Today, Broadway… tomorrow, the world.
So, I am back from my exciting debut on national television. Bob will be sending me pictures eventually, including some pretty cool ones – me standing in front of Times Square, me shaking hands with Diane Sawyer, Liza Dittoe (the film’s PR) with P Diddy (after telling him he smelled really nice), etc. And some unfortunate ones, as I think Bob took dozens of photos while I was having makeup put on – as though he doesn’t have enough influence on me already, now he has blackmail material.
If you missed it, here’s the link to the video.
I’d like to clarify one thing that some people have talked to me about – that my comment at the end was ‘dissing’ Purdue or being ’smartass’ or whatever. I was just being honest about the amount of effort it took me to get here – without studying or preparation, I took a test that lasted maybe two hours and ended up with a full tuition scholarship. If that’s not ‘without much effort’ on my side, than I don’t know what is. But I definitely am not insulting Purdue – I love this university, love the program I’m in, and am very proud and excited to be here. It’s just that I didn’t actually do much to get here.
We also did a radio interview that was broadcast over Good Morning America Now, their radio program that I believe is on XM radio. I haven’t looked for a link to that, but I might eventually. I believe that interview was actually a little longer, allowing us more time to expand upon our answers. I talked about how it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that we push sports harder than academics, because the community around schools (especially a school like Carmel) wants to see good sports teams more than it really cares about good academics teams. No one wants to spend a Friday night watching a Brain Game tournament, because let’s face it, that’d be boring. So the question is how we turn previously boring things (learning, the educational process, classes, etc) into things that actually interest students to the point where they are either interested in them or, at the very least, see the value of them.
On another note, I had about two hours to wander around Broadway after the show and before my flight, and I can honestly say I’d like to spend some time there later on. It’s such a vibrant, fast-paced environment – a definite change from the slow and relatively calm streets of Carmel. Scratch that, painfully calm streets of Carmel. So add that to the list of places I’d like to travel to and/or live in. (It’s a pretty long list at this point).
Yes We Can.
In all honesty, I have never been as motivated by a political character as I have been by Barack Obama. And honestly, I think you could say this of much of my generation. We have grown up with the same people playing the same roles – the faces change, but the names do not, and neither do the results. This is the first real opportunity we have to contribute something to our political landscape – this is where we have the unique opportunity to craft how the next few years, decades, whatever – will progress in this country. Whether we will continue to take steps backwards in both foreign policy and economic goals, or whether we will finally stand up and say that we can and will take back our country from those who only value their own interests and not those of the nation at whole.
If you haven’t seen it yet, this video is a powerful, inspirational reminder that we have the opportunity to make history.
After the primaries yesterday, Hillary and Bill Clinton donated $5 million of their own money into their campaign. Obama’s campaign asked donors to match those funds – showing that each individual one of us can truly make a difference. As I’m writing this one day later, they have raised over $5.6 million dollars from individuals across the country who are ready for change.
I’ve donated, and I plan on doing so again. I am by no means rich, but I would gladly donate my money so that we heal this nation and move forward into the future. Regardless of what you can spend, please join me. I’m ready for change. This nation is ready for change.
Anon vs. CoS
This is just an update to the last post. This is from a newspaper in California.
