Summer =)

Oh my goodness… we’re already on our last blog. This year has flown by. I can’t believe we’re almost done! Congrats class of ’12 we are done with freshman year. I have learned so much this year. I have learned that college is time to grow up and seriously have to turn into an adult. High school was just some fun years of your life, but college it’s time to start to study to become the profession you dreamt of since you were little. I’m not saying that going out and meeting new people weren’t fun that was all part of my freshman year of college. That’s how I met some of my good friends now. So far college has been the best year of my life. We still have three more years to learn and grow as a person. The girls on my floor and I are all really good friends and we have gotten really close to each other. Some of us are planning to go to Florida this summer after finals. One of my friends has a condo down there and we are planning to go and relax and get tan while all our other friends are still at school and pale. The ride is supposed to take 20 hours and which I am pretty much going to die, but that’s all part of the fun of going on a rode trip. I was actually surprised that my parents actually let me go. The fact that I’m driving across the country basically with 7 other girls. Im really excited to go and I know that I will cherish this memory with me for the rest of my life. I have never been to Florida before so I really excited to go jet skiing and swim at the beach and just get to experience Florida. Plus I heard that the Sun there is like 20 times hotter than Chicago’s Sun. But I think I can get used to it because I am from California and the Sun there is pretty hot there too. We have less than a month left to go and till school is over! What are you doing this summer? Have a fun summer and see you again soon! 

The City

Oh the town of Normal. First of all let me tell you that it’s really not that “normal.” The town itself is located in boofoo. We are surrounded by miles of corn fields, but in the town of Normal we have what every town has. We have the usual grocery: Jewel, Walmart, Target, and so on. We have Dick’s Sporting Goods for the athletes and Best Buy. We also have a mall, but the mall I do not recommend to go to while visiting Normal. The mall has limited stores and it doesn’t offer much. A place that I recommend to go to is the movie theaters. Besides the partying here at ISU there isn’t really much to do. Remember you are in the middle of nowhere. At school you really can’t go to the movies and see the latest films. Another thing you can do here at ISU that is really fun besides the partying is going to football and basketball games! They are really intense and because the school has so much school spirit, you get into the spirit and have an awesome time. But my very first advice is that in the first place don’t even visit here. No offense. I mean I want my friends to come and visit me but really the fun we can have is going out and partying. But any day I would want me and my friends to meet up in the city. The city offers so much more fun and activities to do. Yeah, sure you got to be 21 to get into bars and such but it’s not always about the partying. There is the Chicago Broadway and museums. Also, there are concerts and football games to go to! Just riding on the Metra and the subway system is fun. Also, Chicago offers so much food especially pizza. And on the warmer days we can go to the beach and hang out there for the day. The beach itself is fun. Last summer we went to the beach and had a BBQ grill and played some volleyball and buried ourselves under the sand and made sand statues. My parents have a restaurant in the city so the city is like my second home. So it’s really hard for me to be here in the middle of nowhere. So instead of having friends visit here, so to the city!

Live Life

So this past weekend I attended a funeral. I don’t if any of you have been to one, but it’s really not that fun. My cousin’s grandmother passed away last Thursday, March 26, 2009. She was like another grandma to me; she was family. She was a survivor of breast cancer but just last year she got a liver cancer, but this time she couldn’t fight it. When she was in the hospital, she kept telling my cousins that it was her time to go and that God was calling her. Later the next week, she left us. When I heard the news on Thursday, I immediately got my things together, and left to go home. My other cousins called me and told me that I needed to come home and be there for my cousins, Debbie and Jason, and my aunt. The wake was that night so when I got home I had to go straight to the funeral home. The good part of the funeral was that I got to see all my aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and nieces. And they were all happy that I had made it and was there. It was very heart-breaking to say goodbye to her because she was family. We weren’t super close like me and my grandma but we still talked. After the wake, our families gathered together at Debbie’s and Jason’s house and just hung around there and talked. This experience has taught me a lot. When Debbie’s grandmother was lying in her coffin, her husband was sitting next to her and told us how they met and how much he loved her and how much he regrets not telling her he loved her every day. It kind of reminded me of my parents. They don’t tell each other they love each other every day but they know how much they love each other and that they can’t live without each other. But for me, I now tell my parents every day that I love them and my sister too. Also, another thing that I learned is that you got to live life to the fullest. Time flies by and you got to do what you want to do. And when it’s time for you to go, you accept it and happily leave this Earth. And that, I can live with every day.

RED AND WHITE

This semester I went to a basketball game with my friends. It was the biggest game of the season with our rival, Bradley University and was right here at ISU at the Redbird Arena. Word had it that people were waiting at midnight weeks before to get tickets for the game. We just got lucky because they still had some at the ticket office. We got our school sprit on by wearing our “red alert” shirts, face paint, and some redbird tattoos on our faces. In minute we walked into the door, there was so much noise. Everyone’s mood in the stadium was anticipation and nervousness on how the game would turn out. The stadium was full to every seat and the people in the arena varied from grandparents to little kids all ready for an exciting game. The atmosphere of the arena was crazy! People were screaming, singing, and just so many other things. While I was at the basketball game, my high school basketball games flashed my mind. It was kind of similar except the number of fans/ the crowd. In high school, we had just a crew (a group) of us just dress up for school spirit and the rest of the crowd just wear regular clothes. But here at ISU, mostly everyone has school spirit and there isn’t just a group who dresses up but everyone does! The atmosphere is the same as going to the football games here. Everyone is happy and excited. Also, something that I learned is that a lot of people attends the games drunk or tipsy. There was tailgating before the game, where mostly everyone drinks and socializes. And then they head over to the game. ISU in the end won the game! =) I have also realized, if ISU wins the games or looses the game, the fans still go out after and party it up! If ISU wins, they just party harder! Basketball games are all part of the high school and college experience. Even though we are not the top basketball school, we still have school spirit, and maybe someday we can make it into March Madness. 

Spring Break 09'

Wow. Spring break 09’ has come and gone by already! When it comes to spring break, almost everyone goes on vacation to somewhere tropical and sunny, well usually my family and I do. But this year was different. It was different because now I’m in college and my little sister’s and mine are different. So this year, I traveled alone to New York! I went to New York when I was really little, so I didn’t remember much of it. I have three cousins living in New York and I stayed with them. New York is a very fashionable place. The first time I went out to tour the city, I went out in sweats and a sweater. Everyone was starring at me and giving me dirty looks. Then I looked around the city at the people and saw that no one, I mean literally no one was wearing sweats. I was so embarrassed that I went back to my cousin’s place and changed. Everyone in New York dresses very fashionably. The latest style for was leggings with leather boots and a big t-shirt and a summery scarf. For young men, they got their “swag” look like Kanye West and the older men wear jeans with leather shoes and a nice top with a suit jacket. One word of advice. When going to New York, make sure you don’t take sweats and take some fashionable clothes. Oh and check this out. When you go shopping, if you spend 100 dollars or less on clothing, there is no sales tax! So if you wanted to buy a shirt for $19.99, it’s $19.99! Also, when I looked around New York, I realized that there aren’t many grocery stores because a lot of New Yorkers like to go out and eat. There are so many restaurants and little shops to eat at. When you go to New York, make sure to visit Time Square at night. It’s so pretty and bright at night, and the city never sleeps! People are still out by 4 o’clock in the morning. Another cool place that I went was Carrie’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) house in Sex and the City. Well just the outside. 09’ spring break was yet another successful fun break! Hope it was for you too! =)

My Dream... if it could really happen

If I received, in cash, all the money for my 4 years at ISU and I could spend it on anything it would be to maybe start my own little restaurant and with the money left over, I would travel to Africa. Well, first off if I didn’t need a college education and had all the money in the world, which would be the best thing that has ever happened to me. But with the money and no college education, I would have my own little bistro restaurant in the in a little town here in the states, but definitely not here in Illinois with my mom. Currently, my parents own a restaurant in the city, but my mom wants to open up another restaurant that has a variety of foods. My restaurant would be called, “Around The World” because my restaurant would have a variety of food around the world. My food would vary from Asian to Greek food. I love to cook and bake. The typical restaurant has one ethnic food like Italian food. Most Italian restaurants offer pasta or pizza; it’s typical. My restaurant would be all varieties of food! And after eventually setting up the restaurant, and if I had money left over, my mom and I would travel to Africa. My mom’s dream is to go to Africa and help kids there. And me having been there before, I fell in love with the place and the people and want to got there again. We would travel through Africa, helping sick and poor children and occasionally stopping to take a break. During the break we would go on a safari trip and then get some sun on the beach. We would go snorkeling and swim in the Indian Ocean, and then go to my favorite restaurant in Kenya by the beach, and eat some good seafood. The whole idea of no college though is kind of good and bad though. Sure, it would be nice to take a few years off and go travel and start a restaurant, but then you don’t get the college experience. Oh! And also, after using all the money and I still maybe have money left over, I would support a family in Africa for the rest of my life, and when the money really runs out, I would support them with the money I make from the restaurant. 

College years!

Wow incoming freshmen. To help to start off a good year, here are some rules/tips to survive in college. Well there are three rules you need to remember during your college years. First one is that studying always comes first. It is your first priority. Yes, there will be days where you want to go out and party, watch a movie, or just chill, but when you have studying/ homework to do, you got to do it. Many freshmen fail out of college their first semester getting caught up in the college life. You don’t have your parents to tell you to do your homework and say “no.” Your free to do whatever you want but your got to remember in the back of your head that you need to keep your grades first. Which leads us to the second rule. The second rule is that be social and make new friends. Sure you have your friends/ best friends that you made in high school and still have but if you keep yourself in a shell, don’t expect to make friends. When you go to class or a party, don’t just keep quiet. You got to chin up, and be social. If the other person doesn’t talk to you back or give a nice vibe, then move on to the next person. If they do give a nice vibe, then talk to them. Introduce yourself and just chitchat. There is no harm to that. Who knows? The person you talk to can end up being one of your good friends. And the last one is that make it the best years of your life and experience the college life! Go out and party or just hang out with friends. Many people say that college is the best years of your life. Go out and party! I am not saying to drink but honestly drinking is part of college life too. Don’t go crazy with it and get caught but its all part of college. Join a sorority or a fraternity or just visit one! You will love college if you have fun, be social, and keep your priorities straight. For me, it has been the best years of my life.   

Money Doesn't Buy Happiness

Recently, my friend Brigette and I started watching the reality show, The Real Housewives of Orange County. I started watching the show because I am originally from Orange County and the show just looked fun. It isn’t my all time favorite show but it’s one of them. I like the show because some of the families in the shows are somewhat like my family. The show is about a bunch of housewives that live in Orange County, California. They are all “somewhat” of friends. There are five women in their group. Their names are Tamra, Jeana, Gretchen, Lynne, and Vicki. It’s like the MTV series “The Hills” except in an adult world. Women with kids and husbands still the same drama. The three out of the five women do not work. They are the stay-at-home wives. Most of these women have been previously married and divorced. All the women have kids. Jeana and Lynne are the only two who have their real kids with their husbands. Jeana is divorced and has a daughter and two sons. She used to be a model and a Playboy. She is now a realtor.  Lynne used to be a gymnast. She is still happily married with her first husband and they have two daughters. Vicki lives with her second husband, her daughter, and her two sons. She has her own life insurance business. Grethen is engaged to a man who has been married and divorced five times. She also used to work in real estate till she had to quit to take care of her sick fiancé. She has two stepdaughters and two stepsons. And Tamra. She has been married and divorced, and from that marriage has a son. She is now married for the second time and has two daughters and a son. She too worked in the real estate business but traded it all in to be a housewife. You can tell the women are all fake and talk crap behind each other backs. They call themselves “girlfriends” but they are no real “girlfriends.” The show is just really fun to watch and really you can learn from them. Money may buy happiness but it doesn’t buy you any friends and real happiness.

Ads.

Advertisements are all around us. We see it on TV, billboards, magazines, radio and so on. We the people are the audiences of advertisements. They are aimed towards us so that we see the new thing and go and buy it. Some are very catchy or funny that you end up remembering it. One advertisement that I see on a daily basis on the television is the Target commercial. They advertise the products that they sell such as foods, bathroom products, music, movies, medications, and etc. They were advertising that since the economy has been down lately that they have reduced some of the prices on the products that they carry. The thing about the advertisement that stuck out is the song that they played during the commercial. The song is very catchy and since every time I watch TV, it is on, it sticks out even more. I think that the advertisement is very effective because when you constantly see it and you also see that they have reduced the prices, people who are sort on money will go and shop at Target. It persuades you to go and shop at Target because the prices are reduced to help families who are having a hard time or in general to just help the economy. Some of the products they advertised were: Tropicana Orange Juice, which they reduced to  $1.49, swim suits $12.99, dresses $38.99 and other things. The reason the Target commercial stuck out to me was because of the song, I saw it on a daily basis, and I love to shop at Target. Whenever I get bored, my sister and I go to Target just to hang out and shop. We don’t even go to the mall anymore. Whenever we see a Target commercial and it is new, we go to Target to see the new product. On an average, people who watch TV see 50 plus more commercials everyday. And the Target commercial is the one that sticks out the most to me. I thought the commercial was telling me that the economy is bad so they are here to help even a dollar difference. 

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

For the past few weeks my friends and I have been watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S, the television show. My friends have watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S since the beginning and I have watched some of the shows here and there. I knew the characters and how each of them was different. Watching the shows for the past weeks made me realize how much friends mean to you, and I wish that for the rest of my life that my friends and I stay that close. I mean, we aren’t that funny and old yet but we still have our laughs. I wanted to tell you guys about the characters and the characters are similar to my friends. On the show are Phoebe, Ross, Joey, Monica, Chandler, and Rachel. Phoebe is the blonde, sometimes clueless, a hippie, and a funny. She reminds me of my friend, Mark. He isn’t a girl but he’s funny and sometimes says the funniest things and sometimes need a light bulb. Ross is the scientist, the one who got married three times and got divorced three times but a loving father. He reminds me of my friend Jason. He went into college to become a science high school teacher. But he isn’t ready to settle for marriage but he loves kids. Joey is the actor who is really funny, the guy who lives next door, and the friend who has a few loose screws. My friend, Jackie reminds me of Joey. Jackie does really want to become an actress and she is the girl who lives next door. She does get around and she too has a few loose screws. Because of her we laugh so much. Monica is the control, mom-like, cook, and she could be very stressful sometimes. You could say that I am like Monica. I love to cook, if I wasn’t going into teaching, I was going to go into cooking and opening my own shop. I am more like the “mom” in my group of friends. Chandler is the funny, sarcastic one. He reminds me of my friend, Cody. He always thinks he’s funny which sometimes he really isn’t. We just laugh at him to make him feel better or we just laugh at him. But he is the friend to make you feel better whenever you are down. His laughs just cheer you up. And in conclusion, there is Rachel. The spoil girl who comes from a rich family but learns that money isn’t everything. She is perky, the “girl,” smart girl. My friend, Allison reminds me a lot like her. She come from a rich family but knows that money isn’t everything and she is the smart, pretty girl that all the boys are after. Friends are people how you need today. Remember them and cherish them. 

Best years of your life

Many people say that high school was the best years of their life, but I must disagree. High school was great and the memories that have made will carry on with me forever. But since I have been in college I have made even better memories and more friends that I know I can count on. Friends that I will have forever and can count on. In college there still are the basketball games, the drama, and the homework. But as I live on an all girls floor, I’m making so many memories. All the girls on my floor are very close to each other. We hang out, go out, and just do a lot of things together. We would have F.R.I.E.N.D.S. marathon, stay up all night and talk, and just bond. I know that with these girls we will be friends for a long time. Like high school, we have inside jokes and girl nights. College isn’t about going out, partying, or drinking, it’s about making new memories and having the time of your life. College supposed to the best years of your life. The friends you make that you will keep forever and get old together. And even meeting the woman or man of your life. Like many couples in the U.S. today, they met each other through college. One college memory that I will forever remember is the first week of school. How at first I was so shy to meet new people and make new friends. But the girls here, we all bonded so quickly. We stayed up so late on one of the nights talking about high school, families, and just talking. It’s where I met some of my good friends up till today. We already made plans for summer. We are planning to go to Florida this summer and hang out. College is going to be the best years of my life. So far. 

Black, yellow, white, blue We are all the same!

Before the Obama and McCain presidential campaign I really never cared for politics. The long talks about the economy and government just bores me. But when I heard about Barack Obama I immediately started to pay attention to politics. Well, I tried to keep up with the campaign. So the day of the Inauguration of Barack Obama I watched some of it with my room mate, Kelsey. Kelsey was the one to put it on. Well to be honest, I just saw Yo Yo Ma perform and about two minutes of Obama talking and did not pay attention. But I paid attention to Michelle Obama. She is an awesome women who I think will be the next Jackie Kennedy. I was seeing what she was wearing because she has such a modern with a "hip" style. And she is also a great supporter for her husband. I already knew what Obama standed for and agreed with him. The two minutes that I heard him talk was when he swore into office. He promised to "...faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." I've always been a democrat. My dad used to be republican but he liked Obama so much that he switched sides. My mom is republican. On election day my dad wouldn't take my mom to vote because she was voting for McCain. haha He told her she was a traitor! For my dad and me it was a change to see a different colored race to get selected into office. No matter what color skin you are, on the inside we are all the same. As I watched the inauguration for that two minutes, it made me realize that even different colored skin or even religion, we are all human. We all have emotions and dreams. Because of Obama, many people who used to discriminated, they can actually have a voice in society. As chessy as that sounds. After seeing that two minutes, I then turned to the Disney Channel. The speech started to bore me. As important as the speech and day was, I didn't really interest me. On the Disney Channel, I watched "The Suite Life of Zac and Cody." This show was so much more entertaining. Well the fact that I flippin' love the Disney Channel. haha. While watching the Disney Channel, we would occasionally switch back to the inauguration. Truly, the day will go down in history and I'm glad I was apart of it for the two minutes! =)

Hi! I'm Esther Park. I have a little sister named, Grace who I fight with all the time! I just turned 19 last month. Even though I am 19, I am a kid at heart still. I act like I am still 16 years old. I am a freshman and live in Wilkins. Currently I am undeclared but I am thinking of teaching either elementary education or special education. I am 100% Korean. NOT CHINESE! My culture means a lot to me. My birthday is December 24th and yes I do get screwed over with my presents. I am really outgoing and I am open to almost anything. I can be funny that sometimes people don't take me seriously. I am sarcastic and also like to laugh and be happy. I do not care about what other people think of me. I am me. Either love me or hate me. Drama is overrated except on TV shows. I was born in Orange County, California and don't ask me why I moved to Illinois because I really do not know. Ask my parents when you see them. I love to cook and bake! If teaching does not work out, I am thinking of opening my own restaurant. I am hard working yet I can be really lazy. I love love love to sleep! My family and friends comes first. Without them I would die. I also paint on my free time. I also love the Disney Channel! I watch it everyday. I love Hannah Montana! I love to travel! I couple years ago I went to Kenya, Africa for a church mission trip. I also been to France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, and Czech. I want to make lots of money and travel when I get old with my hubby! Well this is pretty much me! Thanks for reading!