What's in a (middle) name?

Shakespeare once said, "What's in a name?  That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." (Romeo and Juliet, II, ii, 1-2)  But did he ever think about what was in a middle name?  Did they even have middle names back then?  I'm not completely sure about that second question but that's for another blog.  There are so many people with the same name, John Smith, Katie Jones, and endless others.  In my grade alone there were over 10 Rachels and even a girl with the same last name as mine plus an O.  That can get very confusing.  So how did society decide to fix this name game issue?  They added in another name.  

Middle names can be very important to a person and their family.  Many people's middle names are the name of a special relative or a very close friend.  They may have passed away or they may have a special place in the history of the family.  Another common theme to choosing a middle name is choosing a prominent member from one's family religion.  Some of the most common middle names are Michael, John, and Mary from the Bible.  In the case of today's celebrities, they choose the most random name imaginable and decide that this name is the best idea for a middle name (or first name for that matter...)  A not so common theme for choosing a middle name is choosing a word from another language that means something to the mother or father.  One of my friend's middle names (who is African American) is Noire, which means "black" in French.

Another way to pick a middle name is the use the mother's maiden name, and this is exactly what my mom did.  My middle name is Jensen, my grandpa's last name, and my mom loved the idea of keeping that name in the family.  My sister has the same middle name for the same reason.  I think that is a tradition that is not kept around as much as it should be because in a typical marriage the female takes on the last name of the male.  By keeping your maiden name as your middle name it never goes away!

It can be really interesting to sit down with your family and learn why you were given your middle name.  If you are able to, even try to ask your grandparents where their middle names came from.  I have gotten into some really interesting and memorable conversations with my family when these things have come up.  Take some time today to learn more about your heritage and learn to love your middle name!!

I Want YOU to be Happy

Happiness is a funny thing.  It can come out of nowhere and it can go away in a flash.  However, I would have to say that making someone else happy can be the best feeling.  March 3rd is "I Want You to be Happy Day"; a day completely dedicated to thinking about other people and ways to make them happy.  I know that most people don't even think about what makes them happy on a daily basis so people may think it would be too much work to think about what makes other people happy.  When it comes down to it, though, being in tune to other's feelings is a great skill.  

Some people are outgoing and let you know exactly how they are feeling.  Those people are easy to please.  It's the people who are more introverted that you need to work at.  By observing peoples everyday reactions to their surroundings, it can become increasingly easier to make people happy.  If one of your friends really gets excited when there are gummy worms at the dining courts, buy her some gummy worms for no reason!  I'm sure it will make her happy and you will feel great about doing that for someone.  It can be as big of an action as buying someone flowers and surprising them in their lecture in CL50, or it can be as small as telling someone they look nice that day.  Both are just as effective as long as they are done with care.

If someone wants to make me happy, it doesn't take a lot.  First of all, if it is a sunny day, I am guaranteed to already be in a great mood.  If it is a warm and sunny day, I don't need anything more than to be outside to feel happy.  But if someone wanted to totally top that and go for mega happiness, a simple compliment would do the trick.  I'm sure a  lot of you have seen the people who stand outside on campus and give out "free compliments".  Although those compliments are not very well thought out, it still feels good to hear "Hey I really like your scarf" or "Your hair looks great today", even if it is from a random stranger.  Those people may get a lot of funny looks but I'm sure they walk away from there feeling like they made some people's days just a little bit better.  

It is proven that physical activity can put you in a better mood.  I know that I always feel great after an intense workout or even after just running around playing frisbee or racquetball.  If you are having a bad day, feeling stressed or just feeling down, try to get up and get moving around.  Even if you just take a walk with a friend you are getting exercise and socializing; two things that all humans benefit from.  Last weekend I was feeling really overwhelmed with school so I just picked up and went to the RSC and hopped on the treadmill.  I just chugged along for a couple of miles and felt so great afterwards.  I went on to have a great and productive weekend, which is another great feeling.  When you feel in control of your life and your own happiness, you will feel happier more often because you are in touch with your feelings and you will be able to spread your happiness to others.  

The point of this day is not to sacrifice all of the things that make you happy to make others happy.  The point is to remember to take time for happiness in your daily life by spreading a smile. 

 I'll end with a quote:

"Never give up on the things that make you smile."  --Anonymous

Umbrella-ella Day

Umbrella Day was a few days back (February 10th to be exact) but I thought it was a holiday that need not be ignored.  Umbrella Day is the celebration of the invention of the ingenious contraption that keeps you out of the hot sun in the summer and dry in the rain.  The first umbrella was invented over four thousand years ago and evidence has been found of them being used by the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Chinese.  It was the Chinese, however, who took the first step in waterproofing them.  The first modern umbrellas were sold in an umbrella shop called "James Smith and Sons" in 1830 in London.  Umbrellas at that time were made of wood or whalebone and covered with alpaca or oiled canvas.  They were very popular in that area of Europe because of the typically rainy weather.  The first steel-rimmed umbrella was made around 1850 and made its way to the United States shortly after.

Today, umbrellas are made of nylon, plastic, or a cotton-based material.  They are made in hundreds of different colors and styles to ensure everyone can find an umbrella that suits them.  There is the classic black umbrella for the businessman type, the cute pink frilly umbrella for little girls, even umbrellas that look like superheroes for little boys.  Personally, I have a brown umbrella with multi-color polka dots. My umbrella also came with a handy little case to put it in when it's folded up so it doesn't get the other things in your bag wet.  

Rainy days are always interesting on Purdue's campus.  There are many different methods that people use to cope with the rain.  There are the people who go about their day as usual, walking to class like everyday just with the addition of an umbrella in one hand.  Others, and I would have to say this is the majority from what I've seen, choose to take the bus.  The buses on rainy days are unbearably crowded and when there is the slightest amount of humidity in the air from the rain, they get very warm very quickly.  I tend to take the bus on rainy days unless the temperature outside is nice enough to still enjoy walking outside.

The umbrella seemed to make a comeback after Rihanna came out with her hit song "Umbrella" in 2007.  The song has a very catchy beat and I'm sure if you've heard it you have caught yourself singing " under my umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh" multiple times before.  After seeing what a big hit the song was, Rihanna got a deal with the umbrella line "totes" to have her own line of umbrellas at Macy's! Who knew a hit song could turn into a business deal!?

National Tooth Fairy Day

Who doesn't have fond memories of losing their first tooth?  Well, I don't remember the actual time and place, but I know I was really young.  Children grow up thinking that when they lose a tooth, a mystical fairy will come and trade that tooth for money.  We tried to rationalize why someone would want to do that by making up stories about how the tooth fairy had a giant castle made of teeth, fully equipped with tooth furniture, because when we thought about it, we realized how silly it seems.  

At my elementary school, losing a tooth was a huge deal.  If you lost your tooth during school, you got to get out of class and go down to the nurse's office and she would give you a little box for your tooth! Then when you returned to class, you would get your name on the tooth board, a special little white board shaped like a tooth, to let everyone know that you had lost a tooth that day.  It was a great honor for a seven-year-old.  

I remember when my sister found out there was no tooth fairy.  After losing her tooth the day before, she put it under her pillow and woke up to find the tooth still there.  She came to me and told me the tooth fairy had forgotten her.  I told my parents that they hadn't given her any money and they told me they didn't even know she had lost a tooth!  The next night the exchange happened, but now my sister was suspicious.  Later that week she was looking for something in my dad's dresser and found her tooth box! What a devastating feeling it is to realize that something you had believed in is not true.

Tomorrow on tooth fairy day, take some time to think about what the tooth fairy has done for you! :)

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day!!

This past week has been National Engineering Week, a week to celebrate all of the things engineers do for us in our everyday lives.  Friday in particular was introduce a girl to engineering day.  Surprisingly, there are still very few women in engineering today, despite the increase in popularity over the past few years.  Being at Purdue, it seems everywhere you turn there is an engineer behind you, male or female.  However, it is more likely that person is male.  

Research shows that girls and young women lose interest in subjects and the fields of study leading to engineering careers long before they enter college.

Ever since I was a little girl in elementary school, I was always encouraged to like math and science.  It ended up that I really did and still do enjoy solving problems in these subject areas.  I remember going to various "women in math" workshops where we would take a day off from regular school activities and spend our time doing fun math problems and working with other girls to solve them.  It was a really cool experience for me because I was able to use my love of math to work toward solving something that may have been too challenging in another setting.  Activities like these existed all through middle school and high school, although I did not take place in all of them.  

According to the National Engineers Week Foundation, only 20 percent of undergraduate engineers are women.  That's an improvement, but still not nearly as high as that number could be.  Being an aspiring engineer at Purdue, I find myself surrounded by guys in most of my classes.  Although there are plenty of girls in my classes as well, it is obvious that engineering is still a male dominated field.  It is the community's job to introduce girls to engineering, but once they have made the decision to become an engineer it is the job of their chosen university to keep them interested.

Purdue has a variety of programs for women in science and engineering to participate in and become associated with.  The biggest organization in this area is the Society of Women Engineers.  This is a national organization, with one of its biggest branches being right here at Purdue.  I am involved with this group and it is one of my favorite groups on campus because it is filled with fun, normal girls who are diverse and interesting.  We have social gatherings, such as a spring dance, and we also do community service and host a job fair in the spring semester.  It is a great organization for a female in engineering to get involved in because it sets you up with some resources and older people to talk to who have already been through the things you are going through.

Other organizations that Purdue has to offer for women in engineering, science and technology include Phi Sigma Rho, a social sorority for women in these fields, and WIEP, the Women in Engineering Program.  Both of these organizations have their benefits.  Phi Sigma Rho is a social sorority which is comprised of women with the understanding that they are all in challenging majors, so there is a very flexible committment schedule compared to other social greek life.  WIEP has a mentor programs which sets up a first year engineering student with an older student who meets with them regularly and checks to see how classes are going throughout the year.  All three of these organizations do a great job at making women feel like they are not alone in their pursuit of a major in a male dominated field.

International Friendship Day

College can be a terrifying place.  Being on your own on a big, scary, unfamiliar campus can be lonely and make you feel very uncomfortable.  However, I have found something really great about college, you are never really alone.  There is always someone in the dorm room, study carol, or classroom next to you going through the exact same thing you are.  The only thing you have to do is step outside of your small world and meet these people!

When I came to college I knew very few people.  There were about 12 people who came to Purdue from my graduating class and a few more from earlier classes.  So naturally, at first I called those people up to hang out in my free time because it gets tiring having to introduce yourself to fifty new people a day.  People find comfort in having people around who come from the same background as they do, and that's ok for a while.  However, in order to become a more fulfilled and open-minded person, you need to branch out and meet all types of people.

My BGR leader told our group a great quote about trying new things,

There is no growth in your comfort zone, and no comfort in your growth zone.

I found this quote to be increasingly true as my early college days went on.  Experiencing things for the first time is scary! Think about your first day of classes, your first lunch in the dining courts, or your first exam in Elliot Hall...all potentially terrifying things.  However, once you got over the initial feelings of discomfort, you open yourself up to a world of new possibilities.

The same goes for making new friends.  College is the perfect place to find the biggest variety of people you may ever see.  Each person has something different to offer and it is really amazing to see all of these unique personalities come together in one place.  It is the time to find who you really are and be that person.  By being yourself and staying true to that, you are going to meet far more people than if you just join every club you see a flyer for or if you don't go out there and try in the first place.  

In high school, people were so concerned with what group they were associated with that they really didn't give themselves a chance to open up and let people see who they really were.  College life really has a laid-back feel that allows people to be themselves and share that with other people.  I have met such a diverse group of people from California to Connecticut and even some from far away countries.  It is really cool to see how someone who lives miles away, goes through so many of the same things as you do on a daily basis.  

If you really allow yourself to just be yourself, you will be able to find a mixture of friends who share some aspect of your life.  Whether it be my love of music, my passion for delicious food, or my enjoyment of exercise, I have found at least one person who shares one of these qualities with me, and I have made some really wonderful friendships out of it.  

Friday the 13th!!

Overall, I am not a very superstitious person.  I have broken many mirrors in my lifetime, spilled many a saltshaker, and even crossed paths with a few black cats, but I wouldn't exactly say that these things have made me an unlucky person.  On the contrary, I feel that I am a very lucky person when it comes to having great friends, a wonderful family, and a great education.  However, today just seemed to be an unlucky one for me and the people around me.

 I was fooled by the bright shining sun when I woke up after a rare occurrence of 10 hours of sleep.  It seemed like today would be day three of the wonderful 50 plus degree weather we had been having, but that was not the case.  I checked weather.com to see what it was like outside and it turned out that it was only about 37 degrees at the moment--not terrible for the freezing weather we are supposed to have in February, but still colder than the days before.  It seemed like a very low-key, relaxing Friday, but around 1 o'clock things got interesting.

After getting out of CS 159, I met up with a couple people from my class and walked over to Ford to grab some lunch.  We got to the dining court and put all of our stuff down at a nice table by the window.  I got a nice salad with raspberry dressing, some guacamole dip with chips, and I was in the process of getting a hamburger when disaster struck.  Today was the first day I had gotten a hamburger from the dining courts here, and I don't know why but today I just really had a taste for one.  So I wait in line for a minute, grab a bun, grab a hamburger, and walk over the the condiments station.  It seemed like everything was going smoothly as I put on some pickles, a tomato, and some lettuce.  I walked a few steps further to the ketchup and mustard and as I was putting the top of my bun on my newly created creation my tray slipped, my salad flew toward me, and my guacamole dip jumped off of my tray and loudly onto the floor, drawing all attention in my direction. 

It is a dreaded moment when someone drops a something in the dining courts.  They must make the plates and bowls there out of some super-echoing material because no matter where you are in the dining court, you can hear if someone drops their tray as if they are standing right next to you.  Luckily I didn't have one of the breakable plates, because those not only make a noise twice as loud but they shatter everywhere!  

As I gather the rest of my food and check out the awesome new pink stains on my fleece from my salad dressing, I apologize to the worker who had run over to clean up my mess.  He told me it was ok, but NOT TO DO IT AGAIN.  I chuckled, but he didn't seem to be joking so I scurried away from the situation.  When I got back to the table, I wiped my now pink-stained hand off and shunned my salad from the rest of the food on my plate.  

As we all started to eat, my friend realized that she did not have her phone.  Everyone has a slight panic attack when they can't find their phone, because now-a-days everyone's life is on their phone.  No one really knows other people's numbers anymore because we never have to dial them, so if someone does lose their phone, it is pretty a given that they will make a facebook group asking everyone for their numbers.  The odd thing, though, is when you get an invitation for someone's "Help, I lost my phone" group, and you never remember giving them your number in the first place.  When that happens to me I usually just ignore the invitation, in the nicest way possible of course.  But back to the story.

My friend looked in her coat pockets, her backpack, and all around the places she had been in the dining court, and her phone was nowhere to be found.  She couldn't remember when the last time she had it was, which always seems to slip people's minds when they need to remember such an event.  So she decided to head back to the classroom we were in to look for it.  I haven't heard from her yet on if she found it or not, but I hope she does!!

In the middle of all of this, I checked my phone and saw that I had two missed calls and three text messages that I had missed in the midst of all of my food-spilling chaos.  Lately my phone has made it a habit of not telling me when someone is calling, or displaying the wrong time whether it is nine minutes off or an hour off, but that's for another rant.  I am going to the University of Illinois this weekend to visit my boyfriend for Valentine's Day, and as it turned out, his car wouldn't start.  He was planning on picking me up later today but when he got to his car it was completely dead.  Unlucky event #3.  However, the last of my three messages was my boyfriend telling me that he had found someone else who could drive, so that bit of bad luck, luckily, didn't last for long.

So the moral of my story is, it doesn't matter if you believe in crazy superstitions about random days, or if you are generally a lucky or unlucky person, but at any given time you may be hit with some bad luck.  The best thing to do is just roll with it and laugh about it later because you can't take life too seriously.  The best days are the ones when things don't go perfectly and you get to tell a story because of it! No comedians get their jokes from experiencing perfect days every day.  They tell you the stories about when they saw someone get hit in the face with a tire, or when they slipped all the way down the stairs of the Purdue Union.  The best thing to do is just enjoy life the way it happens, and find some time to smile :).