Dream Sequence

May I say first that I am so happy I am in college and do not have to go through the tedious process of college applications again! (At least not till grad school.) Ugh...thinking about the essays, SATs, and the waiting makes me cringe in my new Michael Kors boots. My college selection process didn't involve meetings with the Dean of Admissions or intense interviews but if it did I probably could not have handled the situations with as much grace as Miss Serena Van Der Woodsen

But how was it that you chose your perfect school? Was it school reputation, focus on academics, party scene? Although Brown, Yale, and Harvard were not on my list of To-Do applications other local schools were. But while going through applications I noticed that no matter where I got in my heart was set on UNC. And look at me a now, I'm a full -fledged Carolina Girl. UNC has pleasantly fulfilled all of my expectations and I can say I have been very pleased with my decision. It's still the beautiful campus I was attracted to. It has lived up to the rigorous academic classes that I heard about. And it's party scene...woooo is still the most notorious in North Carolina. However, college is more than late night cram sessions and 8:00 am hangovers, it's about personal growth. In college you learn about history and literature, about people, and about yourself. Adults informed me that college was the time of their lives, and I believed them but didn't understand them. Now that I'm here, I'm beginning to comprehend the level of awesomeness that they were speaking about. You have freedom and virtually no responsibilities other than your school work and perhaps a job. But beyond the studying and partying, college gives you the opportunity to accomplish your dreams or get closer to the dream-accomplished finish line. Your dreams may be to be a more outgoing person, to be apart of a sports team, or become a successful entrepreneur. Whatever they may be college is the place to accomplish those dreams and UNC has the resources for you to do so.

My dream was once to get into UNC, and now I'm here. Now it is my job to partake in my dream -to become a career woman. It takes work. It takes inner confidence, self-determination, and focus to accomplish the goals that you set for yourself. College is a great place to be but figure out what you want, set your mind, and in return you will get what you want.

Don't wait on your dreams. Act on them.

xoxo
g.

DTH over NYT?

This week, as most of you probably noticed, there was no Gossip Girl. Heartbreaking and devastating to my Monday routine….I know. And I noticed that the public was equally upset. While talking with girls in my class at friends in my sorority every person felt as if they were deprived of some right to have their weekly dosage of trashy television. As devastating as it is to wait another week to find out what scandals B and S are up to, it is also upsetting to see how not having a weekly TV show stirs up emotions.

What I mean by this is that you will not hear the same moans and groans about missing the 2008 Presidential debates or the 5-o’clock CNN news. Why, because youth are still not paying adherent attention to present day national and global issue. I do admit that UNC’s campus is much more up-to-par on current events than the students were at my high school in Raleigh, NC, but I still do not see any urgency within students to hear the daily headlines.

So perhaps you are saying to yourself, “No that’s not me”, I know what’s going on in the world, I read the Daily Tarheel. The Daily Tarheel, or the DTH as it is commonly referred to around campus, is the daily campus newspaper that is written and edited by UNC students. If this is you, well then you my friend are thinking ill. Although it is a great resource for hearing about campus events, what Chancellor Thorp has to say about space issue, or who slapped the Pit Preacher it fails to provide substantial news. The DTH is a local newspaper that reports news in the community. Although it has some blurbs on national and global news, the paper has the assumption that its readers are already familiar with national news. For example, last week Justin Bailey wrote an article reassuring students that Wachovia-sponsored One Cards would continue to work even as the fate of the giant banks were in the air. When writing his article, Bailey had the idea that the audience already knew that Wells Fargo bought out Wachovia and was simply calming fears.

You may argue that local news affects you as a citizen of the U.S. and student at UNC Chapel Hill; National news is a way for you as a student to connect your studies to real life. Economics, global issues and your English and composition classes all can connect to what is written or televised in the news. Real life issues puts the rhetoric your learn into practice. Reading about real life situations might even help you understand a topic in class.

These are the front pages to the The Daily Tarheel and New York Times of Wednesday, October 8. Please note the very different headlines.(The Congress in the DTH refers to the Student Congress.)

The politics of high school socialites may be more interesting than what Ben Bernanke is doing to the Federal Funds rate. But as the next generation we must educate ourselves on global and national issues so that we can lead our nation better than the generation before us.
So I give you this piece of advice. Pick up a New York Times or Washington Post and on your way to class in the morning. Throughout the day when you have 5 or 10 minutes here and there read an article. Or if you prefer electronic sources, read those yahoo or google newsfeeds. But if this is too much to do then just read the headlines- you’ll at least get the gist of things.

xoxo

g.

Little Diddy, bout Blair and Chuck

Fashion Week! A week of beautiful clothes, glamorous people, oh and did I mention fabulous parties. But only the most privileged and beautiful actually get tickets. but even more rare is being part of the show. So of course S would get such an amazing experience.

But Fashion Week was fabulous for everyone just ask Blair, Chuck, or Dan….

This episode was the epitome of bad karma for Blair but it serves B right. One wrong doing after another by Blair did nothing but make other people look better than her. First, Blair got rid of all the models. Jenny combated this by using the socialites from the audience including Serena as the models for the show. Second Blair put not one of Eleanor’s dresses but Jenny’s handmade dress on Serena for the finale. Blair thought she had won the battle until Eleanor was told that everyone loved the dress. So rather than Jenny looking like an incompetent intern, she saved the show and made it a huge success for Eleanor. Aw, but Blair was just trying to make others look bad so her mom will like her. Sorry Blair, but bitches don’t always win.

And what about Chuck and lonely boy? Or is Chuck the new lonely boy? Dan was trying to write a short story but needed inspiration for something more edgy. Who else to resort to but Chuck Bass or as Dan named him Charles Trout (clever). After going out drinking with Chuck on two occasions he lost his shoes and walked home barefoot, punched a guy in the face and ended up in jail; Edgy enough for you Dan? Dangerous and good quality for a story but the Dan discovered through he adventures that he did not want to exploit Chuck’s life. (Dan, that’s probably because you know you’re life would be a living hell if you did.) What we found out about Chuck was that his father hates him because his mother died while giving birth to him, or did she die in a plane crash when Chuck was 3? Make up your mind Charles Trout! Either way, Dan chose not to use such a tragic life experience as a storyline. At least someone has morals in this show.

But Chuck and Dan got out of jail. S is continuing her friendship with the socialite Poppy, and Jenny might quit school to start a fashion career. My oh my!! And what’s in store for B? Can she still seize her power from S? I guess we’ll see next week…

You know you love me,

Xoxo

g.