The Little Things

I haven't posted anything on here in quite some time, and when I did I mostly used it for school purposes. I'm back at it though. I was reading one of my friends Jessica Eckerle's blog and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I thought I should get back in the game. If you haven't checked out her blog, go do it! It's called the Eck's Factor. What a name as well. I do enjoy expressing my thoughts (as those close to me know), so this might be a nice thing for me to do.

As some of you might know, yesterday was my birthday. It puts me just a year away from the illustrious 21. 21 seems to be the age for just about everything else I'm not old enough for yet, so I'm excited for that. I also realized I've been on the Earth for two decades... Goodness gracious. The main thing that I noticed on this day was how awesome the people in my life are. So many people in my life found a way to wish me a happy birthday and make it good day for myself. I had many people call me before my birthday even started and on the day, everybody I saw at school knew it was my birthday and said something or posted something on my wall or twitter. I love all the people in my life. The great people at my internship even got me cupcakes, and my roommate took me to get some Chipotle.

These are all good things, and I love the little things in life. I am surrounded by some pretty phenomenal people. That's about all I have for now; I should probably get a little more studying done for finals.

All the best,
Nic

Five

By: Nic Yonter

Five. That is the number of Louisville’s fallen player, Kevin Ware.

To set the record straight, I am not a Louisville fan. I respect Rick Pitino, I respect his team this year and their current 33-5 record, but I am not a fan. Watching their game against Duke moved me though. It moved me because of how cohesive of a unit that Pitino has created.

Let me take you through what I saw. I was watching this highly contested game, the camera switched to Tyler Thornton squinting his eyes. I honestly thought Thornton had lost a contact. Then the camera switched to Peyton Siva, Wayne Blackshear, and Chane Behanan on the floor. The game was still going on, but these three players from Louisville were on the floor, crying their eyes out. That’s when I noticed Ware on the ground. Then I saw the replay.

This was by far the most gruesome and heart-wrenching injury I have ever witnessed. Of course, I haven’t been around this world that long, but I’ve watched a lot of sports. As Ware came down from attempting to block Thornton’s shot he landed on his right leg. And it snapped. It snapped like when breaking raw pasta. It was painful to watch. If you haven’t seen it, YouTube it. It’s gone viral.

When I saw Siva, Blackshear, and Behanan joined by Russ Smith crying hysterically I felt a tear in my eye. When I saw Coach Pitino walk away from the huddle to wipe away a tear, that tear fell. I don’t cry, but if there isn’t any emotion in a moment like this, I don’t know when you would have emotion. At this moment I knew Louisville was going to win the game. The pain and agony on the faces of his teammates showed how much he meant to the team. I found out later that Ware’s only words were to win the game. In that moment he was thinking of his teammates and not himself. That’s one hell of a guy.

After the game, Siva was asked about Ware’s condition. Siva said that Ware told them to win the game. Siva said they had to get him home. To the Final Four in Atlanta, Georgia.

Five. That is the number of Louisville’s fallen player, Kevin Ware. It is also the number of losses Louisville wants to end the season with. 35-5. National champions. In Atlanta. For Kevin Ware.

Avila University Teaches You How To Sled

By: Nic Yonter

One Day On Earth

By: Nic Yonter

Feels Like The First Time

By: Nic Yonter

Every four years a large event happens in the Unites States of America. No, it’s not the Summer or Winter Olympics or even the World Cup, it is the election. More and more people seem to be participating in the elections, which is a good thing for the voice of the people.

An exciting time for young people is to become a part of that voice. Scouring the globe for new voting members, the task seemed not to be too difficult, especially on a college campus. The enthusiasm was high in the three people who shared their experiences with voting for the very first time. They seemed to be educated on the politics much more than even some people who are much more seasoned at the voting game. Something that was new for returning voters and first-time voters was the new technologies.
These new technologies are making the voting process easier. At many voting polls there are now touchscreens to cast your votes. This helped with the time people had to stand in line to vote. The high amount of people still made it where it took a while to get in and vote, but the new touchscreens sped up the process and there are sure to be even more new ideas to speed up the next election.
Barack Obama must be a fan of the new voting method, as he is returning to office for his second term. Obama’s win margin ended up being a blowout. According to CNN, he won on the Electoral College, 332-206. The popular vote was much closer as Obama won that one 51%-48%. The actual votes counted for each candidate was 62,284,362 for Obama and 58,906,319 for Romney.

Make A Difference Day

 

By: Nic Yonter

 

 

 

Coming Out On Top At Casino Night

By: Nic Yonter

The chips of a Avila student on Casino Night

            Any frequent casino goer will tell you that if you don’t lose any money, you have had a successful night. For many Avila Students, this was the case on the night of Oct. 25.

            This event was sponsored by GAP and had the theme of zombies. It was held in the Whitfield Conference Room and there was a general feeling of being at a casino. The beauty of the night was that all of the chips were free and you could buy back in for most of the night.

            Many tables were set up for students to try their luck with. There were blackjack tables, Texas Hold ‘em tables, and a roulette table. The dealers kept the feeling of being at a real table and almost all students came out on top. The correlation between the chips and the prizes that were handed out at the end of the night was that $1000 was equal to one ticket. The students could place their tickets in various buckets for the raffle.

            In addition to the tables, there was a place to enter where you would stand inside while paper would fly around and you would try to retrieve as much as possible. Each slip of paper had a different value. Most pieces were worth one and some were labeled five. There were even a couple that had the value of 25; these were pieces of gold for those participating. Those values translated to the amount of tickets you could get for the raffle.

            The raffle was a big spectators event that was held at the conclusion of the night. There were many chances for prizes for those that had tickets to put in. Some of the prizes were gift cards to places like Applebee’s, Subway, IHOP, iTunes, and there was a raffle for cold hard cash. Then the raffle moved on to buckets that had a collector’s edition of various movies that had the theme of Halloween. There were also two baskets of things for the shower, for men and women. Lastly, the big prizes included a GPS, a microwave, and a Wii remote.

            Students also had the luxury of food being provided. There were chicken nuggets, chips and dip, apple with caramel, and a vegetable tray for those that wanted to eat healthy. The night seemed to be a success and the Avila students had the opportunity to be social while learning how to play casino games that may be usual later on in life.