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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

oops. again.

So, I think it's safe to say that blogging isn't my greatest talent... It's been awhile.

Updates on life:

- Turns out Rat Blagojevich IS a crook. Whadaya know? I can hardly believe it...an Illinois governor, corrupt?? I'm shocked, really... I also love sarcasm. However, not only was he corrupt, but he was DUMB and corrupt. Congratulations, Rod. Dumbest Criminal Ever. Thanks for making me proud of my state!

- Obama is president-elect. I really do honestly pray to God that I am entirely wrong about him and that he does some good for this country. Here's to hoping, right? In any case, he's the president now, come January. And I'll support him as such.

- Finals are over! 7 more semesters of college to go. I thought for sure that, best circumstances, I was looking at a D in history, but I ended up with a C! Not my greatest achievement, but considering 3/4 of the freshman class failed it, I'd say I'm almost flying high. Everything else came as predicted, and my GPA is more than enough to keep my scholarship, so I'm fairly pleased.

- My nose is pierced. I'll close it by the time I graduate, but it's fun while it lasts. I now have 7 holes in my head, which I consider a fantastic achievement.

- I'm home for Christmas. I love the familiarity of home, but I really do miss school. It's hard to live with people 24/7 and then leave them for an entire month. It's crazy that strangers can become family so quickly, as cliche as that sounds.

- IT'S FREEZING HERE. I'm used to the weather in Florida, which sounds conceited or something, but really it's true... when it gets down to 60 degrees, we start to layer our clothes and wear sweatshirts! The other day, it was -30 here... and I almost died. I seem to have forgotten what "Chicago winter" really means.

- I might be getting an amazing job this summer! I will hopefully, God-willing, get a job as a teacher in the Totus Tuus program for the archdiocese. Living like a missionary in a community setting, working with kids and teenagers, doing retreats: IT'S PERFECT! Please pray that I get the job.

- Recent discovery: Odwalla bars are delicious.

- HOPEFULLY I will not keep forgetting to update this. MERRY CHRISTMAS! And Happy New Year! May the birth of Christ bring you hope and blessings this season.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

5 Weeks Later...

I'm here! It's been awhile since I've updated...and the last one was kind of depressing.
But 5 weeks after getting here, I'm doing great. I had my birthday, which was the best birthday I've EVER had. Anusia came and surprised me, something I NEVER expected to happen in a million years!! She shouldn't have, because it is way too expensive, but boy am I GLAD she did. I was sooo depressed over my birthday and not being able to see her or my other friends, and then here she was, on my campus!! It was like an episode of Twilight Zone, seeing her walk down my dorm hallway... but it was the best ever :)

I don't deserve my friends, but I'm so grateful that God doesn't require me to be deserving.

My classes are pretty decent. Western Civ wouldn't be bearable without Amanda and Ben (but especially Amanda because she slacks with me), and my professor looks like a bulldog, but hey. What can ya do. Latin is just Latin, but Fr. Paciorek, my prof, is hilarious. He spins in his chair and pronounces mosquitoes "mos-kits" with his Polish accent. He asked one kid a question and the kid said "uhh..I'm lost" and Fr. Paciorek answered, "We are een ze class.. it eez 11:25 in de morneeng. At ave maria uneeversity" And one day he explained to us, in detail, the high end real estate market in Naples. He also told one girl today that he slept for 9 whole hours last night because she makes his life miserable. Good man.

Theology is so interesting. My professor is a former football player, this short broad bald guy with a loud voice who gets really excited about Scripture. He also likes to paraphrase God. Such as when God speaks to Moses in the burning bush: "Hey Moses, my people need to be saved, and you're my guy." "But I don't know what to say" "Don't worry, I got your back, I'll give you this staff and you can do all sorts of cool miracles, and I'll be there the whole time. " "But, I can't speak well. please pick someone else?" "Fine, you're brother Aaron's a loud mouth, so he can come with you."

Choir is funny, but not as funny as Judy at church or even Mr. Parry. But he kind of acts a lot like Mr. Parry. He's also short, so he stands on this one thing to make sure everyone can see him, and he falls off of it a lot. And when we mess up, he always says something like, "ok, let's try a little game. I'll be the conductor, and you be the choir. You sing what I conduct. Let's just try it out, it might be fun." And his assistant, George, is really nerdy. Judy would do a great imitation of him.

Voice lessons are funny too. My teacher is an ex-marine. He's pretty intense. I almost passed out during my last lesson. I'm pumped. :)

Sometimes I think I have too much time on my hands for thinking. I like being busy. No thinking.

Friday, August 22, 2008

making it

i didn't like it
my physical being accepted it
was even happy about it
my internal self fought it
with every able fiber in it
my heart knew it
and tried to embrace it
my head argued it
and procrastinated it
but now i know it:
i can do it.
i'm making it.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

change doesn't fight fair.

it's like a freaking sucker punch
you think you have all this time and then
BAM
everything is changing
goodbyes are coming at you from every direction
the sadness burns your throat
while the tears hit your cheeks like rocks
'last this' and 'final that' disorient you
and everyone else's sorrow kicks you while your down.

change doesn't fight fair.

Friday, August 1, 2008

We'll Forever Testify of Your Mercy and Unfailing Love

I miss World Youth Day

Energy. Life. Happy. Drama. Nothing seemed impossible. Singing.
New friends. Old friends. No past. No future. Just the present. Just the moment.
Belief. Faith. Trust. Jokes. Russia. Ice Cream. Early mornings. Late nights.
Laughter. Voices. Dancing. Cheering. Chanting. Pixie sticks. Vegemite.
Funny. Annoying. People. Wildlife. Mountains. Eucalyptus trees. Sand dunes.
Mirrors. Long hallways. Confusing hotel. Stairs. Pictures. Receive the Power.
Breakfast. Ocarina. Piano. No luggage. Freezing. Bohemian Rhapsody. Love.
JESUS.

I miss World Youth Day

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

To the Ends of the Earth

World Youth Day. It's over. I can hardly believe it. This trip has been so up and down and everything in between. But my over all, grand-scheme of things, over-arching conclusion: the Holy Spirit rocks and God never ceases to amaze me. Even in the difficult things, I learn something valuable and joy comes from somewhere.

Some things I've learned and how:

Losing my luggage: I have way too much STUFF. I can more than survive on much less than I have.

Freezing outside at the Vigil: There are some people who freeze outside every night, every winter, and we should have some compassion for them.

Long and hard walks: Sometimes you have to go through something difficult to get to something totally awesome. Which applies to everything.

Difficult/annoying people: Patience, tolerance, and choosing your battles. Also, letting go and moving on. And sometimes needing to stand up for yourself.


Some incredible moments:

Singing at breakfast while Anusia played the theme song and Rowan played his awesome whistle thing, and having other people join in for the part they knew

Hearing the Pope laugh

Seeing the Pope drive by right in front of us

Seeing the sea of candles at the vigil

Seeing the aerial picture of Randwick, and realizing just how many people came all the way to Australia for the Pope

Meeting so many awesome people from so many countries, all over the world

Running into the St. Peters kids at the US Mass, even though there were thousands of other people around

Hearing everybody from so many different languages singing the refrain of Receive the Power


Lots more to be updated...sometime.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Update from Down Under

I don't have much time, so for now I'll just copy and paste my blog entries for Relevant Radio. Then I'll give the "inside look" later. aka the story behind the story in which I show my true feelings.


G'day from Down Under! Day 3
7/17/2008
11:02 pm - Sydney8:02 am - ChicagoToday the Pope came!!!!But first, we had another 6:30 am breakfast call. We went to a different catechesis today, in order to see Cardinal George and hear his talk. The Cardinal spoke to us about relationships, specifically the relationships between God and the Church, the Church and the world, and the Church and Herself. It was an awesome talk, truly enthralling.After Catechesis, we got our lunch and hopped on a bus to an area called The Domain, to stake out our spot to to see the Holy Father. We had an awesome spot right along the fence, where the Holy Father drove by! We also put a sign up on the fence that said "Chicago Catholics <3 Benedict XVI". After a few hours of waiting, the atmosphere became suddenly charged and excited as we watched the Pope arrive on a boat and speak at Barangaroo on the Jumbotron screens. We were chanting and singing in anticipation of his arrival at the Domain, and about 45 minutes later, the Holy Father drove through the Domain. He was about 20 feet in front of us! It was an incredible sight, and such a blessing.Following the Domain, our group split up to go see different concerts and events throughout Sydney. I went with 5 others to a concert at Sydney Entertainment Center, which featured Matt Maher. After some music, there was Adoration, with the Eucharist on an altar on the stage, and hundreds of people on their knees in the gigantic auditorium. It was beautiful.I have to get to bed for tomorrow's busy day, but first, Fun fact #2: Platypus are poisonous, but not lethal, and only the males are poisonous. We asked an Australian how to tell the difference between male and female, just in case we ever run into a platypus. He said, "Grab it by the tail and flip it over, and pray really hard that it isn't male." What a valuable life lesson. :)
Until tomorrow!God bless!Megan

G'day from Down Under! Day 2
7/16/2008
It is 8:00 pm here, 5:00 am in Chicago.Today we woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for breakfast at 6:30 am. By 7:10, we were out the door and on our way to the subway for our journey to our first day of Catechesis. Catechesis is essentially a discussion and celebration of our faith, led by leaders in our respective native languages, to help deepen understanding of different faith topics. It includes a talk, skits, music, confession, and Mass. The theme for today's catechesis was "The Call of the Holy Spirit". The talk was given by the Archbishop of Ottowa, and it was a fantastic talk. He told us that everyone has a calling, and we must listen to the Holy Spirit to discover what our calling is. World Youth Day is an exciting experience, and the Holy Spirit is plainly evident in an event like this. But the Archbishop explained that even though a World Youth Day experience can jumpstart our faith lives, we have to continue to always see the reality of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives, always seeking to fulfill our individual calling - even when we don't get the "warm and fuzzy feelings".After Catechesis, which was held at a beautiful boarding school for girls called St. Ignatius College, we went outside for a barbecue for lunch. Every Catechesis site had a barbecue today, making it Australia's largest barbecue ever! The rest of the day was left open, allowing everyone time to explore the city and the many, MANY sites for concerts, forums, adoration, and other events around the area, hosted by different groups. I, myself, unfortunately had to take a trip to the airport to try to locate my luggage. No luck so far. We'll see what happens, I guess! It's been an exciting pilgrimage, that's for sure. :)Tomorrow the Holy Father comes!! Hooray! Time to go to a group meeting, then bed. 6:30 again tomorrow! Until tomorrow,
God bless!Megan

Arrival and Day 1 of WYD
7/15/2008

G'day from Down Under!!July 15, 2008
G'day from Down Under!! It's about 11:00 pm here on Tuesday, July 15. Which means it's about 8:00 am on Tuesday in Chicago! Door to door, we traveled about 30 hours to get here...and it was definitely worth every minute of it! Unfortunately, my luggage is lost. But fortunately, I'm the only one in the group with lost luggage, and it is supposedly on it's way from Chicago. It's frustrating, but it could have been much worse! And hey, a little suffering never hurt anyone, and it IS a pilgrimage, right? So I'll just offer it up!We returned to our hotel about an hour ago from day 1 of World Youth Day. We left this morning at 9:00 and walked through the Botanic Gardens on our way to the opera house. The gardens were beautiful! There were cockatoos in the trees, and bats hanging from branches, and some of the most beautiful flowers and trees that I have ever seen. Then we got to the Opera House, which was so awesome to see in person! I thought it would be very elegant on the inside, but it's actually very plainly decorated and has exposed concrete and everything. I thought that the simple design made it that much more beautiful! Fun fact: There are no microphones in the Opera House, because the structure and acoustics are such that performers are heard easily without them (the performance halls are built sort of like giant megaphones).After the Opera House, we walked amidst MANY more pilgrims to Barangaroo (an area in Sydney) for the opening ceremonies and Mass. We arrived at about 12:30 pm, and Mass was set to begin in the evening, so we had time to kill. But that's never a problem at World Youth Day! Time is passed with singing, dancing, and breaking down language barriers as you greet teens from countless different countries. The excitement is incredible! The opening Mass was beautiful, incorporating all cultures, even the Aboriginal culture of Australia. Everyone participated and sang along during Mass, and the best part in my opinion was sharing the sign of peace with those around me who were from different countries. It was an incredibly uplifting experience. Funny story: Yesterday, about 20 of us were walking around exploring Sydney, and we saw a young boy who was fishing. We talked to him for a little while and he asked if we were here for World Youth Day, and when we told him we were, he asked, "Are you ALL Catholic?" We of course said yes, and he got a very shocked look on his face and said, "Whoa, that's a lot!" His mother started laughing and we said, "Don't worry bud, there's lots more of us coming!" If he was that overwhelmed by meeting 20 Catholics, I wonder how he is feeling today after seeing the thousands of pilgrims!Time for bed, we have an early wake up call for Catechesis tomorrow. Until tomorrow then!God bless!Megan

Sorry if that's confusing. I'm too tired to fix it. Lame. I know. byeee

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Breaking the Silence

Ok, it's been awhile. Oops.

School's over! Graduation was...everything I hoped for and more! just kidding, I kind of would have rathered they just mail me my diploma, but whatev. The sad part wasn't graduating from Carmel, it was realizing that I would never again be in the same school as my best friends.

BUT, it's summer now! And I'm leaving for AUSTRALIA in 2 days, and I'm about to experience what will be the best 12 days of my life, thus far! Yay World Youth Day! I'm so excited; nothing I type could possibly convey my emotions.

This post has to be short, because I have about a million and one things to do before Saturday, and I need to get started and run errands. I will be (hopefully) keeping this updated each day with events from World Youth Day. Until then!

Monday, May 19, 2008

4 Days till Freedom

4 Days until school is over! Well, finals come first, but who really cares about those anyway? Just kidding.. sort of.

I don't have much to talk about. I could go on a p0litical rant about how I'm registering to vote in a couple days, and when the election rolls around I'll probably be writing in Mickey Mouse because all of the candidates are idiots, and Mickey Mouse really WOULD make a better president than all of them. But I won't stand on my soapbox today. :)
I could talk about Mr. Scordino, but I don't know him well enough to do him justice. From what I hear, he was awesome and had a heart of gold, despite his many threats to crucify and/or sit on students.
I could talk about how sad I am that this is my last Monday in High School, my last week at Carmel, blah blah blah... But I would be lying. It's scary to leave high school, that's for sure... but am I particularly sad about it? Quite honestly..No. Did I have fun along the way with friends and classmates? Of course. Will I eventually talk about missing high school? Most likely. But at this particular point in time, I'm not upset about leaving high school. There is unnecessary drama, unnecessary pressure, and the school is run way too much like a business. I'm ready to go to college, be on my own, and study what I want to study. Not to mention maybe get some sleep every now and then.. but we'll see about that. I will miss my friends soo much, there is no doubt about that. I will even miss some teachers. But as for high school in general... Let's blow this popsicle stand.

Was that depressing? It wasn't supposed to be. 4 more days!!!!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

It's been awhile

So this is my first post in a long time. I'm obviously not very good at this whole blogging thing. School is almost out (9 more days, then finals!) and these next couple weeks cannot move fast enough. Life is going so well right now; I just hope that this summer rocks.
I realized something the other day, and it shocked me: I'm an adult. I mean, I'm not 18 yet, so I suppose technically I'm not, according to the government. But, I worry about adult things, I am in charge of certain things like an adult, I have to take responsibility for everything I do and I am held accountable, I have to deal with work/money/balancing my life... If it looks like an adult and acts like an adult, it's probably an adult. I am an adult. When did that happen?!? How do I make it stop? Why did I want it so badly to begin with? I remember wanting so badly to get a job my sophomore year. Now I've come to the realization that I will work every day of my life from now on. Why was I in such a rush?
I love the little moments when I get to just be a kid again. Prom, for example. What a fun weekend. I had a blast! And I got to be a kid, not an adult. Or those random fun things that happen, like blasting music in a parking lot and dancing like a goof, or playing Apples to Apples in somebody's backyard. Or standing in the back of my brother's pick up truck with my siblings, screaming out song lyrics and dancing like there's no tomorrow.
This summer, in between working and all my other responsibilities, I'm going to make a point to be a kid. Just for one more summer.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Funny Happens./I love Free Period.

1. Platypus
2. Porcupines
3. Skunks
4. Sneezing
5. Polka music
6. The word "colonel" has no R in it. But is pronounced Kernel.
7. Nose hair
8. Toes
9. Mohawks
10. Katie Ellison
11. Facebook bumper stickers
12. Cheesy potatoes sound gross... but are actually Heaven in food form.
13. Molly would vote for Nick to be president
14. Molly "really has to pizzle"
15.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Strange and Wonderful Encounters

Have you ever encountered someone, just for a few minutes, who just brightened your whole day and seemed to restore your faith in people? I hope so, because it is wonderful when you do. I did just this past weekend!
Here's how it all went down: My dad and I were in Florida visiting a college and we were getting dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was a beautiful evening, so everyone wanted to eat outside on the patio, including us. There were no tables open, and one would literally have to stand and stake out a table in order to sit down, or someone else would get to it first. So, we went and stood by a table, trying not to be rude to the man who was still sitting there. What a nice man! He invited us to have a seat while we wait, and said his wife just needed to come back and finish her drink, and the table would be all ours. We started talking, and found out that they were also from the Midwest, but had moved. His wife came back and we all introduced ourselves; Robert and Millie were their names. A great conversation followed, and my dad informed them of why we were visiting, that I was planning on going to AMU for school in the fall. Immediately they offered their phone number and email address, promising to look out for me if I did indeed come to Florida for school.
Some people just have that way about them; they are so kind and loving, and you can tell that they are just plain happy people. Robert and Millie are those kinds of people. With all the craziness in the world today, Robert and Millie and others like them restore my faith in humanity. In fact, we could all do well to be a little more like Robert and Millie. I'm so grateful to have met them!

Friday, February 1, 2008

Objective Media?



On January 22, the annual March for Life took place in Washington, D.C. Literally hundreds of thousands of people marched down Constitution Ave. to the steps of the Supreme Court, in protest of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision to legalize abortion. Before the March, 30 thousand young people congregated in the Verizon Center for a rally. The vast majority of people in the March were, in fact, under 25 years old.
Sounds news-worthy, doesn't it? At least worthy of a small article? Go ahead and search the websites for the New York Times or the Chicago Tribune. You won't find an article. In fact, the newspaper in D.C., the Washington Post, was the only paper I found with a small article in it. Which is probably out of necessity, since the inhabitants of D.C. most likely would be none too pleased to have hundreds of thousands of people causing traffic and detours in their city, with no explanation from the news.
Well, you say, perhaps they mentioned it on the news on T.V. ? Nope. You would think that a group of people that large, possibly as large or larger than the Million Man March, marching through the capital of the country, would be noteworthy, if not headline news.
Oh, but that wouldn't be politically correct, some say. Since when did "politically correct" mean catering to one political point of view? Shouldn't media be objective? Whether the news station or newspaper leans liberal or conservative, they are supposed to report the truth, not leave out major events in support of their own agenda. Whether you consider yourself politically conservative or liberal, you should be appalled at the way information is being filtered. Shouldn't you know when any major things happen in the country you live in? You hear about all of the celebrities' problems and conflicts; yet the media fails to fill the populace in on major occurances in the capital.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

My First Post


Hey, look! Naples, Florida. Isn't that pretty?
This is my first post, and I'm just testing the water and seeing how things work. I'm new to this whole blogging thing. I think this is a good way to give my opinion on things going on in the world today, and just random things in general. And hey, who am I kidding? It's a great way to procrastinate.