Pro-Life Thoughts

Becoming an Active Pro-lifer

By: Erin Ruppelt, WKU class of 2013, past secretary of Hilltoppers for Life

                It all started when someone encouraged me to attend a pro-life meeting in the fall of my sophomore year. I thought, “Well, I am pro-life and I know most of the people who were going to the meeting, so why not.” Little did I know that my passion for being pro-life would tremendously change the next three years.

                Considering my faith, I’ve always considered abortion to be wrong. I didn’t know any facts or details about what all abortion entails. I didn’t necessarily know how to defend my beliefs. Joining Hilltoppers for Life at Western Kentucky University has transformed my beliefs about what it truly means to be anti-abortion. I believe that every event and meeting I participated in has made me who I am today as an active pro-lifer. Stretching myself and becoming the first secretary pushed me further in taking a leadership role and teaching others what it means to defend life. I learned that if you are pro-life and want to see Roe vs. Wade overturned then you need to be active. That’s just what I did.

As our group grew larger and stronger, I grew as a pro-life individual that become a better defender of life. Events such as Life Week, educational meetings, tabling on campus, and foremost the March for Life and Students for Life of America (SFLA) Conference in Washington D.C helped me to grow into an active pro-lifer. The SFLA Conference instilled in me that I would never want to be anything else but pro-life. Nationally recognized speakers motivated us to make a difference and to not be afraid. Hilltoppers for Life winning Runner-up Group of the Year at the conference gave us the confidence to continue to fight for the unborn. A couple of weeks before graduating from WKU, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and became a true voice. I attended a pro-choice event and spoke about my beliefs openly, with deep discussions about why I’m pro-life and why abortion is wrong. I was on a pro-life high after that event. I was so proud to be pro-life and belong to Hilltoppers for Life.

As I move onto graduate school I plan to remain an active pro-lifer. Life is a fundamental right given to all of us and should not be taken from the preborn. I will continue to voice my opinions and speak against abortion. Joining HFL has changed who I am today and I’m grateful that I’ve been called to defend such a cause. As Students for Life of America has engrained in my head, “I am the pro-life generation and I am courageously abolishing abortion.” 

Remembering Bailey

My Bailey girl died on May 16, 2013. She was almost 11 (her birthday being May 29, 2013). She hadn't been doing too well the last couple of months because of seizures. Her brain wasn't acting correctly. We put her down and it was a sad day. 

We got her as a puppy when I was 11 years old! We picked her out in June and took her home in July. She was the cutest puppy in the world (and I'm not exaggerating ;) ). She was actually really sick when we took her home and almost died. Yikes! But once she got better she was better for good! She was such a good dog  and spastic when she was young. She was not only the cutest dog in the world but the most spoiled dog as well. 

What I will miss about Bailey/Stinky Pete/Boopers/Baby Girl:

- Going for walks

- Hiking

- Getting together with her dog friends

- Snuggling with her on the couch and in bed

- Taking her to the dog park

- Car rides 

- Vacations with her

- Sitting outside with her when sunbathing

- #1 Having her company!

I wanted to share just a couple funny memories with her.

1. When she was younger she would put her two front paws on the kitchen table and counters scrounging for some food. One day we let her out on the screened in porch. We wondered why she didn't bother us to let her inside. Little did we know what she jumped up to the table on the porch and was eating the cake that was out there! Nick had made a specialty rocket cake for boy scouts that took hours to make. The whole corner was eaten!

2. Christmas 2002 when she was still a puppy, we took a vacation to Gulf Shores. We took her to the beach and she loved the sand. But once she got into the water and a wave took her under water she was scarred for life! Let's just say she never went swimming after that!

Enjoy the pictures!

Picking her out! 

Out and about in Southbury

Thanksgiving 2011

5th Birthday

What's wrong with your ears? Probably showing off her #6 tattoo

Stylin'

1st Birthday!

Isn't she just the cutest?!

This was a daily sight...

Thanksgiving 2012 (our Christmas card 2012)

10th Birthday!

She loved peanut butter

Summer 2013 Goals

I'm officially home and on summer break. This summer is going to fly by considering I will be back in Kentucky at the beginning of August. 

Here is my "To-Do List" for Summer 2013

First of all here are the exciting trips I will be going on, which I know will be accomplished!
1. Long Island: I will be going to Belmont Stakes on June 8th with my brother Nick and his friend! I love dressing up and watching horses races. Fun stuff!
2. NYC/Boston/Newport, RI: all with Kevin when he comes to visit me. Will be going to Boston on July 4th which will be awesome!
3. Mackinac Island (Michigan): Mid-July I'm going here with Kevin and his family for vacation. I'm really excited and have heard great things about it. 
4. Haiti: I am going with my brother Chris as a visit/mission trip. I'm kind of unclear about it right now, but our parish has a "sister" parish that we will be visiting. 

Other things to do!
1. Read at least 5 books
2. Blog at least 15 posts/month
3. Limit Facebook to 45 minutes/day
4. Complete one new recipe a week (and of course blog about it!)
5. Scrapbook: finish Spain,complete one of Bailey for Chris, pages for Kevin's scrapbook
6. Decorate: I will help my Mom decorate certain parts of the house, especially creating a photo collage 
7. Complete a 5k obstacle course race (June 22nd)
8. Read something religious each day: Bible, Saint of the Day, prayer book, etc. 
9. Be committed to working out and eating healthier. As in Gym 6 days a week and little snacking. 
10. Review Spanish and Communication Disorders material (at least once a week). 

First Braves Game

This weekend was a blast! I went to Atlanta with Kevin and his friend Will to watch two Braves games. They won both games which was quite exciting. Our seats were good too, close to the 1st baseline. Kevin is a huge Braves fan so he set my expectations pretty high and they were met. Everybody at the game was friendly and really into it. The first game on Saturday, they scored two home runs back to back! The second game on Sunday was exciting when they scored 4 runs in the 8th inning resulting in a win. Sunday was a nasty day because it rained almost the entire day. The game was delayed even before it started and during the game as well. Needless to say we got home really late, but definitely worth seeing the win! 

Outside Turner Field 

Me, Kevin, and Will

Will and Kevin standing by the World Champions team

Have you ever heard of the Braves chomp? They play this music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ac5erpd9H8 and you bend your arm at the elbow and move it up and down. It's cool to see everyone in the stands doing it all at once. 

While we weren't at the games, we went out to eat and hung out. For lunch on Saturday we went to The Vortex which was a hipster restaurant with really good food. I got the turkey burger which was delicious. On Sunday for lunch and while we waited for the storm to blow over we went to Bullpen Rib House which has great BBQ. If you ever need a place to eat in Atlanta I would recommend both of them!

The Last Lecture

First book of the summer completed. I read the book The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It was a quick and easy read. It is a non-fiction book about a professor that gives his "last lecture" because he has pancreatic cancer. 

From: link

Here is a little bit more from Amazon: 

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." --Randy Pausch

I thought it was an inspiring story and it was great to read that this man had a good life before he died. It was a shame he had to die so young, but there were many parts that were uplifting as well. 

Official Website: http://www.thelastlecture.com/

Graduate Awards

With Graduation comes banquets. I went to two banquets the day before my graduation.

The first one was the Honors College. It was for all seniors graduating with the Honors College which meant that we took at least 36 hours in honors. It was a nice lunch and they called us up to the stage to receive our medal and certificate. When they called us, our picture, list of involvement, and post-grad plans were displayed. Cool, I thought!

Mom, Dad, and I at the luncheon

After was the banquet for my Communication Disorders class. My grandparents came to that one too. Several of our professors spoke and said some sweet words to us. There were superlatives for everyone in my class and mine was "Most likely to blog in five different languages." Very fitting I thought! Some of them were funny. One girl from my class gave the "class speech" which was really cute. She always makes all my classmates laugh!

Christina and I- she was my partner for two years for every project , plus she sat next to me everyday! 

Mom and I

Grandma, me and Grandpa

My awesome class :)

I Graduated!

It's official, I'm a Western Kentucky University graduate! I did it! 

I now have a Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. These four years have flown by and I'm grateful to receive a higher education. 

My graduation was at 2pm Saturday and lasted over two hours. Luckily I was in the second row so I walked shortly after the first person.  Our president spoke and a few others that made up the ceremony. I actually left a little early because I wanted to make it to Mass that night (don't tell anyone ;) ). 

I was so happy that my parents and grandparents came to my ceremony. It had been forever since I'd seem them so it was great to spend the weekend with them. Kevin and his parents came as well which was nice! 

Awkward picture lining up to walk. 

Me!

Kevin and I 

My grandparents and me

My parents and me

Hannah..aka the best roommate ever!

My WKU Class

I graduate in 4 days, can you believe it?! Because I can't! I graduate with these awesome girls in my class....

I've been with these girls (and one guy!) since the beginning of my junior year. After multiple presentations  projects, and exams we are finally done with undergrad. We will all be going different directions, but I'm sure we will always remember our Communication Disorders times at WKU. 

One of our professors had us over for a cookout one night and that is where all these pictures were taken. It was really sweet of her. She had the nicest house and beautiful back porch! 

I will miss these people!

Spreading the Pro-Life Message: Family Planning Aisle

I posted this on Hilltoppers for Life Blog and wanted to share it on my blog!

This past weekend, some members of Hilltoppers for Life spread pro-life messages in the community. The Family Family Planning aisles of stores were the target. Right to Life Owensboro, that supports and works with Hilltoppers for Life has “dropcards” (like business cards) that have a pro-life message on one side and the other stating “More than a cause This is life or Death, be pro-life in Owensboro” The cards were put by contraceptives as well as pregnancy tests. Maybe these will change the minds or soften the hearts of those in disagreement with choosing life. We will never who we will affect, but taking proactive actions like this is making small steps to fight against the killing of innocent human lives! What would you do with drop cards like these?


The members that were talked about were Kevin and I. We enjoyed doing this and definitely got a pro-life high afterwards! It is a good feeling to know that we're making a difference. We will never know if we saved a human life, but knowing that people will see these gives us confidence that one day abortion will be abolished.