Good ol' Teddy

Following the death of Dr. Dillon, the administration distributed many, many copies of this excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt.

The Man in the Arena
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.

Quote List

Some samples of the ingenius things TACers say... in class no less :D

"And graphite is actually pretty brittle, so I don't think you want to be a graphite woman." CB

"With touching circles, it's a more loving relationship. It's the circles of love.. this book is all about relationships." Mr. Finley

"The effect caused the cause to cause the effect." SO'N

"What are you going from?" "I'm going from just, like, logic." Mr. Froelich & JE

"My microwave works faster than your computer." CB

"So our hair is like urine" Mr. Froelich

"Hair is like our bark." "And last week it was like pee." Mr. Froelich & NM

"The uterus doesn't know (the gender of the baby); it just hopes for the best." JE

"Put the chalk where your mouth is." CS

"Mr. O'Reilly, if badder makes you happy, then go for it." BH

"I can blow my nose - soon I'll be driving a car!" Mr. O'Reilly

"If animals cause you to sin, cut them off." Mr. O'Reilly

"Every time a bell rings at TAC, someone articulates a coherent thought." TM

"Let's be philosophic chickens." Mr. O'Reilly

"I'm trying to make it absurd to the extent that it's understandable." TM

"If you can't see that the table is brown, then you obviously need a stick instead of philosophy." Mr. O'Reilly

"His wife is a manifestation of the house." EL

"He's blaming the screwdriver." ZL

"Your tiny bit of fun is not just a twinkie." "It's an illegal twinkie" Mr. O'Reilly and JD

"But that kleenex box is not God." JE

"The kingdom of heaven is like a broken car." JE

Growing Pains

Over the past nine months, I've learned a lot about myself. It's a pretty typical occurrence, I believe... it follows naturally from the complete transplantation that I underwent. In "The Incredibles," the boss is explaining to Bob that the company is a clock in which "all the little cogs mesh together." At home, I know exactly what my cog is supposed to be. That isn't to say I execute my function perfectly, but rather that I know what it's supposed to be. At school, my cog has remained rather elusive. I have a lot to learn still, but I did discover a particular peeve of mine: lack of communication.

My family communicates incredibly well. Anything and everything that is going on is shared freely amongst the five of us. We don't have secrets generally and if you have a problem with someone, you address it. I thought this - the latter part specifically - was typical. It isn't. I, over the course of the school year, managed to annoy/get on the wrong side of several people. It wasn't intentional, thus, when these people started avoiding me and/or snapping at me, I had absolutely no idea why! I had to go chase them down, ask them what I had done, and apologize. Then things were (usually) fine and hunky-dory again. But it would have saved so much time and emotional strain if people felt comfortable enough with me to confront me about whatever it was I did or was doing. Maybe I was just spoiled by growing up in an Italian family where communication is a priority, but this all seemed rather unreasonable and rather high-school-ish to me. I guess I've found a pet peeve: people who hold grudges and don't do anything to try to solve the issue.

Maybe I'm being unreasonable. If I do the wrong, maybe I should be the one to fix it. I probably should. It just gets tiring when one isn't used to it!

well, um...

It's been a really long time. And I'm pretty sure the only person who is still reading this sadly neglected blog is my sister. So I guess it will serve the purpose as being an outlet for my feelings and a source of updates for her.

I just got back from a wonderful, fantastic, exhausting, exhilerating (however you spell that), phenomenal, dramatic, and awe-inspiring year at TAC. And while first semester was incredible, the second one was even better. There were incredible high points when everyone was happy, healthy, and pleasantly busy. Unfortunately, however, for every high point there seemed to be an equally low point. Our school lost its beloved president tragically in an automobile accident. The shock came after the dedication of our campus chapel - a work of art which was carefully supervised and promoted by our late president. Even through our grief, though, we were able to see God's hand at work. Incredible symbolism met us at every turn. One particularly striking instance of this was that, on the day of his death, the construction crew was installing the sanctuary gate which had not arrived in time for the dedication. One one gate was the Greek symbol for Alpha and on the other the symbol for Omega. It signified the end of the project, which many consider to be his greatest legacy. He was the chapel's beginning... and it his life did not end until its construction had.

This year was an incredible growing experience for me, as well. I walked onto campus last August thinking I knew who I was. I discovered very quickly that I did not. And while I have still not figured out exactly who God intends this bagel to be, I know many things He does not want her to be. I wore many hats this year, none of which fit me very well. But there are only so many hats in the store of life... I have to find the right one eventually.

This summer could not have come at a better time, though. People were beginning to get overtired. And when you know people as well as you do at a school with 350 people, when you get tired you get persnicketty with them very quickly. Emotions were running high, there were tears, tantrums, nervous breakdowns, anxiety attacks, talks til 4 am... all things that would not have happened in January or February. Hopefully they won't happen in August of September either. As they say, "absence makes the heart grow fonder." And I'm sure it will. But we now all have three months to breathe and reacquire charity :D

Chesterton

For years now, I've wanted to make the acquaintance of a well-renown gentleman who has stolen his way into the hearts of countless people. This man's name is G. K. Chesterton. And on Sunday evening, I discovered that our family had acquired the complete Father Brown adventures in my absence. There it was, sitting on the shelf. All I had to do was reach out and grab it, and then I too would be able to glean something from those pearls of wisdom which I had so often heard praised. So I did. Now I'm in love.

Chesterton writes his stories in an easy to read fashion. He sets up every scene with care, and leaves this reader in awe of his descriptive prowess. Then the mysteries themselves are works of art. Each one is fascinating and absorbing, and all have the added bonus of never being too long. But within these stories, which are sometimes lighthearted and sometimes disquieting, are woven profound truths. Those little pearls of wisdom are delicately placed - frequent enough to keep you constantly in awe of his insight and scarce enough to surprise you when you come upon one. "Oh, he's done it again!" is a thought which has frequently crossed my mind.

I have only one qualm, one complaint: that I won't possibly be able to finish the volume before I go back to school on Sunday!

Sappy and Sentimental

There are so many nice, cozy home things to enjoy. Even the way home smells is comforting. There are puppy-wuppies to snuggle with, family to talk to, snacks that do not consist wholly of wheat. Even with the latter, however, I think I've managed to eat too much over the past week and a half. A benefit of occasionally disgusting caf food is that you don't eat as much. But when you like every meal that is prepared and all of the food that is available for munching... well, let's just say I should start exercising better self-control.

Today is New Year's Eve. 2008 is almost over. I'm an incredibly sentimental person, and I must admit quite a bit of sadness at the close of this year. So many milestones. My wonderfully relaxing last semester of high school was this year. I turned eighteen and got my first job (after a roller coaster-like five months of looking). And the last four months have been some of the most wonderful ones of my life. TAC and I are a perfect fit. I can't help feeling, however, that a phase of my life is over and a new one has begun. It's like a Great Hand turned the page in my life book. It feels fresh and clean and full of potential... but there's a part of me that wants to go back. The years only seem to go faster the older I get. I want to savor every moment that is given to me to hold.

What will 2009 hold? A few givens - more classes, homework, dancing, finals, job hunting, summer break, Ptolemy, more finals - but how they will come about is always a mystery. There is an enormous range or circumstances which can surround each event. Who knows what will be put on my plate? I can guarantee, however, that it will be an adventure!

Engaging the Brain

One of the nicest, but simultaneously worst, things about vacation is having nothing to do. At all. Nothing. It's nice for a couple of days, but then, in all honesty, it becomes quite boring. Your brain stops functioning and your body becomes a lethargic blob. Yes, you can clean the house for your mother, but that doesn't occupy the brain either. It's mellow work which serves well when you're brain dead from studying, but you can't consider it a mental work out in any way, shape, or form.

This morning, I turned on my brain for the first time since last Friday. And it felt wonderfully good. I spent four hours working out algebra problems which stretched my brain. Just as stretching a muscle which hasn't been stretched in months is painful, algebra smarts quite a bit when you haven't done it since 8th grade. It is a stretch that is mandatory for school, but also quite enjoyable once you get a bit loosened up. I'll be doing quite a bit more of it over the next two weeks, but that is something I'm looking forward to. Call me crazy, but I'm learning to love it. :)