Eye Dissection

I went to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago last Saturday. I've been there at least four times before, but I never heard of the cow eye dissection program they offered. I didn't think I would actually do it because I've always hated dissecting anything for science class. I didn't want to do it at all but, I thought it would be good to do something that made me get out of my comfort zone.

My friends and I walked in the laboratory with the instructor giving us basic information about the human eye relating to the cow eye. Than, she handed us the supplies we could need like a tray, rubber gloves, and a knife.

I could not get over how disgusting this eyeball was.

The moment the instructor laid the eyeball in front of me, I could not stop gagging at the terrible smell that came from the eye. I asked the instructor why it smelled like that and she said because the cow eye had been soaking in chemicals. That made me almost throw up.

After I finally got over the smell, I wanted to just leave the room after we were told to cut the eye in half and squeeze the goo out of it.

Although I will probably never want to do it again because of how disgusting it is, I actually did get something out of it (after I became less grossed out). I learned a lot about the human eye and just had fun with my friends. I would recommend doing that exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry if you aren't as squeamish as I am. If you're someone who loves science and is willing to sacrifice your appetite the rest of the afternoon, it would be perfect for you.

To YOLO or Not to YOLO

You only live once. What was thought to be a fact has become a worldwide phenomenon. It is an everyday trending topic on the social network Twitter appearing as “YOLO.” YOLO is a term coined by rap sensation Drake. It means You Only Live Once. The majority of people think the phrase puts life in perspective and shows life should not be taken for granted.

This popular acronym has been widely used this summer.

I asked ten people, “What does YOLO mean to you?” Their responses varied.


Some people say YOLO is a reminder that every day is a gift. Blake Stewart, 20, from Chicago, IL said, “YOLO means you don't take every day for granted because if you don't think that way and act dangerously, than you might not have a day to take for granted.” 


While some want to live in the moment, others feel YOLO should be more than that. Brielle Gregory, 17, from Cleveland, OH said, “Personally, it means kind of like 'carpe diem' and like seize the moment.” 


Even though Gregory lives by this philosophy, she sees that not everyone her age does. “I know a lot of my friends use 'YOLO' to act kind of slutty or to drink and do drugs even and they always say 'YOLO' after they do that,” said Gregory. 


Although YOLO made its worldwide debut in Drake’s influential song late October 2011, Christian Lopez of Chicago, IL and Carla Chavez of Phoenix, AZ have just recently been introduced to the catchy saying. Chavez, 28, said, “YOLO can mean just taking every opportunity and not letting any sort of experiences pass you by. It's one of those everyday things you may be forgetting because you have so many things on your plate.”


Lopez, 22, feels similarly about this acronym and wants to apply it to his life. “It’s a phrase to help you realize that there's more to a day than just your daily activities or your daily schedule. It seems interesting,” said Lopez. 


Living life with no regrets is another popular interpretation of YOLO. For Alex Walker, 17, of Chicago, IL, life is meant to be lived on the edge. Walker said, “YOLO to me means that you go hardcore every single day. It shows you that you can't be a little wimp every day.”


Walker describes a typical day “YOLO-ing.” He skateboards over 55-foot jumps with his friends. Walker said, “That's not YOLO saying ‘Oh, I want to be peaceful.’ No! It means living a hardcore lifestyle.”


But, not everyone can get away with doing the dangerous stuff. For Sean Sukys, 22, of Cleveland, OH, YOLO is not something he had the best experiences with. “Yolo to me probably means the worst thing ever. It's an excuse for people to just do whatever they want with no consequences.”


Sukys was a Residence Assistant at his college this past year. He had to deal with the harmful behaviors that come with YOLO. “People would literally destroy my hall, break stuff, break windows, break everything, and would run around screaming 'YOLO' as an excuse. And I've had people come into judicial board cases at my university saying that YOLO was an excuse. It's just encouraging bad behavior; it's stupid. It's a very catchy (Drake) song. It's a good thing to say if you don't really take it to heart.”


Aside from the consequences of YOLO, Asia Newsom, 17, of Miami, FL said, “I have to agree with the people that do the crazy stuff. You only live once and I feel you should just live it up and have fun!”


Later, she makes a different conclusion. She wants to be crazy, but safe at the same time. Newsom said people should, “not do crazy stuff, but do the crazy stuff like the crazy safe stuff.”


Whether people think it means to be thankful for every day or to go wild, many people think YOLO is just plain stupid. Catherine Strietmann, 16, of Cincinnati, OH said, “To me, YOLO is not a very good saying because it's a fact of life: you only live once. I know that. Why do you need to say that before you do anything?”


Whether one should or should not YOLO, it seems to be a phrase that everyone is talking about this summer. 

Frozen Planet Concert

I recently went to the Frozen Planet Concert at the Grant Park Music Festival in Millennium Park on Wednesday, July 11. The arena was crowded with hundreds and hundreds of people. The orchestra captured the attention of every person right when they started to tune. 


The concert consisted of a film being played behind the orchestra. In between songs, George Fenton would give a short narration of the film. Fenton also was the Guest Conductor for that evening.


Honestly, I did not want to go to the concert. At all. I'm usually not one for listening to orchestras. But after I got there, I had a great time. It was a cool evening, the stage was breath taking (along with the orchestra), and the music was phenomenal. 


This was a great concert to attend if you have a soft spot for animals, but it did get a little boring. While watching the scene where the wolf would hunt down the bison, the crowd was ooo-ing and ahhh-ing about how "the poor bison was too cute to die". But, for someone like me who thinks the bison being killed is just a part of the circle of life, I didn't get too emotionally involved in the film. However, the music score and film went beautifully together and were wonderfully coordinated. 


I would definitely recommend seeing this concert live, especially if you are a fan of the film "March of the Penguins" or if you really just love cute little animals. 

My friends and I had a relaxing evening at the Frozen Planet concert  filled  great  music scores.

7/11 Day at 7 Eleven

Going to Seven Eleven on 7/11/12 was my first free slurpie experience. Even though the cups were small, it was still worth the free drink on this past Wednesday in Chicago. 

My friends and I went to the local 7-Eleven in the Loyola campus in Chicago.

Photos: Summer Must-Haves

These are my favorite summertime products that I highly recommend!

Beat the Heat?

In June, a study was conducted by Professor Larry Kalkstein of the University of Miami. It is predicted that the temperature in North America with increase to about 4 to 11 degrees this century because of global warming affects. The study concluded that with the combination of global warming and extreme heat waves passing through the U.S, the temperature this summer has fatal effects. 

Temperatures rise drastically all across the U.S this summer. 

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is proposing that the U.S has new power plants in hopes of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and ultimately causing temperatures to drop. You can comment to their proposal on their website.

This article fails to mention it is completely unrealistic to think that in the next 100 years, the world can undo all the carbon dioxide emission damage already done. So, commenting to the EPA to hopefully get new power plants to set a carbon pollution standard that might be followed probably won't do much for America's heat epidemic anytime soon. Although something should be done about global warming, I don't think I'll see any noticeable improvement in my lifetime. The best thing to do for this nationwide heat wave is to drink all the water you can, wear protective clothing, and stay in the air conditioning. America may not halt the damages of global warming by next summer, but we can take a dip in the pool to cool down in the meantime.

Upside-Down Day

I'm not a risk taker. And you could be saying, 'Than why are you writing a blog about conquering your summer and trying new things?" Well, that's exactly it. I am writing this blog because I want to push myself to be more adventurous and less afraid to make this summer a memorable one.

I'm in a Summer Scholar Program at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois. Not only are students taking a course in this program, we are being taken on activities pre-planned by the advisors who work here. An activity yesterday was going to the Six Flags amusement park here in Chicago. I had never been on a roller coaster that went upside down in my entire life. The most invigorating ride I ever had been on was Space Mountain at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

So, going into Six Flags with the mind-set that I wanted to finally go on a roller coaster that went up-side down, I did it.  It was on BATMAN: The Ride where I went through vertical loops that propelled my body through the air and upside down (with some Batman theme music in the background, of course.)

But not only did I want to go on a roller coaster that went upside down, I wanted to enjoy the experience.

And I did.

A loop like this one was similar to the first upside roller coaster I experienced.

The rest of the day at Six Flags was filled with my wanting to try every single ride that I used to think was scary. I proceeded to  go on SUPERMAN: Ultimate Flight, Raging Bull, and X Flight, which are all rides that have a "maximum thrill rate" on the amusement park's website.  It was a whole new world not needing to hesitate at every ride wondering if it went upside down or if I would think it's too scary. I feel like I really did accomplish something that will benefit me the rest of my life.

If you ever felt like you'd get too scared if you went on an upside-down roller coaster, that's the perfect reason to do it. But, I wouldn't recommend eating at a Johnny Rockets before you head on the ride Superman.