What to know if you rush a fraternity/sorority

So as my final blog post, I thought I would go back to talking about what I originally planned on writing about: Greek life. I was fortunate enough to have been initiated to my fraternity today, and I must say, it was the best semester of my life! I was able to meet so many people, play sports against other fraternities, go out and enjoy being social at philanthropy events, etc. What was even better is that all the way through this experience, not once did I have to suffer through what is normally thought to happen in fraternities. All throughout my pledge semester, I was treated with the respect that I gave to the brothers. Never was I forced to do anything cruel and unusual, and was never subjected to hazing (and I am not just saying this to hide the truth- i'm being serious).  So if any of you are ever thinking of possibly rushing a fraternity or sorority, here are a few tips to know that you are choosing the right one.

-First off, make sure that you are comfortable and you like the people in the fraternity/sorority. The last thing you want to do is choose one that has fake people or people you do not get along with.

-There is absolutely no hazing that goes on. Hazing does not build a stronger bond, but rather breaks it down. Nothing good comes from it, and a lot of fraternities are taking the zero hazing approach.

-Lastly, be sure you know what you are getting into ahead of time. They are a big commitment, so be prepared when going into it. I mean, they don't call them SOCIAL groups for nothing.

It has been a great semester, and I hope to see  you all around later on down the road we call life.

Christmas Music: It is never too early

For some people, the Christmas season begins after Thanksgiving with the dreaded black Friday shopping (which by the way, I do not recommend it to anyone, as my first experience with it almost left me with a broken finger because I got caught in between two ladies fighting over something they wanted for their son). For me, although it is mostly after Halloween, the Christmas season is year round. Especially for christmas music. No matter how hard you try to deny it, some of the best music out there is Christmas and holiday music. Why? It is inspiring. It warms the heart, makes you feel at home and happy. It is one of those genres of music that every song connects with you in some way, depending on person to person. I will every now and then turn on some Christmas music (which annoys my family) and blast it in my room, just because it is so great to listen to. Also, it makes me feel like the holiday season vibe never goes away: it just goes dormant for most of the months out of the year. So no matter who you are, after you read this, I recommend listening to some of your favorite holiday music, and you will understand where I am coming from and what I am talking about. Happy Holidays to each and every one of you!

Why Thanksgiving is the Best Holiday Ever

Thanksgiving: A time of togetherness. A time for families and friends to get together and enjoy a giant turkey dinner. A time to eat so much that you pass out from being full until your mom wakes you up and says "Let's go shopping." This is, by far, the best holiday of the year. Not only does it date back to the very first colonization of colonial America, but it is the only time you get to gloat about being fat without a guilty conscience. The best food of all for this very special holiday is by far pumpkin pie. Being a gift from the Gods, it is only natural that it be served in the greatest feast of all time.

Not only is it a great day to eat, but it definitely brings families together for the beginning of the holiday season. It really is a relieving feeling to be able to go home for a week to go see my family once again and be reunited with loved ones.

Please leave a post saying what your favorite holiday is and why, I am very much interested to know others' opinions.

I Miss the Old TV

I apologize that lately I have not been writing blogs relevant to my original intentions, but I felt the urge to write about one very common woe throughout my generation: the old television programming.

Television is not like what it used to be. Back when i was a kid we had all the greatest shows on the greatest channel: Nickelodeon. There was Kablam, All That, Kenan and Kel, Angry Beavers, The Amanda Show, and many, many others. And what do they have in today's television? Garbage. It is filled with mindless trash that's random and makes no sense, which is why I become baffled when my little sister will sit and watch The Hills, a show which has no purpose but to show what rich girls with no purpose in life complain and whine about the most trivial stuff, for hours and be entertained! What happened in the last ten years that made television so incredibly boring to watch? Maybe it is a sign that television is causing poor health in humans and we were meant to be outdoors and active instead of cooped up watching tv, but appears as that thought has backfired. Nowadays, it seems like people will watch just about anything, no matter how horrible a show it is.


In conclusion, does anyone who is reading this happen to have any of the shows mentioned above on vhs or dvd or something? I want to watch them again...

The Best Part of Being in a Fraternity: Powderpuff Football!

Every fraternity and sorority have either once or twice a year philanthropies in which they raise money for numerous charities and other non profit businesses. These philanthropy fundraisers come in a huge variety of events. Kappa Sigma (my fraternity) has by far the best one: powderpuff football. All the sororities compete in this once a year event to fight for the top spot and bragging rights until next year. The best part about it is that even though it is flag football, these girls get ROUGH. They are not afraid to get down and dirty and knock the other team on their backs. All the better, the entire community comes out to watch this tournament and cheer on the girls. The most important thing about this is that this kind of event shows that fraternities are not like the stereotypical ones portrayed in the media. They out on fundraisers and events to help raise money to give back to the community.

A little something fun for Halloween

I hope everyone's Halloween weekend was great! I just thought in honor of the season of spooks I would write about an interesting article I stumbled across: The Truth About Ghosts!

As you are all aware, ghost sightings have been around for centuries. Every person who has reported a ghost sighting has always claimed to feel a cold chilling feeling and dread and depression, along with the actual spotting of the ghost. But there has never been any hardcore proof or scientific evidence of such a thing being able to happen...until now. Scientists have found that these feelings are actually cause by extremely low frequency sound waves called infrasound that cause one to feel emotions like depression, dread, fear, and others. It is so low in frequency that we can not consciously hear it, but our ears still sense it. Not only is it everywhere in nature (volcanoes, earthquakes, even tigers), but it can be caused by things such as a malfunctioning ventilation shaft, which is one reason why these "haunted" buildings happen in the first place.

But what about the actual sighting of ghosts? Same thing: infrasound. At a specific frequency, it vibrates and resonates perfectly with your eyeball, shaking the eye ever so slightly, giving what is called a smeared look. This causes the vision to respond in weird ways, such as thinking you saw a ghost walk by you and such.

THE TRUTH HATH BEEN REVEALED!

For more in depth detail and proofs through experiments, check out the link below:

http://www.cracked.com/article_18828_the-creepy-scientific-explanation-behind-ghost-sightings.html

Happy Halloween!

Why Baseball Is So Great

I am a Giants fan, born and raised. I want more than anything to see them win the World Series, but that's not enough for some people. I get tired of people always telling me that they won't win because they have not won a World Series title in ages. But why does that matter? Any team can be good in any given year, and that is what is so great about baseball. Sure, the Yankees are a definite powerhouse, but they lost to the Diamondbacks a while back when they were supposed to sweep them. This goes for any sport really, but the fact that a team and be great one year and horrible the next just makes the game that more intense and exciting, because you never know what is going to happen. The Giants came in to the playoffs being the underdogs, and now they are about to have a Cinderella story.

So unless somebody has weird future sight, there is really nothing one can say that is definite when it comes to baseball. So prepare for the unexpected, because San Francisco is coming in for the kill!

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AkH9yHhOBDj_9G.021_k1L8RvLYF?slug=ap-nlcs-giants-phillies

Carls Jr

I am super thankful that we have a Carls Jr here on campus. The delectable fruits of the fast food world are something that I deeply treasure and I so look forward to those times on Monday and Wednesday where I get to partake in the eating of a burger from that place. I usually eat with my roommate Jake, who is pretty...wait scratch that....extremely cool and we usually will talk about Philosophy, the class we just get out of before eating, or just look around at random people and point out things about them. It's enjoyable.
But Carls Jr. really just makes it a special time. For me, ordering the Western Bacon Cheeseburger is the best choice. It's got that down home cookin' feeling to it that you really can't find at other fast food places, so I love that. However, I'm pretty silly because I don't eat the onion rings on it, even though those are basically what makes it the western bacon cheeseburger. Jake always thinks I'm weird for doing that, I guess he's right. But I don't mind, cause I'm a weird guy. Ohp, going off on a tangent, gotta keep my eyes on the prize. Focus: engage.
Back to Carls Jr.. Their fries are to DIE for. I love how they leave the potato skins on them, really making you feel like you're eating some high class delicacy, even though it's just fast food. They look out for their customers and I like that about them. I feel like the starfish could be the older brother I never had, always looking out for me, and making me smile with the tasty food he produces. Or something like that. Well I feel as if I'm rambling now, so I must bid this blog post ado.
Ado, blog post! Ado! I hope you've enjoyed this insight on the beautiful establishment that is Carls Jr.

Time Management...YES It's Important!

For some of you reading this, it's obvious that it is important to have good time management skills, especially for those of you who are always busy. Others might not see the importance...yet. For those select lucky college kids who have easy classes, not very many units, or just too much time on their hands, it seems like there is no need for time management. But let me tell you, I have seen both sides of the board, and I can tell you that no matter how much time you have on your hands, you still need to have time management. You never know what unexpected instances can occur, so you should always be one step ahead of the game, unlike me this weekend. I did not manage my time this weekend very well (because I was so busy), and in return I did not get to study for my midterm, I barely finished my rough draft for this class, and this blog post waited until 11:50 to be sent.

Of course, no one is perfect. Nobody can get it right every time, but if there is one thing I think should be taken out of this post, it is that you should always be one step ahead of the game. Know your schedule and what is going to be next. It will save you from a lot of stress, and life will seem to just run a lot smoother.

Why you should choose the right fraternity

Today was the Gamma Phi Beta sorority's philanthropy called "Moonball" (their symbol is a crescent, hence the moon), where all of the fraternities on campus came out and played beach volleyball against each other (Kappa Sigma took home the gold!). Everyone being out together really gave me a chance to observe what the other fraternities are like compared to mine, and all I have to say is I'm glad I chose the right one to join. It's ridiculous what some of the other frats were having their pledges do, for example carrying the biggest couch I have ever seen with the active members on top all throughout the beach, and for what? What point is there to having the pledge class do that? Where they should be building stronger bonds with the guys, they are giving them more reason to be bitter and spiteful towards them. If every fraternity had a "no hazing" policy, the greek system would have a much better name for itself, not to much be more respected.

Take The Time To Thank Your Parents

The title says it all: be sure to thank your parents for everything they've done.

College is a time of independence. It is that point in your life where you are "leaving the nest" and moving out into the real world. I'm sure a lot of us were the ones who couldn't wait to get out of the house and leave the parental units. I know I was! But it did not really occur to me until recently how much I had actually learned from them. I have seen many people already completely wasted and blacking out and finding themselves on the beach the next morning, people getting arrested for stupid acts, and even people having to go the hospital to get their stomach pumped! I look at these people with amazement. I feel a little bit sorry for them, but moreover it makes me thankful that my parents raised me to be the person I am now.

It's true, we have all fought with our parents, said things we did not mean, do things we regretted later, but when you look at the big picture, it was these experiences and learning from your mistakes that helped shape you to be the person you are today. And who helped us every step of the way? Our parents.

So if you have not already, thank your parents. They might not be perfect, but they sure as hell helped get you to where you are today, especially since we are the fortunate ones to have been able to go to college and get into this university.

Thanks Kevin Pham for the inspiration to write this.

The Way College Is vs. The Way Most People Perceive It

I figured it would be good to go into detail of what to expect out of my blogs for this semester for English 100 and why I chose this topic:

Very scarcely have I seen anyone ever talk about what college life is really like, and more specifically, fraternities. It's interesting, because when I talk to a lot of people who are either in college or have recently graduated, they tell me that it is nothing like their elders have told them it's like. The reason for this is simple: the times, they are-a changin'.  Simply put, things have changed.

So why does any of this matter, Ross? What is the point to all of this?

The reason I chose to write about this is because there needs to be a new "College Survival Guide" type blog, one that is up to date with my generation in mind. Granted, I am a freshman, but there is something I learn every week that is different from what I have been told in my lifetime. Also, for those of you who don't know, I'm currently pledging the Kappa Sigma fraternity, so my plan is to blog about what really happens in a fraternity, to either prove true or break the stereotype.

I would love to hear from everyone on what your opinions are!

College Parties Are Overrated

I realize that the title of this post might make it seem that I am completely opposed to parties, but quite the opposite, in some odd contradictory way. Honestly, what college kid has never been to a college party? It is basically included in the college experience package. Back on topic, the purpose of this post is to raise the question of why exactly college parties have so much hype. Sure, they are fun to go to, you get to meet new people, be social, and if you're one of those people, have a few drinks. But it appears that a lot more people are getting in to the hard partying: drinking until they black out, doing drugs, trying to get lucky, etc. Personally, I find remembering last night much better than waking up the next morning hungover and not remembering why you have loser written on your forehead (cliche, I know). So what is it exactly that drives these kinds of people to go to these extremes? Is there some aspect to partying that I do not understand? This is why I find, in conclusion, most college parties overrated, not just a fun social gathering.