Month: September 2017

Allie Mollo

14 September 2017

Course number

1. Intro
   1. Being from Long Island, Penn State didn’t find me, I found Penn State. Happy Valley was always a dream that always seemed unattainable. Here’s a short clip:
      1. Video of me getting into Schreyer
   2. I was attracted Schreyer and Penn State because of two words “WE ARE”. The simple phrase captures what it truly means to be a part of something greater than yourself. In a college, I was looking for a lifetime, not 4 years of studying. We are is not just a chant or a phrase you sign on your emails, it is a statement all students at this great university live by. WE ARE encompasses the idea that yes, we are all Penn State, no matter who we are or where we come from.
      1. Use intro to establish ethos and state that I will be examining WE ARE
2. History of WE ARE
   1. 1946 Penn State vs Miami, Penn State did not play because black players were not allowed to compete against southern teams under national collegiate rules
   2. Miami vs penn state game was later cancelled next year
   3. The following year, Penn State was invited to cotton bowl—no black players had ever played in the cotton bowl
   4. Entering the same situation involving no black players, Captain Steve Suhey stated his famous quote, “We are Penn State. There will be no meetings”.
      1. Content, Community. “The True Origin Of ’We Are Penn State’.” Onward State, 24 Sept. 2015, onwardstate.com/2015/09/25/the-true-origin-of-we-are-penn-state/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.
      2. This Phrase turned into cheer later in the 1970’s has been used ever since
   5. In 1976, the university’s cheerleading squad wanted to bring back something unique to Penn State after hearing Ohio State fans show school pride during football games.
   6. They first created a chant using Joe Paterno’s name, then the team’s colors.
   7. However, WE ARE resonated with the crowd.
   8. “All of a sudden when it finally caught on, it finally exploded,” George Dennis, former cheerleading captain of the number-one ranked cheerleading squad at the time said.
      1. Thomas, Aaron. “The story behind Penn State’s ‘We Are’ chant.” WEARECENTRALPA, WEARECENTRALPA, 7 Oct. 2016, www.wearecentralpa.com/news/the-story-behind-penn-states-we-are-chant/592566439. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.
3. WE ARE can unite the community
   1. Following the Sandusky Scandal, the phrase WE ARE was repurposed
   2. The chant was used to bring Penn State back to its origin
      1. WE ARE sculpture challenge
         1. This catalyzed the resurrection of the PSU community behind the common goal
         2. The sculpture represents our communities pride engrained in steel
            1. Nothing, can break Penn State
            2. Also, the piece shows that WE ARE is something tangible piece of art— something that cannot be replicated or taken away
               1. “The Story Behind Penn State University’s “WE ARE” Sculpture.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Oct. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIBNyd2KjSk. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.
4. Conclusion
   1. What does WE ARE mean to you all? I know for me, I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself. At State College, I found a family with spirit and pride. We all share the common belief that WE ARE is in essence the only way to describe Penn State— we are calls upon our civic duty to be inclusive and prideful among all Penn Staters and non Penn Staters. It’s a community of loving people that just want to leave the world better than they found it. Everyone has their own unique Penn State story, but we are all Penn State.
      1. WE ARE!!!
         1. Penn State 🙂 

09/09/2017 Beaver Stadium Grounds

Addario employs realistic descriptions and dynamic discussion to transport readers to wherever she was traveling that day. In one specific instance during the chapter “Please Tell The Woman We Will Not Hurt Her”, Addario and her partner Matthew were encircled by gunmen in Garma. This section is filled with chaos, emotion, strife, and the sheer will to survive.

To exemplify such notions, Addario describes the situation in great detail, but includes her own thoughts also, contributing to the overall tone and mood of the chapter. For example, Addario mentions four journalist who died on the road between Kabul and Jalalabad after September 11th as the insurgents approach the mini van. By including this part of her thought process, Addario was able to inform readers of how dire the situation was and what exactly was going through her mind as she faced a near death scenario.

In addition, the dialogue used by Addario was also telling as the situation heightened during the chapter. Addario says, “We are going to die now”, as the men began to besiege their position. The aforementioned sentence was also its own paragraph to truly emphasize its meaning and need for alarm.

The descriptive language and dialogue was also very drawing to me as a reader. The writing in this section fast paced and led to further inquiry. I wanted to keep reading, I did not want to see something happen to Addario or even Matthew. I could not put the book down.

In my passion blog, I plan to utilize more anecdotes after completing this RCL blog. Initially, it never occurred to me to employ real-life stories into my passion blog; I was going to use my perspective as well as statistics and analysis to tell my story. Now I feel a stronger appeal to pathos by using real life events could make my writing not only more interesting, but more informative to the reader.

 09/02/2017 Beaver Stadium

Passion is the will to live when light goes dark. To breathe without thinking about the moments that come next, that’s passion.

Throughout my life, I have participated in an array of activities— soccer, photography, mock trial, and newspaper, just to name a few. Despite their obvious differences, I have been drawn to each activity because of my love for the arts, academics and athletics.

Recently, I acquired another passion: reading. Whether it’s the New York Times, or the latest historical fiction novel, I find myself indulging in every paragraph.

While reading the articles, I can transport anywhere in the world and experience breaking news right in front of me. Eventually, I picked up a book froma local bookstore. And that’s when reading became my world.

Being consumed in a book is like finding a love that can fit in your backpack— a love so passionate that its confines are spilled across pages.

Reading about women from all over the world in the news is like walking in a new pair of shoes a different size than your own for a few minutes.

Addario incorporates her Nana’s story of losing a passionate lover to site the will to do what you feels right. In her book, Addario pursues what she loves no matter the cost, but here, she digresses and refers to the possibility of leaving passions unearthed. In this section, she’s being vulnerable and anticipating a fear of hers greater than war zones. This is her way of justifying her unique love for photography and dating. In other words, she uses her Nana’s reflection as wisdom in her career path and personal life.

I dream of pursuing a profession that can parallel my want to read a new paperback. I dream of waking up every morning excited to walk through the doors of my office. I dream of going home after a day’s work and reading the newest Pulitzer Prize winner. I dreamed of going to school in Happy Valley.