happy easter

today was a really good day, i think. i debated jeff jones in my first round and hopefully picked up. id on’t know what my record ended up being but i’m really happy that i got out of prelims and debated in double octs. in double octs i really felt good about the round and totally thought i won, but i guess shaw pulled it out. i admit that i was really upset about it because i’m so competitive and i hate to lose and i had really thought that i’d won, plus everyone was telling me that i won. also, shaw pretty strategically made a brand new argument in his last rebuttal which sucked because i had a response i could’ve made. i guess that’s my fault for not pre-empting the argument he could’ve made. i guess i didn’t really see it. i just wish he would’ve made it sooner because it’s a slimy thing to do and i respect him more than that. who does he think he is? jeff jones? ugh. I also feel like i had a lot of reasons why I really wanted to win. my debating was in so many ways for mckeithan. i had a huge desire to win so that i could look back on this year as a memorial to him. but i suppose every debate is a memorial to him anymore, and my debates this tournament were amazing. if they are at all indicative of what i am capable of doing, i think i’m going to be an awesome debater in the next two years of college. i’m so excited to completely dedicate myself to the competition and see what i’m capable of. also, i really don’t mind losing to Shaw because he is 1) a senior; 2) probably a better debater than me despite what happened in that round; and 3) a mizzou boy. and i love the mizzou boys.

mass was really good too. we read mark about mary magdalene and mary going to the tomb and finding the stone rolled away. the homily was really good as well. i’m exploring the reason why the marys “told no one” about what they saw. i’ll probably write about it later.

this tournament has really proven to me what can be accomplished through the will and strength of God. What a great time. I think I also feel way more secure on the squad right now. It’s just been a good weekend as far as me feeling like part of the group and everything. I’m excited to be on the team and excited about all of the other people on the team. I guess I don’t really know what has changed, but I think it’s a good thing for me now. And I’m also positive I can really get into being an activist and volunteering this summer and next year while still pursuing knowledge about debate. Maybe I’ll start reading about energy now. Who knows.

Asia has been an interesting time. I’m going to miss my Great Apes aff a lot. I really loved that case.

• Category: Journal