A veritable whirlwind

Just as the title suggests, the past few days have been a veritable whirlwind.  Many, many things have been good, even amazing, but not everything.   Lauren and I will be leaving our comfy room at BNB for a smaller one in Dobson.  I shall resign myself to communal bathrooms and try not to let it kill me.  I went to Hannibal today to spend the day with Kat since it'll be the last time I get to see her until I get back from Québec.  I was sad to leave.  Sigh.  This whole "being apart" thing isn't fun.

Oooh, what else?  Let's see . . . oh, yeah.  I get to sing and be coached by one of my favorite singers, Gabrielle Destroismaisons.  It's kind of a long story.  She's been offering four vocal coaching sessions for about $350, which is quite reasonable.  The problem is, I'm a broke college student and can't afford that.  Not only that, but I don't have the means to go to Montréal for weeks in a row.  It's just not possible.  So I was pretty bummed.  Then I received an email from Gabrielle herself (yes, I'm just that cool) saying that, after multiple requests, she was opening up a single group session for $85 on 27 July.  MUCH more doable!  Though I would prefer a one-on-one session, beggars can't be choosers, as my mom likes to say.  I'm just happy and grateful for the opportunity to sing and be coached by her, period.  Lauren and I will probably spend the night and the next day in Montréal, as well, before heading back to Québec City.  While I'm in Montréal, since it might be one of the only times I'll get to go there, I'll also be meeting up with a friend of mine, François, for the first time.  We met online via NaNoWriMo because he saw that I liked a lot of Québécois musicians and he was surprised.  He's cool.  I'm excited.  Woo!

Since Lauren and I are being driven to Québec by her wonderful parents, we're going to have a few days of "tourism time" before we move into our dorms and start classes.  One of things we'll be doing is going to Trois-Rivières to see Emilie-Claire Barlow at Le Festivoix.  She's a lovely jazz singer about whom I only know because she sang with Bruno Pelletier once upon a time.  Lauren and her parents looooove her and they're beyond excited.  I'm happy, too, even though I'm not overly fond of jazz.  I don't mind her jazz. :)

Speaking of concerts, Lauren and I had some pretty damn good news today.  Well.  Apparently, there's been an event up on Bruno Pelletier's Facebook fanpage since late May about a performance in Lévis (a city just across the river from Québec City), and Lauren and I had no idea.  We've been waiting on tenterhooks to see if Bruno would be performing somewhere close by while we're up there.  And he his!  He'll be performing on the evening of our second-to-last day of classes, the day after his birthday, on 8 August.  Technically, it's Bruno Pelletier et le GrosZorchestre, his jazz group, so he will presumably be accompanied by Julie Lamontagne, Richard Irwin, and Dave Watts.  Again, I'm not fond of jazz, but this is Bruno Pelletier.  I don't need any other pretense to see a jazz show.  And Lauren is beyond ecstatic.  She has wanted to see Bruno for years and years, and I was a bum and saw and met him first even though she introduced me to him.  I was a little disappointed that it's not one of his typical shows where he performs his regular stuff, but then I realized: I had my turn.  I was fortunate enough to go to Québec to see Bruno twice in October of 2009 for is Microphonium tour when I was 18.  Not to mention the fact that I got to meet him after both shows.  Bruno's stuff with the GrosZorchestre is very close to Lauren's heart.  She loves jazz, and it was the first stuff of his she found, so this is perfect for her.  I'm so happy that this, of all shows, is her first experience with Bruno.  She has been over the moon with joy about the whole thing.

It happened like this.  The lovely Ekaterina said there was going to be a show in Lévis when we were talking on Facebook.  Apparently this is already common knowledge.  I checked out the website and it turns out it's free, too.  It's a show in the street, literally.  (So we should probably bring some chairs.)  Obviously, no decision needed to be made.  We were going from the moment Ekaterina said it was free.  Unfortunately, Lauren had already left for class.  It was about an hour before I was to leave for Hannibal.  Nonetheless, I texted her and told her to call me asap since I had reeeeally good news.  We got a hold of each other while I was on the road and she was walking back from class, and I told her.  She cried and was hysterically happy, and I wish I could have been there to see her.  She's been in a state of disbelief all day.  I know exactly how she feels.  It's how felt when Sarah invited me to come with her three-and-a-half years ago.  (Something for which I am still and will always be immeasurably grateful).

This all sounds a little one-sided.  I am very excited, too.  I think part of my problem is that, not only has it not kicked in yet, but I'm worried that something will conflict with me going.  Not Lauren; she's going.  But the program in which we're participating at l'Université Laval has us doing, not only an actual French class, but a sort of workshop of our choice.  We submitted our top three choices and will be "sorted" upon arrival. My first choice was a singing workshop in which we would learn, sing, and perform francophone, especially Québécois songs.  The only thing is that I'm paranoid that that final performance will conveniently fall on 8 August since it's the day before the last day.  I have no way of knowing if it will or if I'll even get into the workshop, but the unknown is driving me crazy.  Maybe that's what's preventing me from screaming and jumping up and down and running in circles like I should be.  Hopefully that'll change soon.

Don't get me wrong: I am very excited to see Bruno again.  Immeasurably excited.  I'm just not good at showing it right now.  It's weird.

Anyway.  I leave for Michigan in twelve days.  I'm very excited for that, too.  I'm going to celebrate my grandparents' fiftieth anniversary with them.  I'll get to see my two oldest siblings, Dawn and David, for the first time in nine years, my grandparents for the first time in about two years, and my father, step-mother, step-siblings, and younger sister for the first time in about five.  Pretty crazy.  I'm nervous.  But hey, it's family.

Ashlee's first twister

Well.  If you know me, then it's likely that you know my worst fear: tornadoes.  Or at least, one of my worst fears is tornadoes.  So you can imagine my "joy" at living in the Midwest where tornado sirens seem to go off all the time for mild storms.  Let us embark on the tale of what took place last night and today.

Lauren and I left Kirksville and headed for Hannibal.  I dropped her off at her dad's and then went to the house where I live with her and her mom and step-dad to spend a few days by myself.  The plan was for Lauren, Kat, and I to see Iron Man 3 on Wednesday.  I went to Wal-Mart around 5 o'clock after grades were posted to get some dinner.  When I got outside of the store on my way back, I could see that the weather was, for lack of a better word, eerie.  There's a sort of stillness, of strangeness in the air that precedes a big storm.  It just felt off.  I already knew a storm was coming, but I thought it would just be a typical thunderstorm.

I lounged around the house for a bit, eating dinner and watching a movie, when the neighbor from across the street (Lauren and I are friends with his daughter, Lairyn) came over and invited me to come over to their house to be with them during the storm since we knew it was going to get pretty bad.  I declined, saying I would be okay.  I simply didn't think it would get that bad.  When the thunder and lightning started, I lounged on the couch to watch and listen through the window.  

Then I heard the tornado siren.  Despite living in the Midwest for almost two years now, I've only ever heard it go off once and that was when I visited three years ago.  So, naturally, I was scared.  I grabbed my laptop and Kindle and hurried down to the windowless bedroom in the basement.  Almost immediately, Kat (who knows just how scared I am of tornadoes) called me to see how I was.  At that time, I was okay.  I was kind of shaky, but at least I was functioning.  We hung up when I got an incoming call from Lauren, who was at the movie theatre downtown with her dad and step-mom.  Lauren, too, knew how scared I was.  As soon as she told me that it was, in fact, a tornado, I panicked.  I couldn't help it.  It was my worst fear coming to life.  Even though she tried her hardest to calm me down, it didn't work.  She tried to convince me to run across the street to Lairyn's house, and I listened for a moment.  But I stopped as soon as I looked out the window.  All I saw was green.  The air, the sky, everything was green and moving.  It was terrifying.  I'd never seen winds so fast.  Everything was whipping around and rainy that I was frozen with fear and told Lauren that I just couldn't go outside.  I called Deb and David in Kirksville, and they helped to calm me down.  At this point I was hyperventilating.  I knew there was a tornado somewhere and I was alone.  

Eventually, as it started to calm down, Lairyn called me and asked me if I wanted to come over.  Since it was calmer and I was calmer, I accepted.  I grabbed my bear, Sammy, (don't judge) and ran across the street at breakneck speed, at which point a towel was thrown over me and I was let inside.  By this point, things had calmed down.  We hung out in the basement for a little while, but then we went upstairs when it was deemed safe.  It was still greenish for a while, I continued to insist.  After a while, Lairyn's mom needed to charge her phone, so we all got into the car and decided to drive around so she could charge it.  By this time, the winds had stopped and it was only raining lightly.  I couldn't see much at the time, as it was dark and I didn't have my glasses, but it was bad.  We got a couple of scary jags of lightning, as well.

I slept in the basement that night, waking up about every two hours.  When I woke up, everywhere was still without power.  I talked to Kat, and she was fine.  Lauren was fine, too.  They and their families had barely any damage, and no one was hurt.  When David came down, we went out to lunch and surveyed the damage around Hannibal.  Trees everywhere, powerlines down and leaning over, trees uprooted, part of a building taken out downtown.  Officially, the news says it was just very, very, violent, strong winds.  The general consensus among word-of-mouth was at least one tornado, probably more.  Many people were reporting sightings of funnels and things.  The building that was torn up downtown had bricks ripped from it, which leads me to believe that it was a twister.  Apparently, a tornado was sighted up somewhat close to where I was, too, as well as downtown where Kat is.  Yikes.

BUT.  Everyone is okay.  We have all been incredibly lucky.  I know this is nothing compared to Oklahoma City, but it was truly the most terrifying moment of my life.  Not only was it a tornado, but I was alone.  Not completely, since my phone was ringing off its figurative hook with my loved ones calling to see if I was okay.  So I feel both blessed and loved.  Throughout all of this, I know my faith in God has increased, which means more to me than anything.

Halfway there

Well, I done did it.  I am officially halfway done with college and halfway to attaining two Bachelor of Arts degrees.  Pretty crazy, eh?  Finals week this year was pretty hellish, but at least it’s over.  Lauren, Kat, and I are all having trouble believing how quickly this year went by.  It seems like Lauren and I were in our apartment just last month, not almost a year ago.  The first semester didn’t go by too terribly quickly, but this second semester was just a whirlwind.  It’s pretty crazy.  I’m glad it’s over.

Some highlights of this school year?  Well, I absolutely loved the casts for the two French plays.  We all were quite close, and some of us the second semester cast created “The Derp Troupe,” which was just a fancy way of saying that we met up every Sunday in the north BNB lounge to watch a movie.  Other highlights?  Umm . . . I can’t really think of many.  I became a peer tutor for French last Fall.  My first semester was for Elementary French I and then this past semester was the complete opposite end of the spectrum for Intermediate French II.  That was pretty cool, but also pretty difficult.  It can also be frustrating at times, but all work is like that.

At the moment I am sitting in the basement, just chillin’ out.  I haven’t really started unpacking.  I’m only going to be here for a month and a week until I fly up to Michigan to spend two weeks with family, and then two days after that we’re driving to Québec.  Since I’m only available for the first part of the summer, that kind of prevents me from getting any sort of job.  Which stinks.  But hey, what can I do?  I also applied to be a volunteer on the Prep Crew, which means I would be helping to prepare the residence halls for incoming freshmen and other students.  I would man the hall desks during Truman Week, prepare orientation packets, move in microfridges, etc.  If I get accepted for that, then I’d move into the dorm about two days after I get back from Québec, which is fine with me.  The less downtime, the better.

I think that’s it.  I’m tired.  I might nap.  Or I might unpack.  I have no idea.

It's all coming together.

This semester has gone by extremely quickly.  My mind is rather blown to realize that final exams start in about two weeks.  It still kind of feels like, in classes, we should be in that beginning state where professors are still just handing out syllabi and we haven't really started learning anything.  Yet we're wrapping stuff up now.

Since the French play's format was so different from the past three semesters in which I participated, that seemed to go by more quickly, as well.  Our two performances were on Wednesday and Thursday of this past week, and we had our cast party at the Nichols' house on Thursday night after the performance.  (This newfound tradition was started by a brilliant idea from yours truly.)  The first performance was great.  Everything was perfect, and we got tons of compliments afterward.  One of my French professors (for whom I worked as a peer tutor last semester, also) complimented me on my pronunciation and said he was very impressed.  EEEEE!!  Any compliment I get on my French sends me over the moon.  The second night of the play didn't go so well.  The sound was far too quiet so we could barely hear it, we dropped lines, Lauren's and my fight scene was off, the music didn't start right for our group song . . . I dunno.  But the audience still seemed to like it.  The cast party made up for everything, though.  We all had a blast.  I feel so fortunate that I've been able to get to know everyone in the troupe and that we've all become so close.  It just stinks knowing that we won't all be able to be together next time.

Back: Rachel, Marcelline, Dr. Lobert (our director), Mary, Ashlee
Middle: Anna, Jen, Sobira (our lovely subtitles lady), Maria, Lauren
Front: Dallin

In other news, study abroad in Québec is officially official.  Remember that huge debacle I mentioned with Truman's Study Abroad office?  Well, one of the women there has been in contact with the peeps at l'Université Laval à Québec, and we received a letter from both the university and Truman's Study Abroad office saying that we are officially accepted.  So our credits will transfer, and everything is hunky dory.  YAY!  I am so beyond excited.  In mid-June I'll fly up to Michigan to spend two weeks with my father's side of the family, and almost immediately after I return, we'll start the drive up to Québec.  WOO!  Next week is some mandatory orientation for those studying abroad this summer or next year.  Pretty snazzy.

Also in other news, I have had major difficulties in scheduling for next semester's classes.  Part of it is my own fault, and now the rest of it is pretty much just bad luck.  I'm hoping certain things will work out, but it's not, you know, certain.  Sigh.

Psyche!

There's much less of a point to the title than one might actually think.  Just thought I should get that out of the way.

Here we are, in the beginning of April, and the weather is finally starting to warm up.  Kind of.  It's supposed to be in the low seventies today (Fahrenheit), but then it's going to cool down later in the week due to thunder storms and whatnot.  Boo on that.  All I want is not to wear sweaters and jackets anymore.  I know I posted an entry in, like, October or something about wanting "sweater weather," but that was STUPID.  I want WARMTH.  Kirksville is holding out on my favorite season, and it's NOT FAIR.  I should hold a protest or something.

In other news, Kat and I went to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, NE yesterday with the Wildlife Society.  We left Kirksville at about 5:30 pm, stopped in St. Joseph at 8:00 for a late, healthy McDonald's dinner (it was either that, or something sketchy like "Taco John's" in the minuscule mall), and arrived at the equally sketchy Super 8 Hotel at around 11:00.  Kat, our two roommates, and I were all quite loopy due to fatigue, so we weren't awake for very long before passing out.  We awoke at 7:30 and partook of a breakfast that reminded me of the chapter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone when the Dursleys stop at a cheap hotel and they have stale cornflakes for breakfast.  I didn't have cornflakes, but Kat did.  No, I just had burnt toast.  Anyway, then it was off to the zoo.

We had been promised a Behind the Scenes tour of the Aquarium, so after walking through the Aquarium on our own, we waited.  And waited, and waited, and waited for about an hour before a Zookeeper finally showed up.  She said that there had been some sort of mix-up with another group, and she felt reeeeally bad.  We got a refund, but she still took us on the tour.  The first thing we saw, ironically, were two little monkeys who were in a sort of quarantine.  I don't remember why.  We also got cool views of the sharks and sea turtles, which were swimming around beneath us.  The coolest part was when we got to touch the sting rays, who felt like wet mud.  'Twas interesting.  Then we all headed over to the Tree Top Restaurant, which overlooked the Leid Jungle and, by consequence, monkeys.  After that, Kat and I headed off on our own.

The first place we went was the Kingdoms of Night area, which is where all of the little nocturnal animals are.  Emphasis on the nocturnal, since it was nearly pitch black and very hard to see except for some dim lights.  But the very best part of the trip was getting to see so many BATS.  It was AWESOME.  I freaking love bats.  Passionately.  And now Kat likes them, too.  There were tons of fruit bats, a couple of vampire bats, and other bats in different areas.  WEEEEE!!  We also went into the Desert Dome, which was pretty awesome as well; we saw the training of a white Bengal tiger, as well as other ferocious kitties; we saw some ADORABLE lion cubs who are the cutest things in the universe; Kat and I went on the "Skyfari," which is like a chairlift over the whole zoo, which enabled us to see rhinos, cheetahs, ostriches, and giraffes.  All in all, the zoo was pretty cool, especially its indoor areas, but I think I prefer the Kansas City Zoo.  I like the fact that the Omaha Zoo has the bats, but KC Zoo has more . . . everything.  Like elephants.  It was still AWESOME, though.  Go animals.

Now, to explain the rather inexplicable title of this entry.  I am now a psychology minor.  Why?  Because I did some figuring, and if I were to just take classes I need to graduate with two B.A.s in French and English, as well as my French translation minor, I wouldn't really have enough classes each semester (at least during my senior year) to be a full-time student.  And I MUST be a full-time student if I want to keep my financial aid, live on campus, etc.  So I could either take random classes that interest me, OR I could put this extra space to good use.  I've always been interested in psychology, and the minor requires just enough classes that I have the ability to take.  I had intended, originally, to be have a minor in linguistics since it would only require two extra classes after what I'm already taking for my linguistics concentration in my English major, but I realized something: I don't like linguistics very much.  I only have a concentration in it because a professor said I should in order to be an ESL teacher.  So, y'know what?  I wanna be a psychology minor.  So there.

Speaking of French, I missed the "anniversary" of learning the lovely language.  I don't know the actual date, so I always "celebrated" it on the first of April.  I taught myself French for two years, and now I've been studying it in school for another two.  So that's four years of French.  Woooo, go me.

But what REALLY made my week was learning that I have been awarded a Study Abroad Scholarship for $1,500!!  I didn't get it originally, and I was quite bummed, but then I received an email stating that someone had given up there scholarship and I was the first alternate.  WEEEEE!!!  I am SO HAPPY!!  Or, to give more context to the title, I AM SO PSYCHED!!

Also, my legs hurt.  And I have a new fox (despite the fact that I didn't see a fox at the zoo) named Tod.  That is all.  Noodles.

Why Québec?

Lauren and I have been officially accepted to attend l'Université Laval in Québec City this summer!  Huzzah!  This is a major thing for us, and we're both very excited.  However, our excitement has been slightly marred by various things.  First of all, the fact that this is a small program and in charge of it is a certain professor here at Truman.  The process of applying and everything has been guided by the professor, not the study abroad office here at Truman.  We thought this was normal since the program isn't run through any of the big organizations like the ones that go to France and other places in South America and Europe.  However, this is not the case.  Turns out we were missing a big chunk of important information (as well as money that needs to be shelled out) that the professor either didn't tell us about or told us not to worry about.  So Lauren and I went to go to talk to someone in the study abroad office to get things sorted out, which is another headache in and of itself due to its confusing nature, but one thing that bothered me was the question "Why Québec?"  It wasn't politely curious like most questions.  It was more along the lines of "Why would you go to Québec for five weeks instead of spending a semester in France?"  The person we spoke to also tried to push spending a semester in France on us, which is significantly more expensive what with immensely more costly airfare.  The other problem with it is the mere fact that we don't want to go to France.  At least not right now.

Most of the time, questions pertaining to Québec are more polite.  I guess it's understandable that most people at my school go to France our at least some francophone country in Europe.  After all, that's all we study here.  We study French literature, French culture, French business, etc.  People here often develop a single-minded kind of thinking because it's all we're ever taught.  Sure, there's an elective francophone literature course, but the only time that's about Québec's literature is when it's taught by a certain professor, and that's every few years and not required like the aforementioned courses.  Of course, I'm not saying France isn't important.  As the origin of the language I study, of course it's important.  But for students, like myself, who are drawn to other cultures, it can kind of suck.

How did I "discover" Québec?  One could argue Céline Dion since I loved My Heart Will Go On and knew only that she wasn't American.  But the actual story is long and most people know it.  I discovered the musical Notre-Dame de Paris thanks to Lauren.  Bruno Pelletier became my favorite singer out of the 

whole troupe, and I quickly delved into his solo stuff.  Miserere was the first album I bought in French, despite the fact that I couldn't understand a single word.  Because I discovered all of this after high school, I had no way of learning French like I had for half a semester in my junior year.  I knew I wanted to understand all of the French music I had fallen in love with, most of the musicians being from the troupe of Notre-Dame, but, most specifically, Bruno.  A few Google searches led me to different websites where they would teach you grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, and I began studying it vigorously.  As I took two years off after high school, I had nothing else to do with my time, and French quickly became fun for me, and it wasn't long until I was very passionate about it.  Understanding, writing, reading, and speaking such a beautiful language was and is an amazing experience for me.  When I began looking at universities, a French major was my main concern.  One of the reasons I really didn't want to go to BYU-I was because they didn't offer one.  My career goals have changed multiple times since I started thinking about college.  I've wanted to be a writer (still do), a journalist, a teacher, an interpreter, a linguist, and a translator.  Yet all of these majors were considered in mind with a French major.  I would never be just an English major or a Communications major with a concentration in journalism.  It would always be that and a major in French.  I can't picture myself not studying French.

q

Québec City, Québec

Okay, so there's my love of French.  But why Québec?  It's possible that I feel like I am so drawn to it because it's the first French I studied and began to understand.  My trip to Québec in 2009 to see Bruno Pelletier in concert was unforgettable.  Montréal is the most beautiful city in the world to me, even if I didn't get to spend that much time there.  I feel the same way about Montréal as so many people feel about Paris.  Québec is the most wondermous place I have been, the people there are some of the friendliest I have known, and the way they speak is the most beautiful French dialect I know.  It's my favorite dialect for sure. (You know, kind of like how people often say, "Omg I loooove British accents!")  Well, it's the same thing for me.  I love the Québécois accent in both French and English.  I wish Québec studies were more prevalent in my school.  Who knows?  Maybe I can change that one day.

Montréal, Québec

So there's your answer, everyone.  'Tis a question I get asked often.  Why Québec?  Because I love it, plain and simple.

"I don't always talk to art majors, but when I do, ask for large fries."

Hatred against art majors, theatre majors, music majors, and writing majors has been going on for a very long time.  Recently, however, it seems to have reached its pinnacle.  As the best friend and roommate of someone who is majoring in Visual Communications, comments such as the one above are getting increasingly annoying.  Now, I'm not an art, theatre, music, or writing major.  I like acting, I love singing, drawing is pretty fun, and writing is my passion, but I would never be able to dedicate four years of my life to such things.  Doing so takes very hard work, skill, and incredible dedication and sanity.  Me, I'm a French and English major.  Yet I've seen first-hand just how much work and time goes into being a Visual Communications major.

Take my best friend and roommate, Lauren.  She is an incredible artist and creator.  I'm not entirely sure how her mind works.  An assignment will be given to her and she can come up with the most interesting, obscure, beautiful concepts with just a simple sentence to work off of.  I can never fathom how she does it.  I have seen her spend sleepless nights on assignments, cry because of the pressure, and beam with pride when she sees one of her posters displayed on campus.  Art is something she has always done, something she was meant to do.  And for people to say that she's an idiot for being an art major, or that she'll never amount to anything more than a cashier at McDonald's is absolute bullshit.

Think of the poster for your favorite movie.  It was designed by a graphic artist.  Or the cover for your favorite book.  Or the CD booklet of your favorite singer.  Or the Starbucks logo.  The image on your favorite t-shirt.  All of these were designed by graphic artists.  Think for a moment how boring and plain the world would look if we didn't have people like Lauren to fill everything with color and beautiful, clever designs.  It's people like her who make the world interesting.  And you'd better believe that graphic artists get paid pretty damn well for what they do.

It's not just art majors who deserve credit, either.  Theatre and music majors work their asses off just as much as everyone else, if not more.  You've sat through productions like Little Women and Spring Awakening; don't tell me that theatre majors don't do anything when you know perfectly well how hard the actors and every member of the crew worked to pull those off, in addition to everything else they do as students here at Truman.  I know how difficult music can be, just through the limited experience with it that I've had.  Also, think about your favorite book, poem, or short story.  I can't imagine the hours and stress that goes into making a living out of it, of rehearsing a piece to perfection, of making sure that every note is absolutely right.

Personally, I don't think I could handle a major that was about competition, knowing that I am essentially competing against every single one of my classmates to be the best, both in school and out in the real world.  More than anything, I wanted to be a creative writing major, but I was too chicken to even apply for it.  (As a BFA, you can't just declare the major - you have to be accepted into it.)  I was too scared to follow my dreams of writing because I didn't think it would get me a job.  Though I love French, I wish more than anything that my double major was Creative Writing and not English.  (Don't get me wrong, I love literature, too - I just love fiction writing more.)  My concentration for my English major isn't even composition, but linguistics.  Why?  Not because I think linguistics is the grooviest subject matter in the world, but because I need to get a job after school.  Art, theatre, music, and creative writing majors are all out there following their dreams and making something real out of their dreams, something most of us are probably too scared to do.

So when you're out there handing a large carton of fries to someone, just remember one thing: an art major designed that carton.