Biggest Splash

I guess this is somewhat of a continuance of my last blog, but this week is greek week here at Slippery Rock. For those of you who don't know it is a week of events where the people who place gain points for their organization. The one with the most points at the end of the week wins. Sounds simple, but it is a lot of work. The events range from basketball to penny wars.

Tonight I participated in the pool games events. My event was biggest splash. Now I swam in high school and I am an aquatics minor so anything with water comes pretty naturally. However, I never had to compete in something like this. As I stepped up to the starter block I felt my leg start to shake as I curled my toes over the platform. There were so many people there cheering us on, and counting on me to win. I went two times, and I hoped that my splash would hold. The next girl went and her splash seemed pretty good. I was sure I got second. The other events continued and then it came time for the results. We placed first in the 50, and my nerves came back again as he started to announce the winner for biggest splash. He announced that the girl I thought would win was runner-up. I knew I had it! and I did! I was impressed with myself. I know it wasn't the world championship of anything really all that important. But it felt really good to get the points for my organization and win.

The Truth About Greek Life

To start, I currently am a sister of the Delta Kappa chapter of Alpha Xi Delta here at Slippery Rock. Greek life is something that is a huge part of my life currently. Yet it is something that I don't openly talk about with people who aren't greek, not even my parents. It's not that I would say I am ashamed to be greek- cause if I were I wouldn't wear letters. I actually take a lot of pride in my sorority and my active membership. But it is something non-greek college students can never understand. I think it is because there are a lot of myths surrounding it, and they are half-truths and mostly all lies about what the letters on my shirt really stand for.

First of all hazing is nearly non-existent within greek life these days. Especially here at Slippery Rock and within my chapter. It is something that was a part of it a while ago, and the stories continue to be thrown around. It is not what we are about. Second would be that we are all stuck up, or think we are better than others. The best way to explain this is a quote I read once, "These letters don't make me better than you, they make me better than who I use to be." It is sad that greeks have such a bad rep, because of how much we all do with our philanthropies. To me, Alpha Xi Delta makes me realize my potential, and pushes me to be a better student, leader, and all around women.

My sorority is based upon philanthropy, which is Autism Speaks. We have many events on campus and have helped raise thousands of dollars for the cause. We care about bettering this campus, our community, and our philanthropy. We also all volunteer over six hours each semester to organizations of our choice. And are all required to participate in another club or organization on campus as well. We are getting out there to try to help change the world, one step at a time.

When I think about my letters, my sorority, and my sisters it makes me feel overwhelmed with happiness. I know that we are making a difference, and I am proud of the work that we do here at Slippery Rock.

That is what we stand for.

Conjoined Twins

I just looked at CNN.com to catch up on news because I realized today that I have not watched TV for over three months, and i felt out of the loop. As I went through the health section of the website I came across a headline reading, "Conjoined Twins Seperated in 14 Hour Op." The article state that the twins were only four months old, and they were attached at the chest. As of now they are in intensive care, but stable. I thought this story was interesting. It is crazy that we have the medical advancements to be able to seperate two babies who share major internal organs in just 14 hours. I've watched a show about siamese twins on channels like TLC, but their surgeries were not as difficult as this, because they shared some things such as arms or legs. I think it is crazy to think that a deformity such as this exists. That two human beings can grow together in such a way within their mother. It is something that I find pretty intriquing though. 

Save Your Life- Exercise

Tonight I have an intramural volleyball game at 9:30. I am excited because our last game was canceled due to Easter hours at the ARC. Earlier today I was dreading the fact that I had a game because I have so much school work to do tonight. Then I started to think... it will only be an hour, and it will probably be the best hour of my day. It will help me blow off steam and I will be able to refocus on my work afterwards. It also made me think, Why don't more people use exercise as a way to relieve stress and help with focusing.

Recently I have noticed that the use of medications for depression is becoming a means of solving every single emotional issue. I personally know four people who take some form of medication for their "problem". Now I am in no way saying that medicine doesn't work, and that it shouldn't be prescribed to those who are suffering. However, I do think that it should be considered an emergency solution, or a last resort method. I think that doctors hand out medication like it is candy. I know for a fact that some of the people on it do not need to be, and it is an easy fix. The medicine doesn't make them happy, it makes them feel nothing. That can't be good for you. I believe that with a healthy lifestyle (one that include taking care of every aspect of health- mental, physical and emotional) can be the cure for anything. If exercise can prevent diseases such as diabetes, I am positive it could help with depression. Especially those with seasonal depression.

I've been in the doldrums before, and I know that life is hard, especially in college. But for me, exercise is what helps me get back to normal again. There are so many options. Running helps me release tension and anxiety. Yoga helps me to meditate and reorganize myself mentally. Lifting gives me a sense of accomplishment. And there are plenty other examples. I think just taking a walk somewhere pretty, like Moraine State Park, is enough to get me back to loving life again.

I guess my main point would be this- Medication is an obviously important part of our life for illnesses but I also believe in holistic approaches to health. I believe that if people just took the time to take care of themselves they would be able to save their lives. Whether it be depression, or the onset of diabetes due to obesity... exercise can help them all.