The Most Epic Game in the Universe

When? November 21, 2009 12:30pm. Where? Lehigh University’s Goodman Stadium. What? The 145^th Lehigh-Lafayette Game. No matter what stories you are told, I don’t think anyone can fully understand the grandness of Lehigh-Lafayette week until they have experienced it themselves. It all started with the parties leading up to the game. For a full week before the game itself, people were celebrating beating Lafayette college. (This is one of many reasons that this showdown can only occur once a year – even Lehigh’s student body can’t handle being drunk this much for more than one week.) Then came the Thursday before the game (November 19). At 8:00pm, students migrated towards a concert to hear Girl Talk perform. It was a decent show, but the most memorable part of it for me is the walk back. As my group of friends was waiting in line to catch a bus back to campus, we realized we had been waiting for about forty-five minutes, and hadn’t even seen a bus drive by. We promptly found a police officer and asked him what gives. We had been waiting in line forever! Much to our dismay, he informed us that no more buses were running on account of the fact that Lehigh students had kicked windows out of all of the six buses that were commissioned for the event. “Well what are we supposed to do then?” We angrily asked. “I would suggest starting to walk now, since it might take you a while to get back,” replied the police officer. Isn’t that great advice? And so our journey began. An hour later, when we finally returned to Dravo, none of us had the energy to go out, so we sat and watched Slumdog Millionaire; a quality choice in my opinion.

Before I knew it, the Saturday of the game had arrived. Heading out of the dorm with the wave of Lehigh students all clad in brown and white, we made our way to the buses so we could stop by and tailgate before the game. Tailgates was crazy. Everyone had been drinking far too long to be able to function properly. Beer was everywhere and the lines for the bathroom were at least a thirty-minute wait. Finally noon came around. We entered the stadium and all I could see was brown and white. I loved it. The game was fun to watch, but it was the atmosphere of the situation that made it worth the week of waiting. Keeping a pretty even score for the whole game, it was a nail biter to be sure. The most epic part of the week though was when we went into overtime. What an incredible ending! Just when it looked like the missed extra point would come back to kick Lehigh in the butt, we were able to pick off Lafayette’s pass. The game was over. Lehigh had one. 27-21 in overtime – that, folks, is what I call epic.

Camp

Camp is one place where folklore is intentionally made. From the campfire songs to the every day goings-on of the camp, every aspect is all about tradition. I’ve been attending Camp Interlaken JCC since 7^th grade. While every year there are new pieces to everyday life, the traditions, for the most part, remain in place. Each summer, as I board one of the five buses leaving from Milwaukee, I remember how much fun I had and how many memories were made the previous summer, and how all of that is going to be repeated this year. Even after waking up at six o’clock in the morning to get to the bus stop can’t put a damper on my happiness. After a six hour long bus ride of catching up with old friends, singing camp songs, and guessing who your counselors are going to be, it is time to run off the bus.

This moment is possibly one of the most exciting of the summer. Counselors are standing there, holding signs with your grade’s name on them, jumping up and down screaming, and generally being so excited that the campers have finally arrived! This is one of the many aspects of folklore that is portrayed by camp. The biggest aspect of folklore shown at camp though would have to be the opening campfire. It is one tradition that doesn’t change. No matter who the director of camp is, they know that this is one tradition not to be meddled with. Every cabin gets to pick one person to speak at the campfire, and when that person is done speaking, they throw a stick into the fire. After each age group has gone, we sing a few campfire songs, and they are usually the same ones every year; songs that everyone knows and loves, and that have meaning for the camp and for all the people that go there. Of all the folk groups I am part of, camp is the most prevalent one in my life. It has shaped who I am as a person, and who I am going to be. The friends I have made there are ones I will keep for a lifetime. The people that I spend four to eight weeks every summer are the ones that are truly part of me and truly know who I am. These are just some of the many reasons that camp is the biggest folk group in my life.

Christmas Comes Each Time This Year

The Christmas Season is one of my favorite parts of the year. Growing up in a Jewish household, one would think that Christmas-time doesn’t rank high on my favorite part of the year. Well, you would be wrong if you thought that. Although my mom is Jewish and has therefore raised my sister and I as Jews, my dad was a Christian for the majority of my youth, so I grew up celebrating the major Christian holidays as well as the Jewish ones. There is no way I could possibly pick my favorite part of the season, but once December first hits, my Christmas mind is in full gear. From Christmas card writing, to decorating our tree and house, to Christmas music, to the Christmas spirit in general, I am a fan of it all.

It all starts out with decorating our house to portray the spirit of Christmas. Seeing my family bond over putting up our decorations puts a smile on my face. The decorating can’t start, though, until my dad and I have found the perfect tree. Since our house is on the older side, the ceilings are low. We have a specific method for picking out the tree though – you have to find one that is short, fat, and has a good, strong trunk. Once these criteria are met, we strap the tree atop my mom’s mini-van and drive on home. After decorating the tree and the rest of the house, it is time to bake cookies! This is especially one of my favorite Christmas activities, since I am an avid baker. Give me any cookie recipe and I will be more than happy to whip it up. Once Christmas Eve comes around, I know the true spirit of Christmas has landed. Christmas Eve is definitely set in stone in my family – every year it is the same. My dad’s parents arrive around 3:30, right as the brisket my mom is cooking is beginning to send a delicious aroma wafting around our house. We eat some delicious appetizers, chat and listen to lovely Christmas music all the while sitting in front of a roaring fire my dad has perfectly crafted. Because my grandparents are old, they usually leave around eight o’clock (after we have all helped my mom clear the table from dinner). This is when my immediate family’s traditions continue. My sister and I read for an hour in front of the fire, drinking hot chocolate, while my dad watches television and my mom finishes cleaning the kitchen. Then around 9:30 or 10:00 we turn on White Christmas and begin wrapping presents. Once the mound of presents has reached its maximum capacity, usually around one or two in the morning, it’s time to go to bed and wait for St. Nick to arrive. Sadly enough, to this day my sister and I usually wake up around eight in the morning, run to wake up our parents, and then head downstairs. After everyone has exchanged presents, we gather the presents for the rest of our family, put them into the car, and then head over to my aunt’s house where the festivities continue until the end of the day. Driving home after a fulfilling day of family, food, gifts, and good spirit, I am sufficiently content with my Christmas. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Finals

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. As the clock hands keep turning, I am still sitting at my desk, looking at my computer, trying to decide what project I should start. My final paper for English? My two papers for Comparative Politics? Do I actually start studying for exams? I have so many things to do and so little time to do them all in! I can’t forget about the time I need to spend with my friends here at Lehigh. Our Rock Band tournaments do take up a decent amount of time, after all. The difference between college and high school still astounds me. With only four classes this semester, I am having some difficulty with time management while studying for exams. Is it so wrong that I would rather hang out with my friends than crack open a book in my room by myself? I don’t think that what I’m feeling is unusual for college students, and I think it is a question that must plague many. As much as I’ve gotten used to my current lifestyle, it is still new. New surroundings, new people, new concepts and new ideas. Of course, I am using my studying time to think about these questions.

The clock is still ticking down. It’s 7:30 on a Thursday night. My friends all want to go out, and yet here I am, procrastinating studying by writing another blog. Since one of my teachers was kind enough to give her final exam on Wednesday, December 2, I only have two finals during exam time. Unfortunately those two exams are not as easy as I would prefer (isn’t everyone saying that though?) Statistics will be better than my other one – Challenges in US Foreign Policy. Even just typing the name makes me shudder. That class is the bane of my existence; a dreaded hour and a half every Monday and Wednesday. You know how sometimes students just don’t click with their teachers? Well now I know how those students feel. Sitting in a classroom and having someone talk at me is not my idea of a productive class period. I need discussion and analysis. I need a little something to keep me awake during that class. So now whenever I try and start studying for this exam, all I can think about is how excited I am for this class to be over. The second I hand in my final I am thanking god for being done. I’ve already consented to the fact that I won’t get the grade I want, so I am having trouble motivating myself to study. As probably all the other students on college campuses around the world are saying, “I can’t wait for finals to be over!”

My Top 10 Movie List

Some families have multiple movie connoisseurs in them, and others, like mine, do not. I grew up watching chick-flicks with my mom and gory, action-packed thrillers with my dad. It is unfortunate that my friends had to introduce me to the great movies I know today, but I am glad someone was able to further my movie education. Each year I try and watch at least a few new movies to broaden my horizon. For instance, this summer my friends and I watched several Alfred Hitchcock movies, including Vertigo, The Birds, and Rear Window. I am lucky enough to have friends who had avid movie watching families, so they are much more knowledgeable than I about cinematography. Throughout my years, though, I have watched many movies, and have always held a short list in my head of those that I hold in the most esteem. Here is my top-ten movie list:

1. Casablanca. This movie is an absolute classic, and I have turned many people into fans of this movie, and for good reason too. Set in Morocco in the early years of World War II, you know this movie is going to have a good plot line. With Morocco being center stage for those fleeing Europe, many interesting characters will undoubtedly pass through this small North African country, and there is bound to be trouble. With great songs like “As Time Goes By” and famous lines like, “Here's looking at you, kid,” this movie bleeds “classicness.” The final scene is great as well, with the characters disappearing into the fog with one of the most memorable exit lines in movie history: “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

2. Silence of the Lambs. Where do I even start with this movie? An action-packed, suspense-filled thriller; this is undoubtedly a quality movie. Those who have not watched this movie should reassess their movie prowess. There is so much character depth that is set up throughout the movie, and while watching this film, I felt like I actually knew the life stories of each character, which is a difficult task to accomplish for some directors. Jodie Foster does some excellent acting as Clarice Starling, the FBI agent, and helps to move the plot forward. This is one thriller that I could literally watch over and over again.

3. Slumdog Millionaire. Although this movie only came out in 2008, it quickly jumped towards the top of my list the second I stepped out of the movie theater. I am pretty sure my jaw hung open for days after seeing that (which is why I bought this DVD the second Best Buy had one available). What a genius idea for a movie! The plot kept moving the whole time, and the way this director tied everything together was astounding. The children who played the youngest Salim, Jamal and Latika were excellent (and not to mention some of the most adorable children in the world). This is another movie that I love to watch, even though it is long, and I have turned many people in “Slumdog” fans.

4. Hotel Rwanda. Although this is a depressing movie, one must give credit where credit is due. The fact that this movie is based on a true story makes it that much more incredible. The first time I watched this movie was in my African Studies course in high school, and although there were some scenes I wanted to shut my eyes for, it was too well done to turn away. Being so true to the history of the situation made this movie feel real. Seeing how the Hutus and the Tutsis interacted with each other before the genocide started, shows how there really was no reason that the genocide should have began in the first place, since most people were living peacefully anyways. Any movie that can make a movie as realistic as a textbook, and make it interesting to watch, gains points in my book.

5. The Princess Bride. This is one movie that I have been watching since I was a little girl. A smile comes to my face just by looking at the tagline, “Scaling the Cliffs of Insanity, Battling Rodents of Unusual Size, Facing torture in the Pit of Despair. - True love has never been a snap.” This is a movie that has it all – you laugh, you cry, and you wonder what these characters are thinking. My childhood memory is a little scarred from watching Westley wrestle with a giant rat in the forest and seeing Buttercup sink in the swamp, but the fact that there is a happy ending makes everything okay in the end. This is another classic that everyone should watch at least once in their life.

6. No Country for Old Men. While this a movie I’m not sure I could ever watch again, it was a great film and very well done. I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole time, and although when I got out of the movie theater I couldn’t talk for a few minutes, I was thoroughly pleased with the nine dollars I had spent.

7. Requiem for a Dream. If you have a friend who does drugs and you are trying to get them to stop, show them this movie. This is a movie about several people whose lives change dramatically because of their particular addictions. From shooting heroin to dropping speed to diet pills, this move covers it all. I’ve only seen it once, but I’m pretty sure I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Deciding between closing my eyes or watching Harry shoot up yet again was a constant battle throughout the movie. This movie will definitely make you think twice before ever doing hard drugs, since the final scene closes with each character curling up in a fetal position, Marion on her couch after prostituting herself, Harry in the hospital bed with his arm amputated, Tyrone on a cot in prison, and Sara in a bed in at the mental hospital. As much as you want to see a happy ending come out of this movie, don’t hold your breath, because it won’t.

8. The Dark Knight. So many of these characters were too good to talk about. Since I am particularly a fan of Heath Ledger, I enjoyed this movie even more. But even if Heath Ledger had not been a part of this movie, I still think it would have been epic. I truly enjoyed everything about this movie – from the casting choices to the costumes to the plot, I thought it was all very well done. This is yet another movie that I would recommend to anyone and everyone (everyone over a certain age, that is).

9. Mean Girls. If I took a poll of how many people haven’t seen this movie, I think very few would say, “No, I have never watched Mean Girls.” This movie is famous (or infamous) and I think it could actually go down in history as a great movie. It depicts all the horribleness of high school in a way that can make you laugh at it, but still say, “Yeah, high school is a shitty time and no one should have to go through that.” By putting a positive spin on some negative aspects of life has to make everyone smile by the end of the movie, once they realize how much of joke those four years they spent in their respective schools were.

10. Finding Nemo. Since this is my dad’s favorite movie, I felt a need to include Finding Nemo on my list. And it is a guilty pleasure of mine, to be sure. Who would think that a movie about fish in the ocean could such a crowd pleaser? To this day, my dad and I can sit at home, watch this movie, eat a bowl of popcorn, and cry from laughing so hard. This has to be one of Pixar’s greatest films, and I am a proud owner of this DVD.

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a time when families all across America come together to, well, give thanks! My Thanksgivings are pretty much all the same, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Since we always have our family over at our house for Thanksgiving, a little preparation is need. After a week of cleaning (although this year I wasn’t home to help with that), the big day is finally here. I wake up at an hour that is earlier than what I’m used to, go for a quick run, and take a shower. Then the real fun begins. My mom and I turn on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and get to work. Chatting all the while makes the cooking, cleaning, and setting of the table go faster. I never find it hard to hold a conversation with my mom, but on Thanksgiving it is especially easy. As my mom preps the turkey to make stuffing and get that bird into the oven, I set the table. Once those two items can be checked off the list, my grandma arrives and we all sit down to watch some of the parade, since one of my mom’s favorite parts about Thanksgiving are the balloons in the parade. After I’ve had my share of watching balloons fly on by, I begin to make the guacamole, so once my family arrives at half time of the Packer game, we are ready with snacks. For some reason, the recipe my mom has for guacamole is everyone’s favorite, and my cousins insist it wouldn’t be a Stillman family get-together if Nancy’s guacamole weren’t there. When the rest of my family finally arrives, the real celebration can begin.

You can hear the kids in our backyard from miles away. With soccer, basketball, baseball, Frisbee, and hula hooping all happening at the same time, you know it’s a good time. After all, we need to work up an appetite for our thanksgiving feast! When mealtime has finally arrived, after a week of preparation, we all take a big sigh, and breath in the wonderful smells that engulf our senses. Fall. Turkey. Leaves. Buttery mashed potatoes. Stuffing. Candles. Cranberries. Pumpkin pie. Everything that embodies a deliciously delightful atmosphere can be sensed. It is at this point where my dad takes out his three-page sermon he has prepared – the schoolteacher inside of him has him do this each and every year. Instead of sighs, my sister and I let out groans (jokingly, course), but dad commences anyways. When this ritual is finally complete, we can begin eating. As I look around at my family, I remember why I should thank god every day. It is sad that it takes a holiday to make me remember how fortunate I am to be living my life. I have a wonderful, crazy family who I adore, loving parents who always support me, I love my hometown, and Lehigh University is the only place I want to be during the school year. I guess, then, I should be thankful for Thanksgiving, since it allows me the chance to thank god for giving me all these wonderful pieces of my life.

Helping the World

There are many critics of America out there that claim that America needs to focus more on its global adventures than the problems we face at home, because the problems abroad are worse. I completely disagree. Just look at any number of statistics available, and you will be shocked. Not only is there severe poverty and homelessness in the United States of America, but drug problems and crime as well. Our president needs to take a step back, and realize that while yes, we are a global power and need to be involved in world affairs, we also need to take care of our citizens. I understand the fact that less than one percent of our national budget goes to foreign aid, and that that is a staggeringly low number, but I believe that one needs to be able to help them before they can help others.

Since the end of the Cold War, federal spending has declined for job training, employment programs, and low-income housing. How does this seem fair? One of the best ways to start helping our nation is from the bottom-up. We need to put money into programs that help disadvantaged people, since the spending that is being reduced is things that the president deems “unworthy” of this nation’s money. Another unfortunate statistic is that five juveniles are murdered each day in the United States. I’m going to take make a wild assumption, and say that those juveniles are not normally from rich suburbs, but the slums where they are trying to survive on their own. It doesn’t help peoples’ situations when one-third of the young people who enter high school never graduate. If you have a third of the student population out on the streets, without a high school diploma, you better be sure you are going to have problems. How else are these people supposed to get by other than stealing and getting into more trouble? I’m not saying they are justified in their actions, but they are not completely to blame. The government needs to nip these problems in the bud by putting money into schools so these teenagers are given better opportunities – even things as simple as textbooks and chalk. With forty-five percent of African Americans and other minorities in the US living in poverty, I think I know a good place to start reform. These people in poverty have no one to turn to and that is a huge issue. Since they have no one to turn to or rely on, many males are forced to turn to the streets. Did you know that black males have a greater chance of being killed by violence than the average soldier in Vietnam? That astounds me. In a country that is famed for the “American Dream,” this many people should not face such horrid circumstances. We, the citizens of this great country, should at least try a little harder to help those in need. Even if this means writing a check every once in a while to organizations in need, donating food at times other than Thanksgiving and Christmas, or even just giving a homeless man you see on the street a meal, every little bit helps. As Anne Frank so eloquently stated, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."