The Ultimate Culture Shock

Every Sunday night my roommates, a few friends and myself gather in my apartment at 10:00 for the viewing of Breaking Amish. I have come to really enjoy this show because I find it very interesting to see how the Amish view our society. The Amish are so far removed from our society that it has to be the ultimate culture shock for them to see how we live our everyday lives. The show follows around three girls and two boys who are in their twenties and are currently shunned from their families back home and are living in New York City. Their families are too upset with them that the young adults are allowing cameras to follow them around and are defying almost all of their beliefs to live in New York City, that the families do not even talk to them anymore. It is fascinating to me to watch the five people learn basic daily routines that we take for granted, such as how to operate an elevator or how you can portray yourself through different styles of dress. The Amish are brought up having so many restrictions that I can't blame them for going wild when they are finally allowed to have some freedom. I also find it interesting to see how they handle their new found freedom. It amazes me that they live in towns near us, for instance I live 45 minutes away from an Amish community, and they have isolated themselves so well that they have blocked out almost all influences of our culture. According to a study from 2010, there are about 249,000 Old Order Amish living in the United States. I feel like that is a decent portion of our population and I think this show is a great way for many Americans to learn more about their culture as well.

The Art of Blogging

Personally, I am not a fan of blogging. The reason I like journalism is because I can be objective and I do not have to insert my opinion in the story at all. I understand that journalism is changing and blogs have become a major source for many people to obtain their news, but call me old school because I do not like it. I will admit that I have warmed up to the idea a bit more through the blogs I have written for this class, but I still find it extremely difficult to put my opinion in a story that is open to the public. I think this is because I am a somewhat private person and I prefer that my personal opinions and experiences are not available to everyone and anyone on the Internet. I also think blogs have created a new level of journalism because anyone can write a blog and put it on the Internet for anyone to read. The level of credibility of the author has decreased because anyone can write a news story and claim it is the real deal. What I do like about blogging though, is that the author can include not only pictures with their story, but also videos and links to websites that are associated with their story. I think it will be very interesting to see what the future has in store for blogs, and I mean if they grow and become more popular or die out.

liberal arts, liberal views?

Personally, I have come to find that many of the professors here at Wittenberg tend to have more liberal political views. When I first came to Witt I expected the exact opposite. I figured that since we are small, private institution that many of the professors would be conservative. I'm not saying this is good or bad, but I would like more of a balanced mix. But, I would say that I have learned a great deal from my professors who share different beliefs from me. When it comes to the students here, I believe that the majority of them are conservative. This might just be my bias though, since I tend to hang out with peers who have the same beliefs as me, I might only interact with the conservative students and be blinded to more liberal students. I also find it strange that there is no College Republican club, because the College Democrats are in full swing this election season. I like that there is nice mix of conservative and liberal students on campus because this provides for a great opportunity to learn from one another. My eyes have been opened to many new views on certain issues just from talking to fellow peers and I can honestly say that has influenced how I view the two candidates for the upcoming presidential election.

Yumm

Since this is the first year on my own, I have also had to learn how to to cook for myself. This has been nothing short of an adventure. Luckily I have a meal plan at adpi for dinners, but that is only during the week. I am not very talented in the kitchen but, I can honestly say I have enjoyed learning from my roommates how to cook. If it were up to me I would have cereal, turkey sandwiches and pasta everyday. Recently, I have been becoming a bit more adventurous and I have used our grill for both hot dogs and hamburgers and I made/under cooked pancakes the other morning. According to USA Today, 59% of college students say they know their diet has gone downhill since they went to college. I would say that my diet was somewhat healthy because I always had healthy options prepared for me that I could chose from, but now that I am dependent on my own cooking skills the healthy options are not always available. It is sad that the unhealthy food is faster to make which makes it more tempting for a college student in a time crunch to make. I hope that throughout the school year I can develop my cooking skills for the future when I am completely independent. 

Life after Witt

For my next story idea I was thinking of investigating the new bricks on Alumni Way. Obviously they are names of alums, but it might be interesting to see why they were just now placed there, why some are on the hill next to the library, and are there more to be placed there. I also want to know how much they are, how and when alumni purchase them, where the money goes, and the maintenance of each brick, because the ones on the hill are in very poor condition and are barely legible. I want to know why they are doing it now, before homecoming, and why has it taken them so long to put those bricks in place. In case that story doesn't pan out though, my back-up idea is to do something on service opportunities at Witt. In particular, I was thinking how students work with Springfield Promise Neighborhood, and I think they have an event coming up unless it already happened, the Greek service day this Saturday, and also the CROP walk that takes place in the end of September. I think it is great that we have those opportunities to get involved in the community and I would like to learn more about it.

Home is where the heart is

Earlier today I was walking with my roommate and we started talking about how we find it amazing that so many students, travel from out of state, and even out of the country to attend Witt. According to Witt's website, students are from 39 states and 30 countries. I find that amazing. I am from the suburbs of Cleveland and I knew that a 3 hour drive was my maximum. Even though I typically only go home on breaks, I like the option that if I needed to I can go home and come back to Witt all in one day. I have several friends from states such as Colorado and Massachusetts and I admire them for only going home a few times a year, due to the high costs of travel. I am pretty close to my family and I am super excited to see them this Saturday when they come visit. Personally, I think it is important to maintain a close relationship with our parents but I totally understand that it is not always feasible. But, one of the reasons I love Witt is that the students are so diverse and I have learned a great deal from my friends who are from not only different parts of the country, but from different parts of the world.

Red, white and green

For my semester long story, I want to create a story that explains every way in which Wittenberg is "Going Green." This will include everything from the bike rental system, the types of light bulbs used in the dorms, and why there is not recycling available for students who live in the apartments. I plan on talking to the director of Physical Plant, John Paulsen, on how they have made changes on campus to help in the green movement. I would also like to talk to the president of PoWeR, and the residents of the Lodge, who were selected to live there in a environmentally friendly way to demonstrate to students how they can make changes in their daily lives. I would also like to contact professors in the biology and the chemistry departments because I was told that they have made changes in their labs to become more eco-friendly. The only major concern I foresee is that I might run into too much information and I will have to cut some sources  or topics when it comes to compiling the story. I am excited to get started next week with this story and I hope everything goes smoothly!

Don't Stop Running

This Saturday I will be participating in my first 5K, and I am scared to death. Even though I played soccer and ran track in high school, athletic events make me quite nervous. I feel that I am a bit behind the times since all the rage currently is to get active and fit. This summer alone, the big rage was over events such as the Color Run, the Warrior Dash, and the Tough Mudder. The Color Run is a 5K race that at each 1K checkpoint they spray the runners/walkers with a different color of paint. This summer I had many friends who participated in the July 21st, Color Run in Columbus and they absolutely loved it! The Warrior Dash is also a 5K but it is lined with several obstacles, such as jumping over fire and there is large amount of mud spread throughout the course. The first Warrior Dash race was held in 2009, and in 2012, the company will host 65 races throughout the United States, Australia and Canada. This is proof of the recent interest in physical activities and how many people are finding fun ways to use both their mental and physical strength. The Tough Mudder, is a 10-12 mile course that involves even more obstacles then the Warrior Dash, and has had more than half-a-million participants worldwide. The Tough Mudder was co-founded in 2010 and each race raises money for the Wounded Warrior Project, which is a charity that helps "veterns returnign from the battlefield or the families of those who have lost a loved one during a war. Now this Saturday my boyfriend and I will not be jumping over fire, or walking through an ice bath, but we will be participating in Beavercreek's Annual Popcorn Festival 5K. I can't wait for the race to commence and for me to enjoy a nice bag of homemade popcorn!

toughmudder.com