The Optimist
You are here: Home / Opinion

The tale of a tongue-tied traveler

by

My Spanish teacher told me I had one of the worst Spanish accents she'd ever heard. She said this to me in front of the whole class after I had answered a question. Strangely enough, my eagerness to speak in a foreign language just hasn't quite been the same ever since. Part of the problem is I can't roll my tongue. This is a pretty quintessential ... [Read More…]

Make the most out of CORE

by

I wish I could go back and take CORE over again. Not because I enjoyed it, but because I didn't. The Cornerstone course for incoming freshmen is not a popular one; it especially wasn't in the fall of 2010. Students' complaints ranged from the abstract foundation of the material to the sometimes uncomfortable subject matter. Different instructors ... [Read More…]

There are no winners on Valentine’s Day

by

Valentine's Day is tomorrow. This holiday is no good for anyone. Couples are forced to awkwardly exchange gifts and profess affection. In case you were wondering, chumps who are in love should probably acknowledge it more than once a year. Being mandated to do so by a traditional Anglican and Lutheran holiday also wrecks any pretense of being ... [Read More…]

Lent provides second chance

by

If New Year's resolutions seem to be withering, fear not, Lent has come to pass. I always had deemed Lent the strike-two event for resolutioners, the non-Catholics bandwagon jump for those who postponed January 1st goals. The pre-Easter preparation is a traditional Catholic ritual held 40 days prior to Holy Week, a time set to give up pleasures ... [Read More…]

Travel more fun than vacationing

by

Texas is a big state and the United States is a big country, but it's surprising how many people can say they've never left the U.S., or even Texas. Oh, and that vacation to Cancun where you sat by the pool and drinks came with little umbrellas doesn't count. That's not a different country, it's a tourist trap. Travel can seem like an ominous ... [Read More…]

Congress selling debt, Gen Y ready to buy

by

The American generation prone to acquiring the most debt is about to acquire a lot more - from the government. The federal debt held by the public is higher than it's been in more than 60 years, $16.5 trillion, according to a Congressional Budget Office report on Tuesday. $16,500,000,000,000. The debt is projected to grow, at a slower rate, for ... [Read More…]

Faith mandates spur conflict

by

Religious conflict in the Middle East and northern Africa is a testament to the complexity of cultural relativism. Islamism is the belief that the religion of Islam must be the guiding force for the social, political and personal lives of humanity. It's unsurprisingly rampant in this region. Mere opinions of secularists are no match for the true, ... [Read More…]

You are here: Home / Opinion