*sigh* Artists

I read this today in my design textbook:

"Lucian Berhard was fifteen years old when he visited the Munich Flaspalast Exhibition of Interior Design. So moved by the forms and colors that he witnessed, he returned to his parent's house while his father was away on a business trip, and painted every wall and piece of furniture in these bold new colors" (Brower).

I can't help but wonder what my parents would think if I did this.

The Challenge of Opinion

So going through high school there's a sort of ultimate question that always seemed to pop up a lot: "But is that your opinion or your parents's opinion?"

In high school, it was easy to laugh it off. "No, of course it's my opinion," we say calmly, not really taking the time to realize what those words mean. And we think we're right. That's why the words come so easily. We believe that the "opinions" we stand for are our own. And it's not really possible to know any differently until we get out from under our parents's wings. I, for one, couldn't have known how many opinions I simply don't have.

I'll admit it, I was sheltered in high school. Though much less sheltered than a number of the people I graduated with, I definitely hadn't even begun to confront some of the major issues that are lurking about in the world. Some of them are minor. For instance: how do I feel about wearing sweatpants to class. Trivial, yes. Somehow vitally important to life at Grove City college? Also, yes. But there are two major questions I've been wrestling with that are a lot more important.

1) How do I feel about smoking? The easy answers still pop up in my brain immediately: it's gross and it's bad for you. Cigarette smoke does not smell good, and it's been proven to effect your health negatively. But then there's the facts staring me in the face: a number of my close friends smoke. So that brings up a totally different question: I know I don't want to smoke, but am I cool with my friends smoking? At this point, it's hard to say no. Because they're already my friends, and (like it or not) it doesn't look like they have plans to quit smoking any time soon. I haven't totally come to a conclusion yet, but I think I've settled into a sort of basic stance on the smoking question: I'm cool with smoking as long as it's not an addiction. If you can quit of your own free volition at any point, that doesn't bother me. If I can take a pack of cigarettes away from you for two weeks, and you don't have to go buy a new pack so that you can smoke, that's fine. If you can't go more than a week without a smoke, we have an issue.

2) How do I feel about missing church? My parents and pastors drilled one fundamental idea about college into my brain: this is the time to make or break your faith. And while salvation doesn't depend on attending church, fellowship is an integral part of Christianity. So when I see some of my friends who haven't gotten up for church yet since we've been at college, it gets to me a little bit. So I guess my opinion on this is that you should want to get up for church to further your faith. Unfortunately, this just puts me into a rut of not really knowing how to approach the issue with my friends who don't attend church.

All of this to say that opinions are challenging little buggers. It's hard to even decide what my opinions are, let alone embrace them and stand up for them. And besides that, how do you share your opinion in love with someone who clearly doesn't share that opinion? These two questions don't nearly exhaust the list of things I have to decide my own opinion on.  I thought I had pretty much ironed out my thoughts on major issues, but it looks like I still have some work to do there.

Sorry Comic Sans, I couldn't resist

Today's post was brought to you be the letter M

This week project for Intro to Layout involved yarn, cardboard, a camera, and a walk. (Yes, I am a college student.) I had to make a letterform – from any typeface, from any material. If that wasn't enough fun already, I also had to take pictures of it. My mom was gracious enough to come with me as I took my carefully crafted M to the park.

It played in a tunnel...

...on a swing...                      

                                           ...on a bridge...










 

...and with my cat.












The photos I submitted for the assignment can be seen here.

A (Brief) Rant from a Design Major

To begin with, here are a few facts about me:

        1. I like writing 

      2. I like editing

So, when I saw this poster on Pinterest, I was immediately intrigued.

 

But there is another rather important fact about me.

         3. I am a graphic design major

My inner designer would like to point out that while the top of the poster clearly puts the writer on the left and the editor on the right, the list of characteristics are opposite! This is visually confusing.  However, I didn’t pick up on this at first because there was a little something I couldn’t get over: the use of Comic Sans. Don’t get me wrong, Comic Sans is a sweet little font, but these posters sum it up quite well.

Orientation Week

Well, I survived. After five days of orientation activities, I was ready for school to start. But there were a couple special events sprinkled among games like Ninja, Cat and Mouse, and Human Knot. One of those was the service project. My orientation group of four guys and fifteen girls was assigned to Urban Homeworks, an organization based in North Minneapolis that purchases foreclosed homes, fixes them up, and rents them back to families in the area. We got to help with the demolition process. The particular house we were at needed the chimneys removed, backyard raked for glass, and bathroom pulled out. It was hard work, and the hot, humid weather certainly didn’t help. We all survived though, albeit rather dirty.

But at least we got free T-shirts.

Flyover States

I hate flying. Weird, I know, but I get super sick on takeoff and landing and freak myself out being in airports by myself. But right about now, flying is sounding real good.

Over the past week, I have been in a car for approximately 32 hours. That's not counting cab rides or subways that took me to and from my various destinations around New York City. I pity my family who all have to drive another 16+ hours to get back to the great state of Minnesota starting on Thursday.

To make the trip bearable, there have been a variety of solutions.

1. Family games. These range anywhere from talking in accents and tickle wars to keeping track of state license plates. So far on the trip, we've seen all but 15 (two of which are Alaska and Hawaii, so really we've seen all but 13).

2. Lots of reading. I've been rereading the Harry Potter series and managed to burn my way through Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows since leaving home. Unfortunately, I read the last few chapters of the latter last night which completes the series. So now I'm bookless for the last leg of the journey.

3. Movies! I've actually only watched one, but Annika used the computer to entertain herself quite a few times. Ocean's 11 was a welcome break from the road.

4. Writing... Or editing, more aptly. The Legend of Harthore is slowly coming along, but I really need to sit my butt down and actually finish it.

5. Naps!!! I can't tell you how many times I've fallen asleep on this trip - on trains, in our car - in a variety of different positions which have left me in various levels of soreness, and on three (soon to be four) different beds.

That all being said, complaining is not entirely the point of this post. Entitled "Flyover States", I have to admit that flying over Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York is sounding better and better. But I don't believe God created them as flyover states, so I decided to use this post to find the reasons why each state is worth driving through - even if it does force me to spend about as much time in the car as out of it.

1. Minnesota. Which is home, obviously, so there's that. More to the point, there are 10,000+ lakes. Which seems normal but is actually insane. MN has more "coastline" than any other state.

2. Wisconsin. The state of the cheese heads! But in all seriousness, three of my good friends from high school live in Wisconsin (Claire, Julian, and Mick). Plus they do have some gorgeous cliff formations and awesome biking trails.

3. Illinois. Corn and farmers! And my cousins, who are incredible. Plus there's Chicago where I had my audition for The Voice. Basically, Illinois has a bunch of awesome memories.

4. Indiana. Which holds Notre Dame, the school that I literally think half of the Trinity Class of 2013 applied to. Plus there's Trinity School at Green Lawn, sister school number 1.

5. Ohio. This one was hard because I know little to nothing about OH. But driving through it was pretty gorgeous with all of the hills and trees.

6. Pennsylvania. Which (obviously) is the home of Grove City!! I can't wait to get started with whatever crazy adventure God has planned for me there - whether it lasts 4 years or 1!

7. New Jersey. Again, a harder one. But my friends aunt and uncle live there, and they were super charitable to host Bessie the Van for three days while we were in New York City!

8. New York. While the city is totally insane, polluted, and - yes - at moments terrifying, it really grew on me over the course of our time there. Yes, stairs to a fifth floor apartment were awful. And yes, the subway was creepy. And no, I don't know if I'll be visiting Staten Island any time soon after a creepy encounter with a homeless man. But Broadway is incredible, and the hustle and bustle keeps up a fast pace that I just love. Outdoor cafes are incredible, Central Park is gorgeous, and the way the city lights up at night is riveting. 

NYC is (in my humble opinion) the true cultural center of the United States. And while that's terrifying in some ways, seeing two headlining Broadway stars who are truly incredible, strong, Christian men (Corey Cott and Zachary Levi - and that's not just from the tabloids) is inspiring. I want to make a difference like that - using gifts that God has given me, and just loving people around me and being clear about my faith.

That all to say that Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York are hardly flyover. Each of them has a lot of worth, and each of the people there needs the love of Christ shown to them. Through me, my friends, or a few guys on Broadway.

I Move in on Friday!

On Friday, August 23, 2013, I will be officially moved in to University of Northwestern St. Paul. Even as I write that, I have a hard time believing it’s finally happening. Sure, I’ve already been at the school for a year doing PSEO, but actually living on campus is a whole other story. All in all, I am pretty excited, but I am honestly more terrified than anything else.

But first, some of the good things:

1. I will see this lovely lady again.

This is Heather, my good friend and one of my roommates. I met her last fall at orientation and together we braved Math for the Liberal Arts and Economics.  She is super artsy and probably one of the sweetest people I know

 

2. I will see this other lovely lady.

Because she’s been away to England, piano camp, and now Germany, I haven’t really had a chance to catch up with my wonderful sister all summer. Fortunately, neither of us have morning classes, and I have a huge meal plan to spend. I predict a smattering of breakfast dates over the course of this semester.

3. And this one, too.

This is Kelsey, my dear friend and accountability partner. She just celebrated her 20^th birthday on Sunday! I still can’t believe how awesome it is that we have ended up at the same school.

4. Because I have already been to Northwestern, I know where everything is – like the tunnels, the good places to study (the library), and the good places to scare people (basement of Naz).  And thanks to my classes last semester, I have almost figured out how to not get lost in Nazareth hall.

5. Other than philosophy, I have all of my generals done, so I can focus in on the “fun” classes that have to do with my major. I’m actually rather excited about Honors Old Testament, Drawing, Intro to Layout, Intro to Design, and Honors Art Appreciation. I’m also planning to take violin lessons and participate in orchestra.

And for now the things I’m less than thrilled about.

1.  I have been feeling sicker this summer.  Particularly during the month of July, I was having days where I wouldn’t feel awake until 7:00 in the evening. Sometimes I’d even fall asleep once or twice during the day, which usually only happens if I have a fever or stayed up for over 24 hours. And then there’s the stomach pain and headaches and joint pain that all but drive me insane.

 

2. This lovely lady leaving me for Pennsylvania.

Granted, she will be having the time of her life studying English and theatre, but I shall thoroughly miss our quarterly meetings. Thank goodness for the Internet and texting because I highly doubt I could survive without her sweet encouragement. She is probably the best friend a girl could ask for.

 

3. And this one is leaving me for Crookston.

Anna is also one of my best friends. Coincidently, she went to Pennsylvania for school last year. Fortunately, she’s closer now, so I might even be able to see her on some weekends.

4. I am dreading orientation activities. For some reason, there are five whole days of them. I already know people. I don’t feel good. I have no desire to purposefully embarrass myself. Unfortunately, it’s all required. Heather and I joked that we could just be hipsters and consider orientation activities too mainstream to participate in them.

5. I will have to buy my own gas for my car. Enough said.

Note to Self: God is God and You are Not

I am very much a planner, and while I do enjoy the benefits of relatively few all-nighters due to unfinished homework projects, I’m also predisposed to anxiety when things don’t go as planned. See, as much as I’d like to be control, I’m not. God is, and I am unfortunately quite talented at forgetting this rather important fact. So, with some help from InDesign, my printer, and a couple pieces of tape, I decided to make this sign and stick it to my door:

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some knitting to do…