Although there are more then likely more people living on campus then living off campus here at Morningside College, there are still a good number of people living off campus. Some people HAVE to live on campus, whether it’s their coach’s rules or money and location issues, others who live off campus for the most part are happy they are living off campus. Reasoning for this vary person to person but the end result is that commuters may complain about the drive, traffic, getting up earlier, weather conditions, no where to go between classes, etc. they would rather live off campus then on.

The commuters I know don’t live that far away from campus, I know there are probably people out there who drive an hour and a half everyday for class, but the people I know and talked to only drive (if they even have to drive) 5-7 minutes. Even if someone doesn’t drive to school but lives off campus, even right across the street from campus, they are still considered commuters. For example, sophomore Shannon Smith literally lives right across the street from Olsen Center parking lot, but she is still considered a commuter, and loves being off campus, even though it’s only across the street. Shannon doesn’t live at home with her family like others do, she has four other roommates/friends that also go to Morningside.

Jennie (freshman) and Callie (senior) on the other hand, have a 5-7 minute drive, and they live with their families. In fact Callie lives in her mothers basement with her boyfriend of five years (he also went to Morningside). Jennie doesn’t want to live on campus because she started college at the age of 16 and wasn’t ready to move out and now that she is 17 she still doesn’t want the distractions and wants to save a much money as she can. Callie lived on campus the first two years of her college career now she’s over it and doesn’t really care about being apart of the “college life”.

Parking

Weather

Money

Involvement

Spare time

Hiroshima is all about the up close personal stories that people went through right before, during, and after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. John Hersey the author finds six survivors of the August 6^th, 1945 bomb and spent time trying to learn every detail he possibly could about this horrific event caused by the United States. Of course there are other people in the story other then the six he found. The people they ran into during the whole event, their loved ones, and soldiers. There are only five chapters, but the chapters are very long, as the book is 151 pages.

The first chapter is very repetitive because it’s explaining each personal story and the end result was they were hurt, trying to figure out what was going on, where to go, how to get treatment and how to help other people, but it keeps you very interested. The detail John put into his writing just makes you feel like your watching a movie in your head. You can set the scene and picture what the people look like because he is so detailed, John goes as far as what they were wearing and which direction they were facing when the bomb went off (facing the bomb, back to the bomb, sitting, standing, walking, outside, inside, ect.) He also gives you the exact distance they were from the center of the bomb.

Chapter two was about the damage and people trying to work around and out of the damage. The bomb either made a building collapse or it made them catch fire, some did both. After the bomb there were major winds that made the fire spread and grow at a very fast moving pace, the survivors had to jump into a river that was in the city of Hiroshima for protection. That is if they could move and get to protection.

The third chapter was finally people were able to come into the city after a month or so after the bomb was dropped to try and find some answers as to what happened to Hiroshima. No one could figure out why people were getting sick then all of a sudden dying, until scientist came in and did radiation test and found the very high amount of levels, which explained the deaths by illness. After months of the bomb, people still hadn’t received the right care they needed and once the city “reopened” help was finally able to get in better, but still came in very slowly. Before the city “reopened” they had to use what they had and what the military was able to bring in, when they could get in.

Chapter four was about the stages the people who were dying of illness went through. A lot of people said help was coming and it never came, or that they would survive the radiation illness because their case “wasn’t that severe” and then they died. There was a lot of lying going on to ease the minds of the wounded and ill and to keep them from going crazy to get the help they needed. Chapter five was very boring, of all the chapters that’s the one chapter I did not like. It was just talking about the rebuilding of the city and how they made the city more “bomb proof”, he goes on a whole year after the bomb and it just got really dry and boring.

A little about the author John Hersey, he was born on June 17^th 1914 and died March 24^th 1993 at the age of 78. He’s a journalist, novelist and a professor. He writes nonfiction, essayist, journalist and fiction, and he’s most notable writing was Hiroshima. John Hersey was born in Tientsin China and his family moved back to the United Station when he was ten years old. John learned Chinese before he spoke English. He was so good with his work he was able to give you all 5 senses, when he wrote the reader is able to hear in their head what’s going on, they are able to smell the burning of bodies and burning of buildings, you could picture the destruction, the condition the victims were in, and so on.

I’d give this book a three point five out of four stars. The last chapter is what lost that half point. I enjoyed this book till the end. It is one of those books where you can just lose track of time. I like how I felt like I was watching the movie to this book in my head as I was reading because John’s description was done so well. Before I read this book I didn’t know much about the bombing of Hiroshima, and although this book isn’t to give you the history of the event but a more realistic since as if you were actually there, made me learn more about the event.

Although the waterfall is turned off in the picture, believe me when I say it is gorgeous when it is on. I do not know why but I have always loves water falls, I consider them art, just as much as I would a painting or sculpture. This waterfall does not have too much thought behind it, there are some that have to have the perfect water pressure pushing water out of a spout to land exactly where the designer wants. The designing of the actual waterfall or water fountain is art, because it is sculpting.

For this waterfall they used a shiny granite which with the wide-open widows makes the reflection so pretty. It is also really tall so the actual falling of the waters “prettiness” lasts longer. I do not know if they picked the granite color so that it would stand out in the room or because it is Mustang maroon. Either way, I like the choice in granite. The granite pieces going down the water fall that boarder the water falling, do not match the piece of granite it is touching which at first I thought looked a little messy but then I tried to picture it with matching granite pieces all the way down and it was almost too “perfect” and clean looking. It looks better with the uneven look.

There is also a continuation of the waterfall off the side of it that looks like it could maybe be a bench, but I do not see someone sitting there so I do not see the point of it. But again at the same time trying to picture the whole wall without it would seem like something is missing.

Although I don’t want this too, I hope this doesn’t turn into a rant. With that being said lots of things make me angry, I have pretty good patience for the most part, but some stuff just instantly gets to me, to me being annoyed and being angry are two close feelings, because being annoyed is the step down from being angry for me.

Right now I’m going through a situation where Joe is “cheating” on Dani. A VERY close person to me is cheating on someone who I came close to ever since they started dating. They dated for five years, and now have been engaged for seven years and still aren’t married. I call Dani’s friends my close friends, and they call me their close friend. Now, they are both starting to “age” and Dani apparently has gained about 30 pounds (although I can’t tell a difference in fact I thought she had lost weight!). Joe is saying he is losing his physical attraction to her, and he’s also losing the physical part of their relationship. But Joe is to the age where he should understand what Dani is going through, she’s going through “the life of a women”, if you know what I mean. Joe recently met some chick at the gym he is a member at and they have been talking. I caught him sending Sabrina emoji roses and kissy faces and calling her beautiful, sunshine, gorgeous etc. in my eyes that’s cheating, he also clams they have never done anything. I despise cheaters; I have been cheated on in 3 different relationships. I don’t care how close I am with a person they could be a family member for all I care; I will not associate with cheaters. I will drop them from my life. I have even backed off from Joe, I don’t answer his phone calls, I don’t talk to him as much when I’m around him, in fact with everything I know it’s become very awkward around Joe and Dani.

I’m a very confronting person. The second I got Joe away from Dani, I flat out asked him if he’s cheating on Dani. Of course his answer is “no Caitlin, I am not cheating, it’s all fun and games.”

Now I don’t like cursing in front of Joe but I did. I instantly got livid and I said “bullshit. I have been cheated on in three different relationships, I know what cheating is and the second I see it, I don’t care how close I am with someone and I don’t care how long I’ve been apart of their life, if a family member, friend, anyone, cheats on their significant other I will without hesitation drop them from my life.”

Call me heartless or cold hearted but I don’t put up with cheaters. Never have and never will.

He looked at me and said, “Come on Caitlin, that’s not fair it’s all harmless.”

Cheating isn’t “harmless”. It can mentally and physically destroy a person. It could make someone lose all trust in anyone, period. It could make them give up on love, and live forever alone. Everything someone never deserved all because they got “harmlessly cheated on.”

A few weeks went by and I was “watching” his Facebook. I say “watching” because I didn’t have to try very hard to watch him. I’m friends with him on Facebook, so if he liked a picture or post or commented on a post or picture it would show up on the upper right hand corner of my home page and say, “Joe just liked such and such post” or “Joe commented on such and such picture.”

I had to see Joe and Dani and all of the people who I have now become very close with because of those two this last weekend, and I heard Joe talking to his mom about Sabrina. Joe doesn’t realize that his talking quietly voice isn’t all that quiet, so I overheard the conversation. I also know Joe’s mom extremely well, and I know she won’t say anything but what Joe wants to hear. No matter how much she doesn’t want him to do something she won’t say so. And if she does Joe will cut her off and say, “I don’t wanna hear it, or talk about it.” That’s exactly what happened again here. I could have predicted that would happen!

Joe’s mom doesn’t agree with what he’s doing but at the same time she wants him to be happy. Joe and Dani moved to another city together recently and he said he shouldn’t have left Lincoln in the first place, along with the expensive move; they’ve also bought other very expensive things together, like a cat and a new car. They basically are married. They just don’t have the paper saying so.

I was talking to Dani this weekend and I jokingly said “why don’t y’all make life easier and just get married already?” I was not ready for her reply at all, because I never thought they would actually ever get married. But she said “yeah I’m thinking about us getting married on New Years.”

In my head I said “Oh crap! If only she knew everything my brother and I know!” then I thought “Yeah, if they even last that long.” Such a bad feeling but it’s hard not to think when this is going to end and he will walk out just to be with a skinny, big butt girl.

My brother is just as close with Joe as I am, and we have talked about everything Joe is doing and we both think he is being very selfish. The only reason all this is happening is because Dani has gained some weight, and Joe has found someone who works out, who’s in shape and who has a butt.

Chris confronted Joe about everything and along with all the physical problems another problem Joe told Chris is that “Dani doesn’t have a butt.” and Joe is an “ass guy”. Everyone knows this. When Chris told me this I said very annoyed “Dani has never had an ass! We’ve known this for 12 years!”
It is so selfish for someone to be such an ass guy and just now after 12 years bring it up that he has a problem with her not having a very big back end. If someone is such a “ass person” then wouldn’t you think they would never get involved in the first place!?

All this is so mind-boggling and just pisses me off. I have lost sleep because of everything. I don’t know whether to confront Joe again or not. I mean he’s still talking to Sabrina. It has gotten to the point that Joe’s mom actually says what he is doing is wrong but Joe being Joe won’t listen to anyone and doesn’t think what he’s doing is wrong, yet everything about this is wrong.

Most people are close with your grandparents, but when something goes wrong and don’t know the outcome and things get scary then that relationship turns and becomes even more close and strong. You don’t think about how quickly you could lose a loved one, till the till something happens and you could lose them.

Emily was only 12 years old when she had to save her grandfathers life unexpectedly, before the freak accident happened, she was only “close” with her grandfather, but now they are “really close”.

He had been attacked by bees’ “literally about 50 stings” Emily explained, usually she exaggerates a lot but here she wasn’t even kidding in the slightest bit!

Her grandfather was outside mowing and without realizing it ran over a bee’s nest in the ground while moving. Emily and her grandma were inside, Emily was on the phone with her best friend Kayla. The phone beeped and she switched over calls, it was her grandfather. “I easily could have ignored the call. But I’m glad I didn’t.” Emily said, she continued saying “ It was on the home phone so I had no way of knowing who was calling.” Which just shows how lucky she was to actually answer the beep in her ear.

“All I heard was a faint distressed whisper of “Help…Emily…get grandma…” she said thinking back to this scary incident in her life.

Emily beeped back over to Kayla and said “hey I think something is wrong, I’ll call you later. Then hung up.” Kayla said.

“She sounded kind of confused and scared at the same time” Kayla said, referring to when Emily beeped back into her phone call.

Emily screamed for her grandma and they went running outside. Her grandma was a nurse so she made him sit up and tried to stabilize him until the ambulance came “which was really fast” Emily added.

Although Emily doesn’t remember what exact physical condition her grandpa was in all she could remember is “he was in bad shape.”

While her grandpa was in the hospital the EMT’s told them “if Emily was even a minute later, he may have lost his life.” said her grandma.

Emily did call Kayla back a few hours later and “She was still freaked out and I’m pretty sure she got emotional when she started explaining it” Kayla said.

During the interview Emily kept saying how “traumatic” and “scared” she was, all she could do was bawl her eyes out when she saw her grandpa and during the whole ordeal.

“My grandpa is so allergic to bees’ that he even temporarily lose his eye sight”

Her grandpa is alive and healthy today because of her and even though this happened 6 years ago, Emily still remembers this traumatic event as if it happened yesterday. Some may think this isn’t that big of a deal event in ones life compared to some events in other peoples lives, but to Emily it was pretty scary and she handled it like a champ. And in the process saved a life.