For those of you who don't know, and HBCU is a historically Black College or University. Some popular ones you might have heard of are Spelman and Morehouse. I am currently attending a much smaller HBCU to get a 2nd bachelor's degree in Chemistry. Seeing as how my last classroom experience was at BYU, I've noticed quite a few differences in comparison.
First, there's a stripper in my calculus class. She's not just any stripper. She swears that our calculus teacher used to frequent her place of employment and when asked if she thinks he recognized her she replied, "Not with my clothes on!" That's not a common occurence at a private school like BYU. You get more return missionaries than strippers, really. It's refreshing.
Second, at BYU we often times started class with a prayer and on the odd occasion sang a hymn. At the HBCU I attend I hear a bit more colorful language than you would find in a prayer. My chemistry teacher curses at least once a class, and you know what? No one is surprised really--just me. I try not to giggle, look around and say, "Oooooo, he just said a bad word!"
Going to a private school has made me a prude but now that I'm on the other end of the spectrum I seem to be enjoying myself. One of the remarkable things about attending such a school is that I get to see people that look like me and make me laugh (even if they are swearing). I am appreciating Black culture more and more. Now I don't feel so bad when I'm late because people here are in my time zone, CPT (Colored People Time), or in other words at least half an hour late. Combine CPT with being in the South and I count myself lucky that my teachers even show up! I think this time zone ends when you step off campus, though.
I also love being surronded by intelligent and articulate people. I think society paints a picture for us of various ethnic groups and my favorite thing is seeing real live people break that mold. I'm glad I get to see it often on campus and hope to be able to make a contribution to whichever community I belong to like many of instructors and students here have.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Gateway to the West
I went to St. Louis for the wedding of a good friend and I got to stay with my beautiful cousin who lives in a wonderfully chic area of town and to tell the truth, I fell in love with St. Louis! In retrospect, I think I just really enjoyed being with family and friends whom I haven't seen in ages. However, on behalf of St. Louis, I would have to say that this city was an excellent backdrop for such festivities.
My cousin lives a block away from a little strip in St. Louis that has wonderful restaurants, shops and boutiques. I enjoyed strolling down Washington Avenue and wandering into its charming nooks and crannys. The wedding itself took place on 9/11, which I initially had some reservations about, but it turned out to be such a beautiful day. The wedding was held outdoors at a vineyard on an open terrace and my girlfriend was the picture perfect bride. She was literally glowing. I have no idea what makes them glow like that! My guess is MAC make-up, but I digress.
The day after the wedding we all went galavanting around St. Louis to see the sights. We saw the St. Louis arch, the Eads bridge and went to the City Museum. My cousin said the City Museum was unlike any other and to wear jeans and comfortable clothing. I soon found out why. The City Museum is a huge jungle jim. There were slides, caves, tunnels and all sorts of adventures for both adults and children. I went on this eight story slide that was shaped like the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Needless to say, I couldn't walk a straight line afterwards but thankfully, no one issued me a breathalyzer. Then I went in some open air tunnels that were outdoors. The only thing separating me from a drop that would at least severely injure me was some iron grating that I was crawling through on my hands and knees. I almost died. It was awesome! I felt like I could see the entire city from up there (while I was praying really hard for the laws of physics to hold for just another minute).
I left for home the next day banged up and bruised from running around the city museum but glad that for a minute I felt like a kid again. Two thumbs up for St. Louis.
My cousin lives a block away from a little strip in St. Louis that has wonderful restaurants, shops and boutiques. I enjoyed strolling down Washington Avenue and wandering into its charming nooks and crannys. The wedding itself took place on 9/11, which I initially had some reservations about, but it turned out to be such a beautiful day. The wedding was held outdoors at a vineyard on an open terrace and my girlfriend was the picture perfect bride. She was literally glowing. I have no idea what makes them glow like that! My guess is MAC make-up, but I digress.
The day after the wedding we all went galavanting around St. Louis to see the sights. We saw the St. Louis arch, the Eads bridge and went to the City Museum. My cousin said the City Museum was unlike any other and to wear jeans and comfortable clothing. I soon found out why. The City Museum is a huge jungle jim. There were slides, caves, tunnels and all sorts of adventures for both adults and children. I went on this eight story slide that was shaped like the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Needless to say, I couldn't walk a straight line afterwards but thankfully, no one issued me a breathalyzer. Then I went in some open air tunnels that were outdoors. The only thing separating me from a drop that would at least severely injure me was some iron grating that I was crawling through on my hands and knees. I almost died. It was awesome! I felt like I could see the entire city from up there (while I was praying really hard for the laws of physics to hold for just another minute).
I left for home the next day banged up and bruised from running around the city museum but glad that for a minute I felt like a kid again. Two thumbs up for St. Louis.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
33
Apparently 33 is an amazing number. I had no idea that this number was special, until my birthday came and I actually turned 33 years old. This revelation came to me via an old roommate in Maui that I revere and adore for her life experience. I called her right before my birthday and told her how old I was gonna be, to which she replied in a very animated voice "That is best age ever! You should be so excited!" I rarely get that kind of response when I tell people my age. Mostly people just nod their heads in somber silence as if already listening to my eulogy. My Maui friend, however, seemed so darn excited about the number 33 that I decided to do some hard core research on the number 33. Enter stage left, GOOGLE.
Turns out, 33 is the most influential of all numbers. It combines 11, the most intuitive of all numbers and 22, the most powerful of all numbers. Now listen, I don't really ascribe to tenets of numerology, whatever they may be, but I thought this little piece of information was motivating and I am rarely one to shun motivation. "When expressed to the fullest, the 33 lacks all personal ambition, and instead focuses its considerable abilities toward the spiritual uplifting of mankind . . .This is shown in its determination to seek understanding and wisdom." Well, I think it's safe to say that I am no way near lacking personal ambition but I love the idea of seeking understanding and wisdom which leads to the spiritual uplifting of mankind. So here's my personal goal for the year 33, it's the Age of Enlightenment.
It's been a little over a year since I started this blog and titled it Year of the Dragon. It was a year of exploration and personal struggle, a year of regrouping and redirection. I have renamed my blog to reflect my goals for the year 33. I'm starting with peace. In the words of Eckhart, "There is no one who does not want peace." So, I am going to do the things that bring me peace and maybe my peace will bring the world more peace. Some of the best advice I've ever recieved came from my Acupressure teacher who said, "If you want to stop war in the world, first stop the war within yourself." In other words, if I want more peace in the world, I must first create peace within me. It may sound cheesy but I've got a plan and I'm going to work it! This will be a year of years and hopefully, I'll find myself closer to God at the end of it (and He'll forgive me for the brief stint in numerology).
Turns out, 33 is the most influential of all numbers. It combines 11, the most intuitive of all numbers and 22, the most powerful of all numbers. Now listen, I don't really ascribe to tenets of numerology, whatever they may be, but I thought this little piece of information was motivating and I am rarely one to shun motivation. "When expressed to the fullest, the 33 lacks all personal ambition, and instead focuses its considerable abilities toward the spiritual uplifting of mankind . . .This is shown in its determination to seek understanding and wisdom." Well, I think it's safe to say that I am no way near lacking personal ambition but I love the idea of seeking understanding and wisdom which leads to the spiritual uplifting of mankind. So here's my personal goal for the year 33, it's the Age of Enlightenment.
It's been a little over a year since I started this blog and titled it Year of the Dragon. It was a year of exploration and personal struggle, a year of regrouping and redirection. I have renamed my blog to reflect my goals for the year 33. I'm starting with peace. In the words of Eckhart, "There is no one who does not want peace." So, I am going to do the things that bring me peace and maybe my peace will bring the world more peace. Some of the best advice I've ever recieved came from my Acupressure teacher who said, "If you want to stop war in the world, first stop the war within yourself." In other words, if I want more peace in the world, I must first create peace within me. It may sound cheesy but I've got a plan and I'm going to work it! This will be a year of years and hopefully, I'll find myself closer to God at the end of it (and He'll forgive me for the brief stint in numerology).
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