Author: Natalie Orozco (Page 2 of 2)

The University of Oklahoma is notably known for its culture, academics, and athletics. However, to those attending they have quite the bone to pick with OU’s parking.

The college currently has about 32,676 students attending, this Fall 2023 semester, with the record-breaking freshman class of 5,100 students! According to the university’s student-produced newspaper OU Daily, the class increased the school’s population by 10%.

This comes as a problem because OU does not have enough parking space to accommodate all of its students. I have heard first-hand from commuter students driving to class an hour early but ending up being late because of how much time they have to spend looking for parking. Some students will often result to parking in unauthorized spots just to make it to class on time, resulting in them getting a ticket.

Today, as I was walking through the Jenkins Parking lot where my car is parked (it took me twenty minutes to find a spot), I saw a vehicle with a bright yellow ticket on their windshield. In this parking lot you must have the green “Housing Permit” displayed on your rear-view mirror. The vehicle appeared to have this pass hanging up while being parked in the correct space, but there was still a ticket on their vehicle, and I can only imagine their reaction when they see it.

Tickets come at an inconvenience to students, especially if they pile on. No one wants to pay almost $300 for a needed parking permit just to be fined because of the lack of parking spaces that OU provides. Parking tickets may be appealed; however, common arguments won’t work such as, inclement weather, being late, unaware of parking regulations, and only being parked there for a short time.

There needs to be a way of compromise for students, as most are paying lots of money to be here.

Spending the weekend at home with your family or friends? Or no plans until Halloween? Well, that is no excuse to get the spooky vibes going!

Imagine you are busy doing work all Friday, the weather is getting cold, you see leaves starting to fall, and houses are decked out in Halloween decorations. Doesn’t that make you want to go home and have yourself a nice dinner, get some snacks, a warm drink, and get cuddled up on the couch to watch a fun Halloween movie?

Watching Coraline seems like the perfect way to go when choosing a spooky but not too overly scary movie to start off the Halloweekend. This could also spark future Halloween costume ideas or even a last-minute DIY, a couple costume with Coraline and Wybie, a family costume, or a solo costume.

Some places that Coraline is currently available to watch on are, DIRECTV, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Max, and Vudu.

Now, on Saturday you might want to keep the good Halloween vibes going but you want to up the authentic trick-or-treat nostalgia, Monster House is the way to go. The movie is a classic 2006 animation about three early teens who encounter a house that is alive. It is spooky, funny, and very Halloween.

This movie is ready for you to watch on Hulu, DIRECTV, or Apple TV.

Come Sunday, notably known as Sunday Funday, is always reserved for a family fun movie. That is why Sunday you should be watching the most classic of them all, Hocus Pocus. This movie has the fall vibes and the 1990’s Halloween vibes, what a combination. Nothing beats a good tale about witches on Halloween.

Hocus Pocus is available to watch on, Disney Plus, DIRECTV, Amazon Video, and Apple TV. Also, take note that you should be watching the first one and not the second one, maybe this is a hot take but there should have never been a Hocus Pocus 2.

Nonetheless, whatever you watch, have fun with it! I will say though, I think the best way to finish off the Halloween season is by watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. That way you can get ready for the best holiday season of all time, Christmas!

I know that the Bible is not a typical media form, but for me it is. I indulge in the word of God more than any other book and it has most certainly affected my life in the most profound ways.

I am read The Jesus Bible NIV Edition published by Zondervan. There are different editions of the Bible with different publishers, but essentially, they’re the same. When I open my Bible, The Jesus Bible, the first page says, “sixty-six books, one story, all about one name” and I think that’s an important notation to make because the Bible is one whole book with many stories to uncover.

Reading the Bible to start my day was enough to change my life around. Usually, I would wake up and scroll mindlessly on my phone not gaining anything from it. I cannot tell you what I saw on my phone, but I can tell you what I read about two weeks because since reading the Bible I have picked up journaling which has helped relieve stress and helped me deepen connection with God and myself.

Every day I learn how to be more like the person God created me to be. It is a long and hard journey trying to grow faith in God and to live for him rather than the world. However, reading the Bible helps me to gain confidence in trusting that my life is in God’s hands. I like to say the Bible is like a guidebook on how to live life, because it tells stories of how to be obedient, how to love, and how to not worry.

If I’m being honest, I struggled reading the Bible at the beginning and it felt discouraging to continue. So, I ended up going back to my mindless scrolling on TikTok. However, one day I came across videos that were explaining chapters in the Bible making them easier to understand. I found out they were actually clips from YouTube, made by Saddleback Kids. These videos got me back into reading and I haven’t stopped since.

I tried to do life on my own for many years, it wasn’t until reading the Bible that showed me that I have the same God as the people in the Bible such as Moses, David, Solomon, and most importantly Jesus. Now, I live a happier and carefree life because the stories within the Bible have given me hope.