Tayari Jones Reflection

When I was first going over to the Tayari Jones reading, I didn’t think I would like, but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought she was very down to earth and really interesting to hear, especially during the question and answer portion. I thought that it was smart of her to read from the very beginning of the book, because it meant she didn’t have to explain the beginning or set up the portion she was reading. That way the whole audience was on the same page, and we could all appreciate the reading withot needing prior knowledge of the book.

One thing I wish she had done was talk a little more about herself before she began reading. I wish she had told us a little about the book, or her past books, or just her career as a writer, because she kind of just jumped right into the reading and then into answering questions.

The question and answer portion was definitely interesting. I liked when she talked about her writing process, because as we said in class, she was very honest with us. I appreciated how she said that a lot fo what you produce as a writer stinks, and the most important thing is to be able to admit that to yourself and just move on to something better. I think that’s very important and I think hearing it from a successful published author validated the idea.

Penn State Proud

If one were to look in my closet, they would be shocked at the amount of blue and white that would be glaring back at them. I take the phrase “I bleed blue and white” to a whole other level. I’m proud to say in my closet hangs, five Penn State sweatshirts, three Penn State football jerseys, representing numbers 25 and 22, two Penn State sweaters, a Penn State rugby, and my Penn State winter jacket. At this point you’re probably thinking, “Wow. Is she ever wearing something that isn’t Penn State?” The answer to your question can be found in the drawers in my dresser. In there you will find three pairs of Penn State sweatpants, two pairs of Penn State yoga pants, three pairs of Penn State gym shorts, four Penn State pinnies, numerous pairs of Penn State socks, and probably around 20-25 Penn State t-shirts. At this point, your jaw is to the floor and you’re thinking, “This is ridiculous, how much Penn State attire can one girl own?” Then you look at the rest of my room. The first thing you see is my beloved Nittany Lion hat that I wear to every cold weather football game. This hat has gotten me on the jumbotron numerous times in Beaver Stadium and many a high five from the Nittany Lion himself. You see my Penn State pillow next to the Penn State blanket my sister made me for Christmas last year; the Penn State pennant on my wall next to the “125 Years of Penn State Football” poster. You eye is drawn to the corner of my room where I have collected blue and white shakers from every football game this season along with my “PSU BEAT BAMA” ray bands. Perched next to the football memorabilia is my Nittany lion stuffed animal next to my teddy bear wearing a PSU football jersey. On my bookshelf sits The History of Penn State Football, alongside Playing for Paterno and Letters to Paterno. In my drawers I have blue and white beads from the football season next to my blue and white face paint. People say that Penn State is a cult. By looking at my room, most would agree with this statement. To me, my room and every piece of Penn State clothing I own, or every football shaker I keep, or every PSU history book I read, just shows the true love I have for my school. Some might say I’m obsessed, and yes, that’s probably true, but what I would say to them is, “Who cares? I will forever bleed blue and white.”

I mean no disrespect...

Roy Williams stared at the scoreboard and hung his head as the he saw the pathetic 57 points under the UNC name. On the other side, a proud 90 points shown under their opponent’s name, Florida State. UNC men’s basketball, ranked number eight in the country had just lost to an unranked team. The only thought on Coach Williams’ mind was “this could get ugly.” He instantly thought to get his team to the locker room. He began to shuffled the huge athletes off the court when suddenly he heard his assistant coach yelling at him. He then looked up to the scoreboard and saw that there was still 14.2 seconds on the clock. He began hearing fans yelling rude remarks at him. Not only did he just lose a seemingly easy game, but now he appears to be showing sign of a sore loser and walking out of the game and leaving his 5 players out there with no respect for them, or Florida State. Williams tried to usher his team back toward the bench, but the damage had been done. All he could think now was, “this isn’t going to look good.” And he was right. After a public apology to his players that were left out on the court, he felt the only way to explain his actions was to stress that he was just trying to get his team into the locker room safely. He did not realize there was still time on the clock and made an unfortunate mistake but did not mean any disrespect by it. But the real question remains, will the public and the UNC basketball fans believe him?

This is the real article: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7469169/roy-williams-unc-tar-heels-says-apologized-players-left-court-florida-state-seminoles

My raggedy, stained, and dearly loved sweatshirt

Everyone has that one sweatshirt that they have had for as long as they can remember. The sweatshirt you put on when you’re having a bad day and all you want to do is curl up in front of the TV with some ice cream and relax. The sweatshirt that has numerous stains from numerous occasions, some with funny stories going along with them, and some you have no idea where it came from. It might have some rips or tears or be a little faded, but something in you can’t bear to ever put in the throw away pile. This sweatshirt for me is navy blue and says Frost Valley is white in big block letters across the front. It was a YMCA camp my sisters went to one summer, and I decided it would look better on me, so therefore took the initiative to steal it from her closet. It’s been through a lot including many muddy field hockey games in high school, it’s been on the verge of freezing while being soaking wet from sledding in the snow for hours, and has at times accumulated quite a bit of dog hair from my husky. After my sister went to camp at Frost Valley, my family went up every Martin Luther’s Day weekend with her friend’s families and did fun winter activities all weekend. It was then I got a Frost Valley sweatshirt of my own. I got the exact same one as my sister, navy blue with white writing, but I wasn’t satisfied. I immediately switched them, so I was once again in possession of my sisters. She caught on very soon considering I’m five years younger and had gotten a youth size which did not exactly fit her. But I never gave it, and still kept the slightly too big for me one that I loved so much. One thing about this sweatshirt that never ceases to amaze me is that every single time I wear it, which is quite a bit, someone recognizes Frost Valley and asks me if I went to camp there. I could be in upstate New York, where the camp is located, in my hometown in New Jersey, or even all around the country in Florida or California, and the sweatshirt never fails to attract the attention of someone. For this reason, this sweatshirt has become the sweatshirt I throw on when I’m in a bad mood and just want to snuggle in my blankets and watch a movie. It’s the sweatshirt that I can see myself wearing in way too many pictures on Facebook. It’s the sweatshirt that even though it looks pretty beat up I can never bare to put in the throw away pile.