Its Halloween night and my roommates and I are getting ready to go out in our monkey costumes. Just before we’re about to leave it hits me. “Let’s play a game of leapfrog.” Monkeys playing leapfrog, ironic I know. Anyways, I understand this was not the most traditional activity to partake in on a Friday night. To say the least my roommates were very confused. Like most people they associated leapfrog as a silly childhood game. That being said, without much convincing we started to play, and were actually enjoying ourselves. They didn’t fully understand what the point of playing was but that was irrelevant. As I reflect on the moment it made me come to a realization; I have a tendency to get caught up in the emotions of everyday life in a negative manner. Rather than letting life unfold I, like many others I assume, try too hard to make things happen. Because of this we are not able to completely enjoy life and our surroundings. The best kind of created community should not be forced, just based on instincts and fate. A little monkey business never hurt anyone so take a deep breath, relax, and play some leapfrog.

As a child I can remember participating in games on the playground such as leapfrog, yet never realizing the true impact it had on me. Playing with my friends was all that mattered. Sometimes in life it takes a simple game like leapfrog to remind us what’s really important and that happiness through community can be very powerful. As we grow older it is easier to appreciate the “finer things in life.” Sure we have tests to study for, papers to write, work, laundry, etc. But the moments that we share with others while having fun balances everything out.

This Halloween night was special and it was all started by a game of leapfrog. I had a good time with some of my closest friends at Illinois State that we will be able to look back on forever. Sharing a special moment within a community is a very rewarding experience. Whether it’s changing the world, or playing a game of leapfrog always remember to enjoy yourself.

At five o’clock in the morning, I sit in the darkness of my room as the pale blue light from my computer screen mocks my inability to write. You see, I have been faced with making a decision between two very difficult, very unique options. Never in my ideas of a formal writing workshop did I ever imagine that I would be writing about things like leapfrog. More importantly, I never imagined that such a topic would be so difficult. My difficult decision is in choosing between two pictures to post—one of myself and group of friends leapfrogging in business suits at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire or a group of my friends from Arizona State University leapfrogging outside of their apartment in Phoenix. In realizing the class goal of building community, each picture offers two very different and unique perspectives.

However, both pictures are related in a way. In college, I participate in an activity called forensics (not the science). It’s basically an intercollegiate competition similar to debate, which involves performing different speeches, or interpretation of play scripts, short stories, poems, etc. Both of these pictures are of friends that I have made through the activity. Both pictures are a testament to relationships that I have built through forensics in the past year.

Recently, ISU went to a tournament at UW Eau Claire. On our lunch break, I asked a few of the people in the cafeteria from different teams if they would like to help me out with a class project. A few of them didn’t even ask what it was that they would be doing before they happily agreed to participate. As we started leapfrogging, a few of the other people from the tournament joined in. When I had chosen the picture that I had wanted, I noticed that a few of the people in the picture, I had only talked to once or twice but seemed overjoyed to help me complete a class project, and likewise, I would be willing to do the same for any of them.

The Arizona picture, however, was a little different, and seemed significantly warmer. Andy is one of my best friends through forensics, though because of the distance, I rarely get to see him through the year, so I use any excuse I can to call him. Most recently, I used leapfrogging. Andy’s two roommates also do forensics, so I asked if the three of them could leapfrog and take a picture of it (preferably in front of a palm tree or some warm looking thing). Surprisingly they agreed without very much of an explanation. In reflecting on this picture, as I had to do for my class, I realized that I had only really known Andy for about a year. However, with only the short amount of time that I have known him, after one phone call, he was still happy, even excited to help me when he and his roommates receive no direct advantage from doing so. As I said earlier, this picture is a testament to the relationships that I have built through forensics, and it makes me extremely happy to have friends from across the country that are willing to help me with a simple phone call.

Dating for most sane people is a difficult task. It is an activity requiring much anxiety, preparation, etiquette, and of course the exuberant amount of bull shitting. However, for a couple that has been together for five years it is a whole new game. There is not the requirement of nice clothes and the occasional fluke bowel movement is no longer a deal breaker. But this does not mean that dating gets any easier. If anything, it gets harder. There are only so many ideas a man can come up with before seeming repetitive and boring. The newbees have it easy. They can bank on the cliché dinner and a movie scenario, where as I have to rely heavily on my creative intuitions to keep the relationship fresh.

This assignment in many ways was a gift from the heavens. Saturday, being parents weekend at Illinois State University, was in fact a busy day. I took my parents on a tour of the campus, trying to prove to them that their hard earned money is going towards a good cause. Between the walks, tailgating, and dinner, I did not have time to touch base with my girlfriend Sarah about her day. Normally, this would not be a tragedy of any sort, however as the saying goes, “shit happens.”

Unfortunately, Sarah was in a quarrel with a group of her close friends. Although common in most friendships, in the midst of a fight emotions are on edge. So on Saturday night she drove down to ISU to attend my Halloween party. Now, this is my note to the ladies out there; when your boyfriend is dressed in an obnoxious costume, e.g. baby Jesus, it is most definitely not the time to discuss plans involving marriage, kids, or anything to do with the above said categories. Sorry to say, but Sarah did venture into this dangerous territory and was greeted not by me, but Joe College. As my throat closed up, and beads of sweat trickled down my face, Sarah felt as if her two support systems had just collapsed and her standing in life was wiped out from under her feet. It is not that my future plans do not include her; they are in fact committed to her. But, my most immediate commitment at the time was making sure that the girl dressed up as Tinkerbell would stop puking in my washer machine.

Needless to say, I was in desperate need for a date to cheer Sarah up. The next day I found a stroll through Miller Park Zoo to be a great attempt. As we were checking out the neon colored frogs I remembered this assignment and thought that it would be a perfect time to play some good old leap frog. Sarah was all for the notion and we found the perfect spot to document our game. Now as you check out our pictures, you can’t help but notice the huge tank in the background. There can be a bunch of cheesy metaphors made about the object. Maybe that the future ahead of us will be a battle, but having each other is all the armor we’ll need. Do you think it was possible that Tinkerbell was just puking from hearing a cheesy line like that? Nah, but I think I could puke from hearing it.

Anyways, what I do want to point out is that in the craziness of relationships, when the future stresses you out and daily occurrences are too much to handle, return to the fundamentals with your significant other. Just play. It’s the perfect date. Life once again seems simple, manageable, and fun. So I encourage you to go out, and take the leap.
-Ray Mc

At the ripe age of twenty-two, I still like to think of myself as young spirited. I have come to terms with the fact that after age twenty-one, there really is no longer any birthday to look forward to. I can already see myself slowly starting to turn into my parents. I find politics much more interesting, I am falling behind and losing touch with mainstream music, and think sixteen year olds should definitely not be driving. I have never had text messaging on my cell phone or have ever stepped foot in an Abercrombie and Fitch clothing store. However, as much as I love my parents, I cannot imagine myself being exactly like them when I am their age. They are afraid of big cities, are devout Republicans, and think nine o’clock is late. I am always trying to convince them to take a vacation or expand their horizons past a dinner and a movie being a perfect night out. I know that young spirit is still in them somewhere. Leap Frog was the perfect activity to let it out.

Granted Leap Frog is not exactly a typical game or activity most twenty-two years even play, it allows you to revert to your younger days and act silly for a little bit. When we were given the project to play Leap Frog, I knew exactly who I wanted to play with. As childish as the game is, I also thought it would be a perfect way to bond and spend time with my parents before I had to go back to school. I only see them on random weekends, so I try and spend as much time with them as I can when I am home.

When I first mentioned the idea to my parents they were a little apprehensive to participate.

“Oh, I don’t know Jon. We probably cannot even bend down that low anymore…let alone jump over someone else. Why don’t you just go to the park and find some kids to play with? They will be better at it than us.”

My mother continued to tell me that there would be no time to play because their friends were coming over and they had dinner reservations. At that moment I thought about the other students in the class and whether they were having any trouble getting people to participate as well. Who were they Leap Frogging with? Where were they leaping? How did they sway their victims to actually participate? After a little more convincing, my parents agreed to play some Leap Frog. Even better, when their friends arrived, they too agreed to play. We went into the backyard and my girlfriend volunteered to be the camerawoman. After a little directorial planning, we assumed our frog positions and began to leap. The next few minutes that followed were probably some of the funniest and most entertaining minutes I have ever experienced with my parents. See below for yourself.

As we all gathered around the camera to watch what we looked like while playing Leap Frog, it was great to see everyone laughing and having so much fun. We laughed at each other’s ability or lack thereof to leap over one another. We laughed at my mom. We simply laughed at the fact we were playing a children’s game. It was silly, but it felt good to see my parents and their friends having a great time not being adults for five minutes. According to the internet, a group of frogs is called a colony or an army. That is perfect because the goal of this project was to build a sense of community, a colony of Leap Froggers. I guess you could say that we were a giggly little colony of Leap Froggers and will most likely remember this for a long time.










I was also lucky enough to have a couple of my friends send me a picture of them playing Leap Frog as well. The first picture is in front of USC Trojan Stadium in California and the second picture is next to a sculpture of Herky the Hawkeye at the University of Iowa.