My New Blog

I would like to address the new blog that I just started entitled Footprints Devotionals. If you look under my profile, you will see it listed there. I want to address it because I do not see this as any hindrance to the work that I am doing here on this blog. In fact, I think it is better that those who read this blog understand where I am coming from. Although I try to be unbiased in the writings that I present as fact (in contrast with the opinion articles such as the smoking blog below), obviously I have certain beliefs that show through in my writing. I believe that it is better for you to know what I believe rather than being inundated with my biases unaware of what is at hand. I conclude by saying that my being a Christian does not hinder my journalistic abilities. In fact, if anything, it should only make my journalism better because the first loyalty in journalism is to the truth, and seeking truth and being truthful is at the core of my Christian beliefs. I hope this explains my situation. Please feel free to comment at will.

Addiction Affects the Non-Addicted

After coming to college, I thought I would quickly become accustomed to the endless trail of smoke that is left behind students and faculty alike as they walk to their various classes. However, even now, a month into school, I feel as though every time I inhale a cloud of their smoke, I am surely coming a minute closer to my death by lung cancer. Perhaps I am being overdramatic, but I am simply expressing the plea of my stomach, which quickly overturns itself and causes me to feel as though I will vomit whenever I walk behind a smoker. 

Although I do not understand the addiction whatsoever (as I have never attempted to smoke before), I think I do understand common courtesy. And blowing smoke in some innocent bystander's face as you walk by is what I would classify as rude. All this being said without even mentioning the other factors which include littering (one of if not my biggest pet peeve of all time), personal health effects, and indirect influence on others. I cannot help but think that if a person were attempting to quit smoking, they would have to drop out of school because they would not be able to attend any of their classes without smelling that excruciating mix of nicotine and whatever other garbage they place in cigarettes that they say is "pleasant" or "enjoyable" or any of the other equivocal terms they use, sending the pitiful ex-smoker into unconquerable cravings for their captor, nicotine. 

I must mention that I do find the smell of cigars somewhat appealing, but I would gladly never smell another cigar if it meant never having to smell a cigarette again. I do not pretend to offer a solution to this trend which so enthralls Americans. To be honest, most people probably find me completely and utterable unsympathetic to smokers. After all, is it really their fault that they have become addicted for a lifetime after one or two experiments with cigarettes? If you knew me, you would quickly see that abstinence, or more aptly termed stubbornness, is one of my most strongest attributes. So, I cannot possibly understand why a person cannot simply refuse nicotine.

But enough of my babbling. As I said before, I do not propose to offer a solution to smoking, but only desire to give a different perspective than those that have been proposed before so that people may see a more complete picture of the situation, or I would call it, plight.

Inspired by Humility

What are you supposed to think of a man who has built nearly eighty schools in the Pakistan and Afghanistan, has a book that has been on the New York Times bestseller list since January, is so prestigious that the presidential candidates call him for advice, and is so humble that he still gets nervous when speaking in front of crowds and has large holes in the heels of his socks, underneath his pant suit's legs?

This man is Greg Mortenson, one of the most inspiring men you could ever meet. This summer, Mizzou chose Three Cups of Tea, co-authored by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, as the book for the Mizzou Reads program. All the incoming freshmen are encouraged to read the book, although few did. The sad thing is, this book was one of the best books I have ever read, and many people chose not to experience it just because they were lazy. But this article is not meant to scold those who choose "fun" over knowledge.

The book relays the story of Greg Mortenson, who after getting lost on his way down from attempting to climb K2, the second largest mountain in the world, came to a small village in Pakistan and fell in love with the people. Seeing many children writing in the dirt one day, Mortenson discovered that the children had no school. So after a promise to build them a school, a couple of years in the United States raising funds for the project, and many sleepless nights, Mortenson's work began; and he hasn't stopped until this day. 

So when I went to interview Mortenson for the school newspaper when he came to speak at Mizzou, I felt like I was meeting a celebrity. I had read all the articles that said how gracious and gentle he was, and I began to feel quite guilty for interviewing him when I had heard that he hardly ever had any time for his family because of everything that was demanded of him. So I interviewed him for a short time before his speech, but, although he had some excellent points, what he said was not what stood out to me. Instead, it was his demeanor. Just like I had read, he was kind and gentle. When I first spoke with him that day, it was at a reception four hours before my official interview. Being "such a big fan" of his, I asked him to sign my copy of Three Cups of Tea. He asked where I was from and mentioned that he had just been in my hometown of San Antonio the week prior. At this I was incredibly disappointed that my mom did not have the opportunity to see him speak. But afterward, I casually mentioned that I had been set up to speak with him later that day. Seeing as he does not set his own schedule, I am not sure if he completely understood what I said, but, nevertheless, what he did next amazed me. "Oh, okay," he said. "Let me give you my email and phone number." 

His phone number? This man who barely has enough time to breathe cares so much about this program that he would give me, a freshman at some university's college newspaper, his personal cell phone number?

Well he did. He gave me the Central Asian Institute's main line and their email, along with his phone number and email. I do not think I will be calling him any time soon, but this act of kindness did not go unnoticed. I will never forget this man who cares so much about the children in Pakistan that he will wear socks with gaping holes in the heel so that he put every last penny toward building more schools. This is the kind of celebrity I admire. This is the kind of person I would aspire to become.

I will never forget what he wrote in my book that day.

"Gretchen, when your heart speaks, take good notes."    -Greg

International Friends

Leaving home to go to college for some people is bad enough, but what if you had to leave your family and travel half-way around the world, entering into a culture with completely different traditions than what you know? In June of 2006, 583,959 international students were enrolled to study in colleges in the United States, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At Mizzou, the university I attend, there are approximately 1,300 international students. 

I thoroughly enjoy learning about other cultures, so when the opportunity presented itself for me to become involved in International Friends, a ministry to help internationals in Columbia adjust to life in America, I was thrilled. I expected to learn a great deal about other cultures, which I have. I expected to have a little difficulty understanding some of the people I would meet, which I did. But what I did not expect is how much we had in common. The first night I went, we had a fellowship dinner. Everything was going extremely well. I was meeting new people from China and other places across the globe. After we finished eating, the leader of the organization stood up and explained a little exercise we would do at our tables. I do not know how the exercise led to it, but somehow, we began to talk about how much influence families had on our lives. 

After two weeks of being several states away from my family, I was getting to be quite homesick. I knew it was just part of the process of adjusting to a new life, but during that time, I realized how great a role my family had in my life. 

As we talked, one of the students from China spoke up about how he did not realize how big an influence his family had had on his life until he moved away from them just a few weeks ago. Although this comment was very common for such a setting, it moved me deeply. Here were two people, from the opposite sides of the world, who were having the same emotions. Both were just homesick students, trying to adapt as best they could to their new life. Somehow, knowing that other people understood how I felt made me feel more at home. Here I was, supposedly helping these people adjust to their new life, and I felt like they were helping me to adjust to mine.

Boredom

I'll be honest. Today, I am not blogging because I have anything important to say, but because I am bored. But what I have realized being at college is that boredom is an interesting thing in itself. First of all, I believe that man was made to work, so when  he is not being productive, something triggers in his mind making his thoughts first fleeting, then a constant static. This, we call boredom. So, in order to correct this problem, we occupy our minds with such things as music, Internet, television, and the like. While these things are not inherently bad, when someone relies on them so heavily that his mind is no longer productive but simply a mundane collector of information, doing nothing with that information except to let it mold in his brain, something is very wrong.

Now the picture that is most likely in your mind at this moment is not very realistic, because I cannot think of anyone who sits on the couch all day staring at the television. But I do think that we, as a society, often allow ourselves to be fed information without question until our mind is filled with junk, like a attic full of unorganized boxes. Instead, we should sort through the information we are given, filing it in our memory for current or future use. In order to do this, I believe it is incredibly important not to allow oneself to become empty-minded or bored. Be productive. Take up art or read a book. Contribute to your community and those around you. Invest in others.

Curious Life

Day two of actual college classes, and I am feeling a bit more confident than yesterday. While my French class still seems as though it will be very difficult, I am getting the routine of things a bit better. As I sit here outside, I watch people walk by toward their different classes, and I realize that I love watching people. Sometimes I wonder if it is healthy, being so curious about other people's lives. 

Look that girl walking by is wearing a hijab, a Muslim head scarf. I wonder what thought process causes her to wear it? Yesterday I saw another girl wearing a hijab while working out at the recreation center. I also noticed she was wearing pants as not to show her legs. Unfortunately, I do not recall whether or not she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Here comes a girl who is overweight. Now I hold no hatred toward those who are overweigh, but I do wonder why they do not take better care of the body they are given. A male student walks by on the telephone. I wonder if he is far from home. Is he talking to his friend back home? That helped me get adjusted to college life, talking every once in a while to a friend who is going through something similar as you.  A professor walks by in a straw sun hat (I guess that is what you call it). He has probably taught here many years as most of the professors have.

I could sit here all day, watching people pass by. Oh look, a young woman with a little boy. Is she a student? That must be hard--raising a child while going to school. Although I have known people who have done it. I do not know what spurs on my curiosity of all these lives. Maybe it is the greater view of things, seeing how, despite all of our differences, we ended up here at the same place, at the same time. Life is curious, and that is why I love it.

A Busy Week for the World and Me

This week, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan announced his resignation, presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama announced Senator Joe Biden as his presumptive vice president, the Beijing olympics hosts its closing ceremonies, and I complete my first week at the University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou). You ask, what do all these events have in common? Absolutely nothing. But I mention all of these to point out that the world does not stop for anything or anyone. Nobody waited for me to make a smooth transition to college life, and although both Musharraf and Obama most likely consulted countless individuals about when to make their announcements, the majority of the people they affected were not asked if it was a good time. Maybe all these events do not appear to be of any significant influence on the general public, but I say all this to make the point that you better run with the world if you don't want to get left in the dust. The world keeps spinning no matter what you want or feel. 

This past week, everything has been so out of sync with what I am used to, I don't know what to do. The news reminds me that the world continues, but since I moved away from my hometown of San Antonio, Tx, it feels as though life everywhere except for in Columbia, Mo, should have stopped. It seems as though I should go home soon and find everything exactly as I left it. 

(above) The columns stand in front of Jesse Hall, the admissions building for Mizzou.

Michael Phelps should still be swimming, hoping to break the world record, just as he was when I left. Barack Obama and John McCain

 should still be arguing about how best to solve the nation's and the world's problems, and Pakistan should still be ruled by the military hand of President Musharraf. 

However, when I finally go home for thanksgiving, none of this will be so. The olympics will be long over, the world will know who the next President of the United States will be, and Pakistan will have a new president. 

I wish right now, I had a solution to this dilemma of mine. I wish I knew how to make the world stop spinning, but I don't. So all I can do is run. I will become involved in this new community of mine. I will meet new people and discover new hobbies. I will fulfill my duty as a student and as a Christian. 

(above) Memorial Union is the building that houses many of the student activities at Mizzou.

And when I do finally make the flight home that fourth week in November, I will give thanks to God that I have a family who will be at home, waiting for me with outstretched arms as though I had never left. At that point, I think I will know that there is at least one place where the world can stop turning.