Notes on graduation

Well, here I sit, the day after. I am no longer a student of Mount Union College; like so many before me, I am now an alum, and I don't really know how to take it. It was stranger yesterday, and while I was happy and excited to graduate and move on, deep within there was this subfeeling of sadness. The only way I could really describe it to people was to say that it feels like Mount Union has broken up with me, and I'm not ready for the relationship to end. I just want to walk outside, stand on the steps, and beg her to take me back.
"I still love you," I want to shout, "why does it have to end? Why now? Can't I just have one more chance to make it work? I know if you let me things will be different. I can change, we can make this work"
"This is just the way it has to be," she replies. "I've spent four wonderful years with you, and I still love you too, but this is just the way it has to be. It's time for both of us to move on."
"I don't want to move on," I would reply. "I want to be here with you forever. This is where my friends are. This is where my life is. This is my home! Why do you have to kick me out like this? Please just let me stay."
"No, Andrew. It's time for you to go. You came here just a sprout, and we've grown together. But now it's time for us to part ways. It's time for both of us to find new loves and to let others shape us. It's time for you to go now.

And so it was that I sat on the porch and chain-smoked Parliaments; holding on to what was left and trying to postpone the inevitable; Trying to put off packing up my car for the last time, making the inevitable trip past the library, past chapman, past Miller (where my Mount Union experience began), and out the main entrance onto state street; past Sheetz, which was a parking lot when I started here, just down the street from the new apartments under construction (a hard reminder that Mount Union will live on long after me). My four years there were just a connection in the larger picture, just a brief flash that happens between past and future, but one which I will remember forever.

I would argue that Mount Union found me. I didn't do college visits. I didn't do college tours. I applied to a random school and when I was accepted, I went there. My going to MUC was an accident, but in the end, Mount Union made me. And therefore, Mount Union will always be a big part of my personal identity.

So, as I unpack my memories and rebox them to take with me to DC this weekend, I just want to pause for a moment and say thank you. Thank you, Mount Union, for the memories. I couldn't have asked for more from a college experience, and mine was one that I will not soon forget. I'll see you again soon, I'm sure.

Definitely Worth a Watch

I get shown a lot of crazy/original/funny online videos, but this one I think definitely warrants a watch, if only because it is cool as all get out. Trust me.







Enjoy.

I blog in spurts. I really thought this one (the "I'm going to be a dedicated political writer and post all my insightful ponderings for the world to see" spurt) would last, but apparently not. I apologize.

(Side note: This post has been sitting open on my laptop since Wednesday. In the middle of me writing it, some transformers on power lines exploded right outside of my house, causing us (my house, the whole campus, most of Alliance) to lose power for about 12 hours. Crazy. One of my housemates grabbed a video camera and if you would happen to want to see it, go here.)

Anyways, to make up for lost time, here's some cool stuff I've been listening to:

There's a musician named Carly Comando that has an absolutely beautiful piano song entitled "everyday," which was written for a really cool video by an artist/photographer named Noah Kalina who has been taking a picture of himself every day for six years, and has compiled them all into a video. I find the song to be absolutely beautiful, and one night I actually put it on repeat while I slept. Anyways, here's her myspace and the song is available on itunes.


There's a pretty sweet Jazz band out there called Sex Mob... I don't know who's listened or if I'm just wayyy behind the times with this one, but I've downloaded some of their stuff and I can't stop listening to it. It's got some serious funk.

And before I go, you have to check out Paolo Nutini (if you haven't already, that is). You won't regret it.

For all I know this could all be old news. If it's not, give 'em a shot.

That's all I have for now.

Namaste.

Sorensen Endorses Obama

Well, I hate to say, "I told you so," but... well, I told you so. I have been saying since Barack Obama became a presidential contender that he is, in a lot of ways, similar to and reminiscent of John F. Kennedy. A lot of people laughed and told me I was making "a strong statement;" and a somewhat unwarranted one, in their views. I guess I'm no longer the only one, now that Ted Sorensen, legendary speechwriter to JFK, has come out and endorsed Obama, and has drawn a number of similarities between the two.

I've been saying that Obama is my generation's JFK, because he projects an air of idealism and hope that we haven't really seen in our conscious lives. Obama presents to us a breath of fresh air amidst the nasty cynicism of modern politics and society. And although he hasn't come out yet with the big "Ask not...," the point is that he could, and people would follow. He dares people to dream big, set far horizons, and work for the greater good, and that's what I like about him. That's what people liked about Kennedy. And in reality, I don't think that would be such a bad thing right now.

I love Obama's ethos and the way he presents his rhetoric. I like that he can bring people together. I would be happy with an Obama candidacy and presidency... but I'm still in political love with Bill Richardson. Anyways, there's still months and months before the first primary, and a year and a half before the election, and as we've seen before, anything can happen.

clipped from www.nytimes.com Theodore C. Sorensen, one of President John F. Kennedy’s closest advisers, introduced Mr. Obama at one fund-raiser last night. He endorsed Mr. Obama’s candidacy, saying the senator was the only candidate he believed could restore the nation’s credibility around the world. “It reminds me of the way the young, previously unknown J.F.K. took off,” Mr. Sorensen said in an interview, adding: “Obama, like J.F.K., is such a natural. He’s very comfortable with who he is.” “I’m a New Yorker,” Mr. Sorensen said, “but I want to support the best candidate. I don’t dislike Senator Clinton, but I’m for Obama.”

Noonan on McCain

Peggy Noonan, one of Reagan's head speechwriters, has some interesting comments on John McCain's presidential bid -- comments that I think are generally pretty accurate. I've clipped what I think are the most interesting parts below, but you can check out the full article at http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110009731.

I think that what she has to say about McCain and his relationship with the Christian Conservative leaders is dead on. In 2000, GWB blindsided him by playing to the Religious Right. This time, McCain is trying to gain their support and prove that he's good enough for them, but most of them are becoming more aware of their own tired schtik, and it's not really working out so well. And so, McCain, trying to play by GWB's playbook (which itself is getting more and more outdated), will continue to falter and stumble until he is defeated.

clipped from www.opinionjournal.com

In 2000 he felt he could take on Christian conservative leaders in the South. Bad timing. In 2000 they were at the peak of their 20 years of power. Now their followers are tired and questioning after a generation of political activism. And many leaders seem compromised--dinged after all that time in the air. Mr. McCain could rebuke them now and thrive. Instead he decided to attempt to embrace them.

nd there is Iraq. The war was generally popular from 2002 through roughly 2006, and Mr. McCain won broad credit from conservatives for standing with the president. But now that support, heightened by the surge debate, is costing him, not only with the general public but in a subtle way, I think, with Republicans. Republicans don't abandon a Republican president in time of war, and they have a special relationship with this president, a simple admiration for who he is. At the same time, they don't precisely want another W. for president, another man who seems just as convinced, stubborn