Dear Everyone,
Dee here with one last advice column. There is no specific question or topic I will be covering with this one, and if you’ve read all my other columns, you know I’m keen to go on rants, so, with no topic at hand, this one could get a little crazy. AWWWW YEEEAAAAAHHHH. Ahem, pardon me.
I do in fact plan to go off on a few tangents (bringin’ back some gnarly memories of geometry right about now); however, I do plan on at least trying to focus on general advice for underclassmen, i.e. what to do at Jesuit, how to get the most out of your Jesuit experience, and most importantly, how not to screw it up. I hope I will be able to give good advice regarding this, seeing as how I’m a senior and am entering my last few days here (*fights back tear*). So, without further ado….
If it hadn’t been for Cotton-Eyed Joe, I’da been married a long time ago, where did’ja come from, where did’ja go? Where did’ja come from Cotton-Eyed Joe? Ree-diddly-diddly-diddly-diddy-dee-doo, ree-diddly-diddy-dum…
*Psh*: This is Donica attempting to reach the Jesuit Roundup, come in, over. *Psh*: Hello Donica, this is the Roundup, we read ya loud and clear, over. *Psh*: Alright good, my first tangent is over, over. *Psh*: thank God, over. *Psh*: Hey! What do you mean, “thank God”?!…over. *Psh*: Oh for Heaven’s sake just get on with it, over. *Psh*: Fine, sheesh… over and out.
Whew! That was fun. That my friends, is one thing you should do at Jesuit: have a ton of fun! Don’t have fun the wrong way though or at the wrong time, because it can come back to haunt you. You may have to get in trouble a few times (like me) before you figure out what’s appropriate and what’s not in given situations in front of certain people. Don’t be afraid to test the waters, though. But please, for the love of God, learn when to shut up (it took me awhile to do that).
Next item on our agenda today is tangent number 2:
So what’s the deal with airline food? Have you ever noticed that no one ever elaborates upon what the deal actually is with airline food? Instead, it’s merely a joke in itself that illustrates a false stereotype of what stand-up comedians go to when they can’t think of anything else to joke about. Which is stupid, because, honestly, have you ever heard a stand up comedian talk about this? Well, I’m no stand-up comedian, but I’m gonna give it a whirl:
What REALLY is the deal with airline food? Is it honestly that bad? If you’re on a short flight, you get a complimentary (haha yeah right it costs a ton just to get on the darn plane) bag of peanuts or pretzels or something. What’s wrong with that? Those are two great, tasty snack foods. However, I believe the main topic of discussion lies in the actual meals one receives when on a long flight.
Again, why complain? You get a wholesome meal, and it’s a pretty decent one at that. It’s not disgusting slop or anything like that, they give you steak, or chicken, or pasta (at least from my experience). Although the pasta may not be perfectly fantastico (that’s supposed to be Italian), nor the steak a fine porterhouse or filet mignon wrapped in bacon and topped with all the fancy skip-bop-di-doodly-bop, remember: YOU ARE THOUSANDS OF MILES IN THE AIR TRAVELLING AT HUNDREDS OF MILES AN HOUR IN ORDER TO REACH A DESTINATION IN A MERE COUPLE OF HOURS AS OPPOSED TO WEEKS OR MONTHS, SO JUST EAT YOUR DAMN “INSUFFICIENT” STEAK AND ZIP IT!! (as in stop complaining). So yeah I don’t really think that airline food is that bad in itself, and especially not when you realize what’s happening at the given instance.
Whew, ok. I don’t think I can afford any more tangents as we’re getting pretty long here. Anyway, I’m going to randomly relate this tangent to something that just popped into my head that does in fact relate to the topic at hand. The moral of this “airline food” story is: take what you have, accept it, enjoy it, and run with it. Don’t complain about it. Revel in the positive aspects of your experiences, not the negatives.
Your Jesuit experience is what you make it; therefore, make it good, make it fun, make it exciting, make it treasured, make it something you’ll look back on and say, “hey, those were some of the best if not the best times of my life.” Don’t focus on negative things, don’t look for the problems that exist in situations. Just don’t man, right? Don’t.
The best ways to get the most out of your Jesuit experience are to get involved, be open to those around you, and have a positive frame of mind. If you’re open to those around you, it’s easy to get close to them, and getting close to your Jesuit brothers is the most important thing you can do. Getting involved is important because it enables you to explore something you enjoy (or something new that you find that you may enjoy) with other people. This way, you have a lot of fun with the thing you enjoy, while also meeting new people, making friends, and enjoying the experience together.
Something important: GET INVOLVED EARLY, TRY NEW THINGS EARLY, THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS INVOLVE YOURSELF WITH SOMETHING THAT YOU COME TO REALLY ENJOY AS YOUR TIME AT JESUIT COMES TO A CLOSE. I say this with experience. I involved myself with the Roundup and Jesuit Theater my senior year, and they’re both so awesome, but I regret not doing them sooner. So get involved NOW. Lastly, positive frame of mind is important because you’ll always be able to find good in anything if you look at it from the right way.
One final thing: how not to screw it up. I have a piece of advice for this–Common sense, aka be smart. Now, I know common sense is foreign to some people, and it’s hard for some people to be smart, so they will screw something up, but this is just Darwin’s principle in action ladies and gentlemen. Someone has to be that guy or those guys. So, if you are one of those guys, good luck. Otherwise, just use your smarts and your common sense, and avoid making dumb little mistakes.
Best regards to all the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors next year, and to the present seniors, I love you all and I shall miss you deeply.
It has been a pleasure being at Jesuit these past four years. This is Eric “Dee” Donica signing off.
