What does the Music, that comes from the Old Main Tower, say about Augustana?

                      

How would you like to walk out of your dorm and hear something popular--such as "Centuries" by Fall Out Boy, or "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons--as you casually stroll down the sidewalk to your first class instead of listening to the same old traditional hymns over and over and over and...?  (I think you get the idea!)

 Let's be completely honest my fellow college classmates, the songs or tunes that come from the Old Main Tower don't necessarily reflect our particular generation.  In fact they represent the life that still lingers out there and captures the spirits of the original Augustana College instead of connecting with her fellow classmates.  The tunes that can be heard reflect upon the religious aspect of Augustana College--the starting point.  Don't get me wrong, these tunes do provide a relaxing comfort while walking from building to building or class to class:  It's almost as if God is there with you; comforting your every step and removing the heavy stress that lies on your shoulders.  But I do believe that change is in the air!

After several visits to Iowa State University, I found it extremely interesting that their main bell tower is programmed to play "popular" music of the time.  Now by popular, I mean those songs that could be heard anywhere you go whether it's from the 80s, 90s or 2000s.  While walking through the campus of Iowa State University, I became a witness to how powerful music can be to several thousand students.  Some of the students were singing along with the melody being played, others were dancing their way to their next destination, and others were even stopping and recording the song that was being played and sharing it on social media.  Not to be mean or anything, very rarely do I see individuals singing along or dancing with or praising the hymn that plays throughout campus.

For those of you who are in favor of listening to these hymns everyday, over and over again, there is nothing wrong with that especially if you are very strong in your faith.  I would say that I am strong in my faith and religion and that I personally enjoy listening to Christian contemporary music or Christian hymns, but once in awhile it's nice to listen to something outside of the everyday norm.  Once in awhile, hearing those hymns does provide me with motivation and guidance, but instead of something soothing and predictable to give me that motivation, it would be nice to hear something that really gets my blood flowing.  Would you rather be walking and singing to "Another one Bites the Dust" or "How Great Thou Art" as you find your way to class?

So what does the music, that comes from the Old Main Tower, say about Augustana College--our school?  The music suggests that our school carries a religious background, religious course offerings, religion and contemporary thinking, and that it focuses on the spiritual aspect and motivation that is perceived through Christ to produce well rounded, well educated individuals who are mentally and physically ready for the life awaiting them outside the "Augie Bubble."  To many, the religious music that comes from the Old Main Tower is an iconic characteristic of Augustana College that sets us apart from other schools.  Others will say that you don't have to always play religious music to show people that you are religious.  It's time for a change!

So wouldn't it be nice if you heard something different playing through the campus air? It's time for Augustana College to take it to the next level of connecting with its students.  Everybody needs their own form of motivation; whether it's Queen, Fall Out Boy, Imagine Dragons, Justin (What's his face?) Bieber, or the traditional words of God.  Once in awhile, we all have to step out of our comfort zone and try something different and now is the time for Augustana College to make a change, connect with its new generation, and spice the lives up of its students.  Say good-bye to the old age and welcome in the new age!!

Images:
1.) http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/music-notes-7544001.jpg
2.) http://www.rigov.org/images/pages/N1037/7AV_3600.jpg
3.) http://www.tumblr18.com/t18/2013/10/Back-to-high-school-cheerful-students.jpg
4.) http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-and-welcome-to-the-new-age.png

Wait a minute... you aren't me. Are you?

Okay, let's face it, I would consider myself to be in the loop when it comes to having or being apart of the new technology crave, but when it comes to being noticed on these new craves--such as Facebook, Twitter, or even just simply Google--I seize to exist; unless you count the other several identities or e-dentities of the other Daniel Skeltons of the world.

When I Facebooked my name, I was pretty worried about what was going to appear.  But it turns out that my own profile wasn't the first suggestion to pop-up even though I was searching myself while being logged-in to my personal account.  According to Facebook, Daniel Skelton enjoys listening to David Guetta, Axwell, and Steve Angello while he reads "All these Goat Pages," "Naming your Son Jesus," and "50 Sheds of Hay."  Personally, I don't know who would want to read "50 Sheds of Hay," but it sounds just as dirty as the original "50 Shades of Gray."  Besides liking books and music, apparently Daniel is a huge soccer fan, baseball fanatic, and as an interest in cricket all while being Australian.  Although that Daniel Skelton sounds pretty interesting--but yet questionable--that e-dentity--someone's online profile and identity--doesn't quite send the right message to who I am online.  Sorry unknown Facebook Daniel Skelton, but you aren't me.

Stepping away from the narrow search of Facebook, I decided to use Google's Search Engine to find who I really am online.  Yeah, that wasn't very promising either!  When I typed Daniel Skelton into the search bar of Google, something very interesting and strange appeared.  Images of a shirtless, muscular, teenage looking male covered my screen appearing not just by himself or with another shirtless male, but with four other shirtless, muscular, teenage looking males.  (Sorry ladies, I don't actually look like that!)  I personally don't know how to take this information.  Not only does this Daniel Skelton appear to be a male model, but he is also an actor.  He has starred in "Eating Out: All You Can Eat (2009)", Eating Out: Drama Camp (2011)," and Eating Out: The Open Weekend (2011)."  The covers of all these movies appear to be sexual and very questionable when it comes to presentation and one's gender identity in society and online.  Again, this Daniel Skelton does not accurately represent the kind of person I am online or in person.  Quite frankly, this Daniel Skelton kind of scares me and makes me question my own identity.

Although these individuals share my name, they do not accurately depict the kind of person I am online.  When or if you find me online, you will notice that my e-dentity is mostly focused on pictures/images that tell about my interests, family, friends, and life outside of school.

 Through Facebook, you can truly find out my e-dentity but checking out my interests--such as musical interests, events that I have attended or are apart of, and places that I have gone.  Believe it or not, non of my interests involve modeling or dealing with goats!

 Besides my many interests, my e-dentity portrays me as a family guy who enjoys sharing pictures of my parents, brothers, sister, nephews, and of course my dog, Jackson, and my bird, Charlie.  By providing images of my family, my e-dentity shows that it wouldn't exist without them willing to smile for the camera.



If it's not my family smiling for the camera, it is definitely my friends; more specifically my girlfriend.  My e-dentity suggests that I am obsessed with her, but I suggest that I just like being with her! She probably makes up about over half of the images that appear on my Facebook page.  If it's not my family appearing in pictures, it is definitely her or something music based.

Although our e-dentity's are something that describes us to the rest of the world, sometimes who we appear to be online  doesn't accurately depict the kind of person we actually are.  Having an e-dentity can be a positive way to connect with those who you normally don't get to see, but for those that you get the chance to see in person, your e-dentity is just a great way to waste time and leave ridiculous comments that make you feel grateful for having a separate life online. 

Real Life On Television?

For those of you who think that today's reality television shows are lacking in the substance of real life and real meaning, you haven't taken the time to change the channel from the "popular" shows to the more serious shows such as "A to Z" or "Parenthood."  Although "A to Z" is a show that most couples can find themselves relating to whether it's communication skills or trust, the hit NBC television show "Parenthood" presents the real life struggles of an average family as they go about living their separate lives while still being grounded to their family roots.  Even though we, as college students, may not have a family of our own, we all come from a family that either has been through or is going through struggles that seem unreal and unexplainable.  Because of these similarities, this show has the power to get into your mind and cause you to consider the certain aspects of the faces of oppression.

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Within this show the family experiences an unexpected pregnancy of a daughter, two divorces--one in which the female has been through many boyfriends and the other is working on mending their relationship--a couple that has a son with Aspergers, a racially mixed marriage, and a father/grandfather who experiences multiple heart problems that have caused the family to live on edge about what the future has in store for them.  Although some of these conflicts or issues may seem a little extreme, these conflicts let the viewing audience know that the family in the show isn't perfect.  But at the same time, what is the likelihood that all these issues would take place at the same time.  Don't get me wrong, it could be possible.  But what is the likelihood?

"Parenthood" is an excellent example of fake reality when it comes to living within reality.  The issues that they are going through are actual everyday problems that everyday people experience which is why its audience is so drawn to the drama of the show.  The family does such a good job at acting like they don't know that all this was coming which allows that audience to feel sorry for them.  (Them as in the make-believe family that is supposed to resemble an average family in America.)  Don't get me wrong, I believe I come from an average American family: But what exactly is an average family?  How do they act?  What do they do? 

This particular show sets up a subliminal message to its viewers that projects the image of what an average American family looks like and how they behave.  So in order to be average, a family has to go through all these issues, right?  What is the family if these issues never arise?  Ultimately, although I love watching this show, this show should be more aware of the kind of oppressions it is creating between what the viewing audience is seeing and how they are interpreting what they are seeing. 

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For example, the oppression of powerlessness is shown through the families ability to only focus on themselves.  Over the past six seasons of this show, not once has the family encountered a lesser family either because the writer never thought about that or the family is supposed to resemble the fact that when things go wrong, everyone should turn their focus towards you and forget their own level of power within the same community.  Along those same lines, the show encounters another level of oppression when it comes to cultural imperialism.  The more viewers this show obtains, the more reality starts to sink in for those viewers.  The fake reality that is seen on television not only impacts the way that we see ourselves, but it impacts our cultural.  It seems as if when something goes wrong in a family everyone has to know about it.  Why is that?  What ever happened to being scared of telling other people the faults in your family?  Just because a created family on television does it, doesn't make it culturally acceptable for everyone else. 

Even though the show "Parenthood" presents multiple problems when it comes to actual reality and its image of an average American family, it still has received many positive comments that have to deal with the fact that although one may be faced with unexplainable circumstances, there is always an alternate path that leads to a happy ending.  And after watching it for six seasons, I believe there must be some truth to what a family actual is.