A Tribute to Ms. Rohr
I normally don’t share my thoughts or insights on xanga. Rather than filling these pages with pictures, I thought I’d share something happened today which made an impact on me. If you know me, you know that I majored in graphic design and got a degree in bachelor of fine arts in college. It may not be that big of a deal, but to one teacher, it might have made her proud. That teacher’s name is Ms. Deborah Rohr. My freshmen year in high school, I took her intro to art class. She was a fun person to be around. Very blunt, straight-forward lady who was not afraid to tell you what was on her mind. She always caught me chewing gum in class, called me a “dipstick” and told me to spit it out b/c I looked like a cow grazing on field of grass.
Not to boast, but she recognized that I had some talent in art and encouraged me to take more classes in advance art during my high school. Even though art was fun for me, I was more concerned about being “cool” and hanging out with the “popular crowd.” (can you see my ‘like-me’ heart motive behind this?) Being an art student was not a cool thing to do at that time so I didn’t follow her advice and did not take any more art classes in high school. But she was always persistent until the day I graudated. She kept reminding me and encouraging me to pursue my talent whenever I ran into her. Her last words that were penned in my senior yearbook was something along the lines of: “keep following your dreams and see where it leads you…, etc.”
Well in college, I took that path and decided to become an art major. One thing led to another and now my profession involves designing things. All throughout college, the words of Ms. Rohr kept coming to my mind. I reminded myself that I want to visit my old high school to tell her what I’ve become and wanted to thank her for always encouraging and believing in me. But I kept putting it off.
It’s been about 13 years since I graduated high school and today I found out that Ms. Rohr actually passed away last month at an early age. I do not know the cause of exact death but I do know she wasn’t that old so some kind of illness took her life. I meditated and thought of her for good part of my day and regret not visiting her earlier when I had the chance.
Recently my friend told me that you should seize the opportunity before it’s too late. It’s so true. So If you read this far and have those Ms. Rohr’s in your lives, don’t wait any longer but tell them how you feel. I now have to live the rest of my life never being able to tell her how much I appreciated her.
And to all those teachers (Lord knows I know hundreds of them!) out there, I know it’s not easy doing what you do, but I hope this encouraged you. Know that you are making an investment in the lives of your students.
And finally, IL vs. IND tonight. I’m watching a taped game tonight later. So please do not leave any game-related comments. Thanks and God bless.
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It happened again. I was all ready to watch the recorded Illini game after my class was over. I didn’t 
know the result. I didnt’ talk about the game with anyone to find out the result. As I stand there talking to some people, I hear a girl talking to someone on the phone. She yells out “WE LOST? AGAIN?!? WHAT’S WRONG WITH US?” I wanted to go up to her and say: “what’s wrong with you!?!” Arrgh. Now I can’t watch the game any more. Sigh…:-(
On a brighter note, my buddy Amer just won his first round @ the Australian Open. He lasted 5 sets to edge his opponent 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Way to go Del! Next up, Amer will face Australian Nathan Healey in the second round. They have played once before, a match which Amer won in 3 sets. We’ll see how it goes. Way to represent the Illini! 
Roger is also doing well in CBA. He’s on the path to become the rookie of the year. Here’s an excerpt from one of his many news articles that were published about him:
Two days after recording a season high of 35 points in a win over the Albany Patroons, rookie forward Roger Powell scored 38 points in a 110-91 victory over the Michigan Mayhem.
The Lightning trailed by 5 at the half after losing the first two quarter points to the visiting Mayhem. They came out on fire in the third and outscored their opponents 30-15 in the quarter. They never looked back as they took the fourth 27-18 and improved their record to a league best 15-6 (92.5 quarter points).
This week he is participating in the CBA All-Star game. Go Rog!
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