…and I feel fine. Leave it to REM to make the Apocalypse sound like a good time.  I sincerely doubt there are any GCC students who truly believe the world will end on December 21 2012 when the Mayan calendar runs out. My Astronomy teacher is the first to tell you an asteroid will crash into earth and life as we know it will end…just not this month.  Still, it is a romantic concept that this will be our final year in existence. Are you happy with the way you spent it? This year has been a struggle for me. It was a year of pulling my weary bones out of the personal Hell that held me captive.  As I climbed from depth of darkness toward the light and promise of a college degree at GCC, many demons tried to pull me down.  Vengeful, crazy, often bleach blonde demons stood between me and my dreams.  Onward through the fog I plowed, through illness, poverty, and deaths of loved ones.  I’m proud that I have refused to give up, and I have managed to be open to all the wonder that this year also has had to offer. I have learned so much in my first semester, and I’m proud not just for the grades, but to the improvement I’ve made to myself. I have had the opportunity to meet the most fantastic teachers, students and staff.  It is a dream that I was selected as a blogger, and get an opportunity to share my thoughts with the masses. My three kids are healthy, smart and succeeding in their lives. My daughter graduated early and is a GCC student in digital arts. My oldest son is graduating early at only 16, and has plans for college. My 11 year old, also ahead in school, has just advanced in the LEGO robotics tournament. I have a wonderful extended family that I’m blessed to have in my life. I have a home, and all my basic needs met.  I have hope for the future, even if it doesn’t last until Christmas.  So, I guess I’m ready for whatever comes my way. The end of anything is also the start of something new. The Mayan calendar is no exception. Many scholars believe that instead of it predicting cataclysmic events that it actually it marks the beginning of a new era! I think I like the idea of world-wide changes and a sort of rebirth for us all. I hope the clean slate does not wipe out humanity in order to accomplish a total do-over, but if it does, it’s been nice knowing you. For fans of the TV show LOST, you will understand that society needs to start over until there is a group of people who get it right. Let’s be that group, and let Hurley be our leader. I’m confident enough to say, See you next year!

Connectivity. Since the first week of school I was noticed that despite having seven drastically different classes, they are all connected in some way. The central class seems to be theater, which relates to karate because the motions we go through during practice are essentially acting. Theater relates to the Law classes because of all the court room drama. In karate the teacher talks about the legal aspect of defending yourself against an attacker. Aristotle had significant findings in the study of theater and also in the field of psychology, law, writing and astronomy.

 Death has been a common theme in all of the classes. My Law professor often tells stories about people who are now dead, to remind us that someday we will be dead to, as he says, “This isn’t rehearsal.” My Astronomy teacher says it is the most depressing science because there is no happy ending.  An asteroid will hit earth, the sun will burn out, and we are all going to die. In psychology we learn the stages of life, which of course will end with death. Stories we read in college composition have a central theme of life and death, whether it be a person or a creature as insignificant as a moth. There are few things more theatrical then death; in fact he is the main character in a play we are doing. In karate the high level self defense movies will result in, what else…Death.

Everything and everyone is connected in some small way. The choices each of us make effect not only the people who are directly involved in our life, but they also could have consequences for people we have never met. It is so easy to believe each of us are an island of ourselves and we can do anything we want without intervention from others. While it is true that each of us creates our own destiny, we need to step back and look at the big picture.  The path you blaze for yourself will cross the paths of countless other people. Tread lightly.

Remember when MTV had their “Rock the Vote” campaign? This year the best slogan I heard was “Vote, it’s the right thing to do.” Coincidentally, that was the slogan for oatmeal a few years ago, but that doesn’t diminish its truth. I know all the arguments, there’s no time, there’s no point, there is no one worth voting for. I have used them all, and now I’m twice the legal voting age and I’m ashamed to say I have never once voted. In fact,  I know very little about it. (Since I’m twice the voting age, I get two votes, right?)

This year something possessed me to fill out the voter registration section when I was renewing my license at the DMV. They sent me a card in the mail to let me know I was a registered voter, and I suddenly felt like a grown up. I know, getting married, a house and three kids did not do it for me.I needed this card! Now, I have a post card on my fridge that tells me where I go to vote on Tuesday, and I’m kinda excited about it. It is another milestone in my life. Now, I’m not going to tell people who I’m voting for and attempt to convince them to follow my lead, that’s not the point. I just want everyone who is standing on the sidelines to consider getting in the game.

Top 10 Reasons to Vote

10)You will feel like the Wizard of Oz when you step behind the curtain.

9)Where else can you use a A “Sip-N-Puff” or paddle device, without getting arrested?

8)It’s just as American as Apple Pie, with much fewer calories.

7)Because the term “dangling chad” always makes you giggle.

6)You could be the swing vote, in which case your vote is the only one that matters!

5)All the cool kids (who are 18 and older) are doing it!

4)Because you love Freedom.

3) I heard you get cookies and juice afterwards. (That might just be for giving blood)

2) It will give you something to talk to Grandma about at Thanksgiving.

1) If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain about the direction of the country.

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to walk in Abe Lincoln’s size 14 shoes? What would it have been like to live during such a time of turmoil in US history? Could you have risen from poverty and through only self teaching rise to the office of presidency?

What about the other way around, how would Lincoln fare in modern times? Would his “honest Abe” persona be charismatic enough to win over voters? Would people be able to see past the crooked nose and top hat to accept his revolutionary ideas? What would his campaign for the presidential election look like? 

It is those questions and more you have the opportunity to answer in the “Discover Lincoln” contest. The contest is free to enter and explores this concept in each of five different mediums.  You can make a one minute campaign video, an 8.5 by 11 poster, an up to 160 word speech, a 3 by 11 design of a bumper sticker, and a 1.25 by 3 diameter campaign button. The deadline is Oct 20th and there is no limit to the number of entries you may submit.  Winners will be announced Friday Oct. 26 and entries will be displayed in the Library. For details visit

http://www.genesee.edu/library/about-the-library/lincoln-discovery-contest/

On Wednesday October 17 at 12:30, Gcc History instructor Derek Maxfield with present a lecture “What’s so Great about Lincoln” in the Forum. Maxfield is also  founder and coordinator of the College’s Civil War Initiative.

Also on Saturday, Oct 20 at 12:30 pm the Excelsior Brigade Fife and Drum Corps will perform in the Forum. This performance of traditional music from the era of the civil war is often seen during re-enactments. The actors will also offer young people a “School of the Soldier” program, so they may join in the experience.

The month long celebration of Abraham Lincoln also includes a self guided exhibit in the Alfred O’Connell Library. The exhibit was organized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute and includes a collection of pictures, memorabilia,quotes and brief summaries of his life.

There is so much to be inspired by when you consider the determination and overwhelming obstacles that Lincoln overcame in his lifetime. The work he did allowed this great nation to begin live up to the promises of  live liberty and justice for all, stated  in our constitution. Imagine the generations of revolutionaries and dreamers who could not have existed had he not paved the way. Lincoln truly was “a man of his time, a man for all times.”

Some people have a face that tells their story. Every hardships and triumph is written in the lines on their face. These people are often a favorite subject for photographers, although they would not be considered traditionally beautiful. On the flip side, there is that stunning blonde with legs up to her ears that turns every head when she enters a room. From angel to witch and everything in between, you can’t help to form some instantaneous judgment. She is probably promiscuous. She can’t be smart.  She must be so full of herself that she can’t eat food. Her life must be perfect.

Maybe it’s the casting director in me, but I go beyond people watching. I imagine their story.  We all do this to one degree or another. It is called stereotyping, which society tells us not to do. (Society might just as well tell us not to breathe.) I think it is better to understand why we stereotype and train yourself to see beyond what is in from of our face.

People are too complex to fathom. So we tend to group them into some category to make processing the individual more manageable. What we must train ourselves to do is to be open to the unique qualities that each person possesses. You are doing yourself a disservice to avoid people you perceive as different from you. Even people you abhor may surprise you. Maybe you will never truly like them, but they are here to teach you something.

In high school I closed myself off to just about everyone. That group is too brainy; the other group is too brawny. They were snobs, sluts, bible thumpers, drug addicts, or racists. It was easy to justify not getting to know any of these people once I sorted them into neat piles. I even took stereotyping in another direction in deciding some were not the person they appeared to be:  a creature dubbed “Poser”.  I held everyone in supreme judgment and few were perfect enough to be my friend.  In reality, I was the snob.

I realized my first year of college that I could be friends with people with different views than me, and not compromise who I am. There was no need to conform to fit neatly into any box, or to change their viewpoint to match my own. I discovered the joy of relishing in our differences. By looking past that first impression I discovered a world of knowledge and realized all the fun that I’d been missing.

What are you missing when you pass judgment on that gorgeous blonde? The story is there, and it might not be as pretty as her face.  My friend’s think I’m kidding when I say I feel sorry for the wealthy, and the very beautiful.  They have problems, I know. (No I’m not wealthy, nor do I have delusions of being a great beauty.) I know a lot of very attractive, unhappy people. For starters they have people who think they are dumb or who only like them for their looks. They have pressure on them to stay beautiful forever. They have parents that die, children with disabilities, and scars both inside and out.

If you have ever been misjudged you know how damaging it can be. Accept that the stereotype you assign to a fellow human being is wrong. Not the act of classification itself, but the label. Give yourself the gift of getting to know a variety of people Realize that there is beauty everywhere you choose to find it. See people with more than your eyes.

Sometimes you meet someone and you just know. There are people you meet and the bond is instantaneous, like you have always known them. This unexplainable cosmic connection, felt by us all at one point in time or another. It can happen with a co-worker, a classmate, a teacher, or a potential mate. The trouble is this feeling is often one sided and the object of your admiration wouldn’t be able to point you out in a police lineup.  If you find yourself in a police line up, by the way, then something has gone terribly wrong. It means, the person you see as a friend sees you as a stalker. If  forming meaningful relationships seems like an impossible mission for you, you’re not alone…It just feels that way.

How about we take a few steps back? Making friends, in fact meeting people, has become increasingly difficult in our high tech age.  How do you send that first text introducing yourself? What do you say, I want to meet you, can I have your digits? How socially awkward would that be? (no one says digits anymore.)  Is the only way to meet people Facebook to Facebook? Last time I checked, in real life there is no friend request button. So, what is a modern or not so modern person, in my case suppose to do? I ask because honestly, I have no idea how to connect with you kids these days. Just  today  I was asked if I have a smart phone, and my reply was “I don’t even have a dumb phone.”

Lucky for us, we are in the real world at a place called GCC where real live people walk the halls …texting to someone who is not you.  So how do you become the person on the receiving end of that tweet? My first bit of advice is to step back in time to the dark ages. Or more accurately the neon ages, the 80s.  No, I don’t expect you to put on parachute pants and hair spray your hair into a dome, that would be ridiculous. I just want you to set down your gadget and step away from the computer.  Really, I wasn’t kidding that time. Now, look around, tell me what you see. People, right? You were in a room full of people this entire time. Next, try saying something to one of them, not LOL or OMG…real words.  Tell them you like their outfit or ask to borrow their class notes. What’s that?  They are not in your class and they are wearing parachute pants… Let’s try something else then.

Common interests are a good conversation starter. Studies show it is the most effective way to meet someone that you’ll bond with.  (Okay I made that up.) If you’ll notice the flyers, and posters around campus you will discover a myriad of events sure to be of interest. (I know, first I made you stop texting and now I expect you to read something and it’s not even English class.) This past week I attended a football tailgating party, a matching game show, a wellness fair, and the movie Hunger Games.  They were all free events and they gave out food and prizes.  It surpized me more people did not attend these events. There was also a club fair showcasing a variety of clubs from anime to film to western art history. (Sorry I missed that one, but I heard it was pretty cool, as the Anime folks were in costume! Check out the club activities board for more information.

So you missed all those events because you were updating your Facebook status to “I’m bored”?  Not to worry, there are enough upcoming events to make your smart phone explode. The College Village and activities board host Dinner and a Movie every Wednesday from 5 to 7. It is a free event, you just sign up in the student union.  There is a Jim Malcolm Concert on September 21, and Rory Block will be here on Sept 27. In case you missed the posters, (look up from your phone.) there are Homecoming events on September 28 and 29 and the theme is the 80’s! You know I’m gonna be there to see the Poison and Motley Crue tribute bands. You should come also; it will give you another chance to strike up a conversation with the guy wearing parachute pants!

See you around campus,
-Rhonda