Being in my junior year the main question I receive from cousins or family friends is " Where are you going to College?" I cannot stand hearing this question because it frustrates me so much. Sure, I am excited to be going off to College but the fact that everyone wants to know at that one second where I have my heart set on going. I feel this question is unfair just because there are so many factors that could influence my decision. I would love to attend University of Illinois but I know in reality unless I score a 36 on my ACT that will not happen. Then there is the slim chance of getting a scholarship. Would I go to the college that my friends are going or would I take the money and go to a smaller school. There are so many different opportunities and chances I have, but I feel like I must evaluate them all.Sunday, February 8, 2009
College
Being in my junior year the main question I receive from cousins or family friends is " Where are you going to College?" I cannot stand hearing this question because it frustrates me so much. Sure, I am excited to be going off to College but the fact that everyone wants to know at that one second where I have my heart set on going. I feel this question is unfair just because there are so many factors that could influence my decision. I would love to attend University of Illinois but I know in reality unless I score a 36 on my ACT that will not happen. Then there is the slim chance of getting a scholarship. Would I go to the college that my friends are going or would I take the money and go to a smaller school. There are so many different opportunities and chances I have, but I feel like I must evaluate them all.
Gambling
I have recently noticed a growing trend in people close to me. This would be the game of gambling. Just last night while I was out with Notre Dame kids I was hearing their stories of how they win a cool 200 one night then lose it the next day. I have heard some of them say they are down over 350 dollars and they are not even worried about it. They say that we can not understand the rush and the emotions you get from winning or losing. I had one friend take off school Friday morning just so he could take some time to think about what he is going to do. They all say that if they are down they can just bet their way out which means they are betting money they do not have. There is no reason to be worried with them though because their "bookie" is a friend of theirs who lets them take their time when paying him back.
Retreat
I recently went on a retreat with members of school. I feel that retreats are nice because they allow you to get away from everything that is going on ,and best of all it gives us two days off of school. Junior retreat has been infamous around Ignatius for being filled with free time. This, I felt was a little exaggerated mainly because my free time was spent eating in the dining hall. We would do large group activities where all 48 of us where in a large conference room and did team building exercises. The large conference room turned out to be the best part of the retreats, because while in here we did not have to participate and we could just sit back and listen to what other people thought. The part of the retreat that everyone dreaded to go to was the small group rooms. These rooms were probably 10x8 at most and they were filled with rooms of ten kids. Most people were not fans of this time because it meant everyone would have to speak and if they did not there would be a minute or two of straight silence until someone drew up enough courage to speak again. The most interesting part of the retreat was that it was the same house that Kairos members go on. Because of this we learned a few secrets of Kairos, the back of the Mary or Jesus picture in everyones room has been signed by everyone who has stayed in that room on Kairos.
25 Random Things About Me
1. I am the youngest of 4 children
2.I never left my neighborhood by myself until freshmen year.
3. There have been two fires at my house.
4. In second grade I lived at a Holiday Inn for a month due to one of the fires.
5. I am torn between hanging out with my Ignatius friends and my grade school friends on weekends.
6. I suffered burnout in basketball in grade school which led to me only playing baseball now.
7. I disliked playing baseball in grade school but now I find it relaxing and enjoyable.
8. I look up to my older siblings greatly.
9. I enjoy being the youngest of my family.
10. I do not have a single relative outside of the Chicagoland area with the exception of distant relatives in Ireland.
11. I am currently working on becoming a citizen of Ireland.
12. Although my older sister is in Rome I talk to her regularly.
13. I drive a 1992 Chrysler LeBaron convertible.
14. My car has been nicknamed "the red dragon" by my friends and me.
15. Although my car has been in numerous accidents before I got it, I would not want a different first car.
16. I love my neighborhood but I would not mind a move.
17. I like changes of scenery.
18. I prefer cats over dogs but my family has had numerous cats while only one dog.
19. Sometimes I wonder how my life would be different if I had gone to Notre Dame with my neighborhood friends rather than Ignatius.
20. There is nothing better than a Sunday all to myself where I can lie on the couch and do absolutely nothing.
21. I am a White Sox Fan
22. October 2005 was the greatest month of my life. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onAwr9djRdA)
23. It is tough being a north side Sox fan.
24. Jimmy John's is my favorite sandwich place.
25. I am very glad this is over.
2.I never left my neighborhood by myself until freshmen year.
3. There have been two fires at my house.
4. In second grade I lived at a Holiday Inn for a month due to one of the fires.
5. I am torn between hanging out with my Ignatius friends and my grade school friends on weekends.
6. I suffered burnout in basketball in grade school which led to me only playing baseball now.
7. I disliked playing baseball in grade school but now I find it relaxing and enjoyable.
8. I look up to my older siblings greatly.
9. I enjoy being the youngest of my family.
10. I do not have a single relative outside of the Chicagoland area with the exception of distant relatives in Ireland.
11. I am currently working on becoming a citizen of Ireland.
12. Although my older sister is in Rome I talk to her regularly.
13. I drive a 1992 Chrysler LeBaron convertible.
14. My car has been nicknamed "the red dragon" by my friends and me.
15. Although my car has been in numerous accidents before I got it, I would not want a different first car.
16. I love my neighborhood but I would not mind a move.
17. I like changes of scenery.
18. I prefer cats over dogs but my family has had numerous cats while only one dog.
19. Sometimes I wonder how my life would be different if I had gone to Notre Dame with my neighborhood friends rather than Ignatius.
20. There is nothing better than a Sunday all to myself where I can lie on the couch and do absolutely nothing.
21. I am a White Sox Fan
22. October 2005 was the greatest month of my life. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onAwr9djRdA)
23. It is tough being a north side Sox fan.
24. Jimmy John's is my favorite sandwich place.
25. I am very glad this is over.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
All My Pepys
One of the most impressive parts of Samuel Pepys' life would be his extravagant social life. Pepys has an unusually large amount of friends and enjoys going out with them to eat. It is surprising to look at all of the activities Pepys takes part in, and to realize how wealthy he was due to his expenses from there. Even more impressive is how he balances his business life and his social life.
A recurring event Pepys takes part in every day would be the act of dining. Almost every day Pepys is either out on the town eating or having his acquaintenances over to eat. Pepys is able to do this easily with the help of his cook. One activity that often takes place would be story telling. While dining with Lord Carteret and Sir Brisband, they tell him of fascinating stories about cows bigger than three humans. Also while out to eat arguments often occur. After finding out that 4000 people died due to the plague Pepys' friends scoffed at those numbers and refused to believe them (www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1665/08/).
There also is a more active part to Pepys' life. This would include all games and events he participates in. After waking up he usually enjoyed to play a game of billiards with Brisband(www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1665/08). Another interest of Pepys would be horse back riding. He would often ride his horse on business ventures and he truly felt alive during this. Pepys also was interested in riding other people's horses. Pepys also was interested in riding other horses as well(www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1665/08/). Pepys also thouroughly enjoyed the opera and would attend almost twice a day, even if he had already seen the play. It is hard to imagine such a lavish lifestyle as the one Pepys had. He often dined out instead of using his cooks, he owned a horse, and he also had a billiards table. Just these alone could put a man in this time in debt.
The most fascinating trait of Samuel Pepys was his ability to seperate his business and social life when needed. Pepys would dine with business partners occassionally but usually stayed away from the idea. He made sure to finish his dealings before he went out and even dealt with his money in the sactity of his home.
Samuel Pepys could possibly have lived the most lavish lifestyle of anyone not considered royalty in the 1600's. The fact that he wrote in his diary every day is even more impressive to us. Pepys may have been a ladies man but he will be remembered more of as an extrovert.
Pepys diary for the month of August 1665:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1665/08/
Links for pictures of Pepys and his lifestyle: http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/london/pepys1.jpg
Contemporary picture: http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/08_03/pepysDM2408_468x445.jpg
A recurring event Pepys takes part in every day would be the act of dining. Almost every day Pepys is either out on the town eating or having his acquaintenances over to eat. Pepys is able to do this easily with the help of his cook. One activity that often takes place would be story telling. While dining with Lord Carteret and Sir Brisband, they tell him of fascinating stories about cows bigger than three humans. Also while out to eat arguments often occur. After finding out that 4000 people died due to the plague Pepys' friends scoffed at those numbers and refused to believe them (www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1665/08/).
There also is a more active part to Pepys' life. This would include all games and events he participates in. After waking up he usually enjoyed to play a game of billiards with Brisband(www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1665/08). Another interest of Pepys would be horse back riding. He would often ride his horse on business ventures and he truly felt alive during this. Pepys also was interested in riding other people's horses. Pepys also was interested in riding other horses as well(www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1665/08/). Pepys also thouroughly enjoyed the opera and would attend almost twice a day, even if he had already seen the play. It is hard to imagine such a lavish lifestyle as the one Pepys had. He often dined out instead of using his cooks, he owned a horse, and he also had a billiards table. Just these alone could put a man in this time in debt.
The most fascinating trait of Samuel Pepys was his ability to seperate his business and social life when needed. Pepys would dine with business partners occassionally but usually stayed away from the idea. He made sure to finish his dealings before he went out and even dealt with his money in the sactity of his home.
Samuel Pepys could possibly have lived the most lavish lifestyle of anyone not considered royalty in the 1600's. The fact that he wrote in his diary every day is even more impressive to us. Pepys may have been a ladies man but he will be remembered more of as an extrovert.
Pepys diary for the month of August 1665:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1665/08/
Links for pictures of Pepys and his lifestyle: http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/london/pepys1.jpg
Contemporary picture: http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/08_03/pepysDM2408_468x445.jpg
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