Perspective

I'm just going to get straight into this post. No pleasantries. (Sorry, for my small flock of followers...)

Over the past three days, there have been two major events that have stolen the headlines. On any major news network, you'll find the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. On ESPN, you'll see details of the NFL/NFLPA dispute.

Let's review, briefly.

The tragedy in Japan has claimed thousands of lives so far and undoubtedly will show to have claimed many thousands more. In fact, there is a village in Japan that has 17,000 residents, 9,500 of whom are unaccounted for. That's over half of the village! People's lives and livelihoods have been shattered. Families lost. Generations wiped off the map.

Conversely, you have the NFL and NFLPA dispute. This is rather simple to summarize.

1) Mr. NFL Owner has "bookoos" of money and doesn't want to lose it.

2) Mr. Hotshot NFL Player has "bookoos" of money and doesn't want to lose it.

It's about GREED, plain and simple. Nothing more, nothing less.

America: We need perspective and we need it now.

Opinion versus Fact: The timeless battle of intellectuals

Generally speaking, a history professor is given a certain unmerited sense of credibility based simply on the fact that they are a history professor. In fact, the more abbreviations that they have at the end of their name, tends to warrant more credibility.

Although this is given, it is not always deserved.

I'll expound on this with a situation I came across this morning.

In my first class this morning, World Civilizations II with Dr. G, we were on the topic of the Protestant Reformation (circa 16th century). We were discussing the causes, varying from political to socio-economic, and why they were relevant. In the process of discussing one of these causes, he brought up the fact that in the 16th century Mass was celebrated in Latin. He shared a very obscure opinion that to Catholics, the priest is our intermediary to God because we cannot go to God by ourselves.

My jaw literally dropped.

I can only assume that Dr. G is not Catholic himself so I will give him the benefit of the doubt here. However, with this inalienable credibility, there comes a level of responsibility. To be blunt, his assertion above is completely and totally false. Catholics do not view the priest as a "middle-man" between us and God and the Catholic Church does not teach that we cannot go to God/Christ on our own. To say otherwise borders on heresy.

Had Dr. G prefaced that claim with "In my opinion..." or "It is my understanding that...", there would be no issue. With the inclusion of that small disclaimer, it is very apparent that it is not fact and is merely his interpretation/opinion.

This class consists of mainly Freshmen and Sophomores fulfilling Gen. Ed. requirements. When this professor speaks, they assume he knows what he's talking about. For him to assert this as fact and speak as such, it is defamatory and shows gross misunderstanding on his part.

I don't know if this comes across as a mindless rant and that is NOT my intention. I was very upset when I heard this in class and felt it was necessary to share.

Also, it's worth noting that I will be emailing Dr. G to share my thoughts as well and if worth noting, I'll share on here too.

Dominus Vobiscum,
Drew 

Carpe Diem

Have you ever taken a spontaneous trip? Not necessarily overnight but just pick a direction and drive? 

My fiance and I did just that today. We chose West, into Arkansas, and didn't decide until right around Forrest City where we were going. It was between Heber Springs, Arkansas Post and Hot Springs. We chose the latter. We had a BLAST! Only spent about 4 hours in Hot Springs before we had to start heading back but the best part of the whole trip was the spontaneity of it!! We called my Dad and told him where we were headed and he said we were nuts. Maybe we were but we had fun. It's not often that people do that but I'm telling you: It needs to happen more. It might be crazy. You could get a flat tire in B.F.E or have your car break down or get mugged...yada yada yada.

But those things could happen anywhere...and they're far more likely to happen in Memphis than Hot Springs, let me tell you. 

Are you missing out on life? Or maybe is life missing out on you? If you're seizing the day and living life to the fullest then maybe life is missing out on you. But if you're sitting on your couch or at your desk, reading this blog, then maybe you're missing out on life. 

Go out. Have fun. Live. Dangerously.

After all, we only have one life to live and when it's done, there are no do overs.

 

(Disclaimer: The above video was the last song I listened to on my iPod on our road trip today. Great live version from Woodstock 1969. GUARANTEED that everyone at this concert was living life to the fullest. Wish I could have joined them.)

iConfess...

"Forgive me, Father. It has been a bajillion years since my last confession..."

Even if you're not Catholic, you know the line. It's been in many a movie and is coined by the faithful and the "comedian" alike. These are the beginning words of the sacrament of Reconciliation. It is a grace-filled sacrament that brings hope and humility to the penitent. Anyone can pray silently but it is another thing to verbally say, "I screwed up."

If you haven't been, Confession is amazing. Catholics, like me, hate to go but we feel AWESOME afterwards. Like all the weight has been lifted off of our backs.

Just to make a point: We DON'T believe, nor does the Church teach, that the priest himself forgives our sin. We believe the priest, acting in persona Christi, forgives our sins through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Recently in the news there has been light shed on a new iPhone app called "Confession: A Roman Catholic App". It's intended to be an examination of conscience and to assist in remembering the prayers for Confession. I think it's a great idea and will help to, hopefully, bring more people back to the Church and the sacrament of reconciliation.

Here's a link for the story:
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/08/church-approves-confession-app-iphone/#content



Dominus Tecum,
Drew

Survey!!

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Misconceptions

Greetings to everyone out there on the inter-webz...

I have a research assignment I'm working on for my college English course. We're supposed to pick a theme for the semester. Being that the byline of my blog title says "A Catholic College Student's Perspective...", I decided to use the misconceptions that people have of the Catholic faith. Here's a quote from the late Servant of God, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen:

"There are not a hundred people in America who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions of people who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church — which is, of course, quite a different thing." (circa 1938)


I think that in order to form a more perfect paper, I could use the input and any misconceptions of my colleagues at the University of Memphis. Anyone can Google but it takes a true researcher to gather the opinions and thoughts of others.

So I ask all of my faithful subscribers to this blog and anyone that happens to read this: What are your thoughts on the Catholic faith? If you're not Catholic, what about the faith is contrary to your own beliefs? I'm not looking for hospitable comments. I want complete honesty. If it's hurtful or could be controversial, that is no problem. I have heard plenty worse.

I think that by hearing contrasting opinions from my own will help me to write pieces that are more informative. Thanks for checking this out and sharing your own opinions!!

Pax,
Drew

Glamorizing Teen Pregnancy?

Preface: This blog post is going to make your skin crawl. At least it should if you're halfway decent...

Read this article before continuing on with the blog: Teen Mom Shares Her Success Story



ARE YOU $@%@@~! KIDDING ME?!


This woman is sharing her struggles of growing up as a teenage mother. Fair enough.

However, she's capitalizing on this opportunity by publishing a book! We just drew national attention as a result of the Frayser High School teen pregnancy epidemic and this woman is capitalizing on it? I know the book probably isn't a spur-of-the-moment thing but the article and news story is.

Teenagers are struggling every day to find their place in the world. Everyone is telling them to practice abstinence and be safe and now we have a woman who feels the need to profit off of her success? I think it's wonderful that she was able to go back to school and earn TWO degrees. God Bless her but she is hardly the standard and completely an exception to the norm.

She says that she is aiming her book towards already pregnant teen mothers. That's fine but we can expect that that will not be the only audience that reads her book.

For the girls that are not already pregnant, I fear, this could seal the deal on their decision to have sex with their boyfriend or friend with benefits without protection.

It's foolish to glamorize the struggle but this is unfortunately the world we live in.

We should be highlighting the right paths for our children not the roads that will lead them most assuredly astray.

Ban Bath Salts

Here's the scene:

Young man walks into your local bath supply store and purchases some bath salts. While in the checkout line, he casually mentions they're for him and his girlfriend. The cashier laughs it off. After all, why would she be concerned or think anything of it? He hands the cashier a wrinkled twenty dollar bill, collects his change and off he goes. After he gets into his car, he takes the straw out of his to-go cup and rips open the package. There's no bathtub here and he doesn't intend to relax with these. He snorts them and waits for the forthcoming buzz.

Why is this a concern? According to the story from Channel 5 ( http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13892153 ), the use of these bath salts for criminal purposes is on the rise. Not only are these people damaging their bodies but the effects of these salts can lead to suicidal thoughts and massive hallucinations. Neil Brown recounts to Action News 5 that he "took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly." While he survived, he now must live with the psychological and physical trauma.

I'm not sure where this "fad" originated but it goes without saying that this a growing and HUGE problem. I don't typically want or feel the need to encourage the federal government to get involved on things but this needs to be dealt with. I'm calling for the United States Government to ban the use and sale of these to any individual. If people feel that they need these for beauty treatments, then they can go to their local salon or massage parlor to partake.

Hopefully it won't take many more people to die before the government takes action here. But we also need to get the word out to our friends and constituents. Prevention starts at home.

America Needs a Wake Up Call

Accountability (definition from Webster's Dictionary):

          (noun) the quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions <public officials lacking accountability>

Where have we as a society lost our ability to hold ourselves accountable? 


There are plenty of people, famous and non-famous, that find it easy to blame someone else for their faults or error while it is easy to accept praise and inflate our own egos. 


For instance, you have someone who fails a class at school. The majority of people will blame the teacher or the class for being difficult or unfair. While there is a tiny minority that actually admits they didn't study as hard as they should have or didn't do the necessary work outside of class to succeed.


This applies also to life outside of school.


I work in collections for a living. I don't enjoy the job but I do learn a few good life lessons along the way. I hear from people almost daily who blame their misfortunes on the government. Now I realize that politics and the government is hardly innocent. But if one blames everyone else for their misfortunes; are they really getting ahead in the world?


I also hear, again almost daily, of people who'd rather collect unemployment than work. They're fully capable of working. They have no health issues and the only thing they lack is the drive to succeed. 


Also, don't get this twisted. I am not wealthy. I am not sitting on a nest egg nor do I own any stock options or bonds. I'm just like any other college student. I work 35 hours a week and take 16 hours worth of classes.  All while juggling family and attempting to have a social life.


If I can do it, anyone can. 


Let's wake up, America.

A Humble Beginning

I sit here this late evening wondering...why?

Why on earth am I still up?? Sure, there is class tomorrow.  But as is the life of a college student...duty calls.


About me:

I'm 23 years old as of forty minutes from right.....now. I was born on this date in 1988. I was born here in good ol' Memphis. Raised in the Cooper-Young area of Midtown. On my twelfth birthday, my Mom said, "SURPRISE!! We're moving to Jacksonville, Florida!!!". She slapped me into her 1996 Isuzu Rodeo and off we went.

Fast forward eleven years and here I am: I'm a first year freshman, Journalism major at the University of Memphis. I am a 2006 graduate of Mandarin High School in Jacksonville. I am also not a "cradle" Catholic as some might say, I converted to the faith not long after meeting my now fiance, Amelia. I am no stranger to Catholicism, my mother and her entire side of her family is Catholic. My Dad is Southern Baptist and attends a resident "mega-church" in the area near Appling Rd and I-40. I'll save you the details of my conversion story and some of the funny and humbling events along the way. It's great but waaaaaaay too long for my introduction.




In fact, this is getting too long. So I'm going to leave you here. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. DEFINITELY don't forget to subscribe to my blog so you can catch all of my latest posts. I'll be updating this regularly.

Ciao for now!
-drew