| Summary: | the February 2,1996 CONCORDIAN OPINION 5 The best laid plans Between the lines "Life is what happens to you while you're busy mak-ing other plans." —John Lennont "Beautiful Boy" To a large extent, being a col-lege student means living in a world of dreams, hopes, plans and futures that may or may never be realized. Whether there will be a light at the end of the tunnel or a job at the end of four years is hard to say and dependent largely upon factors out of one's control. This reality of an uncertain future became much clearer to me this past weekend after viewing the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus." For those not familiar with this film, it is about a man whose greatest dream in life is to com-pose a symphony. He works on it for years, but because of a number of factors, some in his control and some not, he is forced to give up his dream, as well as the money and fame that potentially go with it. He must take a job as a high school band director where the potential for fame and money is, needless to say, far less. After many years of teaching, Mr. Holland realizes that his dream "It is easy for the realities of life to catch up to us while we're busy making other plans." has changed. While he was busy making other plans, his life took a number of irreversible twists and turns, changing not only where he was at, but what he wanted. Though not everyone wants to be a high school band director, there are elements of his character that I think most people can relate to, scary as that may seem. The reason for this is that the theme of "Mr. Holland's Opus1* is the theme of many people's lives. In fact, it is possible that we all know someone or possibly are someone who shares this theme. It could be the biology major that was never accepted to medical school, a friend who didn't gradu-ate, or the philosophy major that instead of asking about the mean-ing of life, now finds himself ask-ing day in and day out, "Do you want fries with that?" As college students we run the great risk of banking on the future; we're forced to. Because of this, it is easy for the realities of life to catch up to us while we're busy making other plans. Fortunately, these people, whose plans were upset by reality have somethings in common with Mr. Holland. Though they may never discover the cure for cancer or figure out the meaning of life, their time is not wasted. Their contribution can be just as great, if not greater, in a differ-ent area, following a different dream. This transition could be easy or, as in the case of Mr. Holland, it could take years to even realize that the dream has changed. What is important is that even though the original plans have changed, new plans have tak-en their place. I won't give away any more details of the film because I think it is worth anyone's money to see for him or herself. However, do not be surprised if it doesn't end how you expect it to; a lot of things don't. The Super Bowl: reflections of solitude Snow, football and the prize patrol all in one day It is a well-known fact that the language a society uses is based within the context of its culture. For example, Eskimos have over 100 words for snow. Minnesotans have just as many words for snow, although most of them can't be repeated. I spent an early part of last Super Bowl Sunday contemplat-ing and cursing the snow. It was because of the snow that my car was disabled, unable to take me to any sort of social function. It was because of the snow that even if I had a working car, I would have had to dig myself out to go any-where. The snow condemned me to the fate of a social moron. I decided to take action: I decided to shovel the driveway. As the rusty blade collided with the hard-packed snow, I began to miss my significant oth-er: the non-existent one. I usually miss him a lot when I have menial work that needs to be done, or when I don't have a ride to any Super Bowl parties. Fed up with my own self-pity and desiring to remember what it felt like to have warm toes, I went inside. Once again, I wished for a ride to the Super Bowl party. As I looked in the mirror, I wished for a car. One with an engine that ran, a cherry red car — like the exact hue of my frozen nose. The game began. I sat down, and surveyed my couchmates: an empty pop can, a hairbrush and a stack of schoolbooks. It's good to have friends. I cracked the first book right after Dallas scored, thinking to myself: "Only two-and-a-half more hours until Friends; only two-and-a-half more hours until that prize patrol shows up." Occasionally, action on the screen would catch my attention. Those commercials were great! I guess if you're paying $1 million for a TV. spot, it had better be good. I was also intrigued by the half-time show. I'm still puzzled, how-ever. Why Diana Ross? And why did she have more of that black stuff on her eyes than Deion Sanders? Eventually, hunger struck. I ordered a pizza. Thirty minutes later, I watched as a Dallas cheerleader bounced up and down exuberantly and wondered why my stomach didn't look like hers. I was still ponder-ing the same question as I bit into my first piece of greasy pepperoni pizza. Finally, my roommates returned. Although I spent the Super Bowl alone, I got to share Friends with, well, friends. As for the snow? Well, I got my car back. It runs, only $294.72 for the privilege. Now, I couldn't afford to go to any Super Bowl parties even if I wanted to. Haggerty/Maslowski From page 1 attacked apathy at Concordia. "A lot of students seem to be so discouraged [with Student Association]," Haggerty said. Haggerty and Maslowski have identified "communication" as their biggest platform goal. They wish to bridge the gap between Concordia administration, faculty and students. "We want to take a more aggressive approach in making sure everyone knows how the stu-dents feel," Haggerty said. The candidates are not worried about their lack of SA experience. "What better way to go into it than not knowing anything about it beyond the basics," Maslowski said. "We'll go in brand new, without any misconceptions about the past." The team also wants to tackle the intervisitation policy and get involved with academics at Concordia. "As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing bad that can come out of this [by giving students a choice]," Haggerty said. . Korn Krib WEEKLY SPECIAL Bucket of popcorn, large fountain drink $1.00 Available Monday - Friday no coupon necessary MOTHER'S TAPES- CD'S - CLOTHING Mother's has thousands of . used CD's in stock. 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