The three most important books on my bookshelf are Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, written by Stephenie Meyer. These three books hold the stories that can keep me interested for hours. All I need is one of these books, a comfy chair and a plushy pillow. They are a series of three, and hopefully more to come, and are all about vampires and their interactions with humans. Or more distinct they are about a guy vampire, Edward, that falls in love a human named Bella.
In the book Twilight Bella is a 17-year-old girl that has moved to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. This new world of green and darkness is nothing Bella has ever experienced before. As she starts her first day at school she is immediately attracted to this guy she later learns is named Edward Cullen. Little does she know that he is a vampire and lives Forks with the rest of his vampire family. The entire book is about their first year together, how they fell in love, and how Bella always seems to be putting herself in troubles way.
In the book New Moon is a continuation of Bella and Edward’s love story. This one starts out with an action that makes Edward and his family move away form Forks so they can protect Bella. Bella is incredible crushed and goes and finds friendship with a boy, Jacob, from the reservation. As the two become friends it is obvious that Jacob has fallen for Bella. Little does she know that he is a werewolf, and the only reason that is, is because Edward’s family moved to Forks. As he starts to make his feelings clear to Bella, Bella goes of in search of Edward, she has learned that he is going to find a way to kill himself, due to some miscommunication that Bella was dead. At the end Bella and Edward are back together, and Jacob is by himself looking at their perfect relationship.
In Eclipse Bella and Edward are still together and Bella has decided that she wants Edward to make her a vampire so that they can always be together. Edward says the only way that he will make her one is if they get married. As the couple is going through this dilemma Jacob tries to get in the relationship and attempts to take Bella away from Edward. Soon the group of three has more to worry about since there is an army of vampires marching on Forks. As they all come together to fight Bella realizes that she cannot live without Edward but she will always love Jacob.
Although these are quick summaries about the books they are amazing! The first chapter catches your attention and the only time that you put down a book is to pick the next on up.

Nebraska vs. Ball State
Imagine being surrounded by 83,000 people. You have no room to stretch and you certainly have had your personal bubble invaded into, and have seen more people cheer together then ever before. Welcome to a Nebraska Cornhusker football game, and this is under normal circumstances, over 286 games have been sold out consecutively since 1964. The only reason that the Nebraska Cornhuskers are as popular as they are is because of the ever-devoted fans.
As soon as I saw the monstrous stadium, Memorial Stadium, home to the Huskers I knew that my day was going to be filled with excitement. The stadium is so massive that it took me a good long while to walk around. At every main entrance there is a copper statue representing a past time in football. The front of the stadium, in a way, looks like the Roman Coliseum during the Roman era. My first goal when I arrived was to find my gate. At last I found gate twelve. As I waked up the numerous steps to the entrance doors I could already hear the defining roar of the crowd and the musical lyrics of the band. The band was in their finishing notes of the husker fight song, “There is no Place like Nebraska”, since the huskers had just scored a touchdown, you could hear the fans screaming at the top of their lungs their gladness and surprise at the early touchdown. The stadium was echoing noise, such as a rock concert. As I walked up the causeway of section 33 I got my first glimpse of the “sea of red”. The “sea of red” is quite a sight to see, in my own words it was “breath taking”. Almost every person in the stands was wearing the color red in support of the Husker team. The red shirts that were being worn was one thing that connected all the fans in that moment of time, we had all become friends. Even if by chance the Huskers lost the game the person right next to you, that had endured the entire game with you, wearing that loved color of red is your friend. The two of you have a shared a bond that can be shared only by the dedicated Husker fans.
Over 83,000 people were here to see the same game that I was and although they had had more experience then I have in this subject matter I knew it was just as special to all of them as it was to me. Now it was up to me to find my seat. As I turned around I was met with the voices and faces of thousands of screaming people. Wow what an intimidating moment of my life. As I stared to climb the abundant amount of solid concrete steps, up to row 50 I saw nothing really out of the ordinary except for a few obnoxiously large corn on the cob hats, aka cornheads. I had to do a double take the first time that I noticed them. They are literally a yellow, plastic, corn on the cob lying down on you head. They are even detailed enough to see the abundant amount of kernels on the top. That’s a thing to tell the people back home about. Soon my legs grew tired, from all the stairs but they still looked like they reached to the sky above. I was glad when I reached row 50...ahh now to find my seat, number 16. Okay so, it is in the middle, great, now I have to step over people and duck as they are swinging their mad arms about to show their support for the team. I had this constant motion of saying “sorry” and ducking and dodging and a few “excuse me’s” till I could finally sit down. It reminded me strongly of dodging thousands of people on the streets of New York. Too bad it’s a hard cold bench that reminds me of a harsh welcome to a start of a new day. But the fact that it was uncomfortable did not really phase me because I was at a Nebraska Cornhusker game.
The first thing that came to mind when I sat down was the closeness of all the people around me. I had barley any foot space and could not turn 10 degrees to the right or left. I was literally boxed in by walls of people. I was thankful at that moment that I am not claustrophobic. Although we were outside in a very large stadium it was very cramped seating. Unfortunately every time that something exciting happened the “walls” got closer and I was reminded of those padded rooms that they put crazy people in, for a moment. For the first few minutes all I could do stare in awe at what was right in front of me. The first thing that caught my attention was the field. It was a 100 yards of green turf, greenness that reminded me of winter rye in Arizona. The next thing that caught my attention was the twenty-two football players running around on the field. Of course the most important part of the twenty-two players on the field is the brown ball, that is shaped like “Hey Arnold’s" head that is at times flying through the air.
Soon I finally snapped back to reality when a touchdown was scored. I was waiting to hear the band to play, the ever-loved fight song, but unfortunately Ball State had scored a touchdown, we had a heated score of seven to seven. The crowd went wild. All around me people were cursing and pointing at the field. The man next to me kept screaming “What the hell was that?” “Are you blind!” “Come on guys get it together!” All the while he was saying this his face got brighter and brighter till, I’m sure of it, his face matched to color red of his shirt. All I wanted to do was tell him to breath. While disappointment was being spread about the Husker fans Ball State fans were secretly cheering inside, not wanting themselves to be known around all the Husker fans.
By now the game has started to pick up along with the weather. The breeze that, during the first quarter, chilled me had now turned into full-fledged sun, and it was the kind of sun that I knew would cause me trouble the next day. So I decided to roll up my sleeves and wait to get burned, I could already feel the sun baking away at my skin. As the sun scored my skin Ball State had managed to score a field goal. The score that had once been seven to seven was now ten to seven. Again the fans started to shout out obscenities at the team, “Come on huskers!” “Are your eyes even open?” “Did you really let that happen!” The man behind me even threw something that bounced off a women’s head a few rows down. Immediately I remembered the time in “Dodgeball” when the boy got hit in the face with a wrench.
As the crowd became rowdier I began to notice the cheerleaders, who were dressed in red and white, and Scarlet Dance Team, dressed in red, white and black. These two elements of the game were actually very important on the effect of the game. The cheerleaders were constantly cheering at the crowd, to get up the emotion of the fans, and the Scarlets were dancing along to the music that the band was playing. Every so often they would switch places on the sidelines, it seemed like they did this at the beginning of every quarter. As I looked down to see how much room I could spare to stretch my legs Nebraska scored another touchdown. Each and every Husker fan stood up and chanted to the fight song “Go Big Red” over and over again. Also while the band was playing a man was running across the end zone waving, one of the biggest Nebraska Cornhusker’s flag I have ever seen. He ran across twice, while showing so much enthusiasm I was afraid that he might trip. Every step that he took gave the fans more spirit to believe that the Huskers would win. When the band was done playing the fans started to shout out congratulations to the team, “Way to go guys!” “That’s what I like to see!” “Lets keep it up HUSKERS!” The scoreboard looked better with the yellow lights shinning 14 for Nebraska and 10 for Ball State. As the buzzer went off, signaling the end of the second quarter, the beginning of half time excitement seemed to roll over me. I couldn’t wait to see the Nebraska Cornhusker marching band perform.
As the band got in to their first positions, I got goose bumps. Goose bumps of remembrance of my high school marching band and how much fun it was to watch them take the field and perform all decked out in their. The band was decked out in; red pants with white stripes, and white jackets with red sleeves, their dinkels (shoes) and gloves were white. They made a stunning picture on the field, every line was straight and every person still. As the band began to play and perform disappointment seemed to wash over me. The performance was not giving me as much excitement as I had anticipated. Although at the end of the show when the band spelled out H-U-S-K-E-R-S and played the fight song I saw that it affected the fans. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch and as the last note rang out the fans in red cheered as loud as they could for the band that gives each and everyone a sense of excitement at the games. My attention was then drawn to all the people that were eating. I noticed for the first time that I had not eaten breakfast that day, and I was starving. Of course the people around me were not sharing this pain because they were eating delicious pizza and hotdogs. Even though the food looked like it had been cooked hours upon hours earlier it filled the stadium with a mixed aroma of stadium food. Food that no matter what the score was, was always delicious.
Time just flew by and soon it was down to the last few tense minutes of the game, the score was 41 to 40 Nebraska. Everyone was on edge as Ball State attempted to score a field goal. Everyone in the stadium was standing up on their cramped legs leaning forward in anticipation for the end of the game. Then it happened…the final buzzer went off and we had WON!
The day was a success I had had the experience of a husker game. I heard and felt the deafening roar of the crowd. I smelled the sweet smell of food that was only delicious at games husker games. I saw the love and excitement that husker fans have for their team. I had experienced the heart of Nebraska, while I had become one of the dedicated Cornhusker fans of Nebraska.

There are more then just a few things that are creepy about this video. The first being the music and the black screen. The video clip is putting you in the sense of unexpectedness. It sets the mood of despair and the telling of a sad and historical story. As the white words come up on the black screen the harshness of the two different tones vibrate the screen. It even makes the clip creepier. It also lets the viewers know that this is to be taken seriously and was put in place as a learning and informational experience. As you read the words flashing across the screen you realize, if you have not already, that you are about to see, a remake of, the assignation of the 16th president of the United States, President Abraham Lincoln.
As Lincoln, his wife, and friends sit in the viewing box, the music, of the clip, begins to soften. Not too much to the extent that you should not prepare for the inevitable that you know it too come in just a few seconds, but just enough to relax you. The first thing that I noticed was how happy Lincoln and his wife looks. You see the love that they have for each other when he takes her hand in his. He had just won the election to have a second term in office and just wanted a night to relax. One night of relaxation that he had not had in years, due to the civil war. They all look so happy that you could not possibly think that something is going to happen.
It is in the moment when you see the man behind Lincoln that it is going to happen and that all hope is lost in the matter. After Lincoln is shot all panic breaks loose, except not in the music. The music almost remains calm. It’s like it, the music, knows that he is dead, or will be soon and there is nothing anyone can do. Although you still feel panic coming off the screen when you see Lincoln’s wife loosing it. Her entire world was just shattered, as was the country’s. But as the music lead to perceive life must go on even if there is great loss in the world. We are in constant motion.

The campus at UNL is one place in Lincoln, NE where you can see what Lincoln has to offer to the public. Right when you walk on campus (especially early on a Saturday morning) you notice that it is really quiet and clean. But if you were to go there on a school day you would get a whole other perspective. The sidewalks are clogged and everything is congested. The early Saturday morning time is my favorite. You can smell all the restraunts in the surrounding area start to cook their daily specials, and get ready to open to the public. You can also smell the fresh cut grass of all the practice fields. As I was walking around I heard quite a few noises cut through the quiet noises of the campus. The fountain in the middle of the main courtyard was one of the best things on campus. I enjoyed how the noise of the splashing water made the campus seem calm and homey. One of the more distinct noises on the UNL campus was the road noise. Many times a day big tractor-trailers drive down the four lane road that divides the campus boundaries.
As I kept walking around on campus I saw some of the dorms that the students live in. As I sat in the courtyard outside of Harper dorm I noticed how clean the campus was. I never saw a piece of trash anywhere. I also noticed that there was plenty of seating all along the sidewalks on campus. You could pop a squat anywhere.
The best part that I loved about UNL was the stadium and practice fields. They were just massive and so well kept up. I was in awe at that. But then I had to remind myself that this is Nebraska and well they do love their football more then the residents of Arizona do.
At the end of the day even though I did really enjoy UNL’s campus I would never go there if I had a chance to go to Wesleyan. It’s home now.

One place that has caught my interest while living here in Nebraska is the local grocery store, Hy-Vee. When I first walked in to Hy-Vee I had no idea what to expect…I mean this is a grocery store in a state that is pretty much full of cornfields, so of course I was expecting to see corn memorabilia but unfortunately my eye was not attracted to any. I did see plenty of Cornhusker memorabilia, which was kind of strange because I have never been introduced to a grocery store that sells football items before. The Hy-Vee employees were also all dressed in red and white to show their love and devotion for the team. All of the grocery stores back in Arizona would have frowned heavily on this and would have requested that they put on their uniforms.
I liked atmosphere that Hy-Vee gave off. I was very contented with the selection of food that was offered. It was very clean and quiet, no crazy kids screaming for their mom to buy them cookies. One thing that I really felt comfortable about with Hy-Vee was that they don’t have the card thingy that you have to have to participate in all the sales. It delighted me that I did not have to sign up for one more card that would save me a few dollars on groceries. I also felt very at home (in a grocery store kind of way) because every section of different types of groceries were displayed like how they were at home, and for that one moment I was back in Arizona shopping at my one of my local grocery stores.
The last and most important thing about my new found love for Hy-Vee was the service that I received. I was greeted in the way in and on the way out. I was constantly asked if I needed help finding something. All I can say at the end of my day is that, Hy-Vee will be getting my business in the future.