OH EM GEE.

the new harry potter book cover looks so TIGHT!

the universal is always personal.

[mood | thinking]

[music | The Blackheart Procession, Tropics of Love]

so much happens in college. it's absolutely ridiculous. i thought i knew who i was in high school, but when i stop and remember who i was then, i realize that i have changed... SO much. heh, but really now, how much do i sound like every other college student right now? it's interesting how something so universal can feel so personal. in any case, i'd like to think that this person who i have evolved into is learning and becoming a better person with every new experience i go through. i think i am.

it's interesting to see who comes in and out of your life... who stays central in your life, who drifts to the periphery, and who drifts out of your circle entirely. that's the nice thing about Aysha, for sure. i know that no matter what, no matter how i change and whatever happens, she's the one sure person i'll be able to count on for my entire life. i rather think that's a big deal. how do people get along without siblings? i just can't imagine...

but really, so much happens in college. every bad experience you have, you think, oh yes, that sucked, but i've learned now. and then another things happens, and you think, good thing i got through that, i'll never let that happen again. but how many times must you go through that? when do you finally learn?

man, i gotta get my shit together.

SO much happens in college.

wouldn't have it any other way though... i love it here. i love the people i'm meeting, the opportunities, the person it's turning me into. when people ask me if i think they should stay an extra semester when they don't necessarily have to, i first ask if it's a financial problem. if they say no, i say that i would certainly stay an extra semester (and i probably will too). never again in our lives will there be a time like this. never again will we be surrounded by all... this. i don't even know how to articulate it properly. but not only that, an extra semester you could spend getting an internship or a job, or anything else that would make you look just a little bit better for grad school. that's the THING. there's so many POSSIBILITIES here. 

... oh LIFE.

Fear and Bigotry in Congress

The flap over whether one newly elected member of Congress can use the Koran rather than the Bible in a private ceremony demonstrates the founding fathers’ wise decision to avoid institutionalizing any religious faith.

Besides Santa Claus, the Christmas season usually brings some reminder that the worst way to acknowledge the importance of religious faith in America is by demanding that the entire nation follow one particular theology. Last year it was the war over the nonexistent “war on Christmas.” This year, it’s the flap over whether one newly elected member of Congress can use the Koran rather than the Bible next month in a private ceremony.

Keith Ellison, who converted to Islam when he was in college, will be the first Muslim member of the House of Representatives come January. He and his new colleagues will take the oath of office as a group, and then repeat it in private for the benefit of family and friends. It is only in that second ceremony that the Bible comes into play, and to the extent that it has a significance, we suspect Mr. Ellison’s constituents in Minnesota would like to see him using a book that best represents his religious beliefs.

Not so for a radio talk host named Dennis Prager, who claimed that using the Koran would “embolden Islamic extremists.” Then Representative Virgil Goode Jr. of Virginia announced that his concerns went beyond the erosion of the Bible’s exclusive rights to be sworn on. Mr. Goode is bothered by Mr. Ellison’s faith in general, and wrote a letter to his constituents saying that this was a wake-up call about the danger that there would be “many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran” unless immigration laws were tightened.

Mr. Ellison, who traces his ancestors in the United States to 1742, has behaved with extreme grace throughout the incident. As for Mr. Prager and Mr. Goode, we appreciate their help in demonstrating how very fast things can get both nutty and unpleasant once the founding fathers’ wise decision to avoid institutionalizing any religious faith gets breached.