In less than two weeks I will start my senior year of college. I am not much closer to knowing what I want to do with my degree than when I entered college 3 years ago. I tell everyone that I’d like to be a writer or work in a corporate communications position, but that’s just my back up plan. Trouble is that my primary plan has nothing to do with my degree.

There are a couple things that I would like to do with my life.
1) Be a well-known performing and recording artist.
2) Own a shop of some sort.

The first item usually seems impossible to me, but I have a God who is completely capable of the impossible. The second item will probably be something involving food. I like food, and I like working with food, and most of my jobs have been with food.

I am not exactly sure where a bachelor’s degree from Penn State is going to be used in my life. Sometimes it seems I’m working towards something I won’t really need. It’s funny though — I know that Penn State is exactly where God wants me right now. I’m just not sure why.

This semester, I have an overwhelming amount of information coming at me. The Wall Street Journal, political blogs, RSS feeds, not to mention textbooks. Professors are snatching up every last second of my life.

I live in a world where 95% of my colleagues are not saved and view education as top priority. This means that most of my time is spent taking in secular knowledge. I thoroughly love what I’m learning, but my intellect is increasing at the expense of my walk with the Lord. So much of my brain is in college that the rest is essentially useless. Focusing on the spiritual world is difficult when everyone else is focussed on knowing the physical world. My particular major is a very pragmatic and somewhat unemotional course of study, and doesn’t exactly work hand-in-glove with a Christ-centered worldview.

Time-management is a struggle for a great number of people, but it is imperative that I learn it quickly so I can spend more time with my Savior. I miss Him.

“Not only was the teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher set out to find the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails–given by one Shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard, here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

Ecclesiastes 12:9-13

A team of Maryland scientists, led by J. Craig Venter, have constructed a complete DNA chromosome that carries all the necessary chemicals to sustain life. Using only bottled chemicals, they have been able to stitch together a DNA strand on the order of 580,076 base pairs.

The next step for these scientists is to inject their genetic instructions into a “blank” microbe and see if it will “boot up.” The group of scientists who built it removed the sections of code which enable the cell to be infectious, and they’ve also added extra code to “watermark” the cell as artificial. If this cell boots up, we will have created life entirely from chemicals.

The motivation behind synthetic life is supposedly to create renewable fuel that could substitute for oil. However, several critics and groups are questioning the morality of synthetic life, claiming that it could lead to microbes that get loose and wreak havoc on the environment.

I’m not sure how far God will let us explore the creation of synthetic life, but I don’t think we’ll ever be able to artificially produce a living organism with a human soul.

Lately I’ve found a new fascination with old films. I’ve been watching some Lumiere Brothers’ 50-second flicks, which are some of the earliest films we have. I’ve also been watching some of the early works of Georges Méliès. Both of these film makers were French, and began producing short movies in the mid 1890s.

The cinematic lens began to be explored not only in France, but simultaneously in Germany and America as well. Today I watched a wonderful film by F.W. Murnau, a German director who was very influential in the silent film genre. His movie “Sunrise” was produced in 1927. It has an excellent story, and can still strike an emotional chord even three-quarters of a century later.

more…

Alright! It was my first day back at Penn State, and the first day back is always great. The primary reason is probably having something to fill your mind with after a few weeks of boredom. That, and the light amount of homework that is due for each class .

First up was Jarrett’s COMM 150 at 10:40am. Aside from the excellent starting time (not too early, but gets you out of bed at a decent time), the classroom was amazing! There were actual theater seats instead of the boring classroom desks that creak and wobble. For those of you who like to catch a few winks during class, I highly recommend taking classes in PAC 114.

After lunch, I had two back-to-back CAS (Communication Arts and Sciences) classes: effective speech in group settings and rhetorical theory. The first was taught by Dr. Kaori Ishida and looks to be a promising “comfort-zone-breaker”. I’m not accustomed to discussing issues with my peers and doing much of my work in a group setting, so it will be a new experience.

The second CAS class was Dr. Jane Sutton’s rhetorical theory. This was probably my favorite of the day, for many reasons.

1. Dr. Sutton is a great CAS teacher – I had her last semester for 201
2. I know a few of my classmates from 201 and even a kid from elementary school
3. The material is extremely interesting and I can easily take notes on the concepts

So, first day back: success. Now to decide on a major…

Tuesday, January 16th will be a pretty eventful day. Not only is it the first day of the spring semester at Penn State York, but it is also my mother’s birthday. I plan to get her a Flogging Molly CD, since she really enjoys the style of music that they play.

I also plan to do better at staying on top of my college this semester. While this will probably be a goal that I’ll continue to renew each semester until I graduate, I hope that each time I can actually do better. Due to bad time management and general laziness, I abandoned my 43 folders and forgot they even existed around the beginning of the semester last fall. I may leave them again, but a few things are different going into this semester:

1. I now own a weekly planner
2. My room has been surprisingly clean since the beginning of the year
3. I have grown up significantly even since the last post on this blog

While these are not necessarily a recipe for success, I believe they will help me have a better semester overall. I would like to say in regards to number three that I am not a full-fledged adult, and part of my “growing up” has actually been realizing that there are many others who know better than I do in many areas of life. I am setting a goal to give my education this semester the best shot that I can. And I’m not talking about straight A’s, I’m talking about managing time, asserting responsibilities, and working hard – the whole ball of wax.

Good luck to all who are starting or have started their spring semester.