The Rock Blog

Even though it is getting close to the holidays, some things just are not going our way.  It seems as if we are all borderline on grades and those are in the same classes that the finals are ridiculously hard, our relationships are going down the drain instead of flourishing, and our friends are getting on our last nerve, as well as running out of time in the day to get everything done that we need to.  We are forgetting about what truly makes us happy.

Sometimes it takes a step back from the situation just to realize if it is worth your time or not and others, it triggers a reaction that is so moving that you cannot live without it.

Now is when everyone’s true personality comes out.  We discover who really means the world to us and who our true friends really are.

It is amazing what stress, the end of the semester, finals, and the holidays can do for some people.  At the same time though, until the break is actually here we have to find things to keep us content and make us happy.  Some try to incorporate working out or going for runs, bike rides, or walks.  Others take naps ow showers.  Sometimes, its a simple movie night with some friends that have always been there or just a lunch or dinner out that brings about so many laughs.  It is anything that you can do to revitalize yourself to who you really are, do it!!

-Stephanie-

A couple of days ago I experience the first cold day of the semester. For me this means becoming sick more often and also getting ready for the semester to end. Around this time I’m mostly getting ready for finals week period. Lucky for me most of my finals are presentations instead of test. Doing presentations are better for me since I can express what I’m thinking through talking and using media like Power Points and videos off of YouTube. For the finals that are tests, I just have to make sure that I study a lot. I don’t think they will be too difficult but I always have to prepare myself for anything when it comes to tests. Hopefully I will do well in all my final examinations before the semester starts even though the weather outside may make it difficult for me to concentrate since the cold season makes feel me tired and lazy, but I guess I will happen and see the result of grades when the schools sends them out.

- Frank H.

It always seems like just as soon as you get comfortable with something, it is gone like you never had it before.  Just as soon as you open up to someone, they are gone like you never had them in the first place.

It is always about the ups and downs in life.  One minute you are on top of the world and the next you are picking yourself up off the ground.

I have no idea why there is no happy medium or why things just don’t work out the way we want them too.  I guess then it would be too easy and there would be nothing worth fighting for since we would all have everything we could ever want.

I am not really sure the reasoning, but for once it would be nice to be able to get comfortable and stay comfortable for a while.  Not having to worry about the down falls or the possible heartaches to come would be easing to the mind and soul.

The best things are yet to come.

-Stephanie-

Can you believe it? …. Neither can I…. Where did the Time Go?

Can you believe it’s after Thanksgiving already? This semester has been a blast and a half for me so it’s very bittersweet to see it coming to a close!

So…wanna to know what’s there to do at THE ROCK during the Christmas Season? Well there’s a lot! First off many professors and clubs gather money together to buy toys, clothes, and other school supplies for an underprivileged child in the New Castle area.  This Project Christmas Elf program is always a success each year and I am excited to see more clubs and organizations getting involved! In addition, the Center for Student Leadership and Involvement is hosting a “Stuff-A-Plush” event to make stuffed animals for low income families and their children for Christmas! I am excited for this event because Campus Crusade for Christ, the Harbor and other organizations have been asked to Christmas Carol during the event! How sweet is that? (sweet sounding too! haha)

The “bitter” in the bittersweet part of this time of the semester is that finals are right around the corner! As a college student, this is the time when you work hard to balance studying, exercising, eating and hanging with friends while “studying”! haha But somehow we always make it through the stress and fun of finals week!

All for Now!

Keep shining friends!

Kaitlin

It’s raining as usual here at Slippery Rock University, but today marks the beginning of Thanksgiving break. Many students are rushing around campus turning in assignments, packing, and heading home as soon as they possibly can. I am having a much more relaxing day with lounging, relaxing with friends, and a nap on my immediate to-do schedule. Over break I hope to complete the numerous assignments that are due when I return to campus including a research paper on cadmium smelting, organizational behavior, symbols of leadership, and the effectiveness of OSHA. Seemingly, my break will be spent in my books and in front of my computer diligently keying away.
I’m not sure if anyone else saw this, but recently there have been a number of controversial events at universities in California in particular UC Berkley and UC Davis. I am referring to violent beatings of students and other protestors by riot police. The students were participating in a non-violent protest against the large rise of tuition. The violent strategies used by the riot police were alarming. As a student of a Pennsylvania state university which could easily face the same tuition rates in a few years, I was empathetic to the front-line protestors. After the chancellor of UC Davis made the order for students to be removed from their quad, riot police arrested and pepper-sprayed dozens of people. Students responded by holding a silent protest against the chancellor. Both videos are chilling reminders that these protests still occur. Growing up today, I always saw large protests with riot police as something of the past or at least something foreign to U.S. institutions. It is obvious that it still happens, and it is much closer to me than I believed.

-Chris Kite

Every semester I find myself planning some kind of event whether it’s for my fraternity or for special education club that I’m president of. These are the two organizations I do the most work for and I’m glad I got a chance to be a part of it. For Kappa Sigma fraternity as the vice president of membership and development, I do a lot of work for planning events for the members of the organization. I do a lot planning and organizing with rush and pledging. When rush comes around it’s my job to make events happen to catch a student who is interested in joining Greek life. Some of those events may be a campus wide movie night, information meetings and etc. For the special education club that I’m in a lot of the events that we do are events that have something to do with helping children with disabilities. The organization plans an autism walk and a lot of fundraising. Planning all these events does help me with my future career goals so I’m glad I had the chance.

- Frank H.

So I know we are all very busy around this time of the year.  We cannot wait until Thanksgiving break is here, but it is always good to stay busy and get involved.  Some events are just as easy as attending.  Other events require you to participate. 

If you are looking for a way to either get involved and participate or just come out and watch a good game, please attend the Women’s Basketball at 7 pm on Wednesday, November 16th.  This game is the Women’s home opener against Ursaline College and is a non-section game.

Not only will it foreshadow the season to come, but it will also help out the Sport Marketing class for Sport Management.  The more people that attend will increase the attendance and help us to reach our goal of 250 individuals.  There is a half-time game of knockout going to occur as well as a pre-game cookout for those who make it out for 6 pm.  Also, give-aways will be taking place as well as raffles and a chance to win a new iPod!!

So please come out and support the Rock Ladies in their season Home Opener!!

Hope to see you all there!!

-Stephanie-

What is time?  Is this relevant?  How can we put a number on time?  Is it possible?  How can we know exactly how much time we each individually have in one day?

I know that one thing is for sure, I really wish that there was more time in the day.  I feel like if each day was about five hours longer, I would actually be able to get everything in that I want or need to do.  I also may know what sleep feels like.

Sleep?  What’s that?  Sleep definitely is not a necessity right now and is normally one of the first things to go when it gets really busy.  We are always told how important it is to get at least eight hours every night, but really how many college students get that?  It would feel so refreshing and maybe for once, I would feel like rolling out of bed in the morning instead of hitting SNOOZE six and seven times.  Okay, I know that is a little extreme, but it is true and somehow I find ways to sleep through it and wake up about 10 minutes before I have to leave for class.

Then, all of a sudden once we are all in class it seems to drag on and on and we fall asleep in there.  After class however we are wide awake and ready to go.  Then, once the day activities and practices and errands are done, there is the dreaded homework to complete.

Falling asleep on it is a normal occurrence and the faster once tries to work, the slower it goes.  All of a sudden its midnight and you still have two classes to study for, an online assignment due, a quiz to take, and a project to work on.  It is never ending and the night keeps getting shorter.

Funny how you have all the time in the world when you don’t need it and not enough when it could really be helpful.

-Stephanie-

With the weeks left in the semester winding down, I am at the point where I can no longer skip classes or not read the books.  I have to complete all of my assignments weeks in advance or I might get caught in a difficult situation.  It looks like this weekend may be one of those difficult situations.  I have four assignments that were given to me in the last two weeks and two tests to study for in just a couple days.  Through my experience in these times of cramming, I can maximize efficiency through organizing the most important items to the top of my priority list and combining them with recreational activities.  Some people like to watch a television show and study during the commercials, but I am more of an active body.  Instead, I play games, have a quick workout, or a mini dance party to keep my blood pumping.  In the words of the great White Goodman, “I like to break a mental sweat too”.  Well, I’m like that except that I like breaking a physical sweat when I’m breaking a mental sweat. 

I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but there are already Christmas and holiday decorations all over the place.  I was surprised to see that Santa’s chair was already set-up in the mall.  It isn’t even close to Christmas.  There are still weeks until Thanksgiving, so I should not have to worry about seeing Santa around the mall. It did its job on me, because while at the mall I decided to scope out some possible Christmas gifts for my friends.  I saw some nice hoodies, shoes, and other items that I could add to my wish list as well.  By the way, did you know that hoodies is not a word according to Microsoft Word?  I just had to add it to my dictionary.  Anyways, let’s get Thanksgiving out of the way before we cut down the pines and hang the lights. 

-Chris K.

It finally happened! I got to go back to Philadelphia for our fraternity’s annual Philly Cup tournament.  This year our chapter was staying with a Brother living near Drexyl’s campus.  The drive down seemed like it took forever, but once we arrived, I immediately felt calm.  After a long drive like that, all I wanted to do was relax.  We decided to stay in the apartment that night and converse over some sodas.  Our talks were about everything from our major, year, and when we joined the frat to the crazy things that we have done since then.  I love that no matter where I go, as far as U.S. campuses; I can meet other Brothers and instantly have a connection with that person.

We woke up early the next morning and went to a small corner market for some breakfast.  I really like going into corner stores in the city, because they have everything you could ever want.  The one we stopped in had a nice selection of Asian cuisine, but I decided to stick to my regular breakfast of a bagel sandwich with sausage, egg, and cheese.  After breakfast we took the subway across town to Temple where the soccer tournament is held.  We were scheduled to play in the first game, so I was extremely nervous.  Everyone was going to be watching us play.  While doing my usual warm-ups, I was trying not to worry too much about my knee.  Last year, I tore my ACL in the tournament.  I was hoping that this year would end injury free.  The first game was against American University, a recently reactivated chapter with 50 or so Brothers.  I did not know what to expect.

Once the game started, we made a quick break, gained possession and pushed the ball down field.  I charged the ball hard back into the far corner drawing a lot of attention from defenders and placed a cross to Dan who was wide open.  He one-touched a shot straight through the back of the net giving us a lead 30 seconds into the game. 

From that moment on it was a battle.  We ended up winning 1-0.  Our next game was against Drexyl. I decided to let others start that match which turned out to be a mistake.  We ended up losing 3-1, but it was a hard-fought loss.

After the game, we relaxed for a bit, got dressed, and caught a bus to our boat.  Yachting and dancing were on the agenda for the evening.  The entire group went on a large dinner cruise of the city.  I enjoyed the boat ride. I wish we could have arrived just a few minutes earlier, because most of the food was gone or cold.

Overall the weekend was a lot of fun.  I hope that I don’t have to drive that far for a while, but Philly Cup was well worth it.

-Chris K