April D. Shelton--On Media and Technology

Technology and media have become part of our day to day lives. How do you feel about this? Is it a positive thing? Negative thing? How would your life be different without technology and media?
If you had asked me this 5 months ago, I would have had a much different answer. Right now, it’s the only way that I can do anything. I take online classes, use Facebook to communicate with my friends, Skype for my family, and AIM. My life is centered around technology right now. Do I feel it is a good substitute for face to face interaction? No. Do I feel that it is a good supplement? Yes.

Do you think media is biased? How so?
Of course it is! We as people are biased. Media is all about people. Therefore, it’s biased.

News channels, newspapers, movies, TV programs, novels, radio, music – all is about selling itself. Media will do what it has to, to market itself to certain people. That makes it biased, so it can sell.


Favorite Color: Turquoise

Favorite Book: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Favorite Movie: Dead Poet’s Society

Favorite Music: Well, that one’s kind of hard… my favorite song today is “Carry My Cross” by Third Day, so I guess Christian rock? Or maybe “La Vie Boheme” by RENT, so musicals? Or even “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, so rap? Who knows? :-)

Favorite Bible Verse: Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

Favorite Candy: White Chocolate

April D. Shelton--A Deeper Look

What are your religious beliefs?
I like Jesus a lot. We go for coffee every Tuesday.

If a Christian, when did you accept Christ?
March 7, 2006, after attending a student led worship service at Gardner-Webb. It was one of those things that happens, and you never forget the moment. I felt miserable up until that point in my life. Seriously, it was my mission in life to bring others down to my level. I hated everyone and everything. I am so glad I met Christ!

What church do you attend? How are you active there?
Here, I don’t. I know, that’s going to sound awful, but I’m in Korea. I don’t speak Korean. (I can read it! Small steps!) There aren’t very many English speaking churches in the area, and the ones that are here are very small, and it’s hard to break into it.

Are you active in the community?
The expat community, yes I am. I am a member of the Spanish club here, and I have a lot of friends that I hang out with. I also attend a Bible study here.

However, the actual Korean community, I am not a part of. I can’t speak the language, and in truth, it’s hard for me to get involved at all with those Koreans that can speak English. I always feel like a token foreigner, and I have no clue about a lot of the cultural things that are expected of me. I have met some lovely people who were willing, but I was not.

Have you been on any mission trips?
I went on one to Shelby. That was a good time. I got to help out the local homeless shelter, and work with a lot of amazing people. It was a good experience, but it’s not my calling. (And somehow, I’m in Korea… maybe I don’t know my calling yet! :-))


How do you witness to people?
In truth, I like to live my life in front of them, and then have them make their own decisions. I feel it isn’t my place to force my beliefs on them. Also, another great tool that seems to start a lot of conversations is the fact that I have a cross tattooed on my upper back. Anytime it shows, I am able to have great conversations about my beliefs.

What are your parents’ beliefs?
My father is a Pentecostal minister. He is very deeply religious, and very much a Christian. My mother is an agnostic/uncertain. (It’s been a while since I talked to her about her beliefs.)

What is your political standpoint?
I’m liberal. I find I would rather my government help out those who are disadvantaged, but have a lot of regulations, than a government that allows people to starve to death, and be beaten for lifestyles.

What do you think are some major issues in the world to you? What do you think you can do about them/want to do about them?
I think that hate crimes are my biggest issue with the world. People who hurt other people because they are different. I have seen too many of my friends hurt for things that are out of their control, or just no one else’s business.

I think my biggest want is to rid the world of myths. I went into education to do just that. I want to educate people. A lot of hate crimes start because people are ignorant. Ignorance sparks fear. Fear sparks anger. Anger sparks hate.

Education is the only way to stop people from hurting one another.

April D. Shelton--Who is she?

Tell me about yourself?
I’m a constantly evolving individual, who just wants to become the person I’m supposed to be. I am a graduate student. I love education. I love my family more.

I also love to cut loose and have fun. I am the girl who you see having a dance party by herself simply because it’s 3:11 pm on Monday. I want so much to just have a good time, and help others to do the same!

Where were you born?
I was born in Mt. Pleasant, Charleston, South Carolina. My parents were military, and they decided the smart thing to do would be to take me (the daughter of a marine and an Air Force sergeant) to a civilian hospital. Quick fun story that came of that – they never gave my family my birth certificate. So I was trying to get ready for college, and I realized I didn’t have one. It took 3 years, and a call from my father’s CO in Washington, DC for me to get the little slip of paper that certifies that I do, in fact have a belly button.

Do you have any brothers or sisters? How old are they? Are you close to them?
I am the oldest of five children. The next in line is my brother David. He’s 19. He was born deaf, and after many surgeries, has partial hearing. He’s amazing, and can play a mean guitar when he wishes. Then there is Michael. He just turned 17. I will forever remember him as the chubby cheeked little squirt who would giggle as he threw food at you. Then Rebekah, who just turned 14. She’s growing up so fast! She’s almost in high school. (I feel so old!) And then, there is my unabashed favorite. She’s all of our favorites, so it’s all good. Anna is 11 now. She is the most beautiful little tomboy you will ever meet! She’s amazing.

I am extremely close to my siblings. With the age difference between Anna and I (12 years) it’s almost like a mother daughter relationship there. I guess I would say I have that with all of my siblings, but I’m the closest with Anna.

Did you moove around a lot as a kid/now?
As a child, I moved around a lot before I was 11. When I was 11 we moved back to the family farm my family has lived on for 7 generations. It was the middle of November in my 6th grade year. I remember hating my parents for making me move at that awful time. I had just started to understand middle school, then I pack up and go to one in which no one knows who I am, or cares. However, it was possibly the best thing that could have happened. If I hadn’t gotten out of the school system I was in, I doubt I would have graduated high school. It was a rough school, and I didn’t know it.

Are your parents divorced?
My parents actually just finalized their divorce. I was 21 years old when they separated. I no longer speak to my mother. In my eyes, she left the family when I was 11. She would come back to cause havoc every now and again, but she was essentially no longer part of the family. My father is a single dad, and is doing a bang up job of it though!


Do you want to get married and have kids one day?
No. I can’t see myself ever marrying, due to the fact that I don’t think it’s right for the government to be able to intervene in the way two people who love each other live. Would I swear a vow to never leave of forsake someone, to death do us part? Yes. Would I go to the courthouse and sign a paper that says we are legally bound to each other? No.

As for children, I would love to foster children. I don’t want to have my own, and I don’t want to adopt, but I would love to help the children out as long as I could. Foster parents get a bad rap because of the few bad ones. I want to change that, and the only way to do that is to become a foster parent myself!

How did you come to where you are at right now?
Well, I got on a big silver bird, that rushed me speedily across ocean and land, while giving me peanuts to calm my nerves. :-) I’m in Yeosu, South Korea. I’m an English teacher at a private school. After graduation, like so many people, I couldn’t find a job. I thought I had one, but then the teacher cuts happened, and my little elementary education butt was the first on the list to be chopped.

So, I put my resume on Monster, and got a call from a strange number one Sunday night. It was a recruiter from South Korea, asking me if I wanted a job. We talked for a while, and I jumped through some legal hoops, got a passport and flew to Korea. It was wonderful.

I teach 5 hours a day now, and I am losing all of my free time. I am traveling all over Korea, and some parts of Asia. I’m actually going to Bali for winter break, so that’s going to be amazing! I love it here, even though I’m homesick right now, with the holidays coming up.

What do you want to do with your life?
Well, my dream is to own my own school. I want to have a school that will serve as a massive foster home. I want to employ teachers, social workers, and psychologists that will help my school to become a good college prep school for people who are in foster care. So many times educational life is disrupted by the system. I want to create a place where that doesn’t happen.

I also believe that those in the system are underrepresented in our colleges and universities. By creating a place where the education is part of the home life, I can make a difference in that number, and hopefully better impact the system down the road. If we create leaders out of the disadvantaged, then the disadvantaged will create a world where they are no longer disadvantaged.

Are you dating someone right now?
No, I’m not. I’m enjoying being single. Otherwise, it would be hard to have as many adventures as I do.

How do you relieve stress?
I usually relieve stress by writing. I enjoy writing about life and the thoughts in my head. Like Dumbledore, I often have too many thoughts in my head to keep them all straight. So, my paper is my pensive. I am writing a novel at this point in my life as well, so that is quickly becoming a stress relief.

I also have random dance parties. I love to dance, and so moving to a beat is a good way to get some relief from everyday life.

What irritates you in other people?
I get irritated the most when people won’t tell you something straight. I much more prefer the person who will look at you and say “I don’t like this about you, and this is what I would wish you would do instead,” than the person who will avoid you because they don’t like that about you. I am a big promoter of honesty when it comes to what you like and don’t like about a person. I also realize it’s one of the hardest things to do, so I try not to get too irritated at people about it.

What kind of things do you like to do?
I love to talk and listen. I think it’s my favorite thing to get someone talking about him/herself and to really get to know that person. I much prefer a good conversation to most things.

I also like to climb trees. It’s a good place to hang out and watch the world go by. You begin to realize that a lot of people never look up when they walk, and they miss something very obvious (aka me in the tree!)

What do you want people to know about you?
I care. I care deeply, and I care fully. I really want people to understand that I care, no matter what.

If you could give one piece of advice to the world, what would it be?
If today was your last day, and tomorrow was too late, would it be enough? No? Then make it enough. Take the plunge, ask the girl/boy out, and just live!

If there was one thing in the world that you could change, what would it be?
The amount of hate that people have for each other is so sad. I would change that if I could change anything.

Josh R. House--On Media and Technology

Technology and media have become part of our day to day lives. How do you feel about this? Is it a positive thing? Negative thing? How would your life be different without technology and media?
I think it can be either positive or negative. Technology has made things a lot more impersonal. Instead of talking face to face or through handwritten letters, people communicate through emails, Facebook, text messages, or instant messengers. But then again, technology has made our lives much easier and has brought us great forms of entertainment. For me, technology is kind of my lifeline. Video production and editing would be difficult without technology! So for me, technology has its pros and its cons, but it kind of balances out.

Do you think media is biased? How so?
However unbiased the media may claim to be, biases will always be there. For example, CNN is biased to the left, whereas the supposedly "Fair and balanced" Fox News is biased to the right. I suppose the only way to get an objective view on a story is to hear it from all sides and make your own judgments. But then of course you have your own biases to worry about. So I don't think it's even possible to completely eliminate bias.



Favorite Color: It's kind of a toss up between blue or green. Maybe a good aqua color.

Favorite Book: I honestly haven't read too much recently. I need to get on that. But I've always loved the Chronicles of Narnia series, particularly "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

Favorite Movie: That's a tough one, I have several. I'll have to say the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy will always be near the top, though.

Favorite Music: Depends on my mood, but I love Christian music or instrumental (particularly movie soundtracks).

Favorite Bible Verse: I can't say I really have one specific verse as of right now, but the first passage that comes to mind for me is the beginning of John 14. I don't want to quote the whole thing now, but it's where Jesus says, "In my Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also... I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."


Favorite Candy:Reeses Peanut Butter Cups!

Josh R. House--A Deeper Look

What are your religious beliefs?
I'm a Christian, saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

If a Christian, when did you accept Christ?
Well, which time? I don't necessarily believe that I lost my salvation, but there are two different times where I came go God, once innocently as a child and again later in true repentance from sin.

I was born into a Christian home. My dad's a pastor, my mom's a Sunday school teacher, my grandfather a deacon in his church, so God and church were always a part of my life. When I was 5 I was enrolled at Merrimon Christian School, where every morning started with a Bible lesson. So I always believed in God's existence. But when I was in second grade, we were studying the life of an English missionary to India. I don't remember her name. But when she was a little girl, she heard the words to a hymn in church and realized that being a Christian was more than just knowing in your head, you have to accept Christ with your heart. Well, I figured that must be true for me too, so I thought about it at home later that week and said a prayer along the lines of, "God, I want to be a Christian, so I ask you to come into my heart. In Jesus' name, amen." I hoped that had done it, but for a while I worried that maybe I didn't say the right words or something. What if I had the right intentions but did something wrong?

Well, as time passed I began to understand more about what it really meant to be a Christian. It's about the condition of the heart. Like it says in Romans 10:9-10, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

I was really on fire for God for a while, striving to live for Him in all that I did. That went pretty well until I got to high school. First of all, I was in a school with a freshman class of nearly 400 students, and I knew no one. And secondly, I had been pretty sheltered my entire life. Suddenly for the first time I was exposed to cussing, talk of sex, drugs, alcohol, and when I did make some friends, they were not Christians and led me to do some non-Christian things. I played the part of a good Christian around my family and church, but when I was at school or with my school friends, I was a different person. I cussed like a sailor. I hung out with people whose sole mission in life seemed to be to help me lose my virginity. And though I doubt my conscience would have let me go through with it, I was curious enough to play along. While I never really did anything terrible, I just got involved with a lot of things I'm not necessarily proud of.


When it came time for me to go to college, I began to set my life back on track. Coming to Gardner-Webb for me was one of the greatest things that had ever happened to me. I made good, godly friends and got involved with campus ministries activities such as the Verge. I turned away from all the mess I had been involved with and got my life back on track with God.

What church do you attend? How are you active there?
I attend Broad River Community Church when I'm in Boiling Springs, and on visits home I still attend my home church, South Fork Independent Methodist. I'm honestly not as active as I would like to be at Broad River. I attend church there every Sunday, but that's really about it. I know I should be more plugged-in there, and I would like to be, I just need to learn to manage my time better.

Are you active in the community?
Again, not as active as I feel I should be. Outside of work, I try to stay involved with the GWU theater as much as possible.

Been on any mission trips?
Not yet, but I would love to.

How do you witness to people?
I would say my witness is mostly through my actions. I'm not someone who is really comfortable at this point in just approaching someone and sharing the gospel with them. But I'm more than happy to share my beliefs with someone if they ask me. I just try to live like Christ would live and be a walking example of Him to the world.

What are your parents’ beliefs?
My parents are very conservative (King James Version only) Bible believing Christian people. I mean, I consider myself conservative and they make me look a bit liberal at times. For example, I don't necessarily like tattoos and piercings too much, but I see nothing wrong with them. But to my parents, the body is the temple of God, and tattoos and piercings defile the temple, and are therefore wrong. I don't cuss, but if I hear cussing in a movie I won't dismiss the movie entirely unless it's done completely out of bad taste. My parents will turn off a movie at the first sign of profanity and never turn it back on. They only listen to Christian music because they believe that music that isn't praising God isn't worth listening to. So because of this, I was completely out of touch with most of pop culture until I got to college. It's one reason why I don't like to visit home too much. I love them and I respect their beliefs, but I just feel boxed in around them, like I have no room to breathe.

What is your political standpoint?
I'm conservative. I would never vote straight Republican, but on the whole I agree more with the Republican party on a moral and ethical standpoint.

What do you think are some major issues in the world to you? What do you think you can do about them/want to do about them?
I didn't really know much about issues in the world until relatively recently. I mean, there's hunger, genocide, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, nations that are closed off to Christianity... the list goes on and on. One thing that all of us can do first of all in pray. Secondly, there are plenty of good organizations and charities out there trying to help out. So I would encourage people to find an organization and research them to make sure that the money is being put to good use, then make a donation. And of course, there's always the option to go and do something personally through mission trips if you feel so led. For me right now, I'm looking for some good organizations to support financially once I fix my budget solidly enough.

Josh R. House--Who is he?

Tell me about yourself?
Well, I'm 22 years old, and I just graduated from Gardner-Webb University this past May with my BA Degree in Communication Studies. I double majored in Video & Film Production and Theater. I'm not really sure what to do with my degree yet, so in the mean time I'm working at Chick-fil-A and looking for some private video jobs to give me some experience.

I come from a small family. I'm an only child and the only grandchild on both sides. My dad is an only child, and my mom has a brother but he still lives at home in my grandmother's basement. I'm a preacher's kid, so for me church and the Bible were always just part of life growing up. I went to a small private Christian school called Merrimon Christian School in Asheville, NC, from kindergarten through 8th grade. I never really hung out with any of the kids my age, so I spent much of my childhood alone or with my family. Then when I was about to go into high school, my parents decided that Merrimon wasn't preparing me well enough for college, so they put me into the public school system... from a class of 30 students to a class of 400. I didn't know how to handle it and kept to myself for a couple of years, and didn't really make any friends until my junior year. And then they weren't friends I should have had. I never really did anything terribly bad, but I just wasn't where I should have been. Coming to Gardner-Webb really got me back on track and introduced me to some of the best friends I could ever have asked for.

I love theater. I’ve been involved with theater heavily since my sophomore year in high school. I’ve been a part of roughly 35 individual productions since then, and have had an acting role in nearly half of those. I love the theater, but I don’t really see myself having a career there. To me, theater is more of a hobby.


Where were you born?
Born and raised in Asheville, NC. Until coming to Boiling Springs I lived in the same house for all but about 6 months of my life.


Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Nope, I'm the only one. My mom was pregnant before she had me but miscarried, so I have a sibling I've yet to meet in heaven. Being an only child was nice at times because it meant I was always the center of attention. But I really feel at times like I've missed out on something by not having a brother or sister.

Did you move around a lot as a kid/now?
My family has never really moved around much. Like I just said, I lived in the same house for all but the first 6 months of my life.

Are your parents divorced?
Nope, my parents are happily married.

Do you want to get married and have kids one day?
I'd love to, but I don't see that happening for a while. First of all, before getting married, I need a girlfriend. And secondly, I've only just recently moved out on my own and tried my hand at taking care of myself. I want to make sure I know what I'm doing there first before trying to take care of a family!


How did you come to Gardner Webb?
Well, my college search came down to four schools, all of which accepted me. There was Appalachian State University, Western Carolina University, Campbell University, and Gardner-Webb University. After visiting Appalachian, I dismissed it pretty quickly. Western had some state-of-the-art equipment I was itching to learn to use, but I just didn't have a comfortable feeling about it. So my family and I decided to pray about Gardner-Webb and Campbell. Well, for some reason I thought that my family would prefer it if I went to Campbell, so my prayers were along the lines of, "God, if you want me to go to Campbell, give me a peace about it and let me know." But I never did really feel like I was certain it was the right thing for me to do.

So I told my family to pray about Gardner-Webb. Suddenly, I felt at peace about it, like there was no doubt for me. So I told my family about my decision. When I told my dad, he told me that he had had a dream that night where God had told him He had told me where I should go and signed it with His name. I thought that was kind of weird. Then I got a piece of mail. You know how you get letters from admissions counselors from all the schools that accept you giving you information or telling you what to do next? And they always sign it, "Sincerely," then their name? Well I got one from my admissions counselor at GWU, Amy Callahan. And she signed the letter, "In Christ, Amy Callahan." Call it a coincidence or whatever, but that's all I needed.

What do you want to do with your life?
Still working on that one. I know I love video production and theater. I'd like to do some independent filmmaking or videography work, but getting into the field isn't as easy as I'd like it to be.


Are you dating someone right now?
Not at the moment, no.

How do you relieve stress?
Depends. Sometimes I like to just relax and listen to some music, sometimes I write, sometimes I enjoy just being alone, sometimes I need to get out and be with friends. It just depends.

What irritates you in other people?
I would have to say when someone thinks that they are right no matter what and will not listen to what anyone else has to say. I don’t care if you’re right or not, at least take the time to consider other people’s perspectives rather than being dogmatic about your own position!

What kind of things do you like to do?
Act, write, hang out at the coffee shop, spend time with friends, hike, watch movies and analyze them.

What do you want people to know about you?
I may tend to keep to myself from time to time, but I really can be quite outgoing and I love being around people. I’ve spent so much of my life alone, I can be unintentionally awkward from time to time just because I don’t know what to do with myself around groups of people. But once I get to know you, I’ll do anything for you.

If you could give one piece of advice to the world, what would it be?
Follow your dreams, but not at the expense of God's will. That's something I've been learning lately. The last thing I want to do is go back to Asheville. I guess I'm kind of afraid I'll get stuck there like the rest of my family. I want to stay near Shelby, where all my friends are. But recently I've begun to feel that I'm being led to move elsewhere, possibly back to Asheville for a while. If that's what God wants me to do, then I need to just do it regardless of what I want. For all I know, something wonderful might happen there.

If there was one thing in the world that you could change, what would it be?
People fighting non-stop over stupid stuff. I wish people could just get along, regardless of culture, religion, race, customs, etc.

Tanika Lee--On Media and Technology

Technology and media have become part of our day to day lives. How do you feel about this? Is it a positive thing? Negative thing? How would your life be different without technology and media?
For me, it’s a positive. I can see the negative. But for me I don’t have enough time in the day and texting is fun. fast easy was to keep in touch. If I have a question, I can just send a text. There's no need to have an awkward conversation with someone, that neither one of you wants to have. It’s quick, it’s easy. If I have a 10 page paper, in a couple of hours I can type it out, and not have to write it out which would take a long time. We wouldn't have medical advances without technology. GPS is crucial to me! I can see how it’s bad. They are using the same technology for medical cures in bombs, and war...there is a heads and tails to everything. It's really where people’s accountability comes into question. It’s using it, not the actually technology that’s the problem.


Do you think media is biased? How so?
Yes. I think that the media is going to take any angle that is going to sell papers and get more viewers. It causes a problem not it's not necessarily about the truth. Because the truth is boring. Making up a lie is much more fun.


Favorite Color: Pink

Favorite Book: Gone With the Wind

Favorite Movie: Deep End of the Ocean

Favorite Music: Broadway! I know, you’re shocked.

Favorite Bible Verse: The Lord’s Prayer. God is really there.

Favorite Candy: Skittles.

Tanika Lee--A Deeper Look

What are your religious beliefs?
Not Mormon. I grew up Mormon and my grandparents are Mormon and my best friend in the entire world is Mormon. There are very few good Mormons. I've had a bad experience with the Mormon church. I don’t believe that being gay is a sin and that goes against a lot of religions. So I don’t really fit in anywhere because I have a lot of different beliefs on things like that. I don’t believe you have to be in a building to worship God because He wasn’t. He was on mountain tops. He was with two people.

I don’t like the dirty looks when you don’t go to church. There is always judgment in church and that’s sad. I believe in God and Jesus Christ and I believe that He is my savior and I just don’t know where I fit in. I am still working on it.

If a Christian, when did you accept Christ?
I was really, really young actually, but for a long time I had really bad health and so does my family. And I've asked a lot "Why does all these bad things happen cuz we are good people. Why do bad things happen to good people, but good things happen to bad people?" My faith was gone for a long time. But when I got really sick this past fall and after I lost my voice and couldn’t talk, I lost a lot of my self identity. My faith went down the drain.

Music brought me back. Amy Grant and Kristin Chenoweth brought me back to God. Just the way their music is. I realized I have a lot to be thankful for. Things could be worse. Some where on the road things will be come clear and God's plan becomes evident. Everything happens for a reason. Becasue when i was cursing getting my tonsils out that’s when they found the mass in my throat. Everything happens for a reason, we just might not see it right now.
I have complete faith in God now and in prayer for sure. I admit that it has wavered a lot in the past, but I'm settled now.

What church do you attend? How are you active there?
I go to Broad River Community Church. I go when I can. But if I can’t, I’ll read scriptures in my dorm. Sometimes I don’t go because I have homework. I'm a double major and so I have lots of homework. But I’ll make sure to have some time with God. I listen to sermons on radio, I do reading on my own. I give thanks to God for the life I have. Because I have an amazing family and that's something I am thankful for.

Are you active in the community?
Not really. Without the GPS I wouldn’t have any idea where I am. I was sick until March and I stayed with mom and dad mainly, and than school started and so that’s when I started meeting people.

Have you been on any mission trips?
I haven’t. In fact, in Utah that idea is non-existent. They have missions but that is only for missionaries. That was something I was really interested in when I got here but now I’m moving back so yeah.


How do you witness to people?
I believe that my story is really relatable, especially in the whole blaming God for a lot of things. And so I feel that through someone’s tragedy you can find something triumphant about it. I’m not a missionary. I’m not a preacher. I’m not one of those goody-two shoes girls who wear purity rings, not that that is wrong. If you can help someone get that peace feeling that you can get knowing that God is on your side than you should do it. I’m just a normal person.

What are your parents’ beliefs?
My dad doesn’t really believe anything really. I know he believes in God and Jesus and stuff like that but he’s a simple man and so I don’t really 100% know his beliefs. And my mom had a really bad experience with the Mormon church and it really turned her against the church. People look at your countenance and you don’t realize you are representing your religion. She knows God and she knows Jesus and she can quote the Bible but she doesn’t go to church. I believe that you go to heaven based on what you do on earth. You follow the commandments and you don’t kill anyone, stuff like that. God is watching you, He knows what you are doing. You don’t have to go to church to go to heaven. And my mom is a good woman and I don’t think any of my family really goes to church. My sister does because of her husband. They are all really good, good people. I think that good people go to heaven.

What is your political standpoint?
Liberal. I would never straight party vote. That’s ruining the whole point of being able to vote.If someone better can do it better and they are not Democrat or Republican, you’re having your country miss out on a really good leader if you don't vote for them.

I don’’ agree with a lot of what Obama is doing right now, especially with the health care thing that just happened but I don’t think it’s fair that he is saddled with the huge debt—look around and realize it was Regan and two Bushes to blame. We all have bad things. Democrats and Republicans both have bad things about them. I agree with certain things from both of them and disagree with some of them as well. Some of my family is Republican. Mom and dad are democrats and vote straight party. We’ve all had to work really hard for what we have. Democrats are seen as the working man. But I think Republicans have some really good points and issues but lately they are more concerned, well both are concerned are getting their party in the White House and gloating about it and and controlling the House or Senate and we are more concerned about that than actually running the country.

What do you think are some major issues in the world to you? What do you think you can do about them/want to do about them?
I would think and this is one of the things that bugs me, as far the the United States is concerned we are extremely nosy in other countries' business. If they came to us and were trying to stick their noses in, we would have a fit. We are going into their country and killing their people and getting them to change the way they have been working for 1000 of years. Just stop already.

Also, 9/11, it was the attack on the World Trade Centers. Not the US Center. And I’m disappointed with how the world responded to that. Because I mean we bailed out the major allies more times than I can count. We’ve saved almost all the other countries' asses. But when it came to the US and the attack on our soil. Britain sent a few 1000 but we’ve sent thousands and thousands of our men to die for them. I’m disappointed that we aren't working together.

And in the fact that everyone seems to be seeking out their own agendas. 'Common good'--where did that go? I mean we had to campaign and the US- we had to work really hard in getting others behind North Korea not building weapons and bombing everyone.

Tanika Lee--Who is she?

Tell me about yourself?
My name is Tanika. I’m from Utah. I’m from a very very big family. My grandma has five kids. I have eight sisters and three brothers. They are not all full though. Most of them are half because my dad thought it was his responsibility to repopulate the world. I don’t ever call him dad. I call him Jim.


I’m a theater major. I've been in theater my whole life. And when I graduate I want to go to New York. I want to do Broadway. That’s my goal. Especially in musicals, which is why it kind of sucks there is no musical stuff here at Gardner Webb. After the fall semester I’m going back to Utah and going to school return to my school there. I have a full scholarship back there. And my nieces and nephews are there and my sister’s pregnant again and I just wanna see them grow up before I have to leave for New York. There's just a bunch of different things reasons. And the theater department here works less with the music department than I thought. But I love Mrs. Harrelson. And it’s my major so yeah. Because before my surgery, I used to have Gena’s range. But when I got out, it went down two and a half steps. I used to be a lyric coloratura soprano, and it took my voice down enough so that I was just enough for a high soprano and I was told that I was never be able to hit it or be in that range again. But, Mrs. H has helped me get there. If she wasn’t married and I wasn’t straight than well…

I am 19. I'll be 20 in April. Which is weird. Because than I can say I lived twenty years. I remember when my cousin was born, and now she just got her driver’s license.

Where were you born?
In Price, Utah. It's a very small town. My real father, Jim was in the military and so I lived with him every where all over the United States with my step mom, Lea.

Do you have any brothers or sisters? How old? Are you close to them?
I have eight sisters: Brandy 26, Brittany 23, Danielle is 22, Chantel 23, Shiann 22, Sheriden 19, Michelle is turning 16, and than Mandy. I have 3 brothers: Jimmy and Robby—they are twins and they are 13, and Hunter is going to be turning 8.

Did you move around a lot as a kid?
Yeah. Cuz Jim was in the military. We were mainly in tornado alley—Kansas, missiori, Arkansas, texas for awhile and all over the states.

Are your parents divorced?
Yeah, they got divorced when I was still in the womb and than my piece of crap dad left her when she was pregnant. I have no good feelings towards him. He was a very abusive dad.

Do you want to get married and have kids one day?
I would love to get married and have kids. But I don’t see myself ever actually doing that. I would like to because I love little kids and my nieces and nephews. I have names for girls but not for boys. I'm not as creative with guy names.I just have one picked out. It's every little girls' dream of the big white wedding, having people fight over who is going to be your maid of honor, the dress, the flowers, dad walking you down the ailse. But I can't hold a boyfriend and so, I'm not sure I can hold a husband. I want it but I'm not sure how it'll happen. It's remarkable how I am friends with the people who do bad things to me. Every boyfriend who has cheated on me I’m friends with. I have a problem saying no to people.


How did you come to Gardner Webb?
Well, I got sick in November and a lot of the side effects of that were really really bad. After dealing with that at the college in Utah by myself, it got really hard. I had severe chronic fatigue and it was just really hard and so my mom and my dad live here and when I got cleared it was either here or NC state and I found Mrs. H and so here I am. I researched and they had a theater department and a music department. I just didn't realize that they didn't really work together much.

What do you want to do with your life?
I want to be in musical theater. I don’t care how. I would love to do Broadway. It's ever musical theater actor’s dream. I’ve been working towards that my entire life. I would also love to be a theater teacher because mine ruled. I’ve learned a lot from him-how to teach someone to be better and still be involved in theater, he's a great person. If this don’t work out, I'll probably do something like that. And I’m going to give it a really good try. I mean they are going to have to drag me out of New York. The "I heart NY" shirts are so true for me. I love it. I've been there a lot and it feels kind of like home. And once you’ve been there a number of times you learn the good places to go to eat and no one else does. There's really great tiny, little restaurants that have great food.

Are you dating someone right now?
Hmm. Ponders. I don’t know if I would call it dating. I don’t know what he would call it. I would say no…because technically I just got out of a relationship, with the first guy I really loved. He’s a lot older than I am. And he broke my heart. Just ruined it and so I think it’s my rebound. I think I am more of a fun person to hang out with for him than actual love interest, because I told him that I was leaving for Utah and he was okay with that…and I’m not sure if I necessarily be with someone okay with that so I’m pretty sure we aren’t dating and we haven't talked in like two days. Although I would love to find someone like Chris Keene (theater director). Not Chris Keene himself. But someone like him--the way he loves his wife…I would love to find someone who loves me like that. And I wonder why I haven’t found that and what I’m done wrong. And after every boyfriend has cheated on you, you really wonder what you are doing wrong. And least I have enough respect for myself not to stay with a guy who has cheated. I would never stay with a guy who cheated on me.

Guys suck.

How do you relieve stress?
Singing.

Theater. I love that you can go on a stage and be someone completely different and you aren’t in your world any more, you are outside of it and you don’t have to worry about a paper that is due or if your boyfriend is a jerk. There is something comforting about knowing that you can experience another world even if it’s just for a couple of hours. You can be in Annie and Oklahoma and 1922. I love theater.

I talk to Cheys, the sister that I am most close to. I talk to her about everything. She’s never going to BS me on anything, she will always tell me the truth because she’s the only one that will be completely honest with me, except for my mom. And she doesn’t judge me, but she will tell me where she stands on things. She’s a really great friend.


What irritates you in other people?
Lying. I don’t lie to other people and I don’t expect you to lie to me. I will trust you easily but once you break it, I will probably never trust you again. I hate when people lie to me. And I’m going to find it out any way, so you might as well say it to my face.

I hate people who are dirty all the time. I am really OCD. I am really clean and neat and it irritates me when other people aren’t.

I hate stuck up people who think they are better than everyone else. Know it alls bug me. I was a self professed know it all when I was a kid, my mom said, and I’ve tried to change that because I don’t want to be something I don’t like. I don’t see in myself what bugs me in others.

And people who are religious but don’t practice what they preach and they are the most mean, cruel-hearted people ever, but you get them in church and they are the 'let’s have corn bread and go sit on the back porch' people.

If someone has something bad to say about me, say it to my face, not behind my back I want someone to have the balls to say it to my face. I like things straight and honest. Because than your feelings get hurt immediately and you aren’t led on forever and you can get over it.

What kind of things do you like to do?
Sing.
Theater.
I like to bake. Not cook.
Dance.
Gymnastics. I teach at a studio near here.
Scrapbook.
Softball.
Run--I love to run.
Love to read. Love love to read. I have a huge library. I collect books. I’ll pretty much read any book.

If you could give one piece of advice to the world, what would it be?
Just because something is different doesn’t mean it is bad.

If there was one thing in the world that you could change, what would it be?
People prejudging others. I don’t ever recall getting a Deputy Jesus badge. We have no right to judge other people. We can have our opinions sure why not everyone has opinions but it doesn’t mean they deserve anything less.

Eric A. Hussey--On Media and Technology

Technology and media have become part of our day to day lives. How do you feel about this? Is it a positive thing? Negative thing? How would your life be different without technology and media?
I believe that it is a positive and a negative thing. I believe that it is a positive thing because it helps simplify life and it helps make things quicker. And way more efficient but I think that it is a negative because it takes away from an individual’s creativity at times. I believe that the simplicity of it makes the individual

It makes things too easy. The person doesn’t have to think about anything or put too much effort into it. For animation…you can click circles or other buttons to put a picture together themselves, whereas if you gave them a pencil and paper they wouldn’t be able to do any of that.

Life would be--at the fast pace that the world is moving at today without the advanced technology that we have, I believe that the economic world would be in a downfall…more so of a downfall than we are now.

Do you think media is biased? How so?
Media. Yes. It is. Dealing with the popular world, media focuses on superstars and athletic all stars and they are bias in that they want to get the most juicy story, however that can be. Whether that is building up a person to be better than they really are or breaking down a person and making them look bad for something that they possibly didn’t even do.

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Book: When I was little I really enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia books although I never read the last two. I like the Lord of the Rings. And Redwall.

Favorite Movie: There is no way that I can answer that. No chance. I love so many movies. Favorite Genre of movie instead? Comedy and movies that are directed towards children. I don’t believe in a thing called children's movies.

Favorite Music: My favorite band is the Goo Goo Dolls.

Favorite Bible Verse(s): John 14: 1-6

Favorite Candy: Baby Ruth

Eric A. Hussey--A Deeper Look

What are your religious beliefs?
I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. He died for my sins so that I could be with Him one day in Heaven.

If a Christian, when and how did you accept Christ?
I was 14 years old. I was at a small Baptist church in Troy, NC. And I don’t remember exactly what the message was about. But I remember feeling very convicted and I strongly felt the urge to go up and talk to the preacher and I accepted Christ that day.

What church do you attend? How are you active there?
I’ve actually been going to a couple of different churches. I haven’t really found a home yet, so to speak. There are a couple that I like and a couple that I’m not too fond of.

Are you active in the community?
I’m some what active in the GW community. I am part of the SGA (Student Government Association) Publicity community. I’m active in Quiz Bowl. I partake in athletic events around campus. I’m in study groups.

Have you been on any mission trips?
No. But I would really like to. Well, let me clarify--I haven't been on any long term mission trips—I’ve been on a few day mission trips to a few churches in the mountains, working at soup kitchens and organizations to help children.

How do you witness to people? Do you believe in witnessing?
I do believe in witnessing to people. I believe that witnessing should be part of our daily lives even though sometimes we get sidetracked and we just don’t get time to. I believe that if even if somebody does witness on occasion there is more that they can do. I’m not happy with the amount that I do. I believe that we should be witnessing actively and by example. I believe that you should live your life in the way that people can see that you are a Christian.

What are your parents’ beliefs?
I am unsure. I have tried talking to them about it but they aren’t too open about speaking to me about it. It makes me sad, very much so.

What is your political standpoint?
Conservative. Not far far right. But conservative.

What do you think are some major issues in the world to you? What do you think you can do about them/want to do about them?
Poverty. I believe that there is too many people out there with way much more than they need or will ever use and there are some people out there with much less than they need and that their families need and I believe that people can make sacrifices. Financially there is nothing that I can do right now. I could help in bringing awareness and helping out with fundraisers for charities. But as for resources, I’m limited.

Eric A. Hussey--Who is he?

Tell me about yourself?
I’m 19. I’m a mission studies major. I have no minor as of right now but I might minor in Youth Ministry. I love baseball. I’ve played since I was 4 years old and last year was the first year that I willing didn’t play baseball. I chose to do so so that I could actually have a life during my college years. My car’s name is Betsy. It’s a white finder of paths (Path Finder). I like to write, mainly poetry.

Where were you born?
I was born in Pinehurst, NC. I was raised in Star, NC, and I’ve lived there the majority of my life.


Do you have any brothers or sisters?
I have one brother. He is 21 years old. He is 2 years older than myself. His name is Corey Lane Hussey. He goes to Montgomery Community College. (Are you close?) Our relationship is stronger now than before I left for college. We were really close when we were really little but than he got his friends and I got mine and we kind of separated a little over the years but since I left for college and came back home we’ve grown closer together.

Did you move around a lot when you were younger?
Not really. I lived in Troy for maybe until I was 3 or 4, so I don’t really remember living there at all. I’ve lived in two houses in Star and that’s about it. I’m glad that I’ve always lived in Star. I’ve always liked the small town feel where I’m close enough to a big city that I can get whatever I need, whenever I want it and it’s not a big hassle to drive there.

Are your parents divorced?
Yes. They divorced when I was 12. Neither one remarried. My dad has a fiancé of about a year now and my mom is living with her boyfriend.

Do you want to get married and have kids one day?
I would love to get married and have kids one day. It might seem strange that a guy thinks about this beforehand but I wouldn’t mind having a decent size family. I would like two biological kids and I’ve thought about adopting. I want boys and girls. (Do you have any names picked out?) No.

How did you come to Gardner Webb?
My friend Anya Honeycutt was an admissions counselor here and she also went to my church back home. I actually had never even heard of GW. I had applied to a couple of different schools and I had gotten into them. And then she told me about GW and that she worked here and she suggested that I apply. And so I did. And than I came and visited GW and I just fell in love with the atmosphere and the people, the closeness that was a possibility, and the opportunity to build strong relationship for the future.



What do you want to do with your life?
As of right now, it looks like be a missionary. But I feel like I’m going to need a lot more experience in the field of mission work before I actually make a commitment towards that. Long term, I would love to be a missionary. But I would also love to do work with charities, just helping others.

Are you dating someone right now?
Yes, I am in a relationship right now and I am happy in the direction that it is going. It seems that it is going well.

How do you relieve stress?
First thing I do is pray about it. And go to my Bible and than I can call up my grandma or talk to other friends around here that I am close to. Or sports.

What irritates you in other people?
Stupid people irritate me. It just…it bothers me when people think they know a lot more than they do and try to prove you wrong…and are wrong themselves. Arrogant people. People who chew with their mouths open. There really isn’t a lot that bothers me.

What kind of things do you like to do?
I like to hang out with friends. I like to hang out with my girlfriend. I like playing racquetball and ultimate Frisbee. I enjoy reading my Bible and other books. Watching movies. Playing games. Etc.

What do you want people to know about you?
I’m very outgoing. I’m athletic. Overly energetic. Don’t sleep enough. And I have a problem talking about myself because I can never think of what to say.

If you could give one piece of advice to the world, what would it be?
Dr. Eastman is the man. No. "When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on," Teddy Roosevelt said that.

If there was one thing in the world that you could change, what would it be?
Lack of Biblical knowledge. Plus we say we are a Christian nation, which I find that hard to believe.

Reflection Part II

Here are some recent photos from people that I have interviewed.

Reflection

This week instead of interviewing someone, I decided to stop and kind of examine what I've learned and some issues that have come up while doing this project.

I have decided that the very last interview, I will do the interview for myself. I've learned a lot about different people while doing this blog, and I have enjoyed it immensely. I've learned more about what makes people tick. I've also realized that some people seem to have more of a clue about things around them than I do. It has challenged me to begin to investigate things for myself and form my own opinions and thoughts about issues instead of simply accepting what the world and what media tries to spoon feed us.

Some people have expressed concern over the people that I have chosen to interview, saying that they are bad influences or that I should be careful treading near certain subjects. I appreciate their concern but the people that I have been interviewing have been important parts of my life, and they have helped shape me into the person that I am now. Some people have judged the people that I have interviewed based on their answers. Please don't do that. Realize that as an interview, and as simply words on a screen, that the right emphasis and quirks of the people are lost. Take some time to sit down with the people that I have interviewed to get to know them better. They truly are incredible people.

Jamie C. Hazel--On Media and Technology

Technology and media have become part of our day to day lives. How do you feel about this? Is it a positive thing? Negative thing? How would your life be different without technology and media?
With everything there is a positive and a negative thing. Positive thing I can talk to my friends in an instance on Facebook or on AIM. Or I can call you at any time I want with a phone in my pocket. However, some people will get involved in their computers so much that they create their own silicone shell. Technology has the power to isolate and connect us. It’s just how you choose to use it.

Do you think media is biased? How so?
Everything is biased. Fox News is notorious for bias as well as MSNBC. To get my news I usually listen to NPR or the BBC. I try my best to stay away from sites online like the Drudge Report. However I do enjoy reading The Onion. It makes me giggle.


ok



Favorite color: orange
Favorite book: toss up between four
"Beyond good and evil"
"Thus Spoke Zarathustra"
"The Things They Carried"
"I am America (And So Can You)"

Favorite movie: I have too many to choose
There’s the Original Dawn of the Dead
And there’s Dr. Strangelove
Blackhawk Down
And Monty Phython’s The Meaning of Life

Favorite music: Punk
Although I hate modern hardcore punk. It’s a bunch of guys screaming into a microphone who act like they can play their musicians. The only good musicians in a hardcore punk band today is the bassist.

Favorite Bible verse: John 15:13

If you want change, from the same old two party stuff. Vote third party.

P.S.
Go out and buy yourself a copy of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". And prepare yourself for a ride that you won’t forget.

Squawk.

Jamie C. Hazel--A Deeper Look

What are your religious beliefs?
I’m kind of in between right now. I’m not far enough to say that I’m an atheist but I’m not a fundamentalist either. I guess the best way to describe me would be to say that I’m agnostic. I’ve been looking at a church called the Universal Life Church and it’s only commandment is to do good. And I think that it’s something I need if I want to get back to the mainstream Christianity. Because one of the reasons that I started questioning my beliefs is because I see a lot of Christians claiming evil in the name of good.

If you're a Christian, when did you accept Christ?
I accepted Christ when I was ten. It’s just that recently in the last year or so I have begun to question, so, if I die soon I’ll be going to heaven because if once saved always saved if heaven is real. If heaven is not real than I’m not going to be disappointed either.

What church do you attend? How are you active there?
I’m not really all that active. I’m a member by letter of Boiling Springs Baptist.

Are you active in the community?
I’m active in my hall community. I’m active in my community back home in Morganton as much as I can be. But in Boiling Springs, at large, I’m not involved. I just sorta stay on GW and do my stuff there.

Have you been on any mission trips?
No. I almost went when I was in 8th grade but something came up and my family couldn’t afford it. And my church didn’t have the funds. Which kind of upset me because I worked that summer at VBS and they said it was training for your mission and than all of a sudden I couldn’t go.

How do you witness to people?
My dad always told me, and this is a cliché, that actions speak louder than words. So if I’m going to show someone that I’m a good person than I’m not going to talk about how I saved a baby from a burning building. I’ll freaking show you. It might not be something as brave and heroic as saving someone’s life but a random act of kindness. To show through my actions that I am who I say I am. And I leave it up to you to judge who I am.

What are your parents’ beliefs?
Baptist. My mom used to be a Methodist because my grandpa was a Methodist minister and she lived in a place called Bayou La Batry. One of her sisters fell in a cesspool which isn’t good. Fun fact—Bubba from Forrest Gump—Bayou La Batry was his hometown.

What is your political standpoint?
At heart I am an anarchist. But not in the burning buildings kind of way. I believe that we can all be equal and be able to govern ourselves, because anarchy is the absence of government. But for political purposes I am a registered libertarian which is the closest thing you can get to a legal political party because anarchists aren’t going to make their own political party.

What do you think are some major issues in the world to you? What do you think you can do about them/want to do about them?
You’ve got AIDS, and Ebola in Africa. And as well as hunger all over the world. You’ve got world poverty. And you’ve got wars of genocide and of political gain across the global. I would like to feed the hungry. Home the homeless. Give to the poor. And melt down the guns of the soldiers. But let’s be realistic all that I can do is feed the hungry and house the homeless. All the other things are out of my control as a individual. It’s going to take all of us to get those things done.

Jamie C. Hazel--Who is he?

Tell me about yourself?
Tell me about yourself. My name is Jamie. I’m 19 years old and I’m a recovering sexaholic. That’s not true. I would say something like I like music but that’s blasé and cliché because I’m pretty sure that everyone likes music. I’ve done things in my life that I’m proud of and some things that I’m not so proud of. I’m an eagle scout. I have a mohawk. I own clothes. I’m a second year junior at Gardner Webb. I’m the RA for L3 (Lutz 3rd floor). And I really enjoy playing lacrosse and my four string banjo. I play Santa at Christmas time--at day cares and stuff like that. I enjoy random acts of mischief and kindness. However I have found that most people don’t like the two combined. I enjoy reading books by Tim O’Brien especially “The Things They Carried”. And I especially like to read philosophy. But textbooks are not my forte. For some strange and ungodly reason I hate the color pink. I have ADD to the extreme. And whenever I see a Honda element (the car) I think about the commercial about the crab that says “I pinch.” If I’m really tired I will bust into spurts of laughter for no apparent reason. And one day I want to own a pipe organ.

Where were you born?
I was born in a hospital. Mary Black Hospital. Spartanburg, SC. I guess you can say that I’ve been born three times. My first birth, my spiritual birth and than another spiritual rebirth. I found life, I found Jesus, and than I found myself.

Do you have any brothers or sisters?
I have a half brother. And a half sister but she disowned the family. So I guess you could say that I have a half brother. His name is Gabriel like the angel. Except he doesn’t kill people. (How old is he?) 22? 23? No wait that’s false. He’s in his 20s I don’t know exactly. Are you close? I mean we don’t have regular phone chats but whenever we come together for like Christmas and birthdays we act like real brothers-- we fight and stuff and mess around.

Did you move around a lot as a kid?
Eh. A little bit. Whenever I was 1 1/2 we moved up to Watauga county. And we moved around a few more times in Watagua until we came to Spruce Pine in Mitchell county and then we moved down to Morganton in 2000. That’s where I live now.

Are your parents divorced?
No. They’ve been married for 20 something years.

Do you want to get married and have kids one day?
Gee whillikers that’d be great! (He had to help me spell that) Although it’s currently not looking very bright for me. I’ve had a single girlfriend my entire life and that was only for a week. Apparently most girls think I am asexual. I would like to have kid. Just because I would like to pass on the family name. And I would like have at least two kids so I can name one Jamie Junior. Or JJ for short. And than I would want to name the other one something awesome like Dorito. But it’s probably going to be Fredrick. (What if it’s a girl?) Well than we will affix the bow of shame. I’ll let my wife handle that one. I’m awesome with guy names but terrible with chick names.



How did you come to Gardner Webb?
By car. I came here because I got accepted pretty much every where that I applied but Gardner Webb was the only one that seemed to want me. They sent me a birthday card and a Christmas card and Chip Carter was a really big part of it. He called up my house one day and was like did you know that you are eligible for a full ride to Gardner Webb and I was like no and he worked with me the entire time of the application and than the day came that I finally came to GW. I didn’t get the full ride but I did get something which is better than nothing.

What do you want to do with your life?
I wanna rock! I wanna become a psychologist. Because there are people out there who need help with mental issues. I also want to go into the Air Force. And eventually hopefully get married and have kids. And I wanna move some where up north because people look at me funny when I wear short sleeves on a cold day down here. Plus, I want to take a little southern manners up to them and maybe the traffic in New York won’t be so bad if they learn to be a little more polite to them. I would like to invent wallpaper that you can lick and get taste off and invent a fruit called snozzeberry.

Are you dating someone right now?
No. Although, I am not giving up. Yet. That will be next semester.

How do you relieve stress?
I do it in a variety of ways. I write poetry. I write songs. I scream into a pillow. And if there’s a target of opportunity than I’ll whack it with my soft ball bat. Sometimes the target is a cantaloupe which makes a nice squishy thud. I do that at home. But not here…because that would probably get me arrested. I usually play it off. If I’m making a ton of jokes in a day it’s usually because I’m really stressed out. And me being a fat guy you learn to deal with stuff really quick. And comedy is one of the things that comes natural to me.

What irritates you in other people?
Being used. There is nothing worse than me feeling like I’m being used. Because than I get really paranoid and I will draw up in defensive porcupine state. I also don’t like hypocrites.

What kind of things do you like to do?
I like to sing.

I like to listen to music. That's being cliché.

I like to be random. Such things as swimming in Lake Hollifield.

I like to watch old movies that are hilarious like Dr. Strangelove.

I like to read. Especially about stuff that has no bearing on anything whatsoever.
However if I see a copy of Twilight I will be revulsed. You will be revulsed? Is that a word? To revulse. Revulsion is a word. Revulsing. I feel revulsion to a steaming pile of people. Therefore I can be revulsed at something. I don’t know if I agree with that. It kind of sounds like revolt. Like all of my senses are revolting against me picking up the book and reading it so I don’t.

I like to have interviews with my friend Courtney.

And just generally hanging out.

Killing zombies.

What do you want people to know about you?
I want them to know that I am a really cool guy and I am kind of like Dona Tello. He’s a party dude. But that’s not true. I am a really cool guy that if you would just sit and talk with me for awhile you would start to understand something like that. Because people tend to judge me on first appearance that I’m a freak or they’ll walk up in the middle of one of my awkward conversations and draw the same thoughts of freak when in all reality it’s just a normal conversation to me and if you would just stay awhile you would realize it.

It’s cool man.

If you could give one piece of advice to the world, what would it be?
I want to say something about wearing protection. But that would be too racy. Sooo…I’m going to say that the one piece of advice is...to be good to each other and stop shooting each other for Christ’s sake! There will be enough time to shoot things when the zombies rise up!

If there was one thing in the world that you could change, what would it be?
I want Johnny Cash to be back alive. He was just an awesome guy. He was a good Christian guy and a great musician. He was the voice of a generation and now he’s gone. Also that I wouldn’t be allergic to milk. That takes away a lot of ice cream.