Just Dance!

The biggest highlight of this past week had to be THON. As old as THON posts are getting, I will try to keep this one as unique and non-cliche as possible. It was hard for me to stop taking pictures with all the different colors that were surrounding me and all of the ridiculous dance moves that people were showing off. Being on the floor provided me an awesome opportunity to take some great photos of dancers working hard throughout the weekend, but I felt a bit awkward taking photos of random people with my little camera. Dancing were crying, laughing, struggling, and pushing through and I wish I could have captured these moments that help people see what THON weekend entails. One of the most captivating moments on the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center came when it was time for line dances. Everyone on the floor who is tired and resting gets up, and almost everyone in the stands participates. The first few times were a bit messy, but towards the end of the weekend, everyone in the BJC was dancing to the same dance and it almost looked jaw dropping. In this photo, I tried to get a perspective from near the stage of the line dance. One could see that everyone seems to have similar movements going on, it made for a great capture. All of the colors help to show the audience of the photo how much personality the event has and how excited people get about THON. Overall, this picture really helps to capture the spirt of the past weekend.

Snow, Snow, Snow

State College has quite interesting weather patterns. We’ve experienced some beautiful snow storms and many ugly rainy days. The photo above was the image outside of my dorm a few days ago. This is why I love west halls and why I love the campus here at Penn State. The image I woke up to was absolutely beautiful. Everything was covered in snow, yet the sun was shining brightly. As much as I love the snow, I’ve grown to dislike it a bit seeing that I have to trek to classes in blizzards sometimes. When your a child and you live a carefree life and you can come home and ride your sled, you have a much different feeling towards snow. The abnormally warm weather that we have been experiencing has been great, but as an avid snowboarder I’m a bit disappointed. I am beginning to really believe in global warming. Over the past few years we haven't seen nearly as much snow as we have in the past. It is hard not to believe in global warming, or at least think that something is up, when one day its snowing, the next its 50 degrees, and then later in the week its snowing again. I was very excited to bring up my snowboard when I heard the valley usually receives a lot of snow, but that was not the case this winter. Yes, mountains make artificial snow but please, its not real snow. It all becomes ice overnight anyway. All things considered, I cannot wait for the spring weather to really kick in.

The College Lifestyle

Pulling all nighters is almost a commonplace for every college student. We’ve all had those moments where we are cramming before an exam and just need the time to study more. And why not? Staying up for 36 hours straight, running on six hours of sleep, and then taking a mid-term exam is so healthy for us. Not. Hundreds and thousands of studies have shown that it is good to get a good nights rest and study long before the exam, but for college students this is not always practical. We have busy lives. I say with confidence that a large majority of college students start our days much later than we did in high school, maybe later than we ever will. Since coming to school, I have been transformed into a night person, and I always find myself staying up until two in the morning most nights. This cannot be very healthy either, but its the “college life.” I’ve got clubs, schoolwork, friends, and try to fit relaxation in there too, but its difficult. 

However, I want to discuss the photo above more. This illustrates a classic scene at the library. Four o’clock. Wednesday morning. My roommate and I were cramming for exams. This was the first all-nighter I’ve pulled going from studying right into the exam. I studying from 10PM on Tuesday night to 11AM Wednesday night straight, and I loved it. I was hyped up on about 4 monster energy drinks and cold pizza, and later a lot of coffee. I think that after a certain amount of time being up, my body realized I was not going to sleep and I felt really awake. The fact that I didn’t need my phone to be while working seemed to help me get a lot, and I mean A LOT, of work done. I learned that now when I’m studying for exams I should really shut my phone off, they’re honestly enormous distractions.

All nighters may seem like a good idea when you start, but you will regret them when you feel dead. I think it definitely payed off though.

The crash came about right after the exam. It was not fun. 

Ol' Main

First, I would like to apologize for the awfully cliche photograph above. I had taken some  remarkable pictures illustrating the myriad of weather conditions that State College has experienced this week, but because of problems with my phone memory they were incidentally erased. Yes, that is Old Main, possibly one of the most heavily photographed landmarks, aside from Beaver Stadium and the Lion Shrine. I was leaving class and thought, “why not?, I can finally voice my hatred of Old Main.” But before you leave me a comment including a death threat because I just said I have hatred towards Old Main, please continue reading and maybe you will understand my quandary. Do not get me wrong, to my knowledge Old Main was one, if not the, first building at Penn State and embraces the strong history of the University. The bell tower and long pillars contribute to its impressive architecture.

For those who have not been to Penn State, the clock tower of Old Main sounds off every 15 minutes with a unique sequence of rings. It is something like what a church bell sounds like when a couple is married, but much more frequent. To the virgin ear, this is pretty cool, but after a few days it gets a bit infuriating. I can see why some may find this useful. Back in the day when people did not carry watches, cell phones, any other electronic device that tells the time, this could be very useful for keeping track of time. Additionally, I could see how the ringing promotes the tradition and history behind the building.

All things considered, the 24 hour, 7 day a week ring of the bell is downright obnoxious. It is important to note that the bell can be heard from quite a distance; I’ve picked up its ring from the area around Pollock Commons, Curtain Road near the library, and the Life Sciences building, which is closer to the east side of campus. At times, and by times I mean on the hour, it is understandable. I have no problem with an hourly ring; it is a good reminder for those who are deep in work to keep track of their time. As a student living on campus in West Halls, one can imagine how much of an annoyance the quarterly ring is at times when I am trying to study, or even sleep. I will admit that I am an unusually light sleeper and will sense the slightest changes and wake up immediately. I can be sure of one thing though, I am certainly not the only one who finds the ringing aggravating when they are about to get to sleep and suddenly the 30-second long chime goes off to keep me awake for another 15 minutes until the next 30-second chime goes off. You can quickly pick up that this turns into an ongoing process.

Hopefully you now understand my dilemma and no longer have a motive to send me to my death. To solve this issue I propose this resolution. Between the hours of 9AM - 9PM the bell would operate on a 15-minute ring schedule, as it is rather useful during the day. Between 9PM-9AM, the bell would switch to operation on an hourly ring. This would be more efficient since the campus is more or less empty at night and a majority of students do not start classed until about 9AM. Are you up for this modification, Penn State?


Once again, I apologize for the cliche photo. Check back next week for something a bit more creative and unique.