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Juggling two worlds. Student Perspective Blog

NEJI YILPET | STAFF WRITER

The phone kept ringing—no response. On the fifth try, I almost stopped.

In my head over and over, I said ‘Please, I need to hear his voice. Jesus, please”.

I lost track of how many times I redialed the number. Finally, a groggily voice met me on the other end of the line.

“Hello? Hello?” my brother answered, partly asleep.

“It is me, Nenji. Can you hear me? Baby, I heard people were killed today. Are you okay?” I anxiously asked.

“Yeah, it was bad, but we are okay…” he responded. He was barely coherent, so our conversation was brief.

For that moment, I received what I needed—confirmation of my family’s safety. Still, I could not focus on studying for my mid-terms and completing my papers.

It was Sunday evening, March 7^th.  While I sat in Azusa, halfway across the world, in Jos, Nigeria, the wailing of my people shook the city.

Let me explain. I am a bi-cultural black woman who juggles two worlds. I am African American and Nigeria. I was raised in the Midwest for ten years and then in Nigeria for eight. For eight years, I called Jos, Nigeria home. I came back to the U.S. for college four years ago—while my parents and younger brother have remained overseas.  Jos—the city I lived in—was always known for peace and tourism.

In 2001, that changed. I lived through violence and bloodshed. Refuges filled my house as a religious and ethnic crisis broke out. I still see the mosques and churches blazing, as soldiers in tankers roamed the streets. Thousands dead. Thousands displaced. Thousands traumatized. Jos has not recovered and in recent years the violence has returned.

But what happened Sunday was unimaginable—a massacre. Just south of where my family lives, 400 men, women and children were slaughtered and killed by a rival group. They had no way to defend themselves as they were woken to gunshots that signaled the ending of their lives. A four month old baby body was found in the road.

I write of about because this is my story. I live between two realities. Oh, Nigeria is not typically a violent place. In Nigeria, I found life in its fullest. Yet, I equally embrace being from here too—both places are mine.

In moments like this—when people wake up to bloodshed—the disparity between the two worlds seems so much larger than the Atlantic that divides them. I cannot reconcile sitting here dreaming and planning for post-graduation, while my brother tells me he maybe desensitized to the loss of human life.

How do I sit in a class and learn about grant writing, while knowing that my city is mass burying women and children? How do I stand in chapel and sing “My God is mighty to save”, when weeping is the present song of my people?

Rarely, do we truly realize that around the world—shoot, around the corner—people live lives with such contrasting realities to ours. Somewhere else, at this very moment, people are celebrating, mourning, dancing, sleeping—in different languages and cultures.

We see the world from our cultural framework. We prioritize our lives based on the shape, color and size of our lenses. In this moment, I am a student getting a higher education. I do the social life, the academics, the work life—and the busyness of it all makes it seem like this is all there is for this moment.

But then, I see the pictures and video of the massacre and I shake.Mid-terms are irrelevant. Papers pointless. All I think of now is sorrow and hope. Where is the hope? This question has rung through my head all week. I may be across the Atlantic, but my soul sits at the burial with the four month old baby’s body.

As I said, I juggle to worlds—but even more so, what I have been reminded of this week is that our lives are inextricably interlinked. Be it what happens in Haiti, Chile, Nigeria, India, Mexico, South Los Angeles, Azusa—as humans we are all directly or indirectly linked.

Cleric and activist, Desmond Tutu, said “my humanity is bound up in your humanity, for we can only be human together”—and this week I was reminded of that. I cannot sit here in the privilege of higher education and not also feel the anguish caused by a massacre.

Green Chips? Student Perspective Blog

SAMMI SHEPPARD | STAFF WRITER

“Did you buy that bag because it says it’s compostable?”

My roommate knows me too well.

I was in Vons the other day looking for something to make for lunch. I decided I wanted to make a grilled cheese sandwich with some chips on the side. As I made my way toward the chip aisle, I saw a display of Sun Chips. I like Sun Chips, but what really caught my eye were the words written on the bag: World’s First 100% Compostable Chip Package.

Since I’m all about protecting God’s creation, (I mean He made it; would you want to mess up His work?), I thought it was a really cool idea to have a package that is compostable.

The package is made from more than 90% renewable, plant-based materials, meaning it will break down completely into compost in a hot, active compost pile. It’ll take about 14 weeks for the bag to break down completely.

Compostable items are made from plant materials such as corn, potato, cellulose, soy and sugar. When a compostable product breaks down, it must be able to break down into water, carbon dioxide and biomass, at the same rate as paper, without producing any toxic material since it is used to support plant life.

So instead of having the package sit in a landfill for years upon years, Sun Chips has decided to make a smart and more sustainable choice in their packaging, especially since composting is starting to catch on in the green movement.

More and more people are making a composting bin in their backyards to make fertilized soil for their gardens. (Even APU is planning on using composting piles when they make a green living area where students can grow their own vegetables.)

And going green isn’t just for Al Gore, celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Alicia Silverstone, Orlando Bloom and Cameron Diaz are putting forth an effort to protect the environment.

As I ate my Sun Chips from their 100% compostable bag, I flipped on the TV. Living with Ed was on, a funny show about comedian Ed Begley, Jr. and his wife. (You might recognize Begley as the crazy dad in Pineapple Express, but he’s also been in A Mighty Wind and Best in Show, and lately, commercials for the Census.) The show takes a look into the Begley lives as they try to reduce their carbon footprint on the earth.

The front of the Begley house has drought tolerant plants, many of which can be eaten. As you progress through the house, you can see all the energy efficient appliances the couple owns. Ed is so committed to reducing his impact on the planet, he only rides his bike or drives his electric vehicle. He also installed solar lighting panels on his roof to provide electricity for the whole house.

While I might not be able to live as environmentally friendly as Ed Begley, Jr. since I don’t have the money for it yet, I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint on the environment. If that means buying delicious chips in a compostable bag, I’m all over that. I’m just making the world greener one chip bag at a time.

Senioritis: Student Blog

KARLA SHIRVANIAN | STAFF WRITER

Ten weeks, 67 days, 1608 hours, 96,480 minutes until graduation. I do not think I am alone in the fact I am counting down until the end of the school year. This is not because I have not liked my college experience or because I am not having fun, but simply because, well it is graduation. It is the end of the school year; it is a new step, a new chapter, and a big deal. Oh, and because of this other thing called senioritis that is kicking my butt.

I am excited to graduate, excited to move on, excited to grow up. Yet, with all that excitement come nerves, expectancy and a little bit of anxiety. The idea of graduating sounds so fun, but then all of those big decisions come along like where am I going to work, where am I going to live and even, so I want to go to graduate school.

Those are all the things that seem to come to mind when I think graduation, a lot of fun things laced with some crazy things too. It is amazing. But before I get there I keep realizing there are some things I keep forgetting to do, like homework. I have always been a hard-working student that tries hard and works to keep grades up, but there is this thing that gets in the way of it. I keep trying hard to get all my work done but my mind has become easily distracted.

I always thought it was funny that people were rushing last minute to get their MAS hours signed and turned in; I became one of those people. My to-do list has “turn in MAS hours” but every time I mean to, I get preoccupied with something else.

I was the person who thought that it could not be that hard to get through the last couple of weeks of college since the finish line was so close, I was wrong. Looking ahead has taken over my time and left me with no time to look at the present and keep up. It is not like I am slacking or doing bad, it is simply the struggle of motivation. It is t he struggle to know I am so close, but yet, still have so much to do.

I never thought this would be so hard, and I do not think I am the only one struggling. I have heard of so many people counting down to the end of the school year. School becomes hard to do when you are preoccupied with the idea that in 10 weeks, nine if you do not count spring break, eight if you do not count spring break and finals, school will be over.

Did I mention getting a job is also on the to-do list. Oh yes, all of the hard work, studying and all-nighters were to get a degree in order to get a job to live, make money, survive, and eat after caf days are over. This is a big one. Applying for jobs is also something on the mind, but I do not even have a resume yet. I know this is also on the minds of many a senior out there.

Through all of the thinking, over thinking and to-do lists I have come up with one solution. Breathe. That is right. Simply sit, take a breath and relax. Because if there is one thing I have learned in college is that everything works out and it all seems to find its place in life naturally. So, even though it is crazy to think that 67 days from now I will be thrown into the realm of adulthood, I know it will all work out, because somehow it always does.

GYRAD: Student Blog

KARLA SHIRVANIAN | STAFF WRITER

This week I had three GYRAD events. This is not because I am sought after all the time, but because I am an resident advisor (RA) in University Park and I am engaged to another RA in the Shire Mods and this week was GYRAD event time in both living areas.

I remember when I was a sophomore living in the Shire it was one of the most fun events I had attended. It was right before Christmas so there were pictures with Santa Claus and a lot of hang out time. We then went to ESPN Zone in downtown Disney, ate, hung out and played games at the arcade. It was fun.

Yet, I definitely did not feel the same way about this week. It may be because there were some many I felt the pressure, but I was a little less than thrilled to go.

Now the first GYRAD, a staff date so it was relatively small, was a little bit of an adventure, we had a scavenger hunt and then were going to eat at the Rainforest Café in downtown Disney, reminiscent to the first time I had attended GYRAD two years earlier. But, we are poor college students so we ended up going to Denny’s. Not going to lie, would not say the best date ever, but I did spend a lot of time laughing with my friends and the ridiculous things that happen at Denny’s.

Number two: this one was for UP B-Court. It was chill and relaxed. Pizza party and roller-skating, nothing too crazy or full or fancy clothes. My date was working so I instead went stag, along with a couple of people on my staff. It was a little bit rushed, trying to get the food there on time, printing directions, cleaning up and then heading to Chino to roller skate.

Yet, I must say some of the most fun. I tried to skate, but when we were doing a chain I fell right on my butt and took my friends down with me, making it the end of the night for me. Instead, I sat around and talked to people, and, did I mention, people watched.

We were at a roller rink, so it was fun to see the different kinds of people that were there, there were kids in about the fifth grade, families and a bunch of APU college students. I sat there with friends and talked about life, I also watched people skate backwards and do all these crazy tricks I clearly cannot do (remember earlier I fell on my butt?). It was just a fun time to relax chill and listen to music, did I tell you it was disco night?

The next night, GYRAD number three. This was in the Shire and it was the night I got to dress up and hang out without being one of the planners, wonderful. The “night under the stars” was a time to hang out in the RecRoom, where they had a raffle, awesome music playing (props to Daniel Atwell and Clifford Gee), and a photographer.

We then headed off to a restaurant, delicious, I would recommend crab and artichoke dip if you have never had it. The night was then topped off by going to the Griffith Observatory with a lot of Shire and APU to hang out under the stars.

So, although I was not excited to go to three GYRADs in one week, it turned out pretty great and I spent a lot of time laughing, having fun and relaxing where I did not have to think about homework or the worries of life. Now back to the reality of studying, school and responsibilities, it was fun while it lasted though.