We’re halfway through the semester …When’s the last time you did something silly? In the complete relaxation mode of my Reading Days, I questioned just how I was able to keep going during those previous seven action-packed weeks. How did I cope with the pressures of extracurriculars? The focus required in classes? What prodded me to walk up from the Greens House every day as … Continue reading The art of intentional failing

For how many atrocities we commit in their name, it is strange, is it not, how our society views idealism in such positive light. Of course we only recognize it as such because we each have our own ideal, or at least for those less imaginative, have borrowed one from another. When I say idealism, I simply mean someone who has envisioned or been shown … Continue reading The folly of idealism

Since Google didn’t exist back in Shakespeare’s day, where would young William turn if he didn’t know something? I mean, what did he do when he was reading Ovid and didn’t know the definition of a word? He didn’t have Microsoft’s right-click option when he needed a synonym to make his word-choice interesting, and there were no electronic library archives to find articles written by … Continue reading Are we smarter than Shakespeare?

I’ve been home these past few weekends back in the Twin Cities, seeing concerts, spending time with family and enjoying what little fall we had. If you haven’t managed to take a walk in the Arboretum yet, you’ve missed out this year on the wonderful array of fall colors some of us have the pleasure of seeing from our dorm windows every day. I loved … Continue reading Color and Form

As a senior environmental studies major, I have developed more than my fair share of skepticism. It may be impossible to think about environmental issues and engage actively in discussions concerning the environment, day after day after day, without feeling the weight of the wide variety and scale of the challenges that face us. We are living in a society where it is perfectly acceptable … Continue reading The time for a turbine is now

I bought a new pair of jeans this past week and was so happy I could hardly keep them on. I was equally excited when my weekly grocery bill totaled a slim $16.51. It is a rare occasion when I buy items for full price. 75-percent-off signs make me smile, and anything under $5 becomes my best friend. Free items result in a very public … Continue reading I want you, I need you … which is it?

Time travel is something that has always interested me immensely.  It seems like much of my free time ends up being allocated to reading about time travel. Although I very clearly lack the technical skills to understand it very well from a physics perspective, I still try to read the sort of science books that are intended for people of my deficiencies in addition to … Continue reading Time travel: it’s pretty tight

Have you ever been single? Have you ever been stuck in the presence of two romantically involved individuals? Did this situation make you feel uncomfortable or slightly awkward? Do you enjoy answering rhetorical questions? If you answered yes to the first three, you’ve been what’s colloquially known as a third wheel. The process leading up to the position of “third wheel” usually goes something like … Continue reading The upside of being a third wheel

As the leaves of many text books flip by, let’s admit, pre-mature flurries have arrived atop the Hill! Freshly sharpened pencils and skills, new smiles and old remind us that it is a time of renewal and illumination of new paths. Leaves tumble down from their branches; one unique one nudged itself like a note between a car’s windshield wipers. These intricate shapes, created with … Continue reading Leaf a note

If there were to be one thing that could make me believe in God or a higher power of some sort, or to at least inspire some intense spiritual thought, it would be an unadulterated, uninhibited view of the night sky. When I see a great view of the stars, I am inspired to ponder life more intensely. The night sky faces us with a … Continue reading If Thomas Edison hadn’t invented his infernal lights I might still believe in God