends.com.

In other news, internships.  I'm looking for them.

20 Weeks Later...

It seems awfully cliche to post about New Years resolutions, but I don't think I have a following that would care one way or the other.  (Also, is that supposed to be "New Year's"?  And why do I feel the need to capitalize new year anyways?)

It's been a while since I've actually made resolutions, because the past couple years the whole thing has seemed pointless.  Make goals for the whole new year?  Who *really* remembers what their resolutions are come July?  The couple times I did make new years resolutions, I wouldn't look back at them till the end of the year, only to find myself wondering why in the world my year younger self would make such silly resolutions.

But as the new year hits this ear, I'm finding there's a few things I just want to do anyways.  So these are my resolutions: goals to try to accomplish asap.

1. Volunteer: I've always enjoyed it, but since I finished my Gold Award, I've hid from volunteering for a while.  Since I've started college, I've felt I'm too busy for anything else.  But I'm taking an easier (hopefully) semester next semester, I want to try to find something to do for the greater good of others.  A couple ideas: I've already submitted an application to work at the local cat shelter when I'm home, and I'd love to find a Girl Scout troop to help out with or something.  (Just a thought...)
2. Be less sleepy: I recently realized I'm tired all the time.  I really don't like that.  I want to find a way to change it.
3. Embrace adventure: I want to do exciting things.  This is related to trying to be less sleepy: I'm hoping I can find the energy to have some adventures, instead of lazing around waiting for bedtime.
4. Knit: My friend gave me a book (hey look, I'm a link) for Christmas of knitted plushie patterns.  I'd like to try to do all of them.  Or at least most of them.

These are a few things.  Also, as per the napkins I bought for a new years party a few years back: gain ten pounds, take more naps, eat more junk food.  New years resolutions I can keep ;)