Commencement

The best way to begin any story is to say:

"So, I was at Target today..."

Everyone knows that any story that begins with the words:

"So, I was at Target today..."

is going to be a ridiculously awesome story. Or, at least, your audience will be fooled into thinking that it's a ridiculously awesome story, because they are still not over the ridiculous awesomeness of your opening sentence:



"So, I was at Target today..."


That, my dear friends, is called strategy. More specifically, it's called good strategy. I most ardently urge you to employ it as ubiquitously as possible.


So.

I was at Target today.

My little brother and I were shopping for birthday cards, graduation cards, and water guns. That's right, water guns. Gotta love going shopping with the seven-year-old midget child.


So, I'm browsing through all the numerous graduation cards: college graduation cards, bad humor graduation cards, graduation cards with the Obamas on them, sappy graduation cards, kindergarten graduation cards, and graduation cards of penguins wearing mortarboards (<<mais pour quoi?>> as our French brethren would say...)...Then, my little brother asked me:
"Why don't they have graduations going into highschool?"
Putting away the graduation card with the cute duckling on it, I responded: "Pardon?"
He explained, "They have graduations going into college, but not going into highschool." And I said, "No, no, dear, graduation is at the end. It's at the end of highschool, and then the end of college."

Then, as our conversation turned to other matters, I let the matter rest. But, then I realized that it's not called "commencement" for nothing. When I was younger, the word commencement always confused me, because I knew there was that-thing-that-happened-at-the-end-of-high-school, called commencement, so I always assumed that commencement meant "the ending." But it means beginning.


Commencement is a time of new beginnings, of fresh starts, of new adventures.
Commencement celebrates the adventures you've already had, your accomplishments and achievements, but it also invites you into a new world, full of new lessons, journeys and a new stage in life. And that, my friends, is something to celebrate.

Mark Twain (an author whose writings I thoroughly detest [sorry, Mark, dear]), has an absolutely beautiful quote: "To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with." I've been waxing nostalgic the entire weekend, as I've collected photos for photo boards, hugged friends, smiled, laughed and reminisced. And I've been thinking often about the girls who write this blog. And I'm so thankful for them. For their friendships. Because all the tears, giggles, hugs, pie nights, and beautiful experiences would mean nothing without the people we share those adventures with.


The world beyond commencement is a brave new world. But I know we can face it as long as we have our awesome-sauce friends by our sides.

Love and Friendship - Part One

No, no, this post has nothing to do Jane Austen’s satirical short story. That is a post for another day. This post will address the difficulties that people face in their attempts to forge friendships that are lasting. In this day and age “social networks” such as myspace and facebook thwart these efforts every which way. Although these networks can be used as tools to connect and stay in contact with people, they do not facilitate very deep connections between people.


They can only operate on a superficial level, to check the status of the people on your friends list, to chat occasionally, etc. Such things help us to stay informed as to our friends' and acquaintance's movements in their day-to-day lives, but it cannot assist us in knowing the state of our friends hearts and minds. This can only be obtained through true conversation, whether face-to-face, in a letter or on the telephone.

There is an intangible, yet very real, connection of minds and hearts that is completely lost when posted for the whole world to see. True friends take personal interest in the feelings and ideas of those they have befriended, not just their recent activities. True friends are able to bear their souls to one another and feel safe in the knowledge of mutual understanding.

Cuteness

I don't know about you girls, but I'm determined to be the cutest one on the beach this year. :)

Tamara Lowe at Christ Fellowship

This is the basic point of life!

It is good to know that she said "make sure your sins are forgiven" not "you need to be saved." The Sacrament of Confession is what perfects us and makes us ready for heaven.

Speaking of the Summit...

While avoiding the Archimedes props that I need to learn for the Lab final, I found this article by Raquel Welch about changing sexual mores in America after the advent of the Pill in the 60's. What's really interesting is that she doesn't approach the issue from an explicitly religious perspective, but she still doesn't think that all is sunshine and roses because of contraception and female empowerment.

Hat tip for the article to Father Longenecker.

Harry and Me

Finally, I've found someone who can summarize how I feel about Harry Potter.

From Left of the Dial:

"And what I’ve decided is that J.K.Rowling is one of the great storytellers of our time, able to spin a tale wonderfully, keep multiple plots in the air successfully, create interesting characters and worlds and situations. What’s she’s not, however, is a great writer, the way J.R.R.Tolkein, for instance, or Charles Dickens or Mark Twain or Willa Cather or Fred Chappell are; every one of them are both outstanding storytellers AND magnificent writers, whose language glows like burning coal, to borrow The Bard’s words. Rowling’s prose is never more than pedestrian. And that’s okay—Stephen King is one of my very favorite writers and he’s the same way: a phenomenal storyteller but a journeyman when it comes to the actual language.
[Interrupted for me to exclaim: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I totally and completely agree; there are some books (Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine, for example) which, quite literally, made me cry with how beautiful the language was. Others, like the Harry Potter books, are marvelous stories without that same stunning impact: the language really IS pedestrian. And finally, there are the Tolkiens of this world whose language and story are equally full of goosebump-inducing, spine-tingling, make-me-hurt beauty.]
[...]
Now, breaking rules is no big deal, per se, as long as there is a consequence attached. You sneak out, you get caught, you get punished. That’s life. You run the red light, you get caught, you get punished. But Harry virtually never gets punished. Yes, there are a few exceptions, but they are comparatively minor. And here’s the thing: the rules he’s breaking aren’t arbitrary and foolish; this isn’t your basic civil disobedience here or minor schoolboy pranks. The rules are there for one very good reason: to keep the children from being killed. Yet time and again, Harry breaks the rules and, frequently, almost gets killed, or worse, almost gets someone else killed...and gets away with it because he’s such a skilled liar or because he’s Harry Potter and he gets special dispensation.
[...]
Again, I cannot stress strongly enough that I have enjoyed the books and that the witchcraft angle doesn’t bother me in the least; it’s part of a long and noble history in children’s literature. What bothers me is the fact that the hero is a charming boy who lies and cheats and gets away with it."


Now go and read the rest!!!

And then this follow-up piece.

And then this one.

Surprise, Surprise

You Are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable At your worst, you are: grumpy and stressed You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it Your caffeine addiction level: high

But we knew that already, right?

What kind of coffee are you?

One more song!

This is one of my favorite songs.

Ever.

It is from Dan in Real Life, a sweet little love story.

Fiddler on the roof - Matchmaker ( with subtitles )

Here is a video

Why?

For the sake of beauty, femininity, and a bunch of single girls who once decided to start their own blog...

Summer Attractions

After reading Desdemona's post about On the Verge, I commented, "Hurrah for femininity! When the collegiates get back, we should hold a summit on ways to add femininity to the world. ;)" Apparently Desdemona got an idea into her pretty little head, and she is now organizing:

The Femininity Summit 2010

Changing the World, One Catholic Gal at a Time.

Of course, the summit will mainly consist of eating pie, drinking coffee, and giggling our heads off, but we'll also be talking about what it means to be a woman, how being a woman affects our lives, how we relate to God as women, and what that means for how we dress, act, speak, etc. We'll tackle sticky wickets like the fine line between flaunting your body and wearing potato sacks; how to treat yourself with the dignity you deserve; and what to do in those oh-so-awkward moments in public when poise and confidence seem impossible. We'll post the results -- which most likely will be slightly edited and clarified ;) -- and show the world that not everyone conforms to its standard of "pretty", "hot" or "sexy".