A Blog on McConnell Center Life

 By Yelena Bagdasaryan   This past year of college has been a whirlwind of events with so many fortunate things happening to me and I have never felt more at peace despite the hectic nature of my schedule. However, sometimes I like to have slow days where I can focus on my thoughts and truly appreciate the city, campus, and world that I live in. And one of my favorite places this past year would have to be the Speed Art Museum. I had never been there my entire freshmen year even though I had lived just across the street from where it was, so I made it my goal to go this past summer, and I realized it is one of my favorite museums I have ever been to. You would not think that in plain sight that such a gem would exist on our campus, but it is one of the most lovely museums to walk through with a tremendous variety of artwork. One day during the semester, I was very overwhelmed with midterms coming up and everything else that occurs in life, so I impulsively decided to go to the...

 By Sawyer Depp   (Well, I began this piece prior to Sunday’s Super Bowl loss. Admittedly, I thought about just trashing it and forgetting about it entirely, but I feel that there is something important about this playoff run. So, even though it is bittersweet, I decided to keep it.) Thirty-one years. Thirty-one years of pain. I haven’t even lived thirty-one years, but I sure have felt their pain in my twenty. A few fumbles, a lot of interceptions, a broken finger and blown leads have been the only highlights for Bengals fans over the years. Year after year, every fan repeated the same old memo, “Oh, that’s just the Bungles.” Of course, it was just the Bungles. From one red rocket to the next, year after year, week after week, just brought more disappointment. It became a running joke that Marvin Lewis just couldn’t get it done. He just couldn’t win a playoff game. We wouldn’t make moves in free agency. Mike Brown was too cheap for that. When the draft came around, we picked u...

By Paighton Brooks  For my blog this semester I wanted to pay homage to Black History Month and the importance of observing this month. Black History has for too long been cast aside and written out of the textbooks. Black History is American History, and it is important to educate ourselves every month and not just in February. When Black History Month comes to mind, we instantly think of slavery, Jim Crow, and the figureheads of the Civil Rights movement such as Dr. Martin Luther King. While it is important to know these aspects of history, there are also other stories and pieces of history that haven’t been told. It is in the stories of unknown heroes and sheroes like my grandparents that bring to light how historical touchpoints manifested in the lives of everyday people.  My grandparents’ stories are good examples. My grandfather (Pawpaw) Larry Scott was born in 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio and grew up in primarily African American communities. He was in the service during Vi...

 By Jacob Banta   There once was a kingdom called Nede. In that kingdom lay a field at the base of a mountain shared by two farmers, Labour and Toil. Now like any farmer these two were about the business of tending crops. For generations their two families prospered in this field and got right along. Now some readers might think the families might get to bickering over the land when unfavourable crop seasons come. Well perhaps some unfortunate readers come from such a miserable land, but in Nede there are no such unfortunate conditions at present. In fact as far back as any Nedian historian can remember no calamity has befallen its farmers. Quite frankly there is no such term for ‘drought’ in the Nedian vocabulary as some might render it. Both Labour and Toil found themselves in quite a splendid and peaceful life. Now one morning Labour went out to tend to his field and came upon quite an odd sight. Toil was striking some sort of stick on the creek's edge that separated the tw...

 By Emily Bevins   Whenever I ever need a pick-me-up, the movie “10 Things I Hate About You” is my immediate go-to. It’s got everything I could possibly need—an impromptu song and dance number, a cute paintball date, and 1990s nostalgia. With Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles giving it their all, it’s easy to forget that the rom-com is actually a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew.” The movie’s title comes from a scene at the end where Julia Stiles’ character reads a poem about how much she hates Heath Ledger with the twist that she hates most that she doesn’t hate him at all. It’s always bugged me that the poem she recites isn’t written as a Shakespearean sonnet. So, I fixed that. Reasons to Hate Adonis I hate the way your emerald eyes shine, And how they bend my will to their desire. A speck mocks me saying, “You are not mine.” And still, one glance adorns my heart in fire. I hate the way you give off warmth like its Your right to be my Sun. I did not know T...

 By Katie Hayden  Most who know me would agree that I am a very goal-oriented individual. I tend to set overly ambitious goals for myself and challenge myself to achieve them, regardless of how crazy they may be. As I turned the page at the beginning of this year, I thought hard on goals I wished to accomplish throughout the New Year. As I racked my brain for the best and brightest ideas I could come up with, I realized that one thing I really wish to improve on is quite simple‒sharing more gratitude.  I have an awful habit of being so on-the-go that I forget to thank those around me for all they do to help me daily. I get so caught up in busy culture that it can be challenging to take even one moment to be grateful for things going on throughout my day. This year, I wanted to make a conscious effort to switch this up by starting a gratitude journal. Journaling has encouraged me to take a deeper look into things I am grateful for rather than superficial things that come t...

 By Mary Catherine Medley  As I’ve grown older and have developed my own opinions, ideas, and values, I have come to understand that there is not much that my father and I agree on. However, one thing that we never fail to see eye-to-eye on is our taste in music. You see, I was raised on the most exceptional music, largely due to the influence of my dad. Truly, some of my fondest memories from my childhood were spent sitting in front of our clunky, old television watching a DVD of AC/DC’s The Razor’s Edge album music videos. Dad would always be sure to play “Haircut”, my favorite video, as my sister and I danced around the living room, shaking our heads like Angus Young until our necks were sore. He would show us his old KISS albums, and we would admire the glamour of all their eccentric makeup and outfits. We would even play in my parents' old KISS costumes from the 90s, sticking our tongues out like Gene Simmons (who most 5-year-olds would most likely be terrified of). He i...