Obama's acceptance speech in Denver

With crowds screaming and chanting, "Obama! Obama! Obama! Yes We Can! Yes We Can! Yes We Can!" Barack delivers yet another empowering speech that will transcend through time.

Watch the full speech here or go to msnbc.com:

45th Anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech

Fourty-five years ago today, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Tonight, the first African-American man in history will stand before the nation at Invesco Field and accept the Democratic Presidential Nomination.

To read more about the Presidential Nomination, please go to the following sites:
Obama Wins Nomination; Biden and Bill Clinton Rally Party
Obama seeks to woo nation with speech

The following are excerpts from MLK's original speech:

"In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.

It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

[you may find the rest of the speech @: http://www.mlkonline.net/dream.html]

Happy Anniversary Martin Luther King!

good friends are...

i dunno where my mother got this from, but i found it to be quite true, and yet amusing at the same time. go figure, i would.

"...good friends are like good [quality] bras --

they are supportive,
they are comfortable,
they don't let you down,
they don't keep you hanging,
and most importantly,
they are close to the heart."

--Victoria's Secret (fyi, my mom's name is Victoria)

embracing change

i've been staying away for various reasons, one is that all my current musings would only reflect the same redundancy of the last couple posts: the post-grad anxiety i've been experiencing.

today i was just reading a blog a PMC associate pastor wrote. he wrote about change and how the general population usually reacts to change. most people tend to run the opposite direction when confronted with change, while there are only a very small few that actually embrace change. in our current day and age, change is a constant part of life. technology, scientific discoveries, economic situations, relationships, etc all undergo change at rather rapid speeds. most of the time, it's a speed we're not yet comfortable with until it's time for another change.

i've been having progressive epiphanies on this matter when i realized what i was attempting to do--run away from change. i'm in my early 20s and have been somewhat protected from drastic changes. now that i've graduated from the safety, security, and structure of college, i was a bit caught off guard when i didn't know how i would maintain those three S's i was accustomed to having.

after two months of pep talks from close friends (whom i'm very thankful for), i finally decided to be a little more proactive with the change that's so-called part of [MY] life. rather than just sit and read job descriptions of what i'd ideally like to do, i finally took one and wrote the bestest coverletter and resume i could muster. just the very act of writing the company got me excited and started to alter my entire frame of mind.

i feel much more motivated, optimistic, driven, and passionate about pursuing something than i was a month ago! i realized how deep into depression i really was and the hole was only getting deeper. the very act of taking a day off to do things i really needed to do and improve my resume renewed the fervor and zeal i knew i once had within me.

now, i feel refreshed and ready to embrace the changes and challenges that LIFE will present me. thank you God for these dear friends of mine who take time from their busy LIVES to care enough to give me some perspective and even leads to job opportunities.

here I am LIFE! I'm ready for ya!

After-College-20Something Talk

a word of voice to undergrads out there: prolong your college experience for as long as possible.

I do not know what I'm doing or what I will be doing. I'm studying for the GRE so I can pursue a Masters in a field that I'm not so sure about yet. And after five years of studying and reading textbooks (I actually read the chapters assigned), you'd think my vocabulary would be somewhat larger. Not so much. yep, I have nil to offer.

man, am i wallowing in self-loathe? no, this is so unlike me. why am i beating myself up so much?

because it's a big, scary world out there with so many possibilities! i don't know which one to face first!

does putting off the "Real World" really prolong the fact that I will have to continue the journey of life--begin a 'career,' build financial security, pursue higher education, and if it's in the cards for me, find "the ONE," get married and start another cycle of life.

am i a coward if i choose to go abroad and search for more adventure using the guise that I'm looking to enhance my international professional skills? in my heart of hearts, i do want to do all of the above: the American Real World, but i'm scared.

what is it that i'm scared of? a former mentor once taught me the following acronym: FEAR is nothing but False Expectations Appearing Real. i'm so good at preaching that to others too, but when it comes down to practicing it myself, now that's another story.

so this is the challenge i have for myself: face my FEARs, they are only inevitable situations. whether i choose to accept them and face them this year or in the next two years, i will still have to go through them. so why waste time, a friend asked. life isn't that long. life is definitely short, which is why i'm babbling about this to you friends and stalkees.

i understand this is what everyone says is typical "After-College-20something" talk, but i'm glad i can still express it amongst all the other 20Somethings out there that blog about their mundane thoughts. thanks for letting me be one of them!

The Next Chapter of My Life Huh?

A whirlwind update: a month ago, I graduated from Andrews University with a BA emphasizing in International Communication and a BA in Spanish Studies (so yes, that does mean that I have the ability to speak with at least 90% fluency). The past four weeks, I was traveling around Chile and Brasil with 49 other students to complete the last six credits I needed for my Spanish degree. A great end to a college career huh?


Do I sound marketable enough yet? Well, I'm sure after 2 Master's degrees, 3 Doctorates, a PhD, and a command of at least 5-6 more languages, I can get that dream job--whatever(s) it is that I'm dreaming to achieve.

Anyways, I came back home less than a week ago, spent a long weekend at home with my family and dog, did some laundry, got my fill of TV and home-cooking, and packed up again to move back to good ol' Berrien Springs where I'm currently living [pretty destitutely] by myself in a basement apartment right next to the house, formerly known as the 'Filipino Sorority House,' where I lived with 3-4 other [Filipina] girls for a large part of my college experience.

Before I drove away from my Permanent home, my mother and I bowed our heads as we typically do before I drive or fly away. Her prayers usually requested for my safe travels, blessings for my studies and exams, wisdom in preparing future plans as I finish college, etc. This prayer had a little variation to it. This time, she said: "as Karen embarks on the next chapter of her life...please guide her...." and I can't remember the rest of her sentence. My attention got stuck with the first part of her sentence, "the next chapter of her life." Have I really already arrived at that chapter? What a cliché question, but true. When I first started college five years ago, I didn't think I'd arrive at this chapter of my life so quickly! I thought I still had plenty of time to figure out what to say to the staple question that seems to automatically activate in everyone's minds once you graduate from college: "so, what's next?"

My answer to "what's next?" isn't the most glamorous, but it'll have to do.

While I have lived away from home for at least 6-7 years now, I have never actually lived without a roommate. I'm supposed to have a roommate this summer, but circumstances altered at the last minute; therefore I am currently learning firsthand how to literally live alone for the first time in my life. I admit, the first night in my unfurnished, spacious apartment, made me feel a little nervous. It was almost as if I didn't know how to act around myself. Haha, okay maybe I sound a bit exaggerated. But seriously, I guess it really does take some getting used to. Don't get me wrong, I still have friends here, it's just different coming home to [sometimes a lot] people or coming home to walls and carpet. The walls don't have much of a witty remark to the question: "how was your day?"

Anyways, the second night was a bit more comfortable with myself. I could easily just call one of my friends and hang out at their PAD until I grow sleepy, but I wanted to give myself and I a shot. So, after collecting the rest of my belongings from a friend's basement, I unpacked them, discovered my small collection of DVDs, unrolled my cozy sleeping bag in the middle of the large living room, popped in season 4 of Friends, propped my PowerBook on a RubberMaid top, and settled in to five very old and still amusing episodes of Friends. I heard myself laughing out loud several times throughout the couple hours and realized that the family upstairs could most likely hear me. Despite that, I didn't want to reprimand myself from laughing. Not then, not ever. I realize this is something I will always have with me. If you've ever watched anything with me, you know that's true. As hard as I try, I have an honest to goodness difficult time keeping myself silent. It's just uncontrollable. However, I have to say I sincerely improved when amongst bigger groups of people and am somehow managing to keep the comments to a minimum. But, when I am by and with myself, as I was the second night, I don't even try. I just let myself lose. Boy did it feel good! And I did have fun by myself!

As for the first chapter of my life after college...I guess as a response to the question 'what's next', it would read: "Having Fun with and by Myself."

Travel Update

here's a quick summary what's been going on in the past few weeks:

1. I finally graduated from college on May 4! yaya!!


2. The day after graduation, May 5, I flew out (along with 40+ other students) to Santiago, Chile.

3. We spent a week in Chile where we were shivering our butts off because it's fall there right now and summer is just approaching in Chicago and Berrien Springs.


4. We arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil on Sunday evening where we've been disfrutando a variety of things like El Cristo Redentor who overlooks and protects the entire city.



5. I will probably have a hard time putting up more pictures since I didn't bring my own laptop. anyways, there's one.