Letting My True Colors Show

So after months and months of speculation, Alpha Epsilon Pi, the predominant Jewish fraternity is making its' return to the University of Miami. I've always wanted to join a fraternity and Alpha Epsilon Pi had always been my first choice, had plans of rushing in Spring 2008 at Maryland, had I not done things on impulse, I'd most likely be brother of the University of Maryland Alpha Epsilon Pi chapter and still pursuing my studies at the Smith School of Business. My father was a brother of AEPi at the University of Tennessee but then transferred to Boston University and did not go thru the Greek route during that transition. I've always been enriched in my religious roots, it was a little hard for me growing up in a reform household because I was the only one of three Jewish children who wanted to have a full three-hour Passover seder, but I was lucky to get my older brother, Evan, and my dad to allow me to say the Four Questions as I was the youngest child. Ever since I became a student at Miami, observing Shabbat on a weekly schedule has become a lifestyle. This past summer I had the opportunity to make the journey over to Eretz Israel and it was truly one of the most educational and inspirational trips that I've taken in my whole entire 20 years of living. Seeing the mountains that Hashem himself created with my own eyes was like eating ice cream for the first time. Visiting the Kotel and placing prayer scrolls in the crevices did not seem real. The trip was all dream to me, but the concept of living life is a dream in my own eyes. There's just a warmth and feeling of genuity with the Jewish religion that allows me to create such strong bonds with my fathers and sons. I'm hoping AEPi develops into a strong family of brothers, brothers who could live their lifes through the good and bad and still remain blood thick in the end. May we bleed blue and yellow forever and ever, until the last drops of our spiritual fluids enlight the world.

The Remedies of Life

Finally! After five days of poisoning myself with Azithromycin, a ill-tasting, pink solution, amongst other normal medications (Benadryl, Tylenol, Robitussin, cough drops, etc.), I am beginning to feel like the million-dollar man again. Not just physically either, I'm feeling spiritually refined. These next two months are so jammed pack that I will no longer have time to ponder about the queries of life. With the colonization of Alpha Epsilon Pi on Friday, Sportfests on Saturday and Sunday, Jewish convention in New Jersey next week, Miami Heat-Philly 76'ers game... and then by the time I know it, it will be Spring Break, and I'll be rebelling against the legalities of society, participating in underage drinking games and jerking myself around the floor, a little activity known as "dancing". My weekends are transforming from days of boredom and depression into ones filled with excitement and meaning. Although, I'm not satisfied that my weekends are not mirroring my memories of College Park, I've been taking care of that and we shall see how everything maps out in these next couple of months. Now, I'm kind of behind in some classes so I'll have to spend these next couple of days at the library, feeding my brain with loads and loads of crap about the government, accounting principles, and god knows what else. As long as I can pull off another legit index for this semester and maintain my stellar cumulative average, we'll be good! Also, I'm busy planning St. Baldrick's Day. Yep!, I think I may've finally knocked some sense into the student body at Miami, but I'm still looking for guinea pigs to shave their heads, so if you're not an insecure Miami jock, then get at me and shave my head for a good cause. Who knows, you may even save a life in the process. On top of all this Miami business, I still have to finish my essays for certain applications, DON'T ASK because I'm not saying a word what they are for, but you may find out in the near future. I'm going to poison myself once more with that pink crap. 

Taking Off The Mask

So I'm kind of new to this particular blogging software, as in high school I was a LiveJournal addict, updating my followers on a day-to-day basis with my cynical point-of-view. As I sit here typing this first post, I am metaphorically taking off the mask, the mask that has caused me such anger, frustration, and even depression. The truth is, that sometimes we are easily able to deceive those individuals who inhabit space around us. People say patience is a virtue, but what if you've given something almost half of your youth, and the results are still not there. Recently, I've been regretting the transfer that I made in the Spring of 2008 to the University of Miami. My fall semester was everything I had hoped for and dreamt about, despite a few altercations that could've been solved and easily adapted to. Weather, something tells me I should've put on my North Face and grew up, instead of changing my already established, new life.  Weekends of causing mischief on Fraternity Row and at The University View Apartments, turned into ones of relaxation and isolation. While my friends at Maryland were living it up, I was trying to make due with what Miami had to offer me, which was essentially nothing until about the second month. At Maryland , I was nowhere as involved in Jewish life as I am at Miami. All my friends were supplied in Ellicott Hall, lecture halls, and orientation weekends. I not only had one group of friends, but had a diversified mixture to chose from. So now I'm taking off the mask, and letting everyone know how Miami has changed me as a person. Before I transferred to UM, I was one of the most confident individuals that you would come across in your life, not caring what others thought and it was no struggle for me to find people to share my memories with. However coming into a highly "image orientated" environment in the midst of a crucial year for college development, I had underestimated the sudoku puzzle that was in store for me. Walking on the grounds, it was estrange for me to be frowned upon by females that thought they were too good for me or other individuals ignore my weekend proposals for fun as if I was not good enough for them. I tried my hardest to be outgoing, fleeing from room to room on  MT2, however no one was responding to my call. With the failure of making strong friendships on MT2, I decided to give Jewish organizations a chance. Jamie Straz, a junior from Tennessee,opened his arms and invited me to a Shabbat on North Miami Beach, and this was the entrance into a strong, religious connection between me and Jewish involvement at UM. Through Jewish involvement, I was able to form the friendships that encompass my faltering social life at UM. So now, in my third semester at the University of Miami,  I still feel as if an element is missing from my college life, something that Maryland was able to offer that Miami still has not been able to fulfill. In the latter part of the week, I contracted a fever and a possible case of pneumonia. Having people supply me with medications and offer their help made me realize that I have very good, true friends at UM. Am I being selfish then? I have accomplished a lot at the University of Miami, mainly substantially raising my index which will help if I do decide to transfer. This was all very hard to write, as I lay here in my bed sick as a dog, but I just felt I had to get something burning off my chest and maybe it would explain the false smiles on my face.