Snow

This post is dark and full of spoilers.
|
|
|
|
|
As many of you are aware, I am beyond obsessed with Game of Thrones. TV show and books, fan theory, memorabilia, cosplay, and everything in between. If my body of knowledge was this vast in more important subject areas (like chemistry) I'd be a genius. I wish I could take a class on Game of Thrones. For now, I guess I'll just be content with it eating up all of my free time instead.

I have loved Ned, Drogo, Robb, Oberyn, Ygritte, and I was even a little sad when Renly had to go...but I have never been as devastated as I was on this finale. I was in utter shock when the beautiful and brooding Jon Snow seemed to be the next off the list...it hit me like an invisible semi-truck. I'm not sure why this was so sad...yes Jon is a gorgeous man, but he never had Drogo level looks and his personality pales in comparison to that of Oberyn. I think the thing here is that I am convinced that Jon is the only man that can save the morons of Westeros from the White Walkers. No one else is smart enough or brave enough to pull it off. Also, the conditions of his death are just awful. He was hoping for his Uncle and what he receives are a bunch of assholes stabbing him "for the watch" (clearly they don't understand that he went beyond the wall "for the watch"). Not to mention that little bastard Olly who killed Ygritte (my spirit animal) and then Jon. Olly, I hope you die.

Before jumping into my theory, I have just a few more comments about how stupid this whole thing is. Alliser Thorne is the stupidest person on the show for many, many reasons, but the one thing that everyone tends to overlook is the fact that wildings beyond the wall equals a larger army for the White Walkers. White Walkers have the power to not only kill, but resurrect the dead as wights, which are essentially minions that are under the White Walkers' control. Jon's plan to help the wildlings helps literally everyone because he is removing people from the White Walker army. The last thing that is needed is millions of wildlings being added to the White Walker army as wights. It's really not that difficult to understand if these crows would pull their stubborn heads out of their asses for a second.

[Important side note: the dead cannot be turned into White Walkers. All theories about Jon being turned into a White Walker are inherently wrong because it's impossible. White Walkers are a species. A dead man cannot be a White Walker just like a dead human can not be turned into an elephant. The dead are turned into wights (which are controlled by White Walkers) and that is it.]

It is quite possible that I am in the worst state of denial possible and I'm just too scared to admit that Jon is dead...but I really don't think this is the end for everyone's favorite bastard. So here's my theory. It combines knowledge from the books and the television show. R'hllor, I hope I'm right.

It is no coincidence that Melisandre showed up at Castle Black right before all of this went down. She is back for a reason. See, Melisandre has been under the impression that Stannis is really Azor Ahai, but recent evidence has shown that Jon may be Azor Ahai. About 8,000 years before what we are witnessing, the White Walkers were headed south as winter came. Azor Ahai fashioned a sword that harnessed magical powers when he stabbed his wife, Nissa Nissa, in the heart with it. His sword, Lightbringer, was able to defeat the White Walkers and save the seven kingdoms. He then built the Wall. A prophecy states that Azor Ahai will come again to end winter. Melisandre, at first, saw in her fires things that made her believe that Stannis was the savior. But, the fires have changed and now when Melisandre asks to see Azor, all she sees is Jon Snow. Which, (if the fires are to be trusted) means that Jon Snow is Azor Ahai. Jon Snow is the only one that can defeat the White Walkers and save humanity.

Also, we know that R'hllor (the Fire God) can resurrect people. Thoros of Myr has resurrected Beric Dondarrion six times with the help of his god. Melisandre is more powerful than Thoros so if Thoros can resurrect people I guarantee Melisandre can do it too. And if she truly believes that Jon is the chosen one, then she has no choice but to bring him back.

I know that Kit Harington has told the world that he is dead and not coming back. But clearly even if he was coming back he would have to say that he wasn't. If Kit was like "yeah I'll be back", then it would ruin the surprise and the show and clearly the writers can't let that happen. I'm not taking Kit's words as true right now, because they can't be.

Basically, Jon is our last hope so he can't be dead. Melisandre needs to save our boy. So kids, say your bedtime prayers to R'hllor tonight and maybe there will be some more Snow this winter.

A Year In Review

My freshman year of college has officially come to an end...and I am in total shock. I can't believe how quickly this year went by. I can't believe how different I am. I really can't believe how happy I am. There have been plenty of terrible things this past year, but I am grateful for them. Everything that has happened has made me the person that I am today and I have never been more happy. 

Let's start from the beginning. 

Move in day was the most chaotic day I have ever experienced. There were so many people everywhere and a line for the elevator almost out the door. It was super tiring, but I was able to begin making a home out of 706N with a little help. I remember on that first night we had a floor meeting. Many times I have looked back on that and tried to remember who said what and who did what, but I can't for the life of me remember. All I know is that those strangers from that meeting quickly became my best friends and family. 

That very first night, I went to my very first college party...with the hockey team. My friends and I joke about this night because it didn't go exactly as planned. We ended up literally running away from the party. To this day, this is one of my biggest regrets. So naive...but also hilarious. 

There is no way that I can avoid telling the story of how I met the best friend I've ever had...and it can all be attributed to Kit Harington. All I had to do was mention Game of Thrones and my Molls's eyes lit up. It wasn't long before I was rewatching the series with her on the floor of my room. From that first episode, I never would have imagined that she'd get me a giant Tyrion poster for my birthday, that we'd go watch the show in IMAX 3D, or that we'd go to Denver ComicCon dressed as Arya and Ygritte. Our love of GoT runs deep, but our love for each other runs deeper.

It would take an entire novel for me to share all of my great memories...but they're all in my mind and I wouldn't trade them for the world. All the hockey games we spent in the front row, all the Nagel lunch dates, the shit show that was Winter Carnival, our National Championship, all of our "boys", the nights we stayed in and the nights we went out with a bang, all the mornings that required a bit of debriefing, and every moment in between. 

This year was made great by so many things and it would be absurd not to say a few thank yous.

Thank you to my family (especially my mom) who helped get me to this point.

Thank you to my best friends who helped me make it through this year. I cannot begin to tell you how much you mean to me and our crazy times together are something I will always treasure.

Thank you to my professors who taught me a few things and didn't make school too miserable.

Thank you to my amazing roommate who always put up with my shit and understood that music, clean dishes, and air conditioning were a constant necessity.

Thank you to my church community on campus for keeping me in line and focused on what really matters.

Thank you to all of the "boys" that were regarded as celebrity sightings. I know you don't know who you are, but you were a big part of my friends' lives and mine, so thanks.

Thank you to those special guys that (hopefully) don't know that I'm in love with them and a special thanks to my friends who handled my weirdness.

Thank you to The Clarion that allowed me to get paid for writing and meet some amazing people. 

Thank you to the guys that broke my heart (and to the ladies that helped me pick up the pieces) because I am stronger and better without you.

Thank you to everyone that has loved me this past school year, because I love you too.

Thank you to everyone that will continue to be a part of my life in one way or another and to all the people I have yet to meet.

I cannot believe this year is almost over and I would give almost anything to relive all of it. Unfortunately, that's not how life works. But, if next year is anything like this year then it will be unbelievable. With a place like DU in a city like Denver with the friends I have made, I know the great memories will keep coming. 

 

PiONEer Nation

I am not one that has ever had a lack of school spirit, but I seriously underestimated just how much I could have. In high school, the boys' cross country team won a state championship and that was pretty exciting. Yet, it was nothing like this.

For those of you that haven't heard, DU men's lacrosse has just won the National Championship. This is the first time in history that the title has left the east coast. And it's a huge deal. DU is known for having a good hockey team, but we are no longer just a hockey school and lacrosse is no longer just an east coast sport.

I like to think that I have a special tie to the program (and all athletics at this school) because of my job as a sports reporter. I had the huge pleasure of interviewing 5 of our best lacrosse players (Wes Berg, Zach Miller, Ryan Laplante, and Connor and Sean Cannizzaro) and seeing everything they have accomplished this season just makes it that much cooler that I have been following them from the beginning. The sad part is our paper is done running for the year so I wasn't able to cover the championship for the school, but that has given me more time to treasure the win.

I am not friends with any of the players and some students at DU have probably never even spoken to them, but I love that this is completely irrelevant. Something like this has the power to bring together an entire campus full of different people and turn them into a family. The team did all of the hard work; the rest of us have just cheered them on, but somehow I still feel as if we are all sharing in the victory.

I've believed in my heart that DU is the greatest place on earth since I showed up here on August 31st. Now, I feel like other people might just be realizing how great DU is. The Denver Broncos tweeted about us, The New York Times mentioned us, our campus was featured on Yik Yak, the Championship was live on Snapchat, and the list goes on. It is just so insanely cool that my school accomplished something so great and is receiving so much recognition.

Honestly, in high school I could not have cared less about lacrosse. Even at DU, hockey was always number one to me (and still is). Lacrosse is probably the sport I know the least about, aside from maybe cricket and polo. Regardless, I know these guys and I know the coach and I love this place just as much as the rest of them. Basking in the glory of a national championship with my favorite people in my favorite place could not be any sweeter.

1 in 4

I am sure some of you have seen this, but for those who haven't: take a look at this picture.

This smiley man wore this shirt to Coachella. I am not sure if he thinks he is being funny or clever by making a play on Fatboy Slim's "Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat", but that shirt clearly says "RAPE" and he is not even close to being funny.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It is great that this is a nationally recognized thing, but the fact that rape and sexual assault are universal and not particularly uncommon is just disgusting. Rape is one of the longest existing and most frequently occurring crimes in human history. I can't imagine how to make it stop, but it needs to. 

The University of Denver has many initiatives trying to combat sexual assault and rape on campus. I commend the university for putting things in place. One of the campaigns is "Consent is Sexy". I have a delightful pajama shirt that says this. It is a pretty simple concept if you ask me. "NO" is not consent. Being intoxicated is not consent. Trying to resist is not consent. Get with it. Also, learn your definitions. Rape is not exclusively sexual intercourse. No consent+any undesired penetration=rape.  

"One in four college women report surviving rape or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime." (http://www.oneinfourusa.org/statistics.php) 

1 in 4. That is way, way too many. 25% of college women will be raped or almost raped. That means that in my circle of closest friends, one of us will fall victim to a rapist. I pray to God none of us will but this statistic is still terrifying. 

What is the point of having a blog if I'm not trying to help the world or raise awareness? Stay educated and make good decisions. Please.

Jacquizz

On April Fool's Day, I was lucky to become an "aunt". I say "aunt" because technically, we are cousins, but I am going to be everything to this little boy that his mom has been to me. For that reason, it's Auntie Carolyn.

Over spring break, I traveled to Washington D.C. to hopefully welcome little Jacquizz into the world. Unfortunately, he wasn't early and I wasn't there when he was born. At least the quality time with my aunt and uncle was absolutely wonderful. The little guy came over a week late. He actually is not little all, weighing in at 10 pounds, 3 ounces. He has the chubbiest cheeks I've ever seen. I'm super bummed out that I can't be there to see him and meet him. I guess I will have to be patient.

Oh, I should probably explain the Jacquizz thing. His name is actually Ryan, but before he was born he was nicknamed Jacquizz after a football player on my aunt's fantasy team. It' s totally amusing, but the poor kid will probably be called Jacquizz for awhile. Let's be honest, I'll probably still call him that when he's 30, but only when I want to annoy him.

I haven't even met the kid but I have never felt such love for any baby before. There haven't been too many babies in my family and I was young when my other cousins were born. I guess that explains why he is the background on my phone. I simply cannot wait to know and love this little boy.

Ryan, hopefully the Internet is still a thing in 10 years and I'll be able to show you this post. Granted, when you're 10 you'll probably think it's stupid, but I'll love you anyway.