The one thing I have with me at all times isn't a notebook, or my laptop or underwear - it's my cell phone.
Guess who's legitimately 21? That's right, yours truly. I've been anxiously awaiting this day for a long time, for what feels like eons.
Gelato, 2 Euros; gondola ride in Venice, 70 Euros (divided among seven people); feeding a camel named Michael Jackson in Egypt, 2 Egyptian pounds; getting to watch the movie "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" in Turkey - absolutely priceless. By the time the 2009 Semester at Sea Cruise ship, the MV Explorer, set sail June 16, just about everyone I had spoken to about the trip already told me I was about have the "experience of a lifetime." But with eight different countries on the agenda and a ship full of college students from around the world, all I expected was something different.
I am currently writing to you, dear reader, from within a Windows screensaver. For the last six days, I have been languidly drifting through the Yasawa Islands of Fiji, drinking in the scenery with yet another pineapple cocktail.
After several disastrous encounters working as a camp counselor during the summer, I swore off any outdoorsy activities involving copious amounts of mud, bugs or giant rocks.
Corey Major? English Sexual Orientation? Straight What extracurriculars do you participate in? I write for The Declaration (hope that won't preclude me as a candidate), play intramurals, am a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and do canvassing for UDems. What do you like to do in your free time? I'm a big music fan, going to shows, creative writing, reading comics, going to art museums and I'm into tattoos. What are the physical and personality attributes you are looking for in a date? Normally I prefer girls on the petite side, but I'm 6-foot-1 so it doesn't really matter.
For us young, single, college-attending males, tracking down our female counterparts can become quite a boring process.
As I wrote in my last column, I have a wonderful boyfriend named Ryan. For the past few months, I've been diving deep into the world of meeting the parents, cooking dinners for two and shopping for couples' Halloween costumes - I'm still trying to convince him to wear a Speedo covered in leaves as the Adam to my Eve. Last weekend, I took Ryan home to spend time with my family in Virginia Beach.
[caption id="attachment_30572" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Members of the Blue Ridge Mountain Rescue Group practice erecting a radio tower.
To kick off my column, I thought it would be best to explain to you the significance and reasoning behind my choice for a title.
Some people climb Mount Everest. Some people climb the corporate ladder. Some people climb aboard pirate ships in search of gold only to find they've stumbled upon a seniors-only cruise.
"What is the essence of pig?" Virginia farmer Joel Salatin asked an audience of about 200 University students and Charlottesville residents last Thursday. Dubbed "high priest of the pasture" by The New York Times, Salatin said life for his pigs is a "Hog Heaven." His 550-acre farm, Polyface, Inc., is like an animal sanctuary, he said, created to produce high-quality pork, beef and poultry that his consumers can trust. The first of a series of lecturers that the Center for Christian Study will host at the University this fall, Salatin discussed the importance of buying organic, locally grown foods. As he describes in his latest book, "Holy Cows and Hog Heaven," Salatin believes that the journey "from farm to fork" is a sacred one.
Awkward situations have become a staple of our generation. We thrive on scenarios of social distress, making awkward turtles with our hands and screaming, "That's what she said," whenever we can.
Whether you cannot bring yourself to face another Bodo's sandwich or you have depleted your supply of Lean Cuisines and frozen pizzas, perhaps the time has come to spice up your eating habits - pardon the pun.
This past weekend, I made my first great college escape. Suffering from the three-week reality crash, I was tired of working in the library all day and working to get into fraternity houses all night.
There is a huge party Saturday night; everyone who is anyone will be there. The expected head count is large and the number of available drinks is even larger, but at the end of the event, long after the last of the fun-loving party-goers have stumbled home, what happens to the mess left in their wake?
It seems that to me that the topic of college perpetually comes up in conversation long before it is ever time for students to start filling out applications.
Once again, I find myself during my Friday morning Spanish class re-evaluating the state of my life, instead of paying attention to the latest verb conjugation.
Q: I understand that you were a student at the University of Virginia. What about the University inspired you to become a professor here? A: Well, I very much appreciated the public nature of the University and the mission of the University of Virginia to pursue academic excellence and service to the common good.
