7 Quick Takes – Vol. 46

~ Laura ~ 2 Comments

— 1 —

Well hello again! Life has been busy. I’m plugging along in classes, and am just getting into a groove after being gone for the march. My favorite class is Christian Moral Life. It’s hard, but I’ve made a conscious effort to put a lot into it. The weather has been crazy awesome around here too (for it being nearly February). Stay as long as you like, sunshine!

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Speaking of February, I’ve decided to be part of this blogging challenge.

Yes, it sounds ambitious 🙂 Here are the prompts I’m looking forward to writing on!

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My computer is on the fritz right now. And this picture is most certainly an accurate depiction of how I’ve felt a couple times lately.

“Shutterstock” is there for dramatic effect, FYI 🙂

Thankfully my family had an older functioning laptop at home that I brought back after Christmas, so there’s that as a back up. But I like my old one. And it has all my things on it. But I know it’s not going to last, so I’m planning on transferring my things onto an external hard drive this weekend. The main frustration I’ve been having is with the charging cord which simply refuses to charge it. One day I have to shove it against a wall and position it just right for it to charge. The next I have to sit with it balanced just right awkwardly on my legs. AND THEN I have to sneeze or move and it stops charging. FOREVAH. Or at least until I find the next awkward position. But good news! The cord (which I just got in August) has a 3 year warranty. So after I transfer things I’m planning to get the cord replaced and let’s hope that fixes things for the time being.

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This is a pretty powerful video. What do you think?

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Something I’d love to do: be trained in how to debate. Objections people raise are so easy to see through sometimes, but finding the right words can be hard. This clip was pretty interesting and I liked how Lila was trying to bring it back to the point in question: What are the unborn? I don’t know if it’s a good thing, but I have WAY too much fun coming up with answers for debating people like this. It’s a good thing I don’t post about it often, though, because the snarkiness can be a bit much 🙂

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Isn’t this so sweet? I wish our society valued the elderly more.

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I have to say that I feel slightly accomplished because I FINALLY wrote an article for Live Action – for the first time since October. It feels oh so good to be back in that groove and there are many posts in the works. You know how people say you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone? It’s pretty true. I let writing for them slip by for a few months and now I’m so looking forward to continuing. It’s a lot of fun, and I learn so much by researching for each article. You can check out older ones here.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Finish This: Week 4

~ Laura ~ 10 Comments

I use my “green thumb” to . . . grow things? But I haven’t lately. The last thing I remember growing was Pete here, which was not much of a success. Flowers are lovely, though, and someday when I have land of my own I’ll grow things!

The secrets to life are . . . pretty simple. Love God and follow his will. Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.

I get my money’s worth by . . . going for the generic stuff, using coupons, or just not spending money 🙂 College at it’s finest!

On the scale of 1 to 10, my level of organization is . . . probably about a 9 (when I want it to be of course). While I appreciate organization, you can always tell my level of sanity by looking at my bed/desk area though. It’s gotten REALLY bad a few times when I’ve gotten extremely stressed. So I guess you could say I’m intrinsically organized but aren’t always as much as I should. Though I do tend to be very organized with school, papers laying around, and my clothing. My closet is lovely right now. Oh, and the best time to organize? When I’m procrastinating of course!

A gentleman always . . . opens doors. No questions asked.

Handwritten notes are . . . almost better than chocolate. And that’s saying something. So I’ve heard about how people have different love languages and I have to say that I appreciate it when people take the time to do nice things without being asked. next best is written things. Online written things are fine, but man. Written letters are the bomb. I literally keep every card (and sometimes even sticky notes) people write because I love to look back on them. There’s just something about holding the same piece of paper someone else took the time to write on that I thoroughly enjoy.

And that’s a wrap! How would you finish these prompts?

Why I Marched

~ Laura ~ 2 Comments

Just a few days ago I went on my second March for Life, after going to two West Coast Walk for Life’s before that. Being part of the March is by far one of the most inspirational things I’ve ever been a part of. And this is my thoughts on why . . .

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Back in 2011 I went to my first Walk for Life, which was the first major pro-life event I remember attending. It moved me. It’s funny when I look back in old journal entries and laugh (cringe too) because I was fairly obsessed with musicals and wanting to be a broadway star for the better part of my tween years. I didn’t yet have the direction I now have in my life, which I think I was wanting to fill with musical theater. Don’t get me wrong, I still love music. But I’ve found something better and more beautiful to be part of, and that is defending, protecting, and promoting life.

If someone were to ask me why for pete’s sake I went to freeze to death in D.C., here’s some of what I’d share with them:

I marched this year because I stand in solidarity with all who have been harmed by abortion.

I marched this this year because I believe no one wants to grow up to work in the abortion industry, and those who do work in it need to be given better places to work.

I marched this year because our world so desperately needs people to stand up for what is right, even if it means 55 hours on a bus and freezing in D.C.

I marched this year to be a witness to people in my life how much I love and care about life.

I marched this year because I believe that without action, our beliefs are a moot point.

I marched this year for the 1/3 of my generation who will never see the light of day.

I marched this year for all the mothers who have resorted to abortion sometimes through coercion or lack of resources to choose life.

I marched this year for all the fathers who may or may not have stood up for the lives of their children.

I marched this year for the two babies I named who were victims of abortion.

Ultimately, I marched this year because I believe life is our most precious gift. I believe every single life, regardless of race, religion, or socioeconomic status is unique and unrepeatable. No matter who you are, you are a gift from God, and no one has the right to snuff out your life.

I believe women and our country deserve better than abortion.

The pro-life movement is a movement of love, and the March never fails to remind me of that. To stand there with hundreds of thousands of people who believe in the joy life brings . . . guys. It’s really amazing. It still makes me tear up. I mean, it’s hard to describe how incredible it feels to be part of something that is so much bigger than myself. It’s kind of like holding a baby. In that moment all is right with the world (unless they’re crying or throwing up or something of course). You just look at those precious little eyes, the fingers that curl around yours, and the itty bitty toes that will someday run up and down the hallways. That right there is hope. You don’t know who this person will become, what they will do, or what lives they may touch.

In each person I see the potential for greatness. And I think it’s a shame that in our country we reduce the preciousness of each life to an issue of “rights” – a woman’s right to choose, etc. We’re so much more than that! We are unique, unrepeatable, and made to love and be loved. Abortion does not fit with that notion. And neither does euthanasia, contraception, or the death penalty.

Me? I’m just one person. Sure, I marched for life. But showing the world how beautiful life is takes a lot more than that.

Our everyday lives have to mirror our beliefs. When our joy and love of life overflows to the people we meet, they eventually are going to have to wonder what we’ve got that they don’t. And that, folks is a whole lot of love and hope. That is what I experienced at the March, and it’s why I marched. I marched because I stand for life, love, and the dignity of each and every person.

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7 Quick Takes – Vol. 45

~ Laura ~ 2 Comments

— 1 —

Hello school! I’m back at BC and classes are well underway. Here are my thoughts on each class so far:

Statistics: I was quite apprehensive going into this because math can be hard (and the name statistics doesn’t make it sounds more exciting). But now I don’t think this will be too crazy. And that’s because my teacher is basically focusing on using and manipulating numbers through excel. He said 80% of our class time we’ll be on the lab computers and he’ll demonstrate how to do things. I like that because I’m learning not by listening to a lecture, but by doing something. Woot!

Microeconomics: This is definitely looking like it will be easier for me to grasp then macroeconomics because it is more specific and you can apply it more easily to real life situations. It’s also a different teacher. This is not going to be an easy class by any means, but easier.

Christian Moral Life: This is the class I am most excited about. It’s basically learning how to apply Christian morals to our lives (and learning the Catholic position so we’re able to defend it). We have a fabulous reader with excerpts from encyclicals and even news articles that have to do with very recent issues. One part I’m really excited about is that for each controversial topic in class, we have debates. You could probably take a wild guess and figure out the one I want to do 😉

International Management & Culture: This is really interesting because my professor is using a teaching method called problem-based-learning. Instead of lecturing and then giving us tests and questions to test what we know, we’re given a problem and have to go through an established process with a team to figure out what we need to learn to succeed. I think this will prove to be an interesting learning experience.

Accounting: This is the sequel to the accounting class I took last semester. And I predict I will do better because I know the book and system better and feel more prepared.

On top of that I’m doing concert chorale, a leadership seminar, and yoga next quarter. Whew!

— 2 —

The internet in my dorm has been down since we all got back from break. But would you believe it? We’ve been SO productive! I’ve actually gotten to bed before midnight every night * cough cough 11:59 last night * and I’ve made an effort to do my reading and take good notes on homework. It’s feels so awesome.

— 3 —

Inspiring or Catholic-ish thought of the week: Nietzsche claimed that Christian moral values are our prejudices. In fact, he argued that Jesus was the ultimate hater by trying to make himself look good by doing something seen as noble. That’s why we do good things: to feel good and look good to the world (he said).

How would you respond? Two suggestions from my professor:

“If you pray, you will believe” said Mother Theresa. You can’t know the faith until you’ve lived it, just like you can’t say you hate ketchup until you’ve tried it. So try it out, Nietzsche, and see what it’s really all about.

The other way he talked about approaching this is reductio ad absurdum (reduce to absurdity). Does this not sound absurd? Look at the beauty and happiness of people who live a fully Christian life. Look at the despair of many non-believers. Throughout history, it seems that many of the happiest people have been saints, and there’s got to be some reason.

Another point Nietzsche made was that Christians “should look more redeemed”. I thought that was interesting, and think he has a point. We certainly don’t do our faith or God justice much of the time. If we lived completely as we should, people would be looking our way constantly wondering what we have that causes us to be so full of joy. Like we learned, though, the greatest argument against the Church is Christians (because many of us aren’t the Christians we should be). And the greatest argument for the Church is good Christians (ie. saints). Let’s try to be the saints of our time.

— 4 —

Last year’s 7 buses

On Monday we’re leaving for the March for Life. Whoohoo! I’m excited to be a bus captain on one of the 8 buses we’re taking. Be sure to watch coverage on EWTN and look for news stories. Check out this story on how this was able to happen.

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Did you see this article about chivalry? What do you think?

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Here’s a good video made as we near 41 years of legalized abortion.

You know what’s interesting though? I don’t think my generation is going to be the one to “end abortion” because I don’t think abortion will ever cease to exist. It was around in ancient days in different ways, and it’s going to be here after I’m gone. Of course I do think we’ll be the generation to make serious headway (if not overturn) Roe v. Wade. So that’s what I’m going for.

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Now it’s time to go back to productivity mode and get my homework done so I don’t have to do any over the March for Life trip! I’ve had great opportunities to connect with people and meet more of my fellow Ravens recently, and look forward to the challenges and opportunities the coming months will bring. Here’s to a good semester!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Finish this – Week 2

~ Laura ~ 6 Comments

1. If I could make anything grow on trees, it would be . . . money. Well, that might get complicated. But I’ll still go with it! No more loans or worrying about how to pay for things. Also, full on instant meals like in Spy Kids would be cool 🙂

2. I can’t stop smiling . . . when I’m watching/reading something inspiring, or holding/playing with a baby.

3. I get back to nature by . . . taking a walk (preferably when there’s sunshine).

4. I dread washing . . . cars. And windows. Seriously, who likes washing windows?!?!

Aaaand you can check out the other links here. Join us next week for another round of Finish This!