AGvocacy in the limelight...

When most people from outside California think of the sunshine state, they like to imagine the "Hollywood lifestyle." In fact, I have had a couple people here in Kansas ask me if I know any famous people. All that I can tell them is that my hometown has produced some famous people, including Star Wars creator George Lucas, Justified Star Timothy Olyphant and Jeremy Renner, who you will see in the Avengers next summer. I have never actually met any movie stars personally. In fact, I have respect for hardly any film or television stars, the same goes with musicians. A lot of them sell out their values and beliefs for fame and fortune.

I have, however, met celebrities of a different kind. These people are the ones who I respect on a much higher level. The people I am talking about are people in the agricultural community promoting and defending the industry. People that risk being personally attacked for supporting an industry that feeds the world. Some of the real celebrities I have met include: Past CA Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura, Past US Secretary of Ag Anne Veneman, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, and the young lady I met yesterday evening.

I'm talking about Teresa Scanlan, but you may know her as Miss America. She is the youngest Miss America ever at only 18 years old, although if you spoke to her you would think that she was much older. Her platform she chose to advocate for during her reign is the promotion of farmers and agriculture, as well as educating about eating disorders, and this woman knows her stuff. She came to give a lecture here on campus about production agriculture and the challenges that we will face in my generation.

Yes, I know I'm blinking. I think when you stand next to Miss America, you look less attractive by comparison.

Here's a better picture.

While she was not raised on a farm, her parents taught her the importance for agriculture. She has a deep respect for farmers and everything they go through day-to-day. I am glad we have someone like her who can intelligently describe our position to mainstream audiences. Her motto for her platform is "Not everyone farms, but everyone has to eat."

I'd like to thank Ms. Teresa Scanlan for coming to Kansas State and even more thanks for her choosing agriculture as her platform and working with farming organizations and charities.

Just an Update on that Grim Reaper Picture (Actually Father Time)

For those of you who had read my post a couple weeks ago about some pictures I took on campus, I commented on a mysterious sundial that's located in the middle of the quad. Here is the picture below (you can click on it to enlarge it):

I stated how odd it is that there's a sundial in plain view with the grim reaper on it. After being puzzled, I went to look for answers. Why was it there? What does it mean? Why would Kansas State allow a sundial with the epitome of death right in plain view?

I went to the library, the only place I thought suitable to ask a question about Kansas State lore and mythology. I met a man named Dan, who worked for the library, and asked him "I was wondering if you could help me with an odd question. I noticed a while ago that the sundial in the quad had a picture of the grim reaper, and I was just wondering, what's the deal with that?" He looked at me funny and said he never noticed that there was a grim reaper. I then showed him the picture, where he stared at it for a little bit and said "oh! that's not the grim reaper, that's supposed to be father time!" Father Time? When I think of Father Time, I think of someone like Jeffery Tambor in that one episode of Arrested Development where he had to play God, with a big white robe and long white hair with the beard to match. I never thought of Father Time in a dark robed, scythe carrying, lone-ranger type of guy. After doing some research though I was quite shocked to see the similarities. Take a look for yourself:

Father Time

The Grim Reaper

There you have it. I think you could agree with how easily you can mistake that sundial like I did. My first Kansas State mystery solved! I'm ready for the next one, and make it a challenge next time won't you KSU?

Around Campus

So last week I decided to take some more pictures from KSU's campus to show all the people back home some more.

This wasn't actually taken by me, but by my partner in my agriculture communications class, but I liked it.

This is Anderson Hall. It's the admissions building here on campus. Every building on campus has these stone walls, making campus look like a castle or a fortress, which is pretty cool in my opinion.

This is probably my new favorite picture. I came across this walking back from class.

KSU also has lots of wooded areas. This is part of the nature area in the southeastern area of campus.

I'm sure I'm not one of the only people intrigued by the sheer amount of the squirrels and rabbits around here on campus. Every time I see one I just want to yell "squirrel!"

I found this sign on the ground, and I couldn't agree with it more.

This is the most puzzling piece to KSU in my honest opinion. This is the sundial in the middle of the quad, between the buildings for the library, College of Agriculture and the Department of Art. On it is a picture of the grim reaper holding his scythe with the phrase "Grow Old Along With Me, The Best Is Yet To Be". I think I found something to research here on campus on my down time. Let me know what you think it means in a comment.

For those of you wondering what I've been up to...

So it has been over four months since I chose to make the decision to leave California for Kansas, and I must say, what a great decision it has been! While California seems to be declining, Kansas is thriving. It is great here: the people are kind and helpful, the faculty treat you like family, and I feel like an actual person and not just a tuition check. That's not to say that California doesn't have those things, but it seems to be a guideline for how people behave here. These are down to earth people, who don't feel entitled or self-important. When people ask me what is the main difference between California and Kansas, I always tell them the same thing: back in California, it feels like people are always rushing to do nothing, they make no time to relax or make time for you because they are always too busy with themselves and things they do. Not a bashing of citizens of California, just a personal observation.

So what've I been up to in the past four months? Let me give you a quick rundown.

I flew over here on May 15th, but my dorm was not available until the next day, so my father and I stayed in a hotel. All I brought with me were a suitcase and two duffle bags, and of course my computer. It was odd that I had to pack up my entire life into 3 bags.

The next day I checked into Moore Hall, where I had my own room, which was pretty nice. The best part of the place though was the store on the first floor. If you were hungry or thirsty all you had to do was hop on the elevator, go down to the lobby, and buy some food. Thank goodness I left that dorm because it could easily make you gain weight if you aren't careful. It doesn't help that the cafeteria could by accessed by taking the elevator down to the basement and walking down a tunnel to the dining center.

I then moved to Goodnow Hall at the end of June, and stayed there until the end of the summer semester, when I found a small studio apartment a few blocks from campus that I now currently live in. I also had a roommate for a couple weeks, which was unexpected, but a good experience.

This thing has saved my metabolism. Without it, I would probably be fifty pounds heavier. With the dining center's unlimited amounts of food and the close proximity to the dorm rooms, weight gain is plausible. One of the nice things about my bike, which I call "The Juggernaut" (because the colors resemble the suit from the X-Men villain so aptly named), is it allowed me to explore the campus very easily, and I found a few nice things on campus.

One nice thing about Kansas State are the veteran memorials. For those of you who don't know, Manhattan, Kansas is near Fort Riley, which is the largest military compound in the midwest. Home to the Big Red One, it is needless to say Kansas State is extremely supportive of their men & women of the armed forces. There are memorials for every foreign war, which include these two. I attended the unveiling of the World War 2 memorial, which was amazing. I met Gov. Sam Brownback, and he personally welcomed me to the state of Kansas and Kansas State. It was a great experience.

Another cool thing about K-State's campus is the abundance of animals, particularly squirrels and rabbits.

Of course, no summer would be complete here without lightning storms. Quite the spectacle to behold. You have no idea how difficult it is to take a picture of lightning with a phone camera!

Now that fall semester has begun, I have been busy with classes, homework and clubs. I took classes during the summer, but all I had to focus on were the classes themselves, but now I have other things on the horizon to think about. I enjoy my classes, all of them in fact, which is interesting because I usually have one boring class that I can't stand. I also recently got accepted to the CAT program here at K-State. CAT stands for College of Agriculture Training Program, and is a semester long weekly class to train upcoming agriculture ambassadors.

I plan to keep you updated on future events. So in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night.