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.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
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.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
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.
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.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Warriors
Sometimes I listen to podcasts for fun and a few months ago I listened to one about happiness. A speaker revealed the true key to happiness. He said, "The key to happiness is low expectations."
There is a lot of truth in this statement. If you have low expectations, it becomes almost impossible to be disappointed. I'm definitely feeling a lot of disappointment right now. Occasionally I wish that I had no expectations for life or for love. How easy would things be if I didn't expect to find my true love? I guess it would probably save a lot of heartbreak, but it would also take away a lot of happiness.
I'm often pretty hard on myself for being so emotional. I am well aware that I fall very hard and very fast. Heck, after losing a guy that I have only known for three days or three weeks I spend the night in tears. It would sure be way easier if I wasn't so emotional. It all comes back to expectations. If I expected these little college flings to amount to nothing, I wouldn't be so surprised or hurt when they fail. If I didn't expect each "perfect" guy to be "the one" then I wouldn't be so upset when they inevitably let me down.
It seems like it is always too good to be true. Except one day it won't be. One day, reality will be as good as my dreams. Last night I was almost ready to just give up on love entirely. I realize how extreme that is but a devastated girl will often go to extremes. But me giving up on love would be like me giving up on breathing. Loving is essential to who I am. As many times as I get burned, I could not stop loving if I tried.
The good news here is that my friends are the easiest people to love. Honest to God, I would be lost without my friends. Last night was the roughest night I have had in awhile. One friend heard me bawling in the other room and ran to me. Another held me while I cried. Another made me laugh my ass off. Another stood up for me when I was powerless. Another let me walk in to her room, no questions asked. Even friends that are states away were there for me. This isn't the first time either. Any time there is a bump in my road, my friends carry me over it.
Not to be cheesy (although I do love cheese), but love really is a battlefield. My girls are my warriors. I would surely lose the battle without them. There is no one else I would rather have by my side as I take on this crazy world.
Since last night, there has been one quote that has been sticking out in my mind. It is one of my favorites of all time and I have probably used this Carrie quote before, but it is too fitting to not use here.
From one writer to another: "Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates and guys are just people to have fun with."
We have to be warriors, but an army of one will never win. That is why I will continue to rely on the women I love when I am too weak to carry my own sword.
There is a lot of truth in this statement. If you have low expectations, it becomes almost impossible to be disappointed. I'm definitely feeling a lot of disappointment right now. Occasionally I wish that I had no expectations for life or for love. How easy would things be if I didn't expect to find my true love? I guess it would probably save a lot of heartbreak, but it would also take away a lot of happiness.
I'm often pretty hard on myself for being so emotional. I am well aware that I fall very hard and very fast. Heck, after losing a guy that I have only known for three days or three weeks I spend the night in tears. It would sure be way easier if I wasn't so emotional. It all comes back to expectations. If I expected these little college flings to amount to nothing, I wouldn't be so surprised or hurt when they fail. If I didn't expect each "perfect" guy to be "the one" then I wouldn't be so upset when they inevitably let me down.
It seems like it is always too good to be true. Except one day it won't be. One day, reality will be as good as my dreams. Last night I was almost ready to just give up on love entirely. I realize how extreme that is but a devastated girl will often go to extremes. But me giving up on love would be like me giving up on breathing. Loving is essential to who I am. As many times as I get burned, I could not stop loving if I tried.
The good news here is that my friends are the easiest people to love. Honest to God, I would be lost without my friends. Last night was the roughest night I have had in awhile. One friend heard me bawling in the other room and ran to me. Another held me while I cried. Another made me laugh my ass off. Another stood up for me when I was powerless. Another let me walk in to her room, no questions asked. Even friends that are states away were there for me. This isn't the first time either. Any time there is a bump in my road, my friends carry me over it.
Not to be cheesy (although I do love cheese), but love really is a battlefield. My girls are my warriors. I would surely lose the battle without them. There is no one else I would rather have by my side as I take on this crazy world.
Since last night, there has been one quote that has been sticking out in my mind. It is one of my favorites of all time and I have probably used this Carrie quote before, but it is too fitting to not use here.
From one writer to another: "Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates and guys are just people to have fun with."
We have to be warriors, but an army of one will never win. That is why I will continue to rely on the women I love when I am too weak to carry my own sword.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Team Spirit to the Max
When I decided to come to DU, I was a little upset. Ya see, I love football. It has been my favorite sport forever. I dreamed of the days when I would get to sit outside at a football stadium and watch my college team do some damage. DU doesn't have a football team and I was appalled that I would be attending a football-less university. I never imagined that I would love college hockey way more than I ever loved college football.
Since the beginning of the season, I have been pretty dedicated to this team. The dedication may be from the fact that I am a reporter and it is kind of in my job description to keep tabs on our most prevalent (sorry lacrosse) team. It can also probably be attributed to the fact that I fangirl way too hard over sports teams (Exhibit A: my undying devotion to Troy Polamalu). There have been very few home games where I have not been sitting on the boards, banging on the glass. Even for the CC games, I got to Magness an hour and a half early just to get those seats. There wasn't even any question about it either. The only time I was not on the boards was when I was in the press box. As awesome as the press box is, there is no doubt that I would rather be on the boards with my best friends.
Last night was probably the greatest hockey game I have ever seen live. It was senior night, which was a very emotional time for me for reasons I will not post on the internet. In the first period, we scored 4 goals. It was the most thrilling hockey experience ever. The fact that this team that I love so much was destroying the 4th best team in the country was just surreal. To be honest, I'm surprised that I have a voice today after screaming "JOEY!" and "1-9" so much.
DU is seriously the greatest place on Earth, maybe even better than Disneyland, although I can't say that for sure. Aside from my friends, this hockey team is probably the top reason why I love this school so much. Clearly, DU is going to be in the playoffs. I would not be surprised one bit if we won the Frozen Four. I know just how good this team is...from our freshman goalie to our senior defensive superstar. The fact that last night was the last home game of the season just breaks my heart. Knowing that 7 of our amazing players have to graduate and leave makes me unbelievably sad, even though only one of them might know my name. By the way, 3 of the 7 have been drafted by the NHL. Yeah, that's pretty impressive.
DU always gets quite a bit of shit for not having enough team spirit or school pride, but this girl has enough of both to go around.
Since the beginning of the season, I have been pretty dedicated to this team. The dedication may be from the fact that I am a reporter and it is kind of in my job description to keep tabs on our most prevalent (sorry lacrosse) team. It can also probably be attributed to the fact that I fangirl way too hard over sports teams (Exhibit A: my undying devotion to Troy Polamalu). There have been very few home games where I have not been sitting on the boards, banging on the glass. Even for the CC games, I got to Magness an hour and a half early just to get those seats. There wasn't even any question about it either. The only time I was not on the boards was when I was in the press box. As awesome as the press box is, there is no doubt that I would rather be on the boards with my best friends.
Last night was probably the greatest hockey game I have ever seen live. It was senior night, which was a very emotional time for me for reasons I will not post on the internet. In the first period, we scored 4 goals. It was the most thrilling hockey experience ever. The fact that this team that I love so much was destroying the 4th best team in the country was just surreal. To be honest, I'm surprised that I have a voice today after screaming "JOEY!" and "1-9" so much.
DU is seriously the greatest place on Earth, maybe even better than Disneyland, although I can't say that for sure. Aside from my friends, this hockey team is probably the top reason why I love this school so much. Clearly, DU is going to be in the playoffs. I would not be surprised one bit if we won the Frozen Four. I know just how good this team is...from our freshman goalie to our senior defensive superstar. The fact that last night was the last home game of the season just breaks my heart. Knowing that 7 of our amazing players have to graduate and leave makes me unbelievably sad, even though only one of them might know my name. By the way, 3 of the 7 have been drafted by the NHL. Yeah, that's pretty impressive.
DU always gets quite a bit of shit for not having enough team spirit or school pride, but this girl has enough of both to go around.
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