Causing a stir

The more time goes on, the more amazed I am by the plausible effects of the written word.

Last week, a guy made a comment that I strongly disagreed with in the newspaper that serves the school communities of all three schools down here. The comment, made in reference to my beautiful women's college, reinforced a negative stereotype held by a portion of the students at our larger brother school. I won't go into too many details. It's difficult to fully understand the implications of the remark unless you have a close understanding of the relationship between these schools. Essentially, the comment may seem flippant or even amusing to an outsider, but to those who live down here and experience the underlying attitudes behind the comment every week, it was a big deal. The girls here were pretty upset about it, as was I.

So, in a burst of passionate frustration, I decided to do what I do best - vent on paper. I went straight to my room, sat down, and wrote out a letter to the editor of the paper. I had two of my friends look at it, made some minor changes, and sent it in. Whew! It felt so good. After that, I figured that I'd just wait to see if it got printed and go from there.

As it turned out, the article was accepted into the final layout stage. A good friend of mine (also a Sarah!) who works as a copyeditor of the paper managed to fit the article into the "Viewpoint" layout, and the following day (Friday October 7) the letter was printed.

Imagine my shock when, within hours of the paper's release, I'd already recieved several e-mails, facebook messages, and even hugs in reference to my letter. So far I've recieved an incredible amount of support - it's overwhelming! I was sent one nasty e-mail, but the person didn't even have the guts to send it from his/her own e-mail address (yes, that's right... they took the time to create an anonymous "Jane Smith" e-mail account just so they could insult me without having to sign their own name...) so I'm not going to bother with it. Aside from that, the responses just keep trickling in. I've recieved two e-mails from alumni of Saint Mary's (one is the Assistant Director of Activities here, the other lives in Springfield, Illinois!) as well as countless messages and even friend requests on Facebook. I got an e-mail from Kristy today, and apparently the letter caused a stir with the students over in Rome too! She forwarded the letter to her RA, who sent it to other people she knew and alumni of our school. I don't even know how it's spread so much. People I know leave me occasional voicemails, or stop me on my way to class to talk to me about it... it's the most bizarre feeling in the world. All I did was voice my opinion in defense of the school I love, and it's gratifying to discover that other people feel the same in support of our cause.

The whole situation amuses me greatly. It's kind of nice to realize how much the written word can influence people - sometimes you reach a point with your writing where you wonder if anyone even bothers to read it. But I guess that if you have something worth saying... writing can be a powerful tool.

I plan to improve upon this tool and keep it with me, just in case more situations arise in the future. Until then, I'm just going to let the waves created by this drama die out!

Observations during an average Physics lecture

I have about ten minutes before my clothes are ready to throw in the dryer, so I thought I'd post while I still have some down time.

Physics can be a riveting and highly enjoyable class, I'm sure. However my Physics 101 lecture has an oddly foolproof way of bringing out the worst in most students who attend it. For the life of me I can't figure out why it does so, but inevitably when noon rolls around every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in that Science Hall, every girl who steps into the room falls into a dark and stubborn mood that does not lift until she's out of the building. It doesn't matter how wide awake she feels! It doesn't matter if all her other classes are cancelled and she's just won an iPod from the cross country team's raffle! No matter what the conditions, Physics 101 will drain the respective victim of whatever energy and happiness they feel!

I am no exception, though to a lesser degree than those around me. I do everything I can to be sure that I'll stay wide awake - I've figured out that it's better to eat lunch after the lecture, because then the random growls of my stomach keep me at attention, and also that it's best to wear a t-shirt and bravely sit through the cold in order to keep my mind lively. In spite of these efforts, I often find myself blinking repeatedly to fight off the waves of exhaustion. I force a look of contemplative interest onto my face and take notes, but alas, some days I simply cannot focus. Perhaps it's the droning of the professor's voice. He's a nice man, surely, but I almost wish I had a recording of him speaking about friction that I could play to help me fall asleep at night.

The subject matter has not been overly challenging, but it's enough to keep us on our toes (when we manage to stay awake!) I'm doing pretty well in the class, somehow. But that's not why I'm posting.

My favorite part about the class is to observe the girls around me. Most of them are older girls who are simply taking the class to fulfill their science requirement. Many of them wander in about 20 seconds before the class starts, complaining about the professor and how awful the class is and plopping down in the back seats together. I sit next to the same two girls every week, co-first years named Lisa and Kim, and we enjoy each other's company. Before class it's always quite interesting to just listen to everyone talking or join in with the sarcastic excitement about the swiftly approaching monologue on circular motion. But after class starts? That's when the real fun begins!

I'll use Monday's lecture as my example. Here's a typical day:

12:01 PM
Professor begins to speak. Most of the girls feign interest for the first several minutes. They paste looks of false interest on their faces and stare up towards the front of the room. A few whisper to each other and giggle. Many stare down at their "notebooks" and pretend to take notes, but they're actually writing things in their planners or going over notes for another class. About half of the girls actually have the Power Points that the Professor uses printed out, and attempt to follow along throughout the class. A few will succeed.

12:17 PM
The class is starting to get restless. Several heads turn in the direction of the clock, anticipating the moment when the professor will hand out that attendance sheet for students to check off their names. That always adds some excitement. Professor drones on.

12:21 PM
Attendance sheet is going around!

12:25 PM
Professor plods on, stopping to pick up the now completed attendance sheet and pick up the bouncy ball that he uses for an example every single day. One girl to the right of me raises her hand and asks a question. The professor answers, and the same girl continues to ask questions for a couple minutes. She does this every day. She intrigues me. She seems almost tomboyish and burlesque in a way that I can't describe, and cares little about what the other girls in the room think. Some of them whisper things about her when she goes off on one of her question streaks, and I glare at them. I think it's sad that the other girls, who, judging by their muttered comments on the professor's "unfair grading" don't do well in the class, feel the need to attack her for showing interest in it. I like the girl, in spite of her oddities. She wears roller blades into class every day, and I'm always impressed when she maneuvers up and down the stairs. She puts her socked feet up on the seat in front of her every day, much to the chagrin of the girls near her feet (and thus to my secret delight!) She bites her nails a lot.

12:27 PM
The aforementioned girl is done asking questions for a while. The general audience falls back into a lull of blank stares. If you've seen Ferris Bueller, you'll be able to produce some nice visuals of that. Some girls give up entirely and put their head in their hands, staring at the wall. A few struggle on, taking notes. Some twirl their hair, others check their cell phones, and all turn every couple minutes to look at the clock. The professor continues in a monotone.

12:28 PM
The professor changes the slide on the Power Point.

12:31 PM
Kim pokes me. I jump a little. She whispers, "Look!" and points at a girl in the front left corner of the room. I resist the urge to snort with laughter. The girl is leaning against the wall, helplessly asleep, her mouth hanging open at an odd angle. Kim and I exchange a smile and look back at the professor. He drones on.

12:34 PM
*YAWN* I attempt to stifly it as the professor glances my way for the second time all class. He changes the Power Point slide again.

12:34 PM (5 seconds later)
He accidentally skipped ahead too far in the Power Point. The room watches with rapt attention as the professor tries to get back and goes too far again. Some laughter. He finds the slide and the smiles fade away.

12:36 PM
The roller blade girl starts asking questions again. I see some girls roll their eyes. I squint at them, perplexed by their rudeness and knowing full well that by the time of Friday's quiz, they'll wish they understood the answer to that same question. I glance around me. The girl in the front left corner is still fast asleep.

12:40 PM
Everyone starts to get really restless again as the spell of the Professor's peaceful lecture wears off. Class ends in 10 minutes. A girl in front of me turns to look at the clock, heaves a large sigh, and turns back to the front of the room. Lisa looks at me and laughs, then scribbles a note to Kim and I. The girl in front of us, apparently, eats absurd amounts of food every day but is still "soooo thin - how does she do it?" I shrug, still trying to pay attention, but now I glance at the girl Lisa was writing about curiously. She wears the same baseball hat and sweater every day. Wow, she really is thin. Very pretty girl. She looks like she's trying not to fall asleep too. I wonder if she's pondering over what's for lunch today? I sure am. My stomach growls. The professor picks up the bouncy ball for another exciting visual example of motion.

12:44 PM
Pizza sounds good... or maybe some soup?

12:45 PM
Both.

12:46 PM
A dull rustle of movement begins as girls start to wake up and complain about how long the final minutes are taking. They pack up their stuff and glare impatiently at the professor, who just keeps going. He's like the energizer bunny of ceaseless chatter.

12:48 PM
"So close, yet so far away..." The song plays over in my head, yet still I manage to take notes. The girl in the front left corner wakes up suddenly, wipes her mouth, and glances around as if to see if anyone caught her. I hastily hide my smile.

12:49 PM
Why is he still talking?

12:50 PM
FREE! Remember that stampede in the Lion King, the one that King Mufasa dies in? Yeah, it's kind of like that. Sometimes I feel like Simba, trapped in the middle of it. I stare down at my notes in wonder... did I really write that?



Indeed, Physics is a most amusing class. And for the record, this is not representative of all classes here at Saint Mary's College. The others are wonderful! But Physics...? I think you've about figured out my opinion on that by now.

Late Nights and Revelations

Another thing I've started to notice down here is that the entire college world seems to be on a different time clock than the rest of the world... On a weekday, the normal bedtime (for those I'm around, at least!) is between 11:30 and 1. On a weekend, that bedtime normally falls back between 2 and 4 AM. It's oddly amusing in a way to make contact with those who are still in the normal realm of time... for example, Saturday night I was on the phone with my father and told him that he should get off the phone so he could go to bed early. He said, "Sarah, it's already 10:10! I should've been in bed a while ago!" It never even occurred to me that 10:10 would be late for him... and the realization made me smile. I definitely need to make a conscious effort to improve the quality of my sleep though, or at least the quantity.

But the thing is, it's worth every ounce of fatigue just to be able to spend time with these people! I can't even tell you how lucky I am. It doesn't even matter what we do or where we go - we make our own adventures, and wherever we end up, I feel so alive. It's not something I can fully describe, but I feel like now I'm getting the chance to do things I always hoped for but never dared to anticipate. During the week I get the opportunity to question what I know, to seek understanding and grow and learn from incredible and intelligent people whom I admire. I keep busy and study and work hard, and then by the weekend I'm able to take a step away and free myself of the stress. My friends and I do the most random things, but we love it! Wandering in an open field on a clear night, all of us singing loudly and looking up at the stars. Playing pool and having "lightsaber duels" and chair races. Ice skating and wandering and talking about our dreams for the future and the highlights of our pasts... embracing our time here, and the time we have to get to know one another. I have the chance to get to know some of the retired sisters too, and I love the stories they share. My faith is just as large a part of my life as ever, and I while I know that there are going to be plenty of ups and downs, I know that I'm where I belong.

I've also discovered that I love a much broader range of music than I ever could have predicted. I'm starting to love classic rock, like Boston and the Who and the Eagles and Rush. The kind of music my Dad likes! Maybe that's part of the appeal of it to me down here, that it reminds me of my daddy... it just feels like home. I also love classical music more than I appreciated before. I miss playing piano a lot. I still sing constantly, more than before actually, much to the amusement of my friends.

In essence I haven't changed at all. I'm just me to a greater degree... if that makes any sense. I'm the person I've always been but I'm growing and evolving every day. I'm in a good place mentally, emotionally, and physically. (Well, at least I hope so on that last one - I'm fighting a fierce battle against the freshman fifteen! But the cookies here are really good, so they're a large weakness of mine.)

So yes. Life is beautiful! I get to go home in just two short weeks, which will be nice. I'll see my family, the kitties and Willbo and Kiwi, and hopefully some of my new baby cousins! (Quinn Nathaniel and Vito Anthony, hopefully I spelled those right?) I'll get to see Shaina and hopefully Spice for a day, yay! And I'll probably work a little, if possible. I am, after all, a woefully poor college girl. But for the most part I just hope to spend some time at home with my parents, making apple pie or carving pumpkins or watching old movies. I'm looking forward to it. :-)

But now I have to really get moving on these readings... bye!