Christmas Customs

The hanging of lights is a common holiday tradition.

In 16 days, many people will be home with their families opening presents and celebrating Christmas day. The town basically shuts down except for essential stores. Some people attend a church service and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The majority of Americans celebrate the secular holiday centered around the idea of Santa Clause and gift giving.

Christmas has become one of the biggest money making holidays for businesses. Businesses are capitalizing on the fact that everyone is going to be buying gifts. You will see stores having major sales and extended hours. This custom of giving gifts has completely changed the focus of the holiday.

Dream jobs, huh…

x

Work Hard, Play Hard

You’ll probably see these students at the library in 3 hours

It’s the Michigan motto, or so we say. In actuality, it’s the mentality virtually every college claims to have, whether it is Colgate University or MIT. The “work hard, play hard” lifestyle is clearly very prevalent in college and students should expect to do both in order to get the most out of their time here. From what I’ve seen, the experience of a typical U of M student is built on this understanding and falls in perfectly with Suits’ Death of the Grasshopper, as well as Giamatti’s  Take Time for Paradise.

Let’s Talk Turkey!

Guess what time it is! Thanksgiving Time!

The Classic “First Thanksgiving” Image doesn’t look too different from Thanksgiving now but there definitely is something different to it!

It is arguably the most American holiday -no religious ties, no prejudice, just plain old fun, food, and festivity. But what made it so popular? So widely accepted? So distinctively American? It is simply astounding how a simple harvest dinner in 1621 with the Pilgrims and Native Americans has become possibly the biggest national holiday. Although we’ve certainly deviated from the original Thanksgiving, who’s to say that these changes weren’t for the good, more practical side of things? The little changes we made in history gave us this festive holiday today, one might even go as far as to calling these changes as Burkean changes. But what is most interesting, is the social contract we make with national holidays “not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born” (Burke).

Mill and an Application

You always hear people praising individualism, but are there times when conformity is actually more beneficial?

Ross School of Business

As many high school seniors complete their college applications and many Michigan freshmen about to start applying to Ross, it seems a good time as ever to analyze the benefits of individualism and conforming respectfully. There are obvious advantages to being unique on your application, mainly being that you stand out to some degree, but there is a point where unique may do more harm than good. Read on to learn about the delicate balance of individualism and conformity that applications present.

A Theorists Guide at Surviving Holiday Travel

Airports are exhausting and disgusting. If you disagree with me, you either only fly private (in which case hello, I’m trying to hang) or you’re wrong. For those of you who qualify as the later, stop glorifying the experience because you enjoy the magic of being thrust through the air into the clouds like a bird. I’m all for reveling in the wonder that is flight, but you’re living in a state of delusion if you think that you can remain levelheaded and sane during your travels. Many aspects of flying relate to some political theorist in some way, from showing up to check-in, to grabbing your luggage at baggage claim, because after all, flying takes skill/cunning/strategy and sometimes when your plans don’t pan out, it’s because of the way the state of nature of the airport is. I wish it were as simple as tying one theorist to flying but this is real life and there’s no perfect theorist that will get you through the nightmare that is flying. So remember, the ends justify the means unless those means get you in trouble with TSA and you never even reach the end because you’ve landed yourself on the no fly list. So listen to the rants of a disillusioned flyer:

The Rise of Timbs and the Long Black Bubble Coat

A squirrel on campus finds a way to deal with the cold like a conformist; gaining winter weight.

The latest dumping of snow has definitely brought out the winter gear, including Timberlands and long black bubble coats. Every where I go, I see guys wearing the tan, leather, rugged outdoor boots known as Timberlands, or Timbs. I see women wearing long black bubble coats.  These are the latest trends, and while most people consider themselves individualists, as shown in the Lecture Tools activity on Tuesday, November 18, when the majority of college students dress alike, wearing Timbs and long black bubble coats, it actually classifies us as conformists.

Boy Meets Hockey

Hello Readers, here’s a candy-bar of a blog to help you get the shredded ideas from bizarre articles out of your mind. But since you’re not doing your mind any favors by loading up on junk like this, feel free to suck down some ideas from high-vitamin, astronaut blogs while you read on. Wait, there isn’t any gravity in space so I suppose you gotta suck it up and bear with me as I give my impression on the first hockey game I’ve ever seen or attended. (Also, I’ll stop using “Boy Meets World” quotes).

My First Hockey Ticket!

To be fair, the only sport I really follow is soccer. Unfortunately, football has games at better times and Everyone goes to experience the Michigan Difference. But what about the soccer difference? What about the hockey difference? Boy, when I walked into Yost Stadium for the first time, I didn’t even know how to get to the students section. But the setting wasn’t the only thing that was new for me. Walking into Yost to see my first hockey game ever was like walking into a whole new world with its own set of rules, customs, and manners! You’ve read this far, now come along for a story! (cue sit-com intro music)

Home Sweet Home

My home town!

With Thanksgiving coming up right around the corner, home has been on my mind a lot. I am an out-of-state student here at the University of Michigan. I am from Encinitas, California (which is considered to be in San Diego).

Before I go any farther: Yes, I realize I am far from “home”. And yes, I do know that it gets really cold here. I know that I am not ready for winter, and yes, I have been told multiple times that I will die during winter.

These are the first things that people from Michigan or the Midwest say to me when I mention I am from California. It was cute at first and made for a good conversation, but now, since I’ve been living here for a few months, it just annoys me.

Reflections on the state of modern sports

Edmund Burke’s reaction to the recent rule changes in sports today.

My news feed was covered in shared articles. It was like Kony 2012, but worse. What could have caused this massive influx of outraged teenagers? It could be none other than the recent NCAA changes to division I collegiate tennis; the fact that half of my facebook friends were tennis players had finally come back to haunt me. There had already been harsh reactions from many about the possibility of abolishing service lets about a year and a half ago, but additional new rules formed to speed up the play of matches have both high school, collegiate, and even professional players wondering what ridiculous rule changes are next. Now, I do not, nor will I ever, consider myself a conservative, but perhaps Burke was right in his reasoning in Reflections on the Revolution in France: change can be dangerous, leaving the institution it was trying to improve mutilated and almost unrecognizable.