Marvelous Happy Things

For the 20-year-old with a One Direction calendar, you can take a deep breath. This one's for you. Entertainment, just like anything else, can either bring people closer together or separate them. A long time ago, people who read comic books were looked down upon. Today, times have changed. Fans of books, music, and movies make their own groups (referred to by most as fandoms) because they are tired of the judgement of others. Some fandoms have alliances or rivalries, kind of like sports teams do. If you talk to a member of a fandom, you may feel like you are talking to a woodland elf or a rainbow. "Why do they keep crying when I mention a doctor?" "Who are Sam and Dean?" "What is a faction?" Ask them why they love what they do. The answers may surprise you. Be friendly to the guy listening to Justin Bieber's new album as he does his homework. Talk to the girl wearing a Halestorm t-shirt. Don't shut them out. Their passion is valuable and ins...

You might as well call today "Fangirl Friday." Both One Direction and Justin Bieber's albums are on sale now, which means another album review for me. Without further ado, here is One Direction's Made in the A.M. 1 Hey Angel- The boys want to be more like an angel and wonder what he or she thinks. Heaven may be a theme in this song, but it is not explicit. 2 Drag Me Down- Ever since this song was released back in July, some people think it refers to the departure of Zayn. Nevertheless, it is the boys' way of saying that they are here to stay. For now. It has more of a hard rock feel than most of the album. 3 Perfect- Is it about Louis and Harry or Harry and Taylor? No one really knows. This song details a temporary relationship. Think what you want about that one. 4 Infinity- This is a break-up song. It would take forever to heal their hearts. 5 End of the Day- This song switches the beat at the chorus, making it interesting for the listener. The narrator (so...

Silence. For some people, it's painful. For a select few, it can be comforting, depending on the situation. "Why don't you talk?" As an introvert I've definitely heard that one before. The answer is always a struggle. I could be snarky and say, "your conversation isn't worth it," but then I'm alienating him or her and that person leaves thinking that I'm rude. I could say, "because I have nothing to say." A lot of times, it's true. I'm not good at small talk when I can't add to the conversation, which means that usually some "awkward silence" accompanies my conversations. I realize that silence makes people uncomfortable, and it sometimes leads me to ramble and then apologize for rambling. I don't always feel the need to apologize for my silence. The majority of the people that I love thrive on conversation. Am I hurting them by stifling that? At times, that has probably been the case. I'm unsure how...

Those of you who know me know that I love my school. It's a Christian university, and it's difficult to imagine myself being anywhere else. This may be extremely biased. Probably. I have plenty of friends and acquaintances who are believers who go to secular or what I usually call state schools for college. They love it. A lot of them are involved in Cru. They are there praising the Lord, and that's awesome. And then here I am. Living in what my school calls an "intentional community." How is it different from Cru (used to be known as Campus Crusade for Christ)? Well, for starters, a lot of my classmates are believers. Even if I don't know them that well, for the most part we have this in common. Then, besides an RA, we have a Discipleship Assistant (also a student) who plans a worship and prayer gathering on a weekly basis and small groups that we can attend. Each DA is chosen by the hall director and members of the Residence Life staff. My friends at state...

I have chosen a difficult task for this post: to sum up my grandparents, Danny and Patty Danielson. We'll see how this goes. My grandfather was one of the most efficient and kind-hearted people that I've ever known. He was what some might call a master negotiator for most of his life, but I'm going to focus on the aspects of him that I enjoyed the most as a grandchild. He made an effort to get to know everyone in the room; of course, without relationships, you have no basis for a deal. He would ask us about topics that he knew we would be interested in or that affected our lives in some way. If it wasn't politics, it was religion mixed with school or current issues of the day. His prayers before meals were legendary, any Danielson grandchild will tell you that. They lasted for a long time but always said so much. My grandfather passed away in his mid-90s, so we as grandchildren have great tales from his later years. He was prone to mispronouncing sports figures' n...

If you've ever seen the '80s movie Sixteen Candles , then you know that some parts of it are horrible, while other parts have a redemptive quality. I'm going to discuss how it relates to gender relations. Ted (the Geek) thinks that Samantha (main character) is amazing, even though she has only had one positive interaction with him. "Not many girls in contemporary American society today, would. . . help a geek like me." Ted sees her as valuable, and he even vows to beat up Jake if he lays a hand on her. [Spoiler] Unfortunately, Sam does not hear this conversation, nor does she see him as worthy of her affections, and both end up with other people. The other day, a friend of mine shared a Tumblr post about how teenage girls are made fun of no matter what they like. It was the kind of post that left a bad taste in my mouth. We need to see the value in others, specifically members of the opposite sex, who will find it refreshing and encouraging. We need to tell them...

Allen Temple AME Church (Marion)'s Pastor Gladden spoke in chapel today. When I first saw her colorful outfit, I was like, "oh, boy. Here we go." I immediately thought that she would try to shake us up, which she did. At one point, she said, "thanks for having my back Sister Lauren, because I may need security on the way out of here." She clearly explained the origin of the AME church's break from the Methodist Episcopal church and mentioned Dylann Roof's attack on the AME church in Charleston. I expected her to address Roof's attack. I did not expect her to speak with such love towards a majority white student body. Her call was for us to be a Truth-Telling, Table-Turning Taylor. She called for us to be willing to talk to people back home about how to live this Christian life differently. She hoped that we would see our brothers and sisters in Christ who look differently than we do as Brothers and Sisters (no matter the break in denominations). P...