Appetizer
What are you proud of?

I’m proud of my photography skills that I’ve learned in the past three years, as well as how much I have learned about myself in those three years. I’m proud of how far I’ve gotten through school and how well I’m doing in school, even currently taking 21 credit hours (which is insanity).

Soup
What is the best thing you’ve ever won as a prize?

I once entered a painting contest for a Church competition (I also entered a short story, which they made me read in front of the entire audience).  It was really a horrible painting that I ended up giving to one of my Pastor’s daughters.  Anyway, the competition (which I don’t have any sort of idea what the name was, but we competed there two or three years in a row) gave me a trophy for my awful painting.  I should mention that I was the only one who entered my age bracket for painting….

Salad
Name something you do that is a waste of time.

 Going to class!!!!  Yes, I realize that I would never learn the material of the course if I hadn’t signed up for the course.  However, if you simply give me the books and tell me I HAVE to study on this day, I can easily teach myself the material.  Nine times out of a ten, I do NOT need a long in-depth discussion on something, especially like Buddhism or Confucious (though Confucious did confuse me a little bit until today’s lecture).   I’m so lucky I got this laptop for Christmas, because Lord knows that all my teachers would HATE ME this semester, ‘cuz I would SO be falling asleep in every class, rather than happily playing on my computer.  However, there is NO REASON to make me go outside for class, when I’m perfectly happy indoors with power to plug into if necessary, when I really don’t see the need for coming to your class in the first place.  Grr and Arg.  By the way, just so I don’t sound like I’m picking on Carl of the East Asian Religions Philosophy Department, keep in mind that I feel the same way about my Art History class, and at times about Malcolm’s classes (though the case with Malcolm is more than I shouldn’t have to go to the second class, because she gives the same lecture in both and they follow one another within an hour of each other).

Main Course
In what year of your life did you change the most?

This is a really hard question.  I think I’ve changed alot in several years of my life.  For instance I believe that at age 10 (or so), I moved out of childhood.  I began going to Church and becoming really involved with my Youth Group, to the point that I became a part of the Pastor’s "family" with both his daughters adopting me persay.  My grandma also died around this time (or at least not many years later), and this had a profound effect on me, which still continues today. 

At 18 I realized I didn’t have to depend on a man to help me through life.  It was a struggle to get to that point, and some may say I never really reached it, but I believe I did.  I love Jon, but there are times that I realize how much easier it all would be if I was by myself.  Then again, he’s also quite nice to have around so I suppose I’ll keep him  

I believe that at the age of 20 I realized that I had officially transcended the childhood experience and that I had grow up a lot during my first two years of college, beginning to literally take care of my self, as compared to mentally taking care of myself.  Also at the age of 20 I began to take my role of photographer more seriously and was determined to succeed at thie role during college, if not beyond.  I also became involved with the museum at the age of 20 and verified I have no problem in the world with continuing with that goal in mind.  I enjoy photography, but I’m neither artsy enough nor motivated enough to make it a career, at least in the sense that this University and program would have me to do.

Dessert
Where is a place you consider to be very tranquil?

 There is this canal back home in Colona, Illinois.  The actual canal goes into Old Colona (I’m not taking about the part of the canal that splits Colona Green Rock in half but the part further into Colona that leads to the split).  There is a bridge that goes over this really cool waterfall, and a lot of people go fishing there and swimming in the Rock River that joins it.  I used to always go and sit and watch the waterfall or play at the park near by as a child.  It was very calming.  Whenever I was angry with mom, bored, or upset I’d go and sit and watch it.  There’s a multi-faceted reason I like it, but the rush of the waterfall has also calmed me.  It’s also a place where my Grandfather would go to fish so it reminds me of him.  It was also inspiring for poetry, though it was also really bad poetry…

This blog posting inspired by Friday’s Feast.