School starts soon, and students everywhere are either homesick, restless, or depressed because the break has ended for them.
Yup, we are officially entering the "school-starts-again" blues part of the year. I know you'll all hate me for this, but I have to say really quickly that if you pine too much for the future or what's just ended you'll miss the beautiful things that are happening in the present.
I've posted this quote recently but it seems fitting today:
"One day at a time--this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering." ~Ida Scott Taylor
Just remember that soon it's going to be just as before. It's the getting back into the swing of things that sucks.
I know. I'm right there with you.
Remember that the sun rises and sets every day and puts on a beautiful show; and when the sky is clear, around here you can see ALL of the stars.
that's what gets me through the hard days.
If it all gets to be too much this semester go for a walk and look up.
That's all you need to remember.
Until next time,
Avery
January 9, 2011
December 1, 2010
The Week Before Finals Week
‘Tis the week before finals, and all through the halls
students walk around slowly with red, sleepless, eyeballs.
Studying the entire day through, has given at least half of them a cold or a flu.
As they sit, cough, and sniff, their way through their classes
their awesome roommates, because of the stresses, all of a sudden become pains-in-their-asses.
And every so often, you’ll hear one student say
“Whatever happened to having a free day?”
No fun to be had as they all muddled through
The cumulative notes that nobody knew.
And eventually someone says to you
“I give up! I fail! Help me out here dude.”
Studying, studying all through the hours silently drained us of our great mental powers.
Our new diet consists of coffee, red bull, and tea.
The only solace we have is that in days, we’ll be free.
If we ever get free time from our horrible books, we may hop on Facebook in a small corner
nook, or play videogames, or watch a DVD, some may even try that foreign object: TV.
The library is packed with students ‘til two
When the staff finally says: “go home and sleep you.”
And some of them don’t and some of them do. We all are nocturnal around December 2.
But soon we’ll be done, we’ll be on holiday break.
We’ll see our friends back home, or maybe we’ll take, a step toward the future
after we make it
across the stage in that cap and that cape.
Only one more week people.
We can make it through. Believe me; I’m there, struggling right beside you.
We’ll get there together, I assure you, it’s true.
Just remember to take time to take care of you.
Until next time,
Avery
students walk around slowly with red, sleepless, eyeballs.
Studying the entire day through, has given at least half of them a cold or a flu.
As they sit, cough, and sniff, their way through their classes
their awesome roommates, because of the stresses, all of a sudden become pains-in-their-asses.
And every so often, you’ll hear one student say
“Whatever happened to having a free day?”
No fun to be had as they all muddled through
The cumulative notes that nobody knew.
And eventually someone says to you
“I give up! I fail! Help me out here dude.”
Studying, studying all through the hours silently drained us of our great mental powers.
Our new diet consists of coffee, red bull, and tea.
The only solace we have is that in days, we’ll be free.
If we ever get free time from our horrible books, we may hop on Facebook in a small corner
nook, or play videogames, or watch a DVD, some may even try that foreign object: TV.
The library is packed with students ‘til two
When the staff finally says: “go home and sleep you.”
And some of them don’t and some of them do. We all are nocturnal around December 2.
But soon we’ll be done, we’ll be on holiday break.
We’ll see our friends back home, or maybe we’ll take, a step toward the future
after we make it
across the stage in that cap and that cape.
Only one more week people.
We can make it through. Believe me; I’m there, struggling right beside you.
We’ll get there together, I assure you, it’s true.
Just remember to take time to take care of you.
Until next time,
Avery
November 24, 2010
An early New Year's Resolution
"One day at a time--this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering." ~Ida Scott Taylor
Dear Ms. Taylor,
I have no idea who you are, or where you are from, or your significance to the world as a whole, but thank you for that. I needed a reminder.
Until next time,
Avery
Dear Ms. Taylor,
I have no idea who you are, or where you are from, or your significance to the world as a whole, but thank you for that. I needed a reminder.
Until next time,
Avery
November 23, 2010
The Comeback Kid
**Disclaimer, since I know some stop by, and will take all words seriously: this is in no way relating to any of my relatives, nor is it meant to be taken seriously. It is simply to inject some light humor in to the holiday season for the singletons. Please do not kill me, or give me death glares, when I see you over the holidays. Hasta pronto**
“So honey, do you have a boyfriend yet,” like it’s expected of you. Of course everyone stops eating and talking to find this out because they weren’t brave enough to ask it themselves.
If you do, good for you! You have successfully avoided the awkward moment that follows this question and can continue to have a wonderful conversation about him with your relative while the rest of the family goes back to eating and talking.
If you don’t, and you say you don’t, your response is usually met with:
a) A look like you’ve suddenly grown a third head
b) A sad “you’ve-failed-at-life” kind of look
c) An awkward “oh” and a sudden change of subject or exit from a room
OR
d) A combination of all three
Because you see, to this tactless relative it doesn’t matter that say for example: you studied abroad in Spain after saving money for years; it doesn’t matter that you have discovered what you’d like to do with your life/career in the future; it doesn’t matter that your first ever news article got published in your college paper, nor does it matter that you are now writing for them on a regular basis. It doesn’t matter that you’re meeting tons of new people while managing to work with your clubs, have a social life and control your workload; or that you’ve had an awesome interview; gotten a job; received a promotion or volunteered somewhere; nor does it matter that you’re almost done with school, or looking for an internship, and the fact that you’re doing a damn good job in your hardest classes ever is unimportant. All that matters to this tactless relative is that you don’t have a boyfriend for yet another year.
So, here are some comebacks that I’ve thought up, please feel free to write your own:
“Oh yes, his name is Hank, he just got out of prison and we’re looking at a wedding date sometime next year. Of course it will be after he goes through his anger management classes…”
“Oh yes, who knew that boring lecturers could be so interesting outside of the classroom.”
“Oh yes, who knew that [insert ridiculous age here]-year-olds knew so much.”
“No, but my girlfriend’s pretty nice.”
“No, but he’s going to be out on probation in June.”
“No, but I’ve decided to throw away my college education and become a nun after I graduate.”
Or my personal favorite, which is a quote from Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses, paraphrased of course to fit the situation:
“No, but then I think of all the hot hate sex that I can have and everything seems to be better somehow.” (Wouldn’t that just give them all a heart attack?)
Now, if only I was brave enough to use them.
We’ll make it through this my fellow singletons, and we’ll have a blast, possibly more than others, celebrating in style! And hey, who says love isn’t possible along the way? Enjoy your holidays, and travel safely!
Until Next Time,
Avery
November 16, 2010
In Full Swing by:Avery Cropp
A headline published in the New York Times in August 1936 said: “DANCE INSTRUCTORS SEE DOOM OF ‘SWING’.” Philip S. Nutt, the president of the American Society of Teachers of Dancing who was quoted in that article did not believe that swing dancing would last beyond winter. “It’s like the other dances,” he said, “there for a month or so and then gone.” Well, the craze is still here and getting stronger on the campuses of Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota State University-Mankato, and Bethany Lutheran College.
But what is swing dancing? “Swing dancing is hard to explain,” junior Emily Heintz, a founder of Bethany Lutheran College’s swing dance club said. “You can give the dictionary definition of two people dancing, and doing fancy moves on the dance floor, but to me it’s just a great way to meet people.”
The craze began at Gustavus Adolphus College. “Chris Rupp started Gustavus’ swing club roughly 15 or 16 years ago,” senior Sara Van Vreede, Gustavus’ current secretary of swing dance club, said.
Gustavus’ swing dance club is still going strong. The club’s members meet every Wednesday from 9-11 p.m. in Alumni Hall or at The Dive, which is a lounge area in the Johnson Student Union. Lessons go from 9-9:30 p.m. and open dancing goes until the end of the night. “Or until they kick us out,” Van Vreede said with a smile.
Rupp later teamed up with Nick Burt and started The MSU Swing Dance Club at Minnesota State University, Mankato during spring semester of 2004. Club members meet up Monday nights in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom at 9:30 p.m. and dance until around 11:30 p.m.
Heintz and her friends decided to start a swing dance club at Bethany Lutheran College after they hosted a swing dance there on Thurs. Sept. 30, 2010 and had a great turnout.
Sophomore Jill Bartels, a member of MSU Swing Club’s leadership, mentioned that on one night in September the students from Bethany brought 30 people to MSU Swing Club’s open dance. “There are a lot of them,” said MSU Swing Dance Club president Wesley Anderson.
Everyone is welcome to come to the club meetings, though the main attendants are students. The members stretch across all majors, alumni come, and sometimes faculty members stop by. Students come to the club meetings from Bethany Lutheran College, Gustavus, MNSU-Mankato, and South Central College. Larger events, such as Gustavus’ fall dance, may even draw people from St. Olaf, Carleton and the Twin Cities area.
The layout of the night at Gustavus and Mankato start with lessons. There are three styles of swing dancing that are well-known: East Coast; Charleston; and Lindy-hop. The most basic is East Coast which is a six-step count involving two side-steps and a rock-step.
The Charleston can be done solo or as a pair, and involves an eight-step count where you kick out your left foot, set it near your right foot, step back on your right foot, forward on your right foot and repeat it all again.
Lindy is a more complicated eight-step count which involves triple steps. According to Bartels, it’s hard for some people to get the hang of, though Anderson, Van Vreede and Bartels said that it was one of their favorite styles.
“[At Gustavus] what will be taught that night is determined by leadership,” Van Vreede said, “The people that show up are split into skill levels of less-experienced people and more-experienced people. At our meetings a couple of couples volunteer to teach the levels and they decide what moves they will teach that night about 15 to 20 minutes before lessons.”
The same approach is taken at MSU’s swing dance club. “Beginners are always welcome,” said Anderson. “It’s really easy, though it kind of depends on gender. If you’re a girl it’s pretty easy: you just follow along. If you’re a guy we’ll help you out.”
After the lessons portion of the evening is finished everyone swarms the dance floor and dances the night away to music ranging from big band to jazz to pop. Couples pull out their favorite moves that include the boom-boom-boom, come-and-go, titanic, skin-the-cat, multiple spins in a row, and many more.
“I like switching partners when we have lessons, because I get to meet more people,” said Heintz. “I like open dancing of course, but that seems to be everyone’s favorite part.”
Once at MSU’s Swing Dance Club this academic year the number of people in the CSU ballroom topped out at 180. “We counted,” said Bartels. “This was a month into the year too. It’s been growing and we like that…the more people the better.”
A common problem for MSU’s Swing Dance Club is a lack of guys. Bethany doesn’t seem to have this problem though: “We wanted to start a swing dance club because we have a lot of guys interested this year,” said Heintz.
Whether there are enough guys or not, the smiles on the faces of the members tell you enough to know that no matter the crowd it’s always fun, and there’s always someone to talk to.
“The social aspect is huge,” said Van Vreede, “but dance is a way to relax, to meditate, to remember, to forget; a way to learn new things and make new connections with people.”
But what is swing dancing? “Swing dancing is hard to explain,” junior Emily Heintz, a founder of Bethany Lutheran College’s swing dance club said. “You can give the dictionary definition of two people dancing, and doing fancy moves on the dance floor, but to me it’s just a great way to meet people.”
The craze began at Gustavus Adolphus College. “Chris Rupp started Gustavus’ swing club roughly 15 or 16 years ago,” senior Sara Van Vreede, Gustavus’ current secretary of swing dance club, said.
Gustavus’ swing dance club is still going strong. The club’s members meet every Wednesday from 9-11 p.m. in Alumni Hall or at The Dive, which is a lounge area in the Johnson Student Union. Lessons go from 9-9:30 p.m. and open dancing goes until the end of the night. “Or until they kick us out,” Van Vreede said with a smile.
Rupp later teamed up with Nick Burt and started The MSU Swing Dance Club at Minnesota State University, Mankato during spring semester of 2004. Club members meet up Monday nights in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom at 9:30 p.m. and dance until around 11:30 p.m.
Heintz and her friends decided to start a swing dance club at Bethany Lutheran College after they hosted a swing dance there on Thurs. Sept. 30, 2010 and had a great turnout.
Sophomore Jill Bartels, a member of MSU Swing Club’s leadership, mentioned that on one night in September the students from Bethany brought 30 people to MSU Swing Club’s open dance. “There are a lot of them,” said MSU Swing Dance Club president Wesley Anderson.
Everyone is welcome to come to the club meetings, though the main attendants are students. The members stretch across all majors, alumni come, and sometimes faculty members stop by. Students come to the club meetings from Bethany Lutheran College, Gustavus, MNSU-Mankato, and South Central College. Larger events, such as Gustavus’ fall dance, may even draw people from St. Olaf, Carleton and the Twin Cities area.
The layout of the night at Gustavus and Mankato start with lessons. There are three styles of swing dancing that are well-known: East Coast; Charleston; and Lindy-hop. The most basic is East Coast which is a six-step count involving two side-steps and a rock-step.
The Charleston can be done solo or as a pair, and involves an eight-step count where you kick out your left foot, set it near your right foot, step back on your right foot, forward on your right foot and repeat it all again.
Lindy is a more complicated eight-step count which involves triple steps. According to Bartels, it’s hard for some people to get the hang of, though Anderson, Van Vreede and Bartels said that it was one of their favorite styles.
“[At Gustavus] what will be taught that night is determined by leadership,” Van Vreede said, “The people that show up are split into skill levels of less-experienced people and more-experienced people. At our meetings a couple of couples volunteer to teach the levels and they decide what moves they will teach that night about 15 to 20 minutes before lessons.”
The same approach is taken at MSU’s swing dance club. “Beginners are always welcome,” said Anderson. “It’s really easy, though it kind of depends on gender. If you’re a girl it’s pretty easy: you just follow along. If you’re a guy we’ll help you out.”
After the lessons portion of the evening is finished everyone swarms the dance floor and dances the night away to music ranging from big band to jazz to pop. Couples pull out their favorite moves that include the boom-boom-boom, come-and-go, titanic, skin-the-cat, multiple spins in a row, and many more.
“I like switching partners when we have lessons, because I get to meet more people,” said Heintz. “I like open dancing of course, but that seems to be everyone’s favorite part.”
Once at MSU’s Swing Dance Club this academic year the number of people in the CSU ballroom topped out at 180. “We counted,” said Bartels. “This was a month into the year too. It’s been growing and we like that…the more people the better.”
A common problem for MSU’s Swing Dance Club is a lack of guys. Bethany doesn’t seem to have this problem though: “We wanted to start a swing dance club because we have a lot of guys interested this year,” said Heintz.
Whether there are enough guys or not, the smiles on the faces of the members tell you enough to know that no matter the crowd it’s always fun, and there’s always someone to talk to.
“The social aspect is huge,” said Van Vreede, “but dance is a way to relax, to meditate, to remember, to forget; a way to learn new things and make new connections with people.”
October 20, 2010
Full Circle
It's funny really how much the kid version of myself knew about what was in store for me when I grew up. I never really listened to her until now.
The kid version of myself always knew that I would be writing, and researching new things every day.
I have been reading since before kindergarten. I taught myself, and my mom didn't believe me until she went to the library and checked out some books I had never read before. I blew her away when I read them all quickly.
I've also been writing since I started elementary school. God bless the parents that listened to my horrible poems and acted like they were the most wonderful thing in the world. They also sat through countless performances of the 'plays' that I wrote for fun over my breaks from school.
The kid version of myself also always knew that I would be fascinated by history. She always seemed to pick the books that had some form of historical significance to them, especially the American Girl books with Kit, Felicity, Josefina, Molly and that wonderful cast of characters.
What's even more interesting is that the kid version of myself knew what I would major in in college before I did. Those American Girl books, they had dolls with them. I chose to get Josefina, who spoke Spanish, and was around during the Mexican-American war and the Spanish-American war, for a birthday present. That little girl also saved up enough money to buy Kit, the girl from the 20's. The girl who wanted to be a reporter when she grew up.
The combination of Spanish and journalism, how odd.
Little did that girl know that the older version of herself would want to write for a living, major in Spanish and journalism, study abroad in Spain, and learn how to swing dance (which is definitely a dance straight out of the 20's).
Yes. I have come full circle. And I've known what I wanted to do all along, I'm just sorry I didn't listen to that little girl sooner.
Life's funny sometimes.
Until Next Time,
Avery
The kid version of myself always knew that I would be writing, and researching new things every day.
I have been reading since before kindergarten. I taught myself, and my mom didn't believe me until she went to the library and checked out some books I had never read before. I blew her away when I read them all quickly.
I've also been writing since I started elementary school. God bless the parents that listened to my horrible poems and acted like they were the most wonderful thing in the world. They also sat through countless performances of the 'plays' that I wrote for fun over my breaks from school.
The kid version of myself also always knew that I would be fascinated by history. She always seemed to pick the books that had some form of historical significance to them, especially the American Girl books with Kit, Felicity, Josefina, Molly and that wonderful cast of characters.
What's even more interesting is that the kid version of myself knew what I would major in in college before I did. Those American Girl books, they had dolls with them. I chose to get Josefina, who spoke Spanish, and was around during the Mexican-American war and the Spanish-American war, for a birthday present. That little girl also saved up enough money to buy Kit, the girl from the 20's. The girl who wanted to be a reporter when she grew up.
The combination of Spanish and journalism, how odd.
Little did that girl know that the older version of herself would want to write for a living, major in Spanish and journalism, study abroad in Spain, and learn how to swing dance (which is definitely a dance straight out of the 20's).
Yes. I have come full circle. And I've known what I wanted to do all along, I'm just sorry I didn't listen to that little girl sooner.
Life's funny sometimes.
Until Next Time,
Avery
October 3, 2010
Unnerving...
My thoughts have been in different corners of the world this week.
First in Ecuador, where my friend Amanda is studying right now. There was some unrest there earlier this week.
Last night I heard on the news that al-Qaida is believed to be planning attacks in Europe like those that occurred in Mumbai in 2008. So obviously, my thoughts are with my friends there today.
This morning I read an article in my hometown newspaper, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, that is quite unnerving to me. The headline is "U.S. Considers Telling European Travelers to Stay on Alert"
The online version is below:
http://www.startribune.com/business/104233398.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU
Security levels are upped all over the place, and there is no travel warning for the U.S. reported as of right now.
If a travel warning is reported students who are studying abroad right now will be brought back home because of liability. So, from someone who has friends studying abroad in Spain and London, I hope that it doesn't come to that for anyone.
To my friends in Europe. Stay safe guys, I miss you!
It's quite sad how terrorist groups manage to not only strike fear into people but not allow further understanding of people, places, and cultures, to develop and grow when that is truly what will help us out in the long run.
Understanding is really the only way the world is going to get past the mess it's in right now.
So, to all my friends on the other side of the Atlantic, and studying abroad, stay safe!
I love you.
That's not said enough in today's day and age.
Until Next Time,
Avery
currently listening to: Many The Miles, Sara Bareilles
First in Ecuador, where my friend Amanda is studying right now. There was some unrest there earlier this week.
Last night I heard on the news that al-Qaida is believed to be planning attacks in Europe like those that occurred in Mumbai in 2008. So obviously, my thoughts are with my friends there today.
This morning I read an article in my hometown newspaper, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, that is quite unnerving to me. The headline is "U.S. Considers Telling European Travelers to Stay on Alert"
The online version is below:
http://www.startribune.com/business/104233398.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU
Security levels are upped all over the place, and there is no travel warning for the U.S. reported as of right now.
If a travel warning is reported students who are studying abroad right now will be brought back home because of liability. So, from someone who has friends studying abroad in Spain and London, I hope that it doesn't come to that for anyone.
To my friends in Europe. Stay safe guys, I miss you!
It's quite sad how terrorist groups manage to not only strike fear into people but not allow further understanding of people, places, and cultures, to develop and grow when that is truly what will help us out in the long run.
Understanding is really the only way the world is going to get past the mess it's in right now.
So, to all my friends on the other side of the Atlantic, and studying abroad, stay safe!
I love you.
That's not said enough in today's day and age.
Until Next Time,
Avery
currently listening to: Many The Miles, Sara Bareilles
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