Response to "Lukianoff On Free Speech"

While watching Greg Lukianoff's video on campus censorship, " Lukianoff on Free Speech," I was reminded of my attempts to create a pro-life student group during my first year of college. While most people supported our right as students to establish the group, there were those- including professors- who attempted to pressure us into dissolving the group. However, despite these attempts, the group members and I were familiar with our rights as students. We recognized that as long as we went through the appropriate channels in creating the group and stayed within the boundaries of the law, the law itself should defend our rights.

Today, campus censorship is a major problem among schools in our country and I am very concerned about this attempt at stifling the voices of students and their right to free speech.

First, I do not believe this practice of censoring speech is very characteristic of a place of true education. An establishment of education truly concerned with the education of it's students, should at least tolerate different cultures, beliefs, ideas and opinions. College is a place to explore and learn about the world and the people around us. It should be a place where we are encouraged to expand on our knowledge; not hide behind what we already know. I believe that when a college does not allow free speech on campus, it shows a lack of respect and desire for true education.

Also, to support freedom of speech does not have to mean supporting that which is being spoken. Even if a person does not agree with a certain belief being proposed, open dialogue and debate on the subject can be very beneficial for all involved. Not only will that person learn something of what others believe through this dialogue, but they will also come to a better understand of their own position and how to better defend their position.

And finally, I believe that a place of learning should not only be concerned with educating but also in defending the rights of students. As students and Americans, we have the right to free speech and we should defend this right everywhere and at all times. The moment that our right to speak what we believe is taken away, is the moment that every other right we enjoy as Americans will begin to deteriorate.

Our group eventually succeeded in becoming the first pro-life group on our campus. The group played a significant role in the overall educational mission of the school, sparking dialogue among everyone on campus.

My name is Aubrey Micah Long and as an American, student and activist for positive change in the world, I fully support the right to freedom of speech on college campuses.

Contact Information:
Aubrey Long 341
Cowpens-Clifton Rd.
Spartanburg, SC 29307
amicahlong@yahoo.com
864-398-1935
University of South Carolina, 2013

Living In the Present Moment

"O My God, when I look into the future I am frightened. But why plunge into the future? Only the present moment is precious to me,as the future may never enter my soul at all. It is no longer in my power to change, correct or add to the past. And so what the past has embraced, I must trust to God.

O present moment, you belong to me whole and entire. I desire to use you as best I can. And so, trusting in Your mercy, I walk through life like a little child offering you each day this heart burning with love for your greater glory."

-St. Faustina

Saturday, I was reminded to live in the present moment. This is where we will find God! It was so nice to be reminded too. After all, there is no use worrying over what is already past, or pining over what hasn't yet come. All we have been given is today. Let's live it! :)

Isn't It Beautiful? Isn't It Marvelous?

"The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
....For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given."

-Isaiah 9:2,6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beAXbgFP3Wg

My first Christmas as a Catholic. I couldn't think of a better gift than being able to receive Jesus in the Eucharist on Christmas morning!

Happy Christmas everyone! :)

" I Put Before You the One Great Thing...."

Lately, I have not been feeling very creative at all. Admitting this is sad.......I was actually trying to come up with a nice, creative way to introduce this post....but you know what?

Nice, creative introductions are overrated. So, here goes........

Ever since I first began to understand the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, ever since I went to Eucharistic Adoration for the first time, I have not been able to get over it! I mean, who could?! I guess there really isn't a point to this post, except to share with you just how excited I am about this...so read on if you like!

When I think of a perfect ending (or beginning for that matter) to a long, hard day, I imagine spending time with Jesus: sharing with Him my sorrows and joys, my hopes and dreams for the future, my fears. Everything. I imagine just being there with Him- in peacefulness and quiet, listening to what He has to say to me. How wonderful does that sound?! Sounds too good to be true, right? But it's not.

We can spend time with Jesus all we want in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament!

I can hardly believe Jesus would choose such a special way to remain here with us. But it's true. It wasn't just an empty promise when He said, " I'll be with you always. Even to the end of the age." He meant it! He will always be here with us - in a special way in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist! Five years ago this idea would have seemed foreign, or at least, unbelievable to me. But now, every time I drive past a Catholic church, I know that Jesus really is there. Waiting for me. He remains with us today and everyday in the Mass as our Saviour, in Holy Communion as our spiritual food and in the tabernacle as our friend. Oh how He loves us! :)

Mother Teresa said:

"When we look at the cross, we know how much Jesus loved us. When we look at the tabernacle, we know how much He loves us now."

If you still might be wondering "Why?" you should be spending time in Eucharistic adoration, I'll just leave you with two simple reasons:


- To Return His Love

Think of what Christ has done for us. Think of just how great His love is, that He would remain here with us in the Eucharist, even to the end of time. So much love He holds out to us! What do we do to return it? I'd think the least we could do would be to spend time with Him. In His Sacred Scripture, in prayer, and especially in adoration!


- To Draw spiritual strength, nourishment, encouragement from the love He offers us in the Eucharist

Imagine a full day of school in which you skipped breakfast, realized you left home without money for lunch, not to mention you only got three hours of sleep the night before. Since this sadly sounds very familiar, you can take my word for it when I say," It's not cool."
As humans, we don't get very far without proper nourishment for our bodies. We need this to live. Well, the same thing happens with our spiritual life. When you go pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, your soul receives the nourishment it needs to stay alive spiritually and to continue growing in the Lord.

So..........try going to adoration! If you already go, maybe you could go more often( I'm hoping to!)After all, it only makes sense that we would. When two people love each other, don't they spend as much time as they can with each other, getting to know each other better?

And Jesus is waiting for us there, in the Sacrament of Love:

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened. Come to me and I will give you rest."

So, How about returning some of that love this week in adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Words truly cannot describe the beauty of spending one hour(or more) with Our Lord in adoration. Go for it!

" I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament....

There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, the true way of all your loves upon earth."

J.R.R. Tolkien

Well, It's About Time......

I write. A lot. So, I think it's OK that I call myself a "writer". Keep in mind though, this does not mean that I am a talented writer by any means. I'm just a writer. And lately I have had a very depressing case of "writer's block." See, the only difference between a talented writer having writer's block and myself in that state: my dear readers,(whether real or just in my imagination...) unfortunately, could probably care less when I have this creative blockage. :]

However, even though I haven't been able to write anything worthwhile lately, my enthusiasm for observing the world around me has not been stifled(thankfully!).
The last couple weeks I have enjoyed noticing things that other people(people without writer's block) could very well have chosen to write about. Such as........

The sunrise.

I don't know if you are a morning person or not. I myself, really, REALLY love the idea of being a morning person.......If only I could drag my poor tired self out of bed early enough to call myself one. The other day I was actually forced to. All because one of my professors, who reminds me a lot of Satan( I am not making a joke) demanded we have a certain art material ready for the 8:00 AM Too Early design class. An art material I didn't have the night before class......So, I got up, got ready practically in the dark, made sure I was matching, slapped myself a couple times to make sure I was awake and slowly trudged to the car. Looking forward to a same ol', eyes half open type day.

But, that all changed as I stepped out of my car and into the parking lot of Home Depot.
The. sky. was. incredible. I just stood there in the middle of the parking lot, staring up at this amazing sight with a ridiculous looking smile on my face telling God "thank you" more than a few times. (I couldn't really blame the Home Depot guy for giving me a couple of strange looks....) I honestly didn't care if I looked crazy standing there like that. I was enjoying the most beautiful sunrise sky I had EVER seen! It was just like an ocean. Clouds as far as I could see, rising and falling in waves of radiant pink and early morning blue. Totally worth dragging myself out of bed way earlier than I usually do!

Think of how many things every day that we shrug off as "no big deal". Maybe it's because we've seen everyday things like a sunrise so many times, that we think we've seen them all.....
But just like the storybook clouds( I named them) dotting the sky I saw the other afternoon on the way to class, or that lonely, yellow leaf twirling down to the ground last week I saw on the way to NC- that beautiful sunrise was not just another sunrise. It is an incredibly amazing occurrence that not merely pointed, but shouted with glee the glory of it's Creator!

Be careful you don't lose your sense of wonder! :D

Wonder at storybook clouds and how the sun rises again every morning right on time. Wonder at the crispy,colorful leaves falling and the wonderful shapes the birds make as they fly together. Wonder at how the stars really do twinkle after all, the laugh of a little child and the sweetness of a strawberry ice cream waffle cone!

How about tomorrow, stop rushing just long enough to notice the little things in life. The little things that in reality, aren't so little after all. I guarantee you won't regret it. Who knows, along the way, you might even find that you're a morning person after all.

Excerpt from Jason Evert

Thanks to a friend over at "From Poems to Pinstripes", I found this really cool excerpt from Jason Evert, Catholic Answers chastity speaker. Enjoy! :)

"What is love? I used to think of it as a warm, fuzzy feeling. When you see her, the world seems beautiful, the birds are singing, and everything reminds you of her. Your heart races whenever she walks into the room.That is “being in love.” This spontaneous emotional reaction is a lot of fun, but we should not confuse these feelings with love itself.

Some people think that they can tell how long a relationship will last based upon how powerful the feelings of attraction are. They spend massive amounts of time trying to decide whether or not they are in love. What they are overlooking is the fact that love is a decision to do what is best for another person, even if one's attractions or emotions are not as intense as they were at the dawn of the relationship.

But it is not enough to want to do what is good for the other. We must form our minds according to the truth that God has revealed so that we know what is good for the other, and we are not just doing whatever feels good. Once we know what is good for the other, all that remains is to follow through and live out that love in our actions.Love does not “happen” to couples—it is something they do. It is a task. If the initial excitement of a relationship tapers off and we conclude from this that love is gone, we can be sure that love was never there to begin with. After all, if love is simply about having romantic feelings, how could a bride and groom promise each other that their marriage will last “until death do us part”? More likely it would last “until boredom do us part.” Therefore, you cannot determine the worth of a relationship by measuring the intensity of emotions.

Suppose you are married and your pregnant wife has food cravings. It is four in the morning, and she wants you to go to the grocery store to get her fudge brownie ice cream and pickle juice. You roll over and look at your bride, and she does not seem to be glowing the way she did on your wedding day. At four in the morning, your world is not looking beautiful and the singing birds have gone mute. But after kissing her fevered forehead, you walk out the door and drive to the store. Has love gone away? Actually, it is more real than ever.

So how do you know if you love a woman? Pope John Paul II has answered this question perfectly in saying that “the greater the feeling of responsibility for the [beloved] the more true love there is.”[1] The greatest example of this love is Christ. He alone perfectly reveals how to love a woman. If we ever need to know how to properly love a woman, all we need to do is look at a crucifix."

-If You Really Loved Me by Jason Evert

Gentlemen, Where Are All the Ladies?

OK, so what girl doesn't love Jane Austen romances? Included in
some of the best memories of growing up with five sisters,
is curling up together in the evenings, with plenty of popcorn and laughs, to watch Pride and Prejudice, Emma or some other Austen classic. There is still something so attractive to us today, in those old fashioned English romances. The balls with the beautiful dresses and the country dances, the romantic walks, hand written letters. Not to mention the gentlemen in Austen's novels. How many times have you heard sighed from a young lady," Why aren't there men like Mr. Darcy today?" I know I've heard it a few times.....And I think I might know the answer:

In order for there to be men like Mr. Darcy- or my favorite- Mr. Knightly, there have to first be women like Lizzy Bennett and Emma Woodhouse.

Think about it. As disappointing the lack of chivalry today can be, we can't blame it all on the guys. Look around you. Is our society actually encouraging men to be true gentlemen and young women to be true ladies, or is it pushing the the exact opposite?

As young women, are we encouraging or discouraging gentlemanly behaviour by our actions, speech, dress, etc....?

What are some ways we could encourage guys to be true gentlemen? *sidetrack* I'm thinking, just for a start......

-bring back femininity in dress.I know, I know, I wear jeans just like the next girl, nothing wrong with that. But every once in a while,be a girl and wear a dress. Please. Seriously, though, they do make us look a lot prettier :)

-Let your guy friends lead every now and then, instead of always trying to take charge and control the situation.

-Allow guys to show respect by opening doors, carrying boxes, etc....It's not a sign of weakness to embrace chivalry.Trust me.

-And maybe, every so often, randomly or not, let the gentlemen in your life know that you do appreciate them!

Just some thoughts.....Do you have any ideas to add on?

Do we embrace our God given roles as men and women, or are we trying to be just the same as one of the guys? (I'm thinking this is leading to another post...:) If we aren't being the young women we were created to be, then why do we expect guys to be the young men they were created to be?

Next time you hear mourning over the "fact" that there are no more Mr. Darcy's.......remember that in order for there to be gentlemen, there must first be ladies.

So, ladies, what do you think? What does being a "lady" mean to you? What are some ways that we could be more "ladylike"? How can we encourage the guys that we come in contact with to be Mr. Darcys? Please comment! I'd like to know what you think about it :)