Diversity Event

The diversity event that I attended  Dia De Los Muertos Ceremonia. This event explained a 500 year old tradition that is native to Mexico. The title of the event is translated to The Day of the Dead Ceremony. The festivities are centered around celebrating the lives of deceased family members, rather than mourning the loss of a person. Dia De Los Muertos is held every year on November 1 & 2. Traditions in Mexico, Central America, and some places in the U.S. are to dress up in skull masks and costumes to dance in honor of their relatives. In rural Mexico people visit the grave sites of their deceased and decorate them with marigold flowers and candles. I learned that this celebration is also known as "All Saints/Souls Day" by the Spaniards to make it more religious.

The speakers at this event were very informational about the customs and traditions of this Mexican tradition. I knew a little bit about the ceremony, but learned quite a bit from them. The first day, (Nov. 1) is dedicated to the children who have died. The day is called Dia De Los Angelitos. The second day is actually called Dia De Los Muertos. I learned that there are many other activities that go along with the ceremony. People bake all kinds of goods. Sugar skulls and spicy chocolate called mole are a couple examples.

Twitter

Social networks seem to me what all the buzz is about this day and age. People of all ages are using these sites to keep in contact with friends, family, businesses, and many other uses. I have noticed people who have generations of family members on their friends lists, even as old as grandparents. As technology advances in our society, we will continue to see these trends, and more people will eventually jump on the bandwagon of using social networking sites for an array of activities.

After my experience with Twitter I have learned a lot of great uses for this social site. Whether I use the website to obtain bits of news, information about events, or to keep up on the celebrity gossip, something always keeps my attention. Twitter allows users to keep in contact with your friends, family, and favorite celebrities or athletes. I have also learned that Twitter is a good way to get our name out for potential employers. Many businesses will tweet about positions and openings available within their company. I have used my twitter account, http://twitter.com/#!/mkloewer, for interacting with friends and meeting new people. I plan to keep my account to use in the near future for employment and contacting family members.

While reading the article http://www.balkhis.com/twitter/25-reasons-why-someone-should-join-twitter/, I learned a few more ways that we can use Twitter. By using the site, we can learn so much more about a person and their feelings and experiences. Many people have used Twitter as a primary source of becoming an entrepreneur and following ideas that were inspired by others or even ourselves. One last example that Twitter is beneficial, is that it can save us money. By using Twitter rather than text messaging, we can save on our phone bills.

All in all, I have enjoyed the experience of using Twitter. I will continue to use the social networking site for all of the reasons described above. Peace Love Go Pack.

State Soccer 2009

I time when I was at my best would have to be during my junior year of highschool. I went through quite a few changes during this time in my life. My mom and brother had recently moved to Sioux Falls, SD, and I went to live with my dad and his new family in my hometown of Spencer, IA. The idea of living in a totally new envrionment was not exactly appealing to me at the time, but I had to make the best of it. During this year of school, I learned a lot about myself and how to become more independent.

School became more challenging due to the level of difficulty in classes. I learned how to balance schoolwork, sports, and home life significantly better than what I was used to during my first two years of high school. During this time, my relationship with my dad, step-mom, and step-siblings became a much stronger bond. I learned a lot of life lessons through my dad that I likely would not have learned. I also became more involved with activities in school.

When spring time came around, soccer season was ready to get into motion. The previous year of soccer, our team qualified for state and took home a 3rd place trophy; this year we were going for it all. Many of my teammates and I started training for the season in early February. We hit the weights and started conditioning in the early mornings. When the season began, I knew from the start that it was going to be a good year. Every team we played, we "walked over". When we made it to state, the familiar nervous butterflies erupted in my stomach; however, when the game started, my confidence was high. We played through the next two games at state with some crazy performances. The first game was one in a penalty shoot out and the second game we ended up winning due to a first-half performance. The final game was by far the most tiring of them all. Somehow we ended up winning and becoming State Champions for 2-A soccer.

Throughout all the experiences I had my junior year, every single detail helped me to become the person I am today. I am thankful for the experiences I had, and would never change anything. I hope to continue making a promising future this year at Iowa State based on everything I have learned since then. I know that if I strive to do my very best, anything is possible. College is a big deal to many people-or at least it should be. By making it to where I am today, I can only hope that I stay on the right track to becoming a successful individual.