Is Text Messaging Dangerous?

I wrote this blog as an assignment for my ISOM class, and I thought it would make for an interesting post on my real blog.

Texting has become a popular trend across the globe over the past few years. People of all ages are finding themselves consumed by text messaging. Constant texting can cause health issues, especially in the form of injury to the thumbs and fingers. Interestingly enough, it can also cause a ten-point drop in one’s I.Q. Pedtextrians, who walk and text at the same time, are in danger and risk their lives, especially when crossing streets. By far the most dangerous result of text messaging has been the drivers who mistakenly believe they can text while driving.



Driving while absorbed in another activity like eating or texting has been dubbed “distracted driving.” The U.S. Government saw how important the issue of distracted driving is and created a website: Distraction.gov

Oprah even created a campaign earlier this year in an effort to dissuade texting and driving called “No Phone Zone.” Through powerful episodes with personal stories, Oprah encouraged her viewers to sign a pledge to make their cars a No Phone Zone. Companies and even athletic coaches across the nation joined in the campaign. My high school’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) Club pledged over 100 students to the No Phone Zone cause.

College students especially have record texting statistics. According to a study done by the Media Literacy Clearinghouse, 18% of adults ages 18 to 24 text message more than 200 messages a day. It seems like, on campus at BSU especially, much of this texting is done while walking. We have an excessive number of “pedtextrians” here, and I’ll admit to being one of them.

Last week, I was pleased to see a group at the Scramble Light passing out flyers and recruiting students to sign a pledge to not drink and drive. What I would love to see though, is the same thing, but involving distracted driving. To me, this would encompass drunk driving and texting while driving, not to mention all the other distractions to which we succumb.

The best way to cope with the potential dangers of texting, of course, is to avoid text messaging. This is not really a feasible solution in today’s society though. So another resolution is to decide to make the car a No Phone Zone, like in Oprah’s campaign. To avoid the pedtextrian dangers, simply wait to reply to text messages until standing still. Then put the phone away while walking. This is something even I, myself, need to put into practice everyday.

It is all a matter of concern for personal safety and the safety of others.

The Amazing Taste

Last week, Ball State Dining, the Rinker Center for International Programs, the Multicultural Center, and University Program Board sponsored a program called “The Amazing Taste.” It was basically an international food festival. There were tents all over the lawn in front of my dorm. Each one was for a different continent and held so many options for food! They had belly dancers, henna tattoos, and Bocce ball too. They even had camels there! That’s why I have an awesome picture of me with a camel – yes, it’s real.

Capture Life

“John was a lamp that gave off brilliant light. For a time you enjoyed the pleasure of his light.” John 5:35

John was my next door neighbor in my hometown. At 16, he was killed by a drunk driver. That event changed my life. I would go on to help found my high school’s chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) to make a difference in the lives of my classmates. His family had green bracelets made that read “Capture Life” because one of John’s hobbies was photography. He was an incredible young man. John’s death inspired me to “capture life” the way he did.

It’s been four years today since the world lost John. I find it hard to imagine that I have lived 3 years longer than he had the chance to. But I’m finding myself approaching the college experience in a different way than I might have if it hadn’t been for him. I never wanted to try alcohol in high school, nor do I want to today. I believe that life is better when you are in control. I think there’s a lesson to be learned here. Drinking underage and especially driving drunk just are not worth the consequences.

College poses challenges every day, particularly in making the right decisions. It would be so easy to choose to go out and party all night on the weekends. But why make those kinds of choices when there are so many other ways to have fun on campus, without alcohol? Trust me, my friends and I don’t need drugs or alcohol to enjoy ourselves!

Each day, I am choosing to not only live my life, but to “Capture Life.”

Midterms are here...

It’s hard to believe it’s time for midterms already, even though I really don’t have any exams (just a paper to write). So, I thought it would be a good time to write about my classes this semester.

Honors 201 – Humanities – Inquiries in the Ancient World: This class is a LOT of reading. Most of what we’ve done so far has to do with the Greeks. You know, Plato and Aristotle – those kinds of guys. The thing about honors classes though, is that most of the class time is spent in discussion. Instead of a 50-minute lecture, we get to toss around ideas and hear what our classmates have to say. Much more interesting, I think.

Honors 100: This is basically a “Welcome to College” class. It’s one credit hour (as opposed to the usual three) and meets once a week. We have a student mentor who leads the course and basically shares important and interesting things with us. One week, we visited the Art Museum. Another, we had a guest speaker who talked about scholarships with us. My favorite was our trip to a coffee shop in The Village. This is a good chance to ask any questions you have and get to know campus better.

Honors 199 – Social Sciences – Inquiries in Contemporary American Civilization: This class complements my other honors course quite well. There is no reading and only occasional journals and projects. Our class time has been spent discussing popular trends from the last couple hundred years. My favorite topics have been TV shows, toys, and communication.

French 301 – Conversation: I tested into the 300 level of French classes. I was really hoping for this, but I was nervous about taking such a high level course. My French skills in writing are much better than my speaking skills. But I know that a conversation class will be really helpful for me. It’s not been nearly as bad as I had feared. In fact, this is one of my favorite classes. I already feel like I have improved and am looking forward to the rest of the semester. Plus, I’m that much closer to having a French minor!

Dance 100 – Dance History: This class fills my Fine Arts requirement. Besides, I love dance so it’s not much of an inconvenience. There is so much to learn about the history of dance! It’s been a really interesting class. We even danced the Virginia Reel one day!

ISOM 135 – Information Systems & Operations Management: ISOM is part of my core business requirements. It is basically about the relationship between technology and business. I really like our professor (she and I have the same birthday!). The material isn’t all that interesting, but I know it will be important in my future business courses.

Finance 101 – Personal Finance: This is also one of my BSU core requirements. Every student must take a personal finance course. This class meets once a week and is one credit hour. Basically, it’s a lecture class and it’s up to you to read the material. I scored a 98% on my first test last week!

So there you have it. The first half of my first semester at BSU is already finished!

Barn Bash 2010!

I just joined CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) a couple weeks ago. I started going to my floor’s Bible study group and really enjoyed it. The girls that lead it do a really great job and I loved how welcoming they were, even though I joined about a month into school. Eventually, I made it to one of CRU’s weekly meetings and was so impressed! It seems like such a great group of people, who all share the same love of Christ.

So, this past Friday night, CRU hosted one of their (annual?) events: the Barn Bash! The minute I heard about it, I called Mom and told her to bring my cowgirl boots and hat when they were in town. So we got all dressed up and drove out to somebody’s barn about 15 minutes out of town. They literally had a dance in a barn – it was great!

There was dancing (Hoedown Throwdown was a MUST), a bonfire, hot apple cider, a pie eating contest, s’mores, a costume contest, and more. It was a really great night!

One of the girls from my Bible study took this picture:

Swing Dancing

One of the first clubs I joined when I came to Ball State was the Swing Society. My roommate, Becca, learned swing with her friends at home and told me I should give it a try. With my love of dance, I thought why not?

So we went to the call out meeting the first week, learned a few moves, and turns out I love swing dancing! The basic steps are simple and easy to pick up. It’s such a fun, social style of dancing. I’ve been going to lessons every week since!

My favorite part about swing club is the Friday night dances at Fountain Square. It’s in a historic part of downtown Indianapolis in an old theater building that’s been converted for receptions and parties. Every other Friday night they have swing lessons and then dancing for three hours. There is even a LIVE band!



The first time we went, the band was the Ball State Jazz Band and they did a fantastic job. The whole place was filled with Cardinals! This last time, we took some of Becca’s friends along with us and they had a great time. It’s fun to share such a cool place with our friends.

Swing dancing has become my favorite thing to do in the evenings. Becca and I look forward to Mondays and (every other) Friday now; we call these our “bookend days” for the week!

Deciding DeHority

When I chose to go to Ball State, one of the first things that came to mind was where I would be living.  That had been a major part of my decision to come here.  During campus tours, they showed us a residence hall and a sample dorm room.  Since I would be part of the Honors College though, I knew I would be living in DeHority.  This dorm is only two years old and has some of the nicest features on campus.  It’s almost like living in a hotel!  My favorite part is the semi-private bathroom that my roommate and I share with 6 other people.  It’s so much nicer than a community bathroom in other residence halls!



Anyway, I got to see where I would be living before I chose where I would attend.  The dorms at other schools I had been looking at were not going to be nearly as nice as DeHo (campus shorthand for DeHority), and I realized that making my home-away-from-home at Ball State was going to be the best choice.

Once I applied and was accepted, my next concern (besides how to pay for it) was who my roommate would be!  One of the awesome features Ball State has for students living on campus is the Roommate Search program.  All you do is type in the username and password sent to you in your housing contract, set up your profile, and start looking for your perfect roomie!  You can match up interests, whether you’re both in Honors College, whether you prefer a non-smoker for a roommate, what times you like to get up, and even what kinds of music you listen to!

I found so many different girls who had similar interests as me.  One liked to dance and would be majoring in dance, another loved NCIS, and still another spoke French.  But the one I chose to be my roomie is named Becca.  We’re both in Honors College, neither of us smokes or drinks, and we have similar book, music, and TV interests.  Becca also loves swing dancing, which was new for me, but something fun we could definitely share at Ball State.  Before long, we sent in our requests and officially became roommates!

We met for the first time on Move-In Day and have become great friends already.  I’m so lucky to have been able to use the Roommate Search to find an awesome girl to live with this year.