Sophomoronic Musings

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

A Foundation.

Today is Kappa Alpha Theta Founder’s Day. In theory, we all should be wearing our pins and spreading the good news of Theta’s 140th anniversary.

I’m not wearing my pin. I celebrated today by tweeting at @BettieLocke to thank her for starting our wonderful fraternity. And now I’m wearing black yoga pants and a yellow shirt – my subtle (and comfy) tribute to my fraternity.

But the reason that I’m not out on campus dressed in business casual attire and sporting my beautiful kite pin over my heart for the world to see is that I am currently working on my own foundation.

You see, every class I’m taking this semester is an introduction – a foundation, if you will – for my future endeavors and I couldn’t be more excited.

I’m taking a reading and writing intensive course-load. I figured that I should at least attempt to boost my GPA and not seem like an absolute failure compared to my Theta sisters - our house GPA is 3.526 which completes 32 semesters as having the top GPA on campus- that I should play to my strengths. I can read. I can write. And I can’t do math.

The class that I am most excited for is my J4802 class in which we learn the fundamentals of television, radio and photo journalism. I tried really hard not smile and laugh hysterically when I got to my lab section in the Reynold’s Journalism Institute’s editing lab. I was so excited by the technology that I would be utilizing during the remainder of my college experience. And its not just the technology that I’m so ecstatic about – I’m excited about how I can use the technology to serve the community and produce good journalism.

The class I am most intimidated by is my Introduction to Literary Theory course. On the first day of class, the professor spoke about all the wrong things one can do in their writing. It turns out that I not only do all of them but they are things that I had previously found pride in doing quite well. But now that my writing ego has been majorly deflated, I cannot wait to learn how to be a good writer. I vow to not settle for juvenile or mediocre. I will be good. Eventually.

It’s beginning to look like this semester will be key in my foundation as writer, as a journalist and as a better Theta.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Say "nein" to Nine.

I just got back from seeing the movie Nine a little bit ago and to be completely honest, it was one the worst movies that I have ever seen.

Everything was perfect, or at least it should have been. Incredible cast, beautiful set design and scenery in addition to wonderful costumes and accessories. Any scene from the movie could have been a postcard. Absolutely everything looked picture perfect. but it just wasn't. I couldn't tell you exactly what component didn't work - even the script was decent - but the movie was still just terrible and I hated it.

I wanted this movie to work and be wonderful. I read about it and eagerly awaited its arrival. But I have never been as dumbfounded as to why a movie just didn't work.

But maybe it did work - in a bit of a twisted way.

Maybe Nine is an allegory for life. Sometimes you've got the perfect setting, the perfect cast, a great storyline and all the right accessories but it just doesn't work out. In theory, everything should be perfect. After all, you have planned everything out and no detail has been overlooked. But it just doesn't work. And by the time that you have realized this ad fact, you’ve already put so much time and energy into making it work that you just can't abandon ship and start anew.

So what do you do?

You keep trying until it makes sense.

And so to my readers: Say “nein” to Nine unless you want to be disappointed and cheers to a new year full of revelations about those mysterious castings and sets of our lives.