Campus Life

Yo friends. Tonight there was an event at school that I’ve been waiting for all year. Otherwise known as “The Anthem: Cal Poly’s Annual Poetry Slam.”

I went to this event last year and was stunned at what an impacting few hours it was. Last year was my first year witnessing spoken word poetry, and I’ve been hooked ever since. If you’ve never watched someone perform it, I highly suggest that you do… it may just change your world. I guess the best way for me to describe it is an emotionally charged performance of a poem; it’s definitely not what you’re thinking if you envision someone standing up in a coffee house reciting a work they have written. Slam poetry has pizzazz. And it makes you think. And contrary to popular belief, this event brings in professional poets to perform—it’s not you that has to stand up and recite. However, there are events throughout the year that allow young Cal Poly artists to do so.

The event is funded through Instructionally Related Activities (IRA) student fees and sponsored by the Cal Poly English Department and College of Liberal Arts. Otherwise meaning that it’s free to attend if you have your Poly Card in hand, and although it is put on by the English Department it’s open to all people to attend. And believe me, people do attend as both last year and this year every last seat in Chumash Auditorium was filled.

Tonight’s event was filled with much comedy provided by the master of ceremonies and a poet himself, Steve Connell. The main performers of the night were Iyeoka Okoawo, Andrea Gibson, Alvin Lau, Anis Mojgani, and Ike Torres. While I can say that the three hours the event occupied passed quickly because I was enjoying myself and often agreeing with what the poets had to say, my favorite part was definitely reflecting on the power of words.

Appropriately subtitled, “Words will change the world,” I truly believe that they will. And actually I recently wrote an essay that supports this idea in its entirety. It isn’t long, so I’ve included it, and it goes a little something like this…

“Words: my favorite thing. I’m terrible at math and science doesn’t really entice me, but words get me every time. Isn’t it fascinating to think that the human vocabulary is limited and yet we find a way to mold them into new ideas every second of every minute of every day? The possibilities seem endless and yet it is through words that humans have endless possibilities to communicate and express themselves to their heart’s desire. This is why I am an English major.

I want to be a high school English teacher, but what I’ve always wanted to do is change the world. Far-fetched maybe, but for as far back as I can remember this has always been a conceivable dream to me. I know I will execute this, too, because I figured out that this dream can be accomplished solely through the matter of perception.

This goes back to the idea of words. What is “the world?” Well, as far as I’m concerned it’s something different to everybody and for many it draws back solely to their own individual life. That is why I plan on starting small and confining my ambitions to the walls of a classroom. I want to teach high school students in order to have an impact on soon-to-be adults, the future of “the world”…that is, of course, dependent upon the perception of the term. I want to inspire students to learn not only about what can be taught within the confines of those four walls but also about what can be taught about life—because there is so much more to life than what a college diploma or a chief executive officer position can offer. The city I grew up in is painstakingly guilty of this ideology, as “success” there is idolized to be synonymous with “happiness.” This is why I want to be a teacher; I want to guide students to develop their own, accurate perceptions and ignite the fire within them that will push them to relentlessly strive for knowledge throughout their lives. I want to be that teacher who pushed them to look for more within themselves. I want to be that teacher that seemed so crazy at the time but actually turned out to know what she was talking about. I want to be that teacher that made a difference. And I want that difference to be infectious so that my students carry it on through their relationships with others.

I got involved with Teach for America because I think it’s a great program that is making huge strides to break the socioeconomic restrains of society. It upholds to the highest regard that “knowledge is power” and is the epitome of what it means to have equal opportunity through education. A bachelor’s degree is required to join the corps and this is something I hope to do when that time comes. As for now, I do what I can through the publicity on this campus to attract well-qualified, inspiring applicants to the organization.

But all of the activities I participate in, including school itself, are helping me to achieve my dream. All of the time I donate to Panhellenic and Poly Reps, all of the communication skills I acquired through my job, all of the time I spend studying and writing papers, and all the time I’m simply goofing off and being a nineteen year old kid—I enjoy. Each of these things demonstrate how I live out my ideals as I am in a constant pursuit for knowledge that will ultimately make myself into a better me. And for all of this I can thank my mom, my own life teacher but also an elementary school teacher, and numerous English teachers I have had the privilege of learning from over the years. I am the culmination of their efforts and want to give back and beyond what has been given to me. And I hope through my words that I have persuaded you that I will do this because my world has been changed. It’s my turn to change the rest.”

Quite a tangent from “The Anthem,” I know, but I had to get it out there. The situation was almost too fitting. Nevertheless, the point being is that Cal Poly not only encourages me to chase my dream of changing the world, but it will allow me the means to do so in the way that I wish to. I can only hope that events like “The Anthem” will give confidence to those who may have the potential to develop a similar ideology, but moreover I hope that events like these continue to flourish on campus as they are loved by many and in my opinion, are promoting personal achievement—be it through words or any other way that would allow an individual to do so.

It’s time for bed as I have a long day of studying ahead of me with finals on the schedule for next week. I can almost taste summer vacation. It will be a nice break to get my wanderlust back this June, July, and August as it seems far longer than a year that it’s been gone. But it has been another great year and I anticipate the next one already.

Over and out,

LB

SLO weekend

I’m back.

So basically this weekend’s weather has been beautiful. That’s one of the things I love most about San Luis Obispo: just being able to go outside and enjoy the sunshine and the natural surroundings.

Hiked Bishop’s Peak yesterday night, and it was such a fun, scary, but exhilarating experience. My friends Lisa, Kellen, Catherine, and I started our hike around 7:30pm as the sun was setting. We were having a really good time as we were talking and laughing the whole way up and we got to enjoy the most beautiful view of San Luis Obispo as the sun set on the horizon. We also got a kick out of the cows that surround the base of the mountain and were even tempted to go cow tipping later—although none of us really wanted to knock them over nor did any of us really know how to do it or what would happen if we did, hence why we opted out. Hiking Bishop’s has been a favorite activity of mine ever since I came to school here, and I think it’s a crime to graduate from Cal Poly without hiking it at least once.

Once we got to the top the sky was dark. The weather was perfect as it was still warm and gave us a little tease of what summer will soon entail. It was surprising to see the city’s lights in all their glory because when on the ground San Luis Obispo seems pretty dark. Once we finally opted on leaving is when we panicked a little bit—but as we looked back on the whole experience it was really fun.

Not really thinking about the time of day we would be hiking, we neglected to pack flashlights. Our eyes were still adjusting but all in all it was really difficult to see. Great. Four girls on Bishop’s Peak without any flashlights and only empty water bottles in hand. We started talking about the worst possible scenarios that could happen to us and really started to believe them because we weren’t covering much ground as we struggled to get back. But then a little miracle happened.

The city’s lights had seemed so bright because there was no moon out polluting the sky with light. Lucky for us, however, there was a moon in the sky—a full one to be exact—and just in the nick of time it emerged from behind a cloud to light our path and get us back to flat ground. When this happened, we pretty much ran down the mountain because we were afraid it would soon disappear again and we’d feel like we were stranded for the second time in the night.

We ran all the way back to the car and jumped inside as fast as we could. Out of breath, we were laughing hysterically as we were making jokes about being back in civilization and missing our time away from having the power of electricity and our cell phones in hand.

It probably doesn’t seem that great in words, but we had a good time. It was our little adventure. But if that doesn’t suffice for you, then I guess I will just have to say, “You had to be there.”

Anyways, I went to the Recreation Center pool today and just enjoyed the atmosphere and the sunshine. I love how people still hang out on school on the weekends, even if it’s only because there are sand volleyball courts, lounge chairs, and water basketball only a Poly Card swipe away. Nonetheless, you would have never even caught me dead at school on the weekends in high school… okay, I lied, but the only reason you would find me there was because of basketball practice or a game. Now, I like being at school and spend more time at school than I do at home. Ironic maybe, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. School is where I have the most fun now because I see the most familiar faces and am doing the things I want to be doing.

Seeing the clock it’s about homework time for me. Tonight I get to read about the Beatle’s albums “Help!” and “Revolver” for my Beatles class… Sweet, I know.

The one and only,

LB

Cal Poly

Well, I guess I should start by introducing myself.

My name is Lauren Babek. To the untrained eye I’m just your average girl, but get to know me and you’ll realize I’m a little crazy… for better or for worse is for you to decide. But you probably won’t figure any of that out based on this blog entry.

Nonetheless, I’m currently nineteen years old and I’m a second year English major here at Cal Poly. I’m originally from Rancho Palos Verdes, California which is in Los Angeles County and I’m writing this blog because I’m in love with this school. Two years ago I had to make up my mind as to which school I wanted to attend in the fall just like the majority of my graduating class, and to say the least still to this day I could not be happier with the decision that I made to come here.

My first year of college was amazing. I had a blast during WOW and I got along with my roommate really well. I was so excited to be in San Luis Obispo as unlike many of my friends from home I was excited to leave behind the life that I had always known. I was ready for a change; I wanted new people in my life, I wanted to experience new culture, I wanted to learn new things, and overall I just wanted a change of pace: I wanted to live the “SLO” life and everything it encompassed.

Much to my dismay, freshman year passed in an instant. But I had no complaints. In school, I worked hard and got the grades I wanted, I enjoyed my professors, and I could honestly say that I was learning. During my free time I went to the beach, worked out at the gym, went to Farmer’s Market, and just hung out with my friends in our dorm rooms. I had even gone through spring training so that I could become a WOW Leader in the fall. Although life was passing very fast in this SLO town, I was enjoying every minute.

Summer came and passed, and soon enough it was time to come back to my favorite place in the world. I couldn’t wait to come back to everything I had left, and I was excited for the new experiences my life would bring. And so that brings me to this year…

The greatest lesson I have yet to learn here at college is that the only thing you can expect is the unexpected. It is currently May of the year 2008, and while I still love Cal Poly and everything it has brought to my life, this year has been a little different for me.

WOW went off without a hitch, and my WOWies were all really awesome.

I joined a sorority, which is something totally out of left field for me to do, but I can honestly say it was the best decision I made all year.

I got involved as much as my academic load would allow, and I applied for the Panhellenic Executive Board (which is the governing board of all the sororities) as well as Poly Reps (Cal Poly’s University Ambassadors)—and to my surprise I got chosen for each group.

And I was able to juggle school with a part time job, as well as volunteer for Teach for America as an on-campus publicity coordinator.

All of these things have provided the major highlights to my second year at college thus far, but contrary to last year other things haven’t been running so smoothly.

Living in a house off campus has been harder than I expected. I’m living with my roommate from last year and another girl I knew, but things have changed. Their boyfriend’s have become the center of each of their universes and I’m often stuck acting as a mom, a maid, or a fifth wheel in our house. While it has been a struggle for me to deal with, it is the soul reason I am enjoying my year that much more than last. This situation has forced me to branch out from my comfort zone that I developed last year and has taught me that different people value different things. What’s important is to make sure your actions are upholding your values, because if they are not then you won’t ever be happy.

School got harder as I began taking upper division classes, and for this quarter I had the not so brilliant idea to enroll in twenty units. Although I can handle the course load I signed myself up for, I had to quit my part-time job in order to keep up with my studies and extra-curricular activities and commitments. Nonetheless, I have never appreciated support so much in my entire life and have found that here at Cal Poly this year through all the new connections I have made.

My teachers have provided me with extra help in the classroom as well as with advice to help me accomplish my future endeavors (such as graduate school and maybe even a PhD.); my Panhellenic and Poly Reps advisors have been there to encourage me and give me motivation as adult figures in my life here in SLO; and my friends---whether they be from my WOW group or my own WOWies, sorority sisters, fellow board members or reps, former co-workers, or beloved peers from the dorms last year—have been there to hear me complain, make me laugh, and teach me to love the life I live.

After all, isn’t part of college the college experience what you learn outside of the classroom? Although I’ve learned that you can only expect the unexpected, I’ve also learned to appreciate what life brings me and to make the best of every situation… as well how to balance my life (meaning not to ever take twenty units in one quarter ever again) and try things you may have never thought you would like.

They may just turn out to be things that after you experience them you can’t imagine your life without.

Until next time, when I pour out a little less of my life story,

LB