Come On, You Know You've Done It

You can deny it. You can protest even if you want but I’m sure that it has happened at least once. You were alone and innocently thought that it would be fine to do at least once, but everyone knows that it has happened. You’ve Googled yourself.

I am not ashamed to say that I have done it. I was hanging out with friends and we Googled each other to see what we would find. Aside from my Facebook page, my High School Honor Roll, and now my LA 101H blogs, everything that comes up for either Gabby or Gabrielle Rosenblum are not the me Gabby or Gabrielle Rosenblum (and trying for Gabbo just tells me that I’ve spelled my name wrong). 

I’ve decided that I will one day be Google-able. More than that, I want a Wikipedia page. I think that everyone wants their name to be known, not necessarily in a vain or conceited way, but they just want to leave a mark on the world. I don’t mean to sound depressing but I think that everyone wants to know that they will be remembered by someone once they are gone. And why not do it on the internet, open for the whole world to know about you?

But, for me, it isn’t even really that (though I definitely want those things). I just really want a Wikipedia page. I think that it would be hilarious to stumble across the life story of someone random. 

Of course, I do want to have a good career and have success in life (but, for fear of jinxing it, I’m not going into details). Maybe I can have a real Wikipedia page one day, but, until then, I think that it’d be funny to just make one about my oh-so-interesting life until then. I won’t, of course (and nobody get any ideas!). But, come on, wouldn’t you laugh if you randomly came across the detailed life of some random college kid on Wikipedia?!

Voting On Issues Big and Small

As some of you know, the political season is once again winding up. President Obama recently filed reelection papers while speculation and confirmation continues to whirl around other candidates. Our country is guaranteed an exciting 2012 election.

But, the day that the President filed his papers, what was I up to? I logged onto my computer to file papers of my own and printed an absentee ballot. But it wasn’t for the 2012 elections. Instead, I found the absentee ballots for my hometown and registered as an absentee voter for the School Budget Vote. I’m not going to take this blog post to debate the values of voting in your hometown or in your college town, that is an entirely different issue for which I also have strong feelings about and would gladly address at another time. Instead, I want to stress my love for voting in general. 

I love voting. In fact, I think that I was far more excited to turn 18 and to vote then I am about the prospect of turning 21 and being allowed to legally drink. I’ve voted in Budget Votes and sent in an absentee ballot for elections last November and so I was terrified that I might miss out on the opportunity to vote in May because I recently made plans to be out of town. No fear, it isn’t too late to register for an absentee ballot.

So how does this fit into a passion blog? Basically, I was really excited about still having the opportunity to cast my vote and wanted to share it with the world. You can make the argument that a single vote doesn’t matter but, when it comes to local issues, they really do. Even though my friends laugh because I am so into this small election I still wanted the opportunity to have a say. I really do have strong feelings about the issue and voting is just one of many ways that I like to make my feelings known. I guess that this is something that I don’t want to loose as I get older. There are stereotypes about the energetic youth going crazy for what they believe in versus the comfortable, older adults in our country. I love politics and voting and I want to be involved with the 2012 election in whatever way I can. I never want to loose my fire for debating politics and defending my views. It starts with voting in the Bethlehem New York Budget Vote and is truly endless.

Overcoming Fears

As I look through my life every week for my Passion Blog, I’ve been trying to pick things that I want to do or experiences that I want to have. Shockingly, it has been harder than I’ve thought. It’s tough to really think about what I want to do and see.  So, I took to Google and tried to see what other people put on their bucket list. I guess that I wanted to find the craziest thing and maybe become inspired to think of a crazy goal of my own.

The thing is, I didn’t find anything crazy. Well, I did. But what I decided that I want to talk about this week is something that most five years old have done: do a cartwheel. I have never been able to do one and my friends always joke about it. It’s frustrating because it is something so simple that I have always held myself back from. I’ve become caught up in the fear  or just letting go and doing it; I guess that I’ve always thought that I would fall and break my neck or something like that. I’m sure that it is more dangerous to drive a car or even walk across the street, but I do those. Irrational? Yes. But I can’t help it.

So, question of the week: do you have irrational fears that you wish you could get over? Something simple that most people can do but, for whatever reason, you can’t?  Some fears are easier to get over then others. I’m also afraid of taking my garbage out at night but I don’t plan at changing that any time soon. But this I think that I can change. My goal for the summer is to learn how to do a cartwheel (as you can tell, I’ll have plenty of time on my hands). If you see me next falls in any type of cast or neck brace, you’ll know why.

Messages in the Mailbox

This week, I entered into a Pen Pal relationship with one of my friends. It is funny, because right now we are not too far apart (well, I live in East and she lives in Pollack, but still). In our defense, it started while I was in Moldova so I sent her a postcard that reflected a considerable distance. But it may not make too much sense to become Pen Pals while we are still at Penn State. It will mainly be for the summer since we won’t see each other until school begins again. I love getting mail so it will be fun to see postcards about her summer and to send her stories from my own.

Okay, so it isn’t like I won’t talk to her in between each of the letters. This is the Age of Technology so, with Facebook and texting, we will likely be in constant contact regardless of sending postcards. But I think that there is something nostalgic about writing. My family jokes because I like the way that books feel and smell and I rather have a physical book than an electronic one. When thinking about our and future generations, I think that we are losing something important through technology - maybe even more then we are gaining.

So, how does this reflect things that I want to do or continue in my life? Whether it is with this friend or with another, I want to have a continuous correspondence through writing. I usually hate writing but I think that there is something special about looking back and having something physical to laugh about. I have many letters from my Grandparents, everything from birthday cards to “just checking in!” cards and they are fun to look back on.

The question becomes, what have you lost from technology? Do you have something special, like letters or pictures, that future generations might not get the same experiences from because technology has changed society so much? Most importantly, is there anything that we can do about it?

Taking on the World

I know that I have spoken about this during class, but I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Kishinev, Moldova over Spring Break 2011. I went through a program with Penn State Hillel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) along with 17 other Penn State students. During the week, I had the honor of helping to renovate a building of the Community Center, going on a home visit during International Women’s Day, and spending time with our Moldovan peers. I don’t even know where to start to try to describe how incredible this week was. I could truly go on for numerous blog entries describing the week, but I will try to quickly get to the point of this post (but if anyone is interested in the details, I’d be happy to share!). 

I love traveling. And, even more than just going to a different country, I like absorbing myself in it. My favorite parts of the week were spending time with people and getting a feel for what the country is really like. It was a bizarre moment when I looked up at all of the billboards and realized that I was looking at Russian and Romanian. I actually liked not being able to read the language - it made me appreciate that I was really in a different country and made me want to learn these languages. 

Something that I have always wanted to do is travel. I want to study abroad and I want to travel to really see a country and its people, not just touristy things. I spent a week the flew by too quickly in a county that I had only heard of once before (I read a book that spent a chapter speaking about Moldova as the most unhappy country in the world) and I absolutely fell in love with it. Have you ever heard of Moldova? I'd be pleasantly surprised. But now I'm in love with it and I want to go back to see and do more. 

Is there a country that you want to experience? If you had the opportunity to travel to a “random” country, would you? I suggest it, you never know what you will find. 


Our last night with our Moldovan peers

Thousands of Feet Above

Before my sister graduated Penn State she and her friends went skydiving during Senior Week. My parents were not entirely happy since they asked her not to go and she did it anyway without telling them until after, but that is another story! I, on the other hand, was secretly told that she was going to do it and I excitedly waited to hear how it went. After hearing about the experience and later seeing the video, I immediately wanting to try this for myself. 

I am not afraid of heights; I love roller-coasters and enjoy flying. I also love taking risks and doing things that others might consider crazy. But, for whatever reason, skydiving honestly freaks me out a little. By definition you are jumping out of a plane to fall and hope that your chute opens in time. It sounds both completely terrifying and absolutely enjoyable at the same time. 

Since I am always trying to look at things that I would like to do during my life, have you found that there are either fears that you would like to confront or activities that may sounds crazy but you secretly would love to do? 

I was recently discussing this with a friend when he told me that I should, “learn how to ski and ski off the edge of a cliff with a parachute and base jump down to a boat that will take your parasailing!” I doubt that I will be trying that any time soon. I’ll probably start small and simply jump out of the plan and hope that I land safely.


                                                                      My sister skydiving

Family Recipes or Ramen Noodles

I think that we can all pretty much agree that it essentially impossible to cook anything in a dorm room. The classic stereotype of a college student survives by eating Ramen Noodles that they make with their only kitchen appliance, the microwave, and suffers through some not so great meals from the commons. And so, there are many nights when I really wish that I could go home for a home cooked meal. But when I think of what I want to learn in life, I know that what I really want it to learn how to cook family recipes.

Like I’ve shared with the class previously, family dinners are something that I love sharing. There are certain staples for certain dinners and holidays: my Aunt always brings the challah, my Grandmother makes amazing chicken soup, and my Mom makes incredible desserts. I would love to learn some of my Mom’s dessert recipes. The funny thing is that my Mom throws together desserts from whatever is in the refrigerator. She makes a great “Garbage Pie,” which is essentially a pie made out of any fruit that needs to be used. Similarly, my Mom is always making “fun” desserts that my younger cousins will enjoy. She turns cupcakes and cakes into life-like objects. 

I want to learn how to make some of her great desserts. I am a terrible cook and I am not creative so I know that it wouldn’t be easy for me to learn. But I think that it is important. Every December, my Mom cooks a cake for my Grandfather’s birthday. However, since my Grandparents spend the winter in Florida, we eat one on his actual birthday without him and then later cook another one when he is actually here. I want to learn how to make this cake because it is a cake that my Grandfather remembers from growing up. If I learn how to make this recipe then I would be able to keep making it and one day teach my kids how to make it. I may not be a great cook but I could learn. And by learning I can pass it on.

Until then, I will eat Ramen Noodles and food from the commons. But I also wonder - what foods you miss from home? Is there a family recipe that you are eager to learn? Or will you be eating pre-made food from the microwave forever?