To Europe...And Beyond!

It's important to note that when I begin a blog entry, I never have a set purpose. Often, I'll have some hint of inspiration, or I will just need a reason to stay up later at night than necessary. The latter is the case this time. After an epic adventure with five friends in a small car making the trip to Rhode Island's capitol just to go to iHop (mind you, Providence is only about twenty-five minutes--got to love the smallest state), I do not feel like going to bed. Instead, I'll just sit here on my bed with my fancy little laptop in my room, which is currently more full of color than ever before. You see, I went college dorm shopping today. Even without the $116 of new things my room is pretty amusing. It's violet and lime green. Now, there's a whole mess more of violet, plenty of orange, and bits of green, pink, and blue. And suddenly I feel as though I'm a lot more prepared to begin school. Of course, there are still six or seven weeks until I will make the six hour drive up to Syracuse with all of these new colorful things. However, I assure you that I will be occupied thoroughly until then. In four days, I embark on an over-seas journey to Italy. Specifically, I'll in in Rome for five or six nights and Florence for one. I'll be traveling with family (an adventure all it's own), including the Ma and Pa, as well as my older sister (22) and older brother (20).

It's not as though we've never traveled together--our month-long trip cross-country was a doozy--but this is the first one in a while. Of course, being on a plane together for 9 hours isn't much improvement from being in a van for a month. Nevertheless, our family is exuding excitement. Especially since Mother, Father, and Brother have never been abroad. It is sure to be quite the experience.

Just today I converted $160 into 105 euros--it sounds weak, but keep in mind that exchange rate variation is all relative. Those euros found a cozy spot in my wallet. I'll admit that it's nice to have foreign money on me again. It's been a year since I last travelled abroad, on a world-wind "Mosaic" trip to England, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria. All in two weeks.

Anyways, this trip is sure to include lots of museums, for one, since my sister is filled with knowledge of Italian artists, and she's never shy to share it. My brother is looking forward to the Vatican, which I'm sure will not disappoint. And I know disappointment. Last year, in Paris' famous Louvre museum, we saw the Mona Lisa. Yes, it was from a distance, but it was quite a bit smaller than most people would guess.

Personally, I'm excited to dive right into the culture of the country. What do people eat? Where do they shop? Yes, all the history and sites are fantastic to see, but once the night sets in, I hope to be able to explore.

So, I'll be sure to write again when I've gone to yet another European country. It should be a blast! And even though it's raining in this lovely little state and it will be 90 in Italia, let's try to enjoy the summer, sì?

It's One O'Clock in the Morning--Do You Know Where YOUR Children Are?

[This was written on June 21, 2009]

Yes, it truly is quarter past one in the AM right now. And yes, I truly do have work at my local Walgreens at 7, also in the AM, tomorrow--today, rather. But the thing is, you only have your first night with your new laptop once. So I intend to savour it!

I feel prepared to be educated now--ready to write papers and do any other work that comes my way, with the help of my little 13.3" MacBook Pro. It's adorable and amazing and has 320 GB of space, which is pretty fantastic. Plus I got my iPod touch and an hp photosmart printer. Basically, I'm high on technology.

However, I'm not writing to brag. Actually, I'm writing in procrastination. I figure the later I stay up, the later I'll go to sleep, which will bring work to me at what will feel like a slower pace. Yes, I know, it's inevitable that it will, whether I sleep or not, occur in ...5 hours and 43 minutes. Regardless, I like to try to slow time down. And while I do not intend for this blog post to be as lengthy, nor with as meaningful a purpose, as its predecessor, I hope to convey some kind of a point.

This may turn in to a rant on technology that is only due to my sister's awareness of it. She would refer to herself, though only four years older than your's truly, as belonging to a different generation. Her childhood consisted of collecting pogs (those cardboard circle things) and watching that Scary Monsters show and Rocko's Modern Life. While these features also played a role in my "youth," I can't say that they are as memorable as they are in my sister's mind. Personally, I watched Hey Arnold. I played with a tape recorder.

My sister will never hesitate to describe our modern world as one of "Want It--Get It" attitudes. For example, if I should ever desire to find information on jellyfish (simply chosen because it is currently by laptop's background), all I have to do is press command and "N," followed by typing into the little Google box, "jellyfish." And then--PRESTO--I have any little bit of information I could ever need on jellyfish. There is no driving to the library. God forbid we have to look down the aisles! Poor Melvil Dewey's Dewey Decimal System isn't even needed for the average student.

There are obvious perks to technology today. It's more convenient. It is quick. But where does that get us in life? What does that teach the generation growing up knowing nothing but easy, quick access? What will be the result of this?

In my opinion, as well as my sister's, we're creating people who aren't going to know what libraries are. We're going to see people ordering pizza off of the internet instead of picking up the phone, resulting in decreased communication skills. We're creating people who don't know what a gym is, because they will simply order diet pills off of the internet when they realize they're putting on weight. We've paved the road for dangerous romances, identity theft, and couch potatoes!

I hope I don't offend anyone reading this, for that truly is not my intention. I'll easily admit that I am hypocritically guilty of many of these offenses which I have pointed out. But it is really the inspiration of my own errors that makes me write this. While I sit in my bed with my laptop on my legs, iPod on the blanket, additional computer on the desk beside me, alarm clock that plays CDs, video chat camera, etc., I see that I've fallen victim.

What I'd like to point out is that, while we can and should take advantage of the speedily evolving world around us, it is always significant to grasp the world fully. If you order a book online to your local library, walk to pick it up. If you're writing to your great aunt, write a letter (yes, with a pen) and put a stamp on the envelope. Take a moment to realize that we're pretty lucky to have the technology we have, but it took this amazing world around us to do so. As my Mother would say, get your "buns" off the chair and take a step back to soak it all in. And let's all enjoy it, eh?

Introduction to Summer Vacation

[This was written on June 18, 2009]

Apparently there are 73 days until we all begin life at Le Moyne.

Feelings on this? Personally, I'm extremely anxious and nervous.

I can honestly say that this is due to a combination of orientation and my older sister's graduation from college. I'm having second thoughts, not unlike those stereotypical ones before marriage, about whether my decision was correct. Don't get me wrong--orientation was great!--but I fear that college will be too much like high school. A big part of my college decision was based on the fact that I will be residing about 5 1/2 hours away from home, which is exactly how I wanted it! As the youngest of three children in my family, I feel as though independence is something for which I should strive. It's not the distance from Rhode Island that gives me the jitters--it's the people. I don't know any of you!

My humble little high school's graduating class of 2009 was composed of a very diverse 281 individuals--before drop outs. My group of friends consisted of the drama kids and the drama friends. And we were like apples and oranges, or however Forrest Gump worded it: We were really close. Basically, all of my close friends were involved in drama in some way. That being said, drama at Pilgrim High School in our little "city" is not all that it should have been. Audiences at shows were basically family members and best friends. Occasionally, we got some people from the senior center down the street. Actors in the shows were nothing but dedicated--sometimes as much as 36 hours a week in preparation for shows. Yet we never seemed to get an audience worthy of our hard work. It was all family that would stand and clap even if we all had forgotten our lines and danced the Hokey Pokey for two hours. We loved them dearly, but we craved an interactive audience that would walk out of Pilgrim's auditorium with smiles on their faces and eyes lit up because of, well, us!

That was what had happened to me, at least, about two years before I was going to join Pilgrim's student body. I saw a performance of Jesus Christ Superstar that pretty much shaped the foundation of my high school career. I knew immediately that I wanted to be a part of this phenomenal group called the "Pilgrim Players." I did become a part of it--freshman year, fall musical. It was a student-written version of Christmas Carol. It was the spring musical, however, that secured my dedication to the world of the dramatics.

Footloose, if you've never seen it, is crazy. It's a 1980s musical about a town that isn't allowed to dance. It didn't matter that I was ensemble--all the more fun! Then, after two shows with the same director--the director who had constructed Jesus Christ Superstar, also--we got a new one. Fortunately, it was an English teacher with whom I was familiar. Nevertheless, our small group of Pilgrim Players were unsure if Mr. D. would be able to keep up with the outrageous personalities in "his" drama club. It wasn't that he was old--actually, he was very young--but he always maintained a relatively composed attitude and behaviour in the front of the classroom.

Now, after three straight (non-musical) shows, three musicals, and two murder mystery dinner shows, my group of friends knows Mr. D. very well. Though he'd never admit it, I think we're all his friends and favourite students. It's difficult not to get to know people very well when you spend practically every hour that's not already taken up by sleeping and school on a high school auditorium stage, which is probably why it is so strange thinking about not going back to that auditorium to try out for the next show in the fall. Even now, though my iTunes in on shuffle, a song from my sophomore year's production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying is on. I can't seem to escape Pilgrim Drama Club's grasp, and I don't know if I even want to.

As you can hopefully see, Le Moyne has a lot to live up to. While everyone loves to complain about their high school's flaws and inconveniences, truth be told, I'm sure we could all come up with at least a handful of fond memories that took place in those halls and classrooms. I've made so many relationships that I'm quite scared to lose. Nevertheless, I'm completely hyped up to make some new ones. Therefore, as my last summer like this one--my last summer under the direct influence of Pilgrim--I hope it doesn't go by too fast, even though I know it will. Let's all enjoy it, eh?