Etching project

                            So we have this etching project in my Human Situations class and this is mine. :)

The one that is colorful is just a setting I used on photobooth. Keep in mind the image is reversed because I took it on photobooth. I didn't say "Gnik noiL ehT" but "The Lion King" 

Michael Phelps: An American Icon/my celebrity sketch for Advanced Comp

Michael Phelps is a fish out of water, except when he is in that swimming pool. He seems right at home as he glides through the pool looking more fish than human. Kevin Clements, one of Phelps’ training partners, once said of his amazing ability, “He just feels the water.” However, his journey as a swimmer did not begin at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where the world watched his astounding record-breaking accumulation of gold medals. No, his journey began in a swimming pool at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club when he was five years old.  Michael Phelps used his extraordinary talent and with dedication and hard work made himself the recipient of the most gold medals in Olympic history.                               Michael did not do well in school because of his struggles with ADHD. In fact, Phelps’ mother is quoted as saying, “In kindergarten I was told by his teacher, ‘Michael can’t sit still, Michael can’t be quiet, [and] Michael can’t focus.’  I said, maybe he’s bored.  The teacher said that was impossible. ‘He’s not gifted,’ came back the reply. ‘Your son will never be able to focus on anything’.” Michael’s teacher was wrong. He was able to focus and he was very gifted. He excelled in swimming because it made it possible for him to focus. When he was underwater, he was in his own world. Every distraction was gone.  In the water, it was just Michael and his goal: to win.                                

  And he did. By age fifteen, he worked hard and already qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. There he became the youngest male world record holder in history when he broke the 200-meter butterfly record.  Three years later, he attended the world championships in Barcelona. There he shattered five world records and received six medals including four gold medals.  Maybe this astounding swimmer just might be able to break Mark Spitz’s Olympic record of seven gold medals acquired at the 1972 Olympic games.   However, Michael Phelps tried not to allow this daunting task to intimidate him or go to his head. He admitted he would love to receive even just one gold medal. Phelps stated that to be up on the podium and to hear the national anthem playing would be incredible. Also, instead of being caught up in the celebrity crowd, Michael Phelps has remained best friends with the same bunch of guys since the fourth grade, doing things that normal guys do such as playing poker, playing video games, and watching movies. His friends say you would never know he was a world famous athlete and world record holder because he acts like a normal guy. At least in his early career, Michael Phelps tried to be a regular guy and not to become an obnoxious celebrity.                                                                          When the 2004 games in Athens began, Phelps was ready.  After several races, he had earned five gold medals and two bronze medals. One more medal victory would make Michael Phelps the first person to win eight medals in a nonboycotted Olympics. Instead of taking the matter into his own hands, he selflessly gave up his spot on the relay team to Ian Crocker, whose performance in another race that week had made it impossible for Phelps to have a chance at beating Mark Spitz’s seven-gold-medal record.  Since Phelps swam in the qualifying rounds, he would be awarded whatever medal the team won.  His fate as a possible world record holder was in the hands of his teammates. Phelps showed true sportsmanship and supported the American team from the stands. Rewarded for his gesture of camaraderie, Michael Phelps received the gold medal his team won while he cheered.                                                                                                                                               All of these events led up to the astonishing accumulation of gold medals that delighted his fans and frustrated his competitors: eight gold medals in a single Olympics. Phelps’ astounding God-given talent and perfect swimmer’s body combined with perseverance and hard work made him an unstoppable force. He won the first medal with ease, destroying his own world record and beating the silver medalist by a full two seconds. The second medal had a little more riding on it than Phelps’ gold goal.  The French relay team had stated with arrogance when asked about their race against the American relay team, “The Americans? We are going to smash them.” Because of this comment by the French, American pride was on the shoulders of the USA relay team, and they did not let the Americans down. Jason Lezak swam ahead of the French Alain Bernard clenching America’s win and sending Phelps, the rest of his team, and every American watching this match into bouts of patriotic jubilation.                                                                            The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth races seemed to breeze by as this “American Superfish” (the Chinese called him) broke records and dominated the swimming pool. The seventh race, though, is one that will go down in history because Phelps won when it looked like he had lost. A sensor on the wall recorded Phelps’ hand touching the wall a mere hundredth of a second in front of an incensed Milorad Cavic who had said earlier that a Phelps loss would be “good for the sport.” Phelps had heard the taunt and used it as encouragement to win.  Finally, historic gold number eight came in the form of a relay.  As in the Athens Olympics, his fate as a world record breaker rested in the hands of his teammates.  Again, they did not disappoint him, and the USA relay team brought Michael Phelps’ gold count to eight, breaking Mark Spitz’s record.  The world looked on and marveled.                                                                                                                                              Michael Phelps’ amazing journey to the tallest podium eight times in the 2008 Beijing Olympics will not be soon forgotten. Through dedication to his task, Phelps has become a legend. After thousands of hours in the pool, countless training sessions, and the pressure of the whole world watching him, Michael Phelps is a champion.  What did he have to say to the question of how it felt to be the most decorated athlete of all time?  “I don’t know. So much emotion is going through my head . . . I kind of just want to see my mom.”

Freshman Year

Wow. I can't believe it's almost over.  With my freshman year coming to a close, I realize it has blown by. Here are some things I have learned.

1) Don't overbook yourself.  I just wore myself out with Spring Sing, softball, and school all weighing on me.  Then again, I'm glad I did all of those things because I've made memories.  I mean, you only go to college once. I can sleep when I'm dead.

2) You do pretty crazy things when people around you are doing crazy things.  During pledge week, I did things that I would be horrified to do right now in the student center because there aren't people looking absolutely ridiculous right along with me.  I sang the BINGO song on all fours with animal noises instead of the B I N G O. I was so decked out in orange and blue that I didn't wear orange or blue for a month.  I sang at the top of my lungs.  I got on one knee and sang love songs to random boys.  I wrote love poems to several guys, on of which was my teacher who also happened to be a former beau for my club.  I was crazy.

3) You can feel restricted by the rules if you want to feel restricted.  You can also have tons of fun just following the rules.  You don't all have to be at someone's house to have fun.  There's something exciting about searching above the student center for an open room with a projector. Who needs movies anyway? It's more fun to go to Midnight Oil and play Apples to Apples until curfew or Quelf in the Student Center.  Watching movies doesn't help form relationships, but playing games is a great way to get to know people.  I have a feeling that if we were allowed in the same houses, we would watch more movies and have fewer relationship building activities.

4) I have learned so much about the Bible these two semesters.  I absolutely loved my Honors OT and NT classes.  We got to have these groups called "Scholar Groups" and do presentations and projects with them. I got to know people that I probably might just have said "hi" to because of these groups.  I LOVED these classes. My teacher, Dr. Stockstill, is so knowledgeable and allows us to ask questions over our Bible reading. It's a fascinating class.

I can't wait to see how the rest of my college career is going to unfold.

I love Harding. 

Spring Sing!

It's here! After hours (and by hours I mean days...months) of rehearsal, Spring Sing is here. We've been practicing since that first Monday after Christmas break. I'm pretty excited about our show. Our theme is Car wash and we have some pretty intense dance moves. I'm going to get a DVD so you guys can watch it. :) This picture is of me and my friend Kelsey on jersey night, which is where we do our shows in our jerseys instead of our costumes and the rest of our club can come watch for free. We make pretty intense faces. Spring Sing is also the reason I haven't been keeping up with my blog. School and sleep are more important. Haha. 

Awkward Couples

So lately there has been an epidemic around campus. Maybe it's the fact that it's been freezing and now it actually feels nice enough to go outside. Maybe it's the water. I don't know. What I do know is there are way too many instances of PDA around campus. In the caf, in chapel, on the front lawn in broad daylight...nothing phases them. Cuddling, cooing, kissing couples are plaguing the campus. The one that especially bothers me is the caf. I mean, people are trying to eat. I don't want to see your legs all up on your boyfriend's lap and your fingers playing with his hair while you kiss and I throw up in my mouth a little. Or a lot.  Seriously people. Find somewhere that isn't so public. Nobody wants to see that.

The Kingdom of God is like...

This is just a little assignment I did last semester that I thought was fun. We had to come up with an image describing the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God is like popcorn. The kernels begin their life, soft and vulnerable, lined up on a budding corn stalk. When the rain, sunshine, and cultivation come, it matures into an adult shuck of corn. Then, it is harvested and prepared in bags specially designed for popcorn. But only when it goes through the fire (or in most cases the microwave) does it truly blossom. Not all of the kernels in the bag pop though. Even though they went through the same preparation as the kernels that did pop, the little kernels harden their hearts and refuse to reach their full potential. Some kernels pop only halfway, showing only a little bit of what they were truly made for. After the popcorn that budded is used for a purpose, the hard unwilling little kernels are thrown in the trash or washed down the disposal where there will be stinking and mashing of beets. 

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

         "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus underneath the mistletoe last night." Many Christmas songs, movies, decorations, television specials, and even hats are sprinkled with thoughts of mistletoe. Mistletoe is a waxy green plant that sucks the life out of other plants, but when couples meet under this plant, they are supposed to share a kiss.  Students at Harding have even put their own twist on this concept with an activity they like to call "mistletoeing." Calling students out of their dorm only to to attack and kiss them with a sprig of mistletoe in hand has become a favorite holiday pastime of some Harding students. Why would a parasitic plant be the cause for kissing? Mistletoe has a rich history that extends back to ancient times.

Mistletoe is present in winter even when most other plants are dead or dying. Ancient people saw it as a miracle plant. Even its name implies the magical powers they thought it had.  Mistletoe comes from the Old English mistel, which means dung, and tan, which means twig. They thought life came from the bird droppings left on the trees. The Greeks and Celts took that as a sign that God had saved and therefore made it sacred.  They even went as far as to say that understanding where mistletoe comes from was the key to understanding God. Scandinavian warriors would stop mid battle if they saw mistletoe, taking it as a sign from God to cease fighting. Mistletoe was a symbol of peace.

Mistletoe moved from a symbol of peace to a symbol of protection. People hung it on the door frames of their houses to ward off enemies and wild beasts who might attack their house. They even hung it over their babies' cribs to chase away evil spirits and illness. Even though raw it was poisonous, they diluted it and used it to treat epilepsy, apoplexy, palsy, tuberculosis, and stroke. 

Although many believed in its healing powers, the Norse had a different view. They believed that mistletoe was the most lethal weapon available. They made arrows out of the plant and believed that once struck by this deadly arrow, the only way you could be revived was to be fed some of the red berries that grew with the mistletoe. These believed restorative powers led to the current practice of mistletoe.

Mistletoe became a symbol of love, affection, and restoration.  When couples passed under the green sprig with red berries, they kissed. If a couple met under the mistletoe and kissed, it was said to bring them everlasting love. To make sure this practice was not abused by overzealous (or desperate) young men, for every kiss shared under the mistletoe, a red berry was removed. When the berries were gone, the restorative powers were said to be gone and, in theory, the kissing was gone too.

Christianity developed much symbolism from mistletoe and its meaning of love.  For Christians, mistletoe did not symbolize weak, faltering, fading and changing with the day human love. It symbolized the powerful, never weakening, undying love of Jesus. Jesus is our mistletoe because his body was nailed to a tree with no life in it, but out of that death came life for us all. He is all of the ideas and beliefs about mistletoe wrapped into one. Like the Scandinavian warriors believed about mistletoe, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Like the people in ancient times believed about mistletoe, Jesus is life among death.  Like others believed about mistletoe, he cast away our enemies and the beast that is always after us. Maybe the Greeks and Celts had it right when they said that understanding mistletoe was they key to understanding God, for Jesus is the mistletoe that brings life to a dead and dying world. The French even believed that as Jesus was dying, a single sprig of mistletoe grew on the cross symbolizing God's undying love for his people.

I today's world, mistletoe has lost its profound message. Now, mistletoe is simply about kissing, merry-making, and practical jokes played on new couples. Christmas has become less about Christ and more about us. I wonder what kind of uproar would be caused in church if the doorways were all decorated with bright green sprigs of mistletoe. Jaws would drop and heads would shake at the atrocities crowning the doorway. Maybe it would be a good idea to bring to light the powerful symbolism of mistletoe to the church and bring back the stunning idea of Jesus being our mistletoe.