Pope Francis Makes Visit

This past week Pope Francis visited Washington D.C. to take part in numerous activities.  These events ranged from visiting the White House to participating in a parade and prayer service.  While in the United States, he also made speeches to the Senate and House of Representatives and visited numerous monuments.  One thing during his visit that stood out to me was when he decided to eat a meal with the homeless instead of well-known politicians.  Pope Francis addressed a session of Congress and then shared a blessing and meal with individuals who participate in a homeless meal program.

In my opinion, I really liked that Pope Francis took some extra time out of his day to visit the less fortunate.  This shows that he truly cares for others and is trying to carry on the mission of the church.  Many times people are too caught up in their own lives to realize how good they have it.  They don’t have to worry about how to pay the bills or how to put food on the table.  However, for some people these are daily questions that cross their mind.  Sure, Pope Francis could have participated in a fancy dinner with political officials, but he chose otherwise.  I think that this shows he is not afraid to associate with people of the lower class, even though he can be considered a papal official himself.

Overall, I hope this gesture makes people evaluate their personal lives a little bit more.  Many of us are caught in having the latest and greatest technology and sometimes forget about the little pleasures in life.  We must remember that we are all human and may need help along the way.  This can be done through volunteering or simply lending a hand when approached for help.  By participating in these little acts of kindness, you can feel good about yourself and know you are making a small impact in the world.  You may not be a well-known celebrity or public official, but you have the power to make a difference in your own community.  

Family Day 2015

On September 19, 2015, Ohio Northern University (ONU) held its annual Family Day.  This day invites families to campus to spend time with their student.  Events are planned all over campus to keep families busy if they wish to participate.  This year the weather definitely did not cooperate in the morning.  It rained and poured the majority of the morning.  The Harvest and Herb Festival is held annually on Main Street in Ada.  A parade usually marches down the street and there are a variety of booths for you to browse.  Because of the storm, my family and I decided to skip the festival this year.  We walked down there to give it a try, but a crack of thunder sounded and we resorted to an inside activity instead.

We decided to play bingo and attempt to win some prizes.  Due to the rain, there was a large group of families ready to have some fun.  We played six rounds of bingo with my sister winning the very first game.  She was very excited and ended up winning an ONU hat.  After bingo, we headed to Lima in order to eat some lunch and do some shopping.  It was good to spend this time relaxing with family before another stressful week begins.

After returning from Lima, the weather cleared up and turned sunny.  We were able to simply walk around campus and we even fed the ducks.  Feeding the ducks is an activity my family loves to perform.  The ducks get excited and swarm around the bridge in order to get some food.  It is always fun to see the excitement once you drop the first bit of food.  Overall, family day was another success.  I love seeing the numerous families that come to campus in order to spend some time with their student.  Sometimes families travel over a few hours just to participate in this day, showing their love and dedication.  Even though I have a very hectic week coming up, I was happy to see my family and have a relaxing day.

Nurses Wear Stethoscopes

The View is a television talk show hosted by a group of women that airs during the day.  Recently, they have been in the public eye due to their comments regarding nurses and their profession.  During the Miss America pageant, one of the contestants performed a monologue about her job while wearing a stethoscope.  Miss Colorado spoke about her career as a nurse, and focused on one of her particular patients.  Obviously, the hosts of The View did not realize what the job of a nurse entails.  They commented on her wearing a stethoscope, when that is supposed to be used by doctors.  Have they never been to the doctor’s office and had the nurse take their blood pressure?  A stethoscope is needed to complete this simple vital.  Obviously the hosts did not think about what they said, and offended many practicing nurses throughout the world.  Nurses and individuals expressed their opinions on this issue through Twitter and other social media outlets. 

Because of the comments, many advertisers have backed out of sponsoring The View.  Johnson & Johnson took to social media to express their opinions on the issue after backing out of sponsoring the talk show.  They posted to Facebook to disagree with the comments.  In addition, they expressed their gratitude to nurses and what they do for their numerous patients.   Nurses have a large impact in patient care.  They create special relationships with patients and see numerous things throughout their career.  Nurses witness everything from new life to death.  They must be a strong individual with a passion about helping people in need. 

Recently, The View apologized on their show and invited nurses to speak about their profession.  This was a smart move on their part, since they lost two of their biggest sponsors due to the controversy.  The hosts did not realize at that moment that the comments would have such a large impact on the world.  I think the apology was definitely necessary, but could have been avoided if they would have thought before they spoke.  Without the public backlash, would they even have made a public apology?  This just shows that social media is a tool that allows people to stand up for what they believe in while making an impact.  Overall, every profession has value and should be respected at all times.