Lancer Diaries: These Are a Few of My Favorite Things! (By: Kolin Kraning)

College Life:
So much fun!!
I feel like everyone who is not here is missing out. So if you’re reading this and you’re not here, you’re missing out!
Seriously.
I can’t even begin to explain all of the awesome things I have been a part of since I came here. But here goes one, I have to tell you about Penny Candy, but I must clarify: Penny Candy is NOT an official club at Cal Baptist, but we do meet and have “sessions” in many different places around campus. Penny Candy is a freestyle rapping group that was founded by Cal Baptist students. Anyone can participate, that is of course if they pass the initiation test. This initiation test consists of one rap in which the hopeful member raps about a specific topic given by Penny Candy members, as well as incorporate two words also decided on by current members.

The current members are:

Aaron Scott, aka: Gummi Bear
Daniel Scott, aka: Blow Pop
Marc Davenport, aka: Peeps
Alex Abarca, aka: Pixie Stick
Taylor Fagg, aka: Jaw Breaker
Christian Tucker, aka: Gumball
Tommy Solares, aka: Rolo
Devron Suttle, aka: Whopper
Joe Mayer, aka: Sugar Daddy

Stephen Scott, aka: Fun Dip

Joe Younes, aka: Tooty Fruity

James Kerr, aka: Reese's Pieces
Kolin Kraning, aka: Spree

Sessions are the equivalent of our shows. We stand in a circle, play instrumental beats through boom boxes, amps, or iHomes (depending on our resources), and rap. The raps can be about anything we choose, ALWAYS CLEAN CONTENT of course (no swearing or inappropriate topics), and we flow until we simply can’t flow any longer! Sessions always vary in length depending on how many people are rapping, how large the audience is, and how tired we all are. Sessions tend to be short when we’ve had a long day, but when we’re all well-rested and energetic our sessions last for 30-40 minutes!
So there you have it (in a nut shell), the Penny Candy club, as of now (we are always searching for new members!). Be sure to stop by and listen sometime, you might pass us by on your way to class. We are also creating a YouTube channel to post videos of our sessions, I will post the URL when it is established!

Now here is my second favorite thing to do on campus. Every Wednesday night there is a club called iWrite that hosts an open-mic music night, in the Staples room at CBU. Unlike Penny Candy this is actually a school-sanctioned club. It is ran by student Andrew Foster, a very funny, outgoing, and musically talented young man. The greatest thing about iWrite is that ANYONE can take the stage and share their talents with the audience. Whether you are a musician, poet, actor, or anything else (those three are the most common), you can grab the mic and show everyone the talent God has blessed you with!
As a musician, I believe it is vital to share your talents with others. I believe God blessed everyone with unique gifts to share with the world, and that every gift should be used to glorify Him, which is what we do every week at iWrite.
It has been such an awesome opportunity because I have been able to connect with other kids who share the same passion I do. So there you have it, Kolin’s two favorite things to do on campus; the place to be.