Green: Charlie Cardinal’s Favorite Color

One thing I really love about Ball State is the emphasis they place on living green.  The building I live in – DeHority – for example, is a LEED certified building, meaning it meets certain environmentally-oriented requirements.

However, you can do more in your time at Ball State than just live in an environmentally friendly residence hall.  For example, in my building, each room has a thermostat and two light switches.  One way you can automatically reduce your energy footprint is by turning your thermostat two to three degrees above/below your normal temperature depending on the season.  In the fall and spring, you can honestly turn it all the way off and open a window to let in cool/warm air.

Speaking of windows, instead of wasting energy with your overhead light, always turn it off when the sun’s out or when you’re out of your room.  I always only turn one of the switches on in my room; it saves energy and you don’t really even notice a difference!  Also, if you’re like me and prefer a warmer colored light as opposed to the sterile white of many fluorescent bulbs, you can buy personal lamps that use energy efficient bulbs to give your room a homey glow!

If you’re looking for more tips and tricks about how to make your life more green, visit the BEAT (the Ball State Energy Action Team) website at http://thebeat.iweb.bsu.edu/.  It’s a really neat organization to follow or become involved in!

Choose a Passion, Not a Major

Sounds simple enough, right?  After all, why would you choose to do something for the rest of your life if you’re not passionate about it?  Let me tell you, it’s not always so easy.  Sometimes other things get in between you and your passions.

All my life, I’ve wanted to be a teacher; at first it was music, then history, but finally I settled on science.  However, when I was in my senior year of high school, a friend of mine told me, “Jamie, if you become a teacher you’ll be poor for the rest of your life.”  Poor?  That was something I’d never thought of before.  I’d known all along that you’d never make it big by teaching science in a public high school, but to be penniless was something that never even crossed my mind.

Riddle me this: you love science, you love being around people, and you DON’T want to be poor, what do you do?  And the answer is you become a doctor!

So that’s exactly what I did.  I enrolled in Ball States Pre-Med program and began to take classes.  Freshman year was pretty easy; general biology, general chemistry, core classes.  Sophomore year, however, got harder.   A lot harder!  I remember sitting in the middle of an Organic Chemistry lecture and thinking to myself, “What have you gotten yourself into?”  Not only did I not understand the material, but something inside me just felt wrong.

It was about half way through the semester when I saw an ad for a speaker that was coming to campus.  “Choose a Passion, Not a Major.”  Talk about an “aha” moment!

So I went to the speaker and, as dumb as it sounds, a light went off in my head.  I realized that, regardless of my salary or what other people think, I need to take what I think is the right path for me.

So now I’m a junior at Ball State, majoring in Life Science and Spanish Education.  Will I be here for the rest of my life?  Yes, indeed.  But, will I enjoy those years and know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that when I graduate I’ll be going into the job I was meant to do?  You betcha!

Here’s the bottom line:  if you can’t dig it, it’s time to change shovels.  When you’re deciding on a major, pick it for you.  Because, when all is said and done, it’s your life to live so you might as well do what you’re passionate about.

The Minnetrista’s Farmer’s Market

One of my absolute favorite parts of living in Muncie is the Minnetrista’s weekly Farmer’s Market.  Every year I look forward to the fresh produce, homemade breads, pastries, and preserves, and everything else there.

The market runs on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings.  Every Saturday, I gather up whoever I can find – who wants to go – and we head out!  One of my favorite parts of the trip is the walk there.  There are about five old houses you pass by once you get into the park that are really neat to look at.  Some of them were actually the homes of the Ball Brothers and their families.  (I’ll admit it:  I’m a little bit of a history nerd!)

So once we arrive, I generally give the place the once-over, looking at all the booths, seeing what’s new, what’s in season and what’s on sale.  Every week I tell myself I’m not going to buy something to make a dessert with, and every week I fail!  If it’s early fall, I get peaches to make peach crisp or peach pie; if it’s a little later in the season, apple pie or apple dumplings are on the menu.  I think, however, I’m going to get some veggies this week and make a big pot of chicken stew!

So, if you ever find yourself awake on a Saturday morning, you should check out the farmer’s market.  Who knows?  I might see you there!

P.S.

Here’s my apple/peach crisp recipe, in case you’re interested:

For the filling:
Start by peeling 6-8 medium-size to large apples or peaches.  Remove the core/pit, cut them into eighths and combine with ½ cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour (more if the fruit is really juicy), 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and one pinch of salt, stirring to evenly coat the fruit with the ingredients.  Allow them to sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator while you make the topping.

For the topping:
In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 and ¼ cup of flour, ½ cup of white sugar, ½ cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of salt and ¼ cup of chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts), if you like.  Next, using your fingers, add 1 and ½ stick of room-temperature butter.  Once combined, the mixture should look crumbly.

Put the filling in a 9×9 baking dish and cover it with the topping.  Bake it in a 350˚ oven for about half an hour or until the top is golden brown and crisp.