"You have died of dysentery."

In “The Wizard of Oz,” a dazzled Dorothy stumbles into Munchkin land, only to utter one of the best-known lines in movie history, “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” This year, I had left my own little Kansas voluntarily, only to find myself in Munchkin land, so to speak.

Having graduated from a class with an astounding total of 20 seniors, I admit I had a bit of a shock to walk around a campus with literally a thousand times that many students. Illinois State University has been a giant change for me.

I went from tiny school, where my best friend was senior class President and I was secretary and treasurer, to just another nameless face in the horde of education majors. No one knows what a Krekel’s is, or why taking the Krekel’s car to prom was a big deal. Monical’s has the best pizza, especially with their French dressing. My friends aren’t here to take me muddin’ on the weekends when it rains.

I had never heard of Portillo’s. I don’t know what the Bean is, but I am told I should. I don’t really know what the Buckingham fountain is, but my roommate tells me that all of these things are something everyone should know.

Walking to class each day in my cowboy boots and Carhartt, I am surrounded by a sea of black North Face coats. The talk floating around my head has a distinct Chicago area accent. Ask 100 students where their hometown is, and 98 of them will claim a city near Chicago, if not the enormous city itself.

I hadn’t even been to Chicago till late 2008.

The average student at ISU is as seemingly different form me as a Toyota is from a Ford.

Yet in spite of all these differences, I still find friends who are just like me.

I have found that no matter who you talk to on this campus, they will always know the tune, if not all the words to the song, “Stacey’s Mom,” or the 867-5309 song. We all can hum the theme song to the television show, Rugrats, and watched Power Rangers. We might have even watched Bob Ross paint some happy trees for a little while before flipping to a different station. Pokémon were the coolest back then, but no one could have been cooler than the Backstreet Boys or Spice Girls. We typed “boobies” into our calculators when teachers weren’t looking, and most of us died of dysentery while playing Oregon Trail.

We shared the same experiences, even though we lived in different places.

Inauguration Day

Tuesday was the 44th Presidential Inauguration. It is a day that will supposedly be remembered in the hearts of Americans for years to come. I don’t really care.

People say that everyone should watch the inauguration so that they can share their experience with posterity. Posterity can experience it for themselves on YouTube.

Presidential inaugurations occur every four years. Each man stands up, repeats his vow, and performs his eloquently written speech. They speak of change, unity, and peace. They spin dreams of prosperity, ending depressions, solving our debt. They congratulate our troops courageous fighting, or call for more volunteers.

Who is to say that these speeches are anything more than fancy words to bring patriotism into the listener’s hearts?

Inaugurations have always been a time when people come to see the new president promise to be true to America. This year, there was a huge influx of people wanting to see. T-shirts were made with Obama’s face on them. He is the president that is popular with our generation.

People see him as the solution to our problems. He will lift the economic downfall. He will bring hope to the despairing war in Iraq. He will bring change.

I am not in opposition to President Obama. I just think people make too big of a deal out of his inauguration.

Inaugurations remind me of weddings. He stands up, shaking, nervous. Facing the crowd of people there to support him, he feels the weight of responsibility as he repeats his vows. Sadly, only time will tell if he maintains those vows. (This is not to say that people make too big of a deal out of weddings.)

To sum all this rambling up, I feel that it is more important to follow his actions throughout his presidency, vote for issues, and write to my senators than watch his inauguration.

This said, Tuesday found me at my computer, doing all the homework I should have done over break. I carried on with my normal college life. I attended my politics course where my teacher instructed us to check out Obama’s speech. I think it is very well written.

To quote former President George W. Bush in his first inauguration speech, “It is the American story—a story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals.” President Obama is not an exception to this fallibility. However, he has some great ideas, and has the ability to move this country in the direction it needs.

“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” (Quote from President Obama’s inauguration speech)

intro to my blog.

My name is Katie Rasche. It’s pronounced “rash-ee.” Don't worry, you can laugh.

I am a freshman at Illinois State University. I am originally from Decatur, and I had never been to Chicago till I started coming here. I listen to mainly country music. I own a Carhartt coat, a pair of Laredo boots, and a pair of Dan Post boots. I love to be outdoors, and I miss my home out in the country. Mudding is my favorite sport, and my dream car is a Ford dually F350 4x4 with a lift kit.

I love to read. I got this addiction to books from my mom, who is my best friend. Grammar and spelling errors are my biggest pet peeves. I also strongly believe that if a person doesn’t read a book in its entirety, he or she have no right to criticize it.

I am a Christian and technically a Baptist. However, I do not exactly agree with everything the Baptist church dictates. I was born into a Christian family, but I do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ because of that. I made that particular decision based on observation. The belief that this incredibly complex and amazing universe was simply happen chance seems absurd to me.

My blog page is green because green is the color for lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes. My mom is currently in remission, and I thank God that she is still here.

I try to live life to its fullest and enjoy each day. My favorite author, Terry Pratchett, once wrote, “It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.”