A Community Outreach Blogger for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance contacted me a while ago, and I took a bit to get back to her (I have so many spam comments on this blog that it’s hard to pick out the real ones). This blogger, Emily, seemed pretty cool so I decided to post the article she sent me. Oh, also, the cause ain’t half bad. (Yes, I said ain’t :P).
I just started my new internship, so watch for news on that, but for now I am lazy and relaxed. <3
Here’s the article (read it and you get a cookie):
How to Get Veterans the Help They Need
Being a veteran is more than just having medals and being able to tell people that you served in the military. Most veterans have to live with severe medical conditions that can truly affect their lives on a daily basis. Whether the veteran in question is dealing with mesothelioma or has a variety of psychological issues, there is help out there for them if they need it. It is so important for you to help them get the help that they so desperately need so that they are able to live a more fulfilling and healthy life.
One of the greatest things any veteran can do is to make regular trips to a counselor or to join a support group. Counselors are there to listen to your every word and can truly help you to feel better about the situation that you are dealing with. Support groups, on the other hand, will allow you to mingle with other veterans who are in the same situation as you. You can either find a local support group in your area or you may even find it beneficial to join a veteran support group online so that you can begin participating.
Receiving some type of support is important, but it is also important for you to be as healthy and happy as possible. Following a healthy diet and exercising regularly can truly make a different to your quality of life. Even just 30 minutes of exercise every other day is enough to boost endorphins so that you feel good. A healthy diet will also help because you will be eating foods that are packed with vitamins and minerals, all of which your body needs. You should talk with your doctor before making major changes to your current diet and exercise plan.
Along with joining a support group and beginning to exercise more frequently, it may also be a good idea for you to visit a doctor a few times a year. Your doctor is the only one who is going to be able to take a look at your condition and know if there is something different or wrong. For example, if you were exposed to asbestos while in the military, your doctor is going to be able to tell when you start showing signs of mesothelioma cancer. Making regular trips to your doctor can truly save your life if there is something wrong concerning your health.
Living a long and healthy life is essential for every veteran, despite what war they served in or what branch of the military they were in. The important thing is to seek the help that you need and realize that there is assistance out there for you. Whether you choose to just join an online support group or you really buckle down with a routine exercise program, you will find that you feel better and more proactive about your health. Be sure to find the best type of support available that you feel comfortable making use of.
Posted inJunior Year ('12-'13)|Comments Off on Getting Veterans the Help They Need :)
Just kiddinnngggg…. who facebook stalks? Not me. Definitely not you. We are neither curious nor of the feline persuasion.
*meow*
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o.0
WHERE DID THAT COME FROM!?
Okay, now that I have out-shenaniganed myself in this nuttiness of finals week, here’s a blog:
News highlights: I’ll be back on facebook tomorrow night!!! My last final was an hour ago (might be a B, but it’s Chinese, so I kind of forgive myself). Now I only have one paper left to write, and it’s due at midnight on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Then I am done for this semester.
The fact that I survived a real semester after a year of twiddling my thumbs in Spain is pretty impressive. I’m not saying Spanish is easy, but it’s really fun and I am very, very passionate about it. Okay, so maybe my classes this semester were a piece of cake, as well, but being here was still more difficult than the vacation plus free Spanish classes I had for nine months.
I’m not trying to make anyone jealous, by the way. I’m just calling things as I see them. If that’s upsetting to you, maybe you should change your major and be happy like me.
Speaking of happy, Bikram yoga is my new heaven! After you get over the feeling of certain death by suffocation and heat stroke, hot yoga is actually really, really fun. The 90 minute class at Bikram Yoga Harlem, which is composed of 26 poses and 2 breathing exercises, costs only $10 at 4:30 on Sundays. Usually it’s $15, so why is it cheaper at that time? BECAUSE THEY’RE AWESOME. The 4:30 class is the donation class, so you can technically get in for whatever you wanna pay, but the $10 is suggested. Why should you pay the suggested price? Because the donation goes to a different charity each month! (this month it’s going to one for children in Africa… I don’t remember which one)
This guy is awesome. Superfun teacher that makes the class go by really quickly.
I’m not being paid to mention them, by the way 😛
I’ve just been reading about ways to combat obesity for my paper (a 15-page intervention proposal to combat cardiovascular disease by preventing obesity caused by diet), so I went to yoga twice this weekend. I’ve also been eating healthier. I’m also going to write more than 15 pages for this paper…. *sigh*
Macaulay, you sly dogs, you…. Here I thought the seminars were all nonsense! As a junior in the sophomore CHC’s, I am finally understanding the point. I’m actually super okay with taking the required honors college classes in my second-to-last year because I hear that juniors and seniors often feel disconnected from Macaulay, and I don’t want that to happen. I’m even taking next semester’s Future of NYC class at the Macaulay building (if I ever complete the ePermit form correctly haha…. This girl is book smart but has ZERO common sense)
Last thought before I return to my paper:
“Everyone hates consequences because when consequences are good, they’re called results.”-Me to Diana when her headphones accidentally unplugged and the song “I Hate Consequences” suddenly blared out of her computer at a heart-attack-inducing volume.
…Also applies to school, picking a major, studying for finals, life….
That is all. Pass your finals, then soak in my incredible wisdom and go to the nearest bikram yoga studio. Seriously. I swear they won’t tell you how to live. 😉
Lots of love,
Julia
Posted inJunior Year ('12-'13)|Comments Off on So, tomorrow, the world invades my life again (and I can go back to facebook stalking!)
I don’t read because I’m too busy procrastinating about schoolwork and planning my future every few seconds.
SO
Here’s to the Mayan end of the world, the CCNY end to finals, and my end to the time of no reading.
Before TV entered my life (in America), I was the bookwormiest of bookworms. I skimmed a lot and I skipped sections that bored me, but I read all the time. I was a very intelligent child.
Today, I watch three seasons of my new favorite series in two days, or watch three movies in a row (today). Netflix and I bonded over one romantic comedy, one romantic Indie movie, and one Indie movie. It’s quite a nice progression, really… In the last movie, which I watched at about 1 in the morning, a cute prep school cafeteria worker (who may or may not have been whoring herself out to the boys with the most money) was reading her way through the “100 best books of all time.” The movie was called Goats. It wasn’t really about goats, but that didn’t stop my roomies from having a jolly laugh with me when I told them the title. One of them asked me what sound a goat makes, so, naturally, I was about to demonstrate it when our unofficial fourth roomie (Alena’s boyfriend) came in… We laughed harder at his appearance during this characteristic roomie moment, and opted for the most obvious solution to the goat noise question: a youtube video. Enjoy…
I’ve always liked keeping a bucket list in my head, and I’ve tried to keep movie and book lists and whatnot. SO, if you go back somewhere into the past of Julia’s bloggyland, there is a bucketlist. This is the beginning of my booketlist (yes, I know, I’m super clever)
Julia’s First/Kinda Legit/Unofficial Booketlist
Cien Años de Soledad
All the Game of Thrones books
Some random Goethe stuff (in German)
Animal Farm
That Gigantic Shakespeare works book I have sitting on my bookshelf at home
The Millenium Series
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Pretty sure my sister loved it and told me to read it about three years ago)
A Clockwork Orange
Catch-22
Fahrenheit 451
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Divine Comedy (don’t tell my World Humanities teacher, but I just sparknotesed most of it this semester)
The Grapes of Wrath
something by Haruki Murakami… probably 1Q84 because I saw it EVERYWHERE last year
The Age of Innocence
ok, there will be more. feel free to let me know what you think I should read….. although nobody has access to my internet thoughts until the 22nd… finals=no facebook=no social life (seriously :P)
So the other night I confessed to one of my roomies that I am, indeed, over my issues enough to kinda want a relationship. Her response?
“I’m sure you’ll have a boyfriend by January.”
Laughing, I turned to other roomie. “OMGGUESSWHATSHEJUSTSAID!”
Her response?
“That’s too quick. Maybe by February. Yeah, I bet you’ll have a boyfriend by Valentine’s Day.”
In addition to being adorably optimistic, my roomies are also sort of competitive. They want to bet against each other, and I have to make up the rules. How do I make the rules? The likelihood is very high that they will both lose. LMAO great night…
This got me thinking, however. What am I looking for? I mean, I’m not going to be actively searching because, as one of my good friends reminded me, this will probably lead to settling. After that, I thought about what it means to settle. Then I talked to my mother, who knows everything. So now I am blogging it out. Before I can figure out what it would mean to settle for less than what I want, I have to know what I actually want.
You don’t even want to read my perfect scenario because it’s scary as hell and nobody can live up to it. (Story of everyone’s perfect scenario) My sister laughed at me when I mentioned one of the things on the “perfect” list at dinner today. So no… Not embarrassing myself. Here’s realistic:
He has to be pretty confident. NÚMERO FREAKING UNO. The biggest turn-off ever? A guy who doesn’t like himself. What the eff am I supposed to do with that? What am I, your mother? No. I’m not. Go away.
He has to be funny. I don’t necessarily mean hyena laugh, crazy funny (if you hear my hyena laugh, you might flee, anyway), I mean have a sense of humor. Have my sense of humor. Be inappropriate and ridiculous and appreciate it when I am a little corny. Or don’t appreciate it and make fun of me for it! Which leads into my next point….
He needs to be able to argue about things. I want to be challenged. Don’t agree with everything I say, because you’re/I’m obviously wrong some of the time. Call me out on my crap and give me some back-and-forth every once in a while! A little lively discussion is healthy.
Example of what dumb means (unless you’re just kidding)
Also, if a guy is not intelligent, I can’t handle it. I don’t mean that he has to KNOW everything. He just needs to have the capacity to know things, to learn, to appreciate my nerdiness. I don’t know everything, either, but I can hold a decent conversation and get philosophical and SPELL things CORRECTLY when I chat with people. (Pet peeve, sorry. This makes me crazy, and not in a sexy way…)
Okay, so far we have confidence, a sense of humor, a somewhat argumentative personality (in the fun/cute way, not in the SHUT UP NOBODY CARES way), and intelligence.
Here comes the obvious: I have to be attracted to him, otherwise he is getting the friend zone. Sorry. This does not mean supermodel hot or anything. Attraction comes in many forms. Often, número uno up there (confidence) can be combined with intelligence to up someone’s attractiveness level significantly. Real crushes develop from brain crushes all the time. I’m into school. Smart boys are sexy.
What else? Well, similar interests, I guess? If he thinks vegetarians are idiots, he’s obviously not for me. If he doesn’t like human rights (which include immigrants’ rights and GAY RIGHTS, people!), I will get annoyed fast. It would be cool if he appreciated or spoke Spanish or any other foreign language… I like to travel and I like culture and communication. He doesn’t have to like my girly crap like Vampire Diaries or Pink. Oh and it would be cool if he was up for crazy things like skydiving..
He needs to be vulgar enough to accept it when I swear and say really lewd things and watch True Blood or Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead…
I know these are shows that appeal more to the id than to anything else, but come on. That’s what makes them great! (Of course, a lot of guys are just walking, talking ids most of the time, so that might not be an issue lol) I just can’t handle being with a guy if I feel like I’m corrupting him…
He needs to act like a man. I don’t mean macho scary man, I just mean that it would be nice if he had a sense of authority about him… some testosterone, you know? This is part of the confidence thing, I guess. I just want to state quite blatantly that I am not looking for a boyband sort of prettyboy. I don’t want to have to be the one to protect us if we get mugged. He doesn’t need to be able to beat up all muggers, he just needs to be the one comforting me when it’s over instead of the other way around. That’s not much to ask, right? Not looking for a neanderthal or anything, just for a decent level of testosterone.
He needs to have basic hygiene down but no way am I okay with a guy who thinks about his outward appearance more than I think about mine. I can be ready to go in 20 minutes. If his grooming ritual takes much longer than that, he can go date a girl that wears make-up and does her hair. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just not my life. I’m lucky if I wear matching socks. (Actually, mismatched socks are fun if they’re the same size and done on purpose :p )
It would be good if he wasn’t very religious because I am uncomfortable with corrupting others, and most religions do not approve of most things that are fun…
A couple compatibility pointers: Any guy I’d be with would have to have a somewhat loud personality, or I’d constantly feel as though I were overpowering him. He needs to like talking because I like talking. He needs to be a little obnoxious sometimes, you know?
Oh and don’t cheat, don’t hit me etc. …you know, the basic relationship manners things you can think of belong in this general area of the blog. I don’t feel like explaining it because we’ve already discussed the intelligence bit.
Great song. Not a good relationship.
Last but not least (and also not really last, I’m just not done thinking about this), he needs to know how and when to be mature. Like, I should be able to take him out in public without being embarrassed. Sure, be loud and be yourself but don’t make farting noises on the subway. You’d think this would be a nonissue but…. yeah…. better safe than sorry.
None of these things are set in stone (the heart wants what the heart wants) but I do think that this is a pretty comprehensive summary of how I feel about men right now. These are the basics. Get with them.
If you’re not into me or someone similar to me, none of this probably applies to you. Every girl is different, so disregard my opinions.
If you are into me (haha, like six people read this blog and they’re all female), here’s a gem: If you don’t think I’m into you, you’re probably right. If you think I am into you, you’re probably right and you should ask me out… However, if I’ve already made it clear that I’m into you and you didn’t do anything about it, it’s definitely too late to change your mind.
The above paragraph has been brought to you by PLEASE BE CONFIDENT and I GET IT WHEN I’M A BACKUP SO DON’T EVEN. Not to be harsh or anything :p I’m really a very nice girl.
Anyone who read this and agrees/disagrees/has comments, feel free to message me on facebook or whatever. This subject interests me. Let me know what’s on your wish list.
Before you get on me about my pretentious, non-stop language learning, let’s discuss how language classes make me feel wholly inadequate. Most people have a similar reaction to foreign language classes and decide to avoid them because of it. I, however, am a glutton for punishment.
If God had poop on his shoe, it would be elephant dung….. and it would be on these shoes. <3[/caption]Ever since fifth grade, when I began to take Spanish, I have both loved and been horrible at language classes. I earn the grades and then forget everything I learned. So, I guess, technically, I was super at language classes and horrible at language. I didn't really learn how to speak Spanish until I studied abroad, because I am intensely afraid of language practice. Here's why: Language teachers are GODS, and I am poopie on their giant GOD shoes. This is how it feels to attempt conversing in class, especially when I haven't studied as much as I should have. They are fluent and my mistakes are so sadly obvious that even I can hear them.
I feel inadequate when I can't rattle off the response sentence in half a second, and I'm completely embarrassed when I blank out on a word that I KNOW would come to me instantaneously if I were alone.
After going through this process with Spanish, I think I'm prepared for Chinese if only because I can EXPECT to be terrible at it from the beginning. The point isn't how slowly you learn, anyway. It's THAT you learn. Maybe I got a 3 on the quiz but I got a 93 on the test! That must count for something, even if it ends up screwing my GPA.
Apparently I'm ridiculous, though, because I complain constantly about how this or that thing will ruin my GPA and then I get an A on it anyway and everyone secretly hates me.
SO...
The point here is the whole try, try again mantra. I don't have a particular talent for language, no matter what people may think based on my record. I just love communication enough to force myself through the grueling process of sucking at new words for a year or so. I am still somewhat pathetic when I try to bend Spanish grammar to my will, but at least I usually blurt out my mistakes with confidence. That will come with Chinese, too, once I stop being a crybaby about it.
I don't know how any of this applies to any of you, or how I can twist it to be anything but a public ramble about my personal learning curve, but there it is. You already read it so you can't unread it now hahaha
Let me know if you got anything out of it. I hope you go learn a language. Hint: Don’t start with Chinese >.<
I can't take it next semester, so I will teach the rest of the textbook to myself because I am insane. My teacher agreed with me.
All the best and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING (EAT A LOT!!! IT DOESN'T REALLY COUNT ;),
Julia
P.S. No freaking out about finals. Stop it. Go breathe or drink a glass of water or something. Ooooommmmmmmmmmmm.......
Yes, it’s me. I’ve returned from the land of preoccupied bloggers. I swear I’ve been thinking about you guys. I had so many ideas this week. As always, I’m going to combine it all into one giant wordvomit that ends up making sense in a rambling, slightly inspirational sort of way.
Self image : Sometimes the smallest things can make us wonder if we’re worth it. Sometimes we get dramatic after promising we won’t. Sometimes we have moments of self-doubt in the middle of a fabulous week of self-appreciation. It happens. Maybe it’s our own fault, maybe someone did something or said something hurtful, or maybe we’re just being ignored. Here’s the thing, guys. STOP IT.
Nothing and nobody can make you think less of yourself if you wake up every morning and tell yourself “I’m awesome!” before going out there and kicking ass. Seriously. Just believe it. The time just changed and so can you. Look in the mirror tomorrow and say “you’re awesome” to yourself. I know it will sound like a joke at first, but keep doing it and see what happens 😉
Time-management/Sandy: Did anybody else get NOTHING done during the storm this week? Yeah, I listened to some lovey-dovey/depressing Spanish music, had a fun time with friends, and sorta kinda did some homework and sorta kinda cleaned my apartment. So what’s the deal with that? Well, usually I would call this procrastination a first-world problem but it’s not even that. People died this week. Here. People die a lot everywhere, but Sandy rolled on by and it was a reminder that we are not immune to nature. So anyone who is feeling some self-pity about procrastinating right now or ever…. yeah, stop that, too. I did. At least I have an apartment to procrastinate in. Seriously. We don’t realize how lucky we are. There are so many reasons you can invent to feel bad about yourself when you have everything you need to survive.
I was trying to be inspiring here but it’s coming across as a bit depressing. That’s because Reality Bites .
Here’s a clip from my mom’s favorite movie:
Does everyone feel better now? This happens when they all have no money whatsoever, but Winona Ryder figures out that she can use her dad’s gas card to buy food at the gas station. Mitt Romney would approve.
How not to spend your free time: worrying. feeling crappy. Worrying about feeling crappy. feeling crappy about worrying. The eternal problem with College students is that we all slack, but most of us feel bad about slacking, and all of us know there is no point in doing so.
Just decide not to. Realize that you’re awesome. I facebook chatted with three friends today, and all of them reminded me that I’m pretty great. I hope I did the same for them because they deserved it. On bad days, friends need to do for you what you do for yourself on all the good days; They do what I’m going to do for you right now:
You have doubts, you have worries, you have problems, you have fears, but YOU HAVE YOURSELF. You’re above all of that crap and you can beat anything. That’s how I feel right now and that’s how you should feel always.
Keep this with you:
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
-Thomas Alva Edison
Everyone knows debates don’t matter. Only stupid people that change their minds based on a night of useless rambles and lies can get anything out of them. I’m sorry if you’re one of the “undecided” but you know it’s true. By now, everyone knows the issues and has enough information to make a decision about the next four years.
If you don’t, please read something and get on it..?
SNL is right
Family Guy got it (thanks to a friend for reminding me of this clip)
Now let’s review:
Debate 1: Obama stammered and didn’t bring out the big guns.
Debate 2: Romney got pounded.
Debate 3: Romney doesn’t understand things that aren’t America.
Am I biased? Of course! Who isn’t. I agree with just about nothing that Romney says, but I do have severe doubts that Obama will be able to do everything that he promises. Obama’s my man, though. He’ll get 4 more years and get more white hair. Overall, I do agree with Lincoln:
Nobody can fix the mess we’re in right now in one presidential term, so it’s a good thing there’s more branches of government aside from the president….. BUT WAIT.. The president’s not even ALONE in his branch of government. This whole face of the nation stuff is really ridiculous because people forget about the executive branch. Yeah, the Boss is the Boss, so it doesn’t really matter how many people are advising him, but a lot of Americans don’t even think about the fact that there are more people involved… and then there’s the other two branches. *Sigh*
So this is why we have a presidential debate drinking game. Today’s young adult either understands the race or doesn’t, but either reaction should look similar. People who care about politics will add a drinking game to their debate because the debate doesn’t matter, and people who don’t care about politics will add a debate to their drinking because facebook told them there’s a game.
Disclaimer: not trying to bring alcohol into people’s lives, that was just an example to let you know how little the debate matters in the grand scheme of things.
Jon Stewart wouldn’t let me share this link, so please copy/paste because it’s hilarious
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyF3qdijttQ
LOVE (even if you’re undecided because I’m a hippie and I forgive you because I love everyone)
There is always something to do. I have a calendar that goes until finals week. You can check it. Every time I think about blogging or reading the first book in Game of Thrones, I’m like “Wooaahh, Julia! Don’t you have an essay or something?”
And I always do. Because there are things to be done. Because I have a real major. I go to City College, where a lot of people (mostly men) are engineering students. If they’re not, they’re often in the sciences or in some mathy sort of area. Or they’re studying to become lawyers.
Look, he gets it!
I don’t know if it’s jealousy at the fact that I actually love every single one of my classes, or what. But I do know that my major is apparently nothing to be proud of. It’s something that everyone could do with their eyes closed, their hands tied behind their backs, and their backs tied to railroad tracks. There are a lot of things I could blog about right now, like the presidential election (which I am SO looking forward to), my quest for a summer internship, or the fact that my poor, little Mac is going to the Apple Store to be fixed.
But no.
I am going to rant about how my life has meaning and my goal to work with people is worthwhile. I KNOW people often make fun of my major because they know it will annoy me, but I am and always will be one of those people that you can wind up. I will always react, and you know it.
I just need to vent right now because it makes me feel belittled and unappreciated as an honors student when someone else tells me, “yeah, but it’s not like you have a real major…” Well, eff you because I have a major and two minors, and I basically speak three languages and am working on a fourth. Engineer THAT. International Studies is the study of the world. It is the study of culture and language and history and politics and sociology and psychology and so forth. It is the best major for someone like me who wants to learn everything there is to learn about the people of the world before she goes on to humanitarian her butt off for them. See below for how awesome it is to help people 😛
People who are not doctors or lawyers or business executives, don’t let yourselves believe all the bullhockey. Sure, the Social Sciences don’t get crapped on as much as the Arts, but we still deserve a nice, little pity party. We’re real, and our science people should admit it to us, if only to get me to stop yelling.
Yes, I’ve been marathoning the series Awkward. Yes, I love it. No, I have not been blogging. This is upsetting. But just like Jenna, I am choosing between two things. Okay, her two things are guys, but mine are too… kind of.
I don’t blog about actual feelings often because I feel weird about this school blog and the school people that could be reading it. Maybe I need an anonymous blog.
Okay, that was partially true. I’m afraid of blogging about feelings because someone somewhere–or everyone everywhere–has had every possible feeling that I could mention. Every time I have a sharing moment at a girly sleepover, I am told, “Oh, yeah. I went through a similar thing in high school.”
Am I the only person that had no life in high school? Romantically, I matured pretty late. I had very short relationships with people I wasn’t even into because I was an awkward teenager with no clue. See? Everyone’s been through this. It’s just, now that I’ve been off finding myself for a year, I am absolutely 100% sure that I am ready for an actual relationship. I know I could do it and do it well. And this is where the keeping my s**t straight comes in…
I don’t want a relationship. It scares me s**tless. What about my plans? (Again, insert “I went through this in high school” here. Some girl is bound to say it. Yeah, I sound insecure about it. It’s because I am.) I have my life planned until I’m 26. I’m the classic smart girl with a bright future and no time for a guy. Except I am a horrible, soppy romantic on the inside. Oh, wait, so is everyone. The problem is that there is never a solution for this sort of thing. Everyone goes through it but nobody can handle it. It’s a personal decision. Love finds us when we least expect it, or when we least want it, so maybe I should just let it go. It’s very probable that I will not encounter anyone I can’t live without dating in the next two years. I’ve gone 20 so far.
^weakness
For the first time in my life, I can handle the idea of committing to a real person. Not prince charming, not that hot jock in my calc class that I don’t actually want on a personal level, but a REAL person. An approachable, fun, smart guy. There’s more of them than we think, especially at college. I want one. But that would complicate things. I see myself as that girl who throws everything to the wind and gives in to love completely. Great. You know what that sounds like? Weakness. Complete surrender of power. The idea irks me so hard that I can’t even say it out loud half the time I think it.
I don’t want to fall in love in the next two years because losing control scares the s**t out of me. I need to plan and I need to have only manageable obstacles. I like fear because it motivates me, but this is different. My parents got married when they were about two years older than I am now. They’re in love and they’re adorable. I used to dream that I would be like them and have kids at 23. I want to get a master’s degree and go into the Peace Corps in Latin America or China. But my roomie is becoming a doctor and has a boyfriend that lives in Colombia, and THEY work. My roomie in Spain fell in love with a Basque man who FOLLOWED HER TO CANADA. Is the universe trying to tell me something? Or am I being warned to not even try?
Have I never been in love because I wasn’t ready to handle it, and is it going to be thrown at me now that I actually don’t want it? My heart and body want it, but my brain doesn’t.
I have a future, and I think that the right guy could f*** that s**t up. This is cynical and horrible coming from the cute little 5-year-old disney princess inside of my soul. But guess what! The emotions that I’m having about this hypothetical situation are crappy and confusing. I am that girl in the romantic comedy who is resistant to love and then finds it… People always say that it comes at the time when you least expect it, so is it better to expect it? If I don’t want it, it will happen; if I decide to expect it, maybe I can fight it off.
Let me finish this dramatic crapfest with some Stephen Colbert to wake you back up:
<3
Julia
Posted inJunior Year ('12-'13)|Comments Off on Awkward. (BAM! Julia is BACK… but can’t keep her s••t straight)
Remember me? I used to write this blog haha. I succumbed to the comfy laziness of a two week gap in my bloggy time once more, so I have a million ideas. I picked autodidactism. What is it? I knew what it is but I’ve never had to explain it, so I looked it up on wikipedia for you guys. (YES WIKIPEDIA 😀 This is not a school paper so Ha. I will use wikipedia just because I can!)
Anyway, the most trustworthy source of info on the web told me that autodidactism “has its roots in the Ancient Greek words αὐτός (autós, or “self”) and διδακτικός (didaktikos, meaning “teaching) and that it is a “contemplative, absorbtive process.” Apparently one does not NEED to attend school in order to learn something. Just go to your local library and read it yourself until you get it, then maybe supplement it with a class or by setting up a meeting with a professor to chat about it. In reality, autodidactism is a complement to other types of learning, but here are some of my favorite crazy awesome autodidacts:
Robert Frost
Thomas Edison
Hans Christian Andersen
Maya Angelou
Jane Austen
F. Scott Fitzgerald
This whole idea came about when I was sitting on the chinatown bus from 34 West 31st Street, NYC to 128 Central Ave, Albany. It was a four hour ride (including the atasco of my life on the carretera… that means traffic jam on the highway and I’m not being pretentious. I thought it in Spanglish, so it seemed wrong to write it in English because a blog is supposed to be my brain throwing up on the keyboard until something useful happens). I read parts of the Rig Veda, listened to a “Best of the Left” podcast, practiced the numbers 1-10 on my chinese character workbook, and jammed to some tunes. 😉
Just as I was finishing a horrible-looking diagonal stroke in number four (“sì” or “四”), I started to think about my year in Spain. I had taken tiny lessons in Mandarin from a few of my Chinese friends, but I never really studied or retained any of it. All of the things that I am learning quite quickly right now could already be in my brain if I’d tried at all last year. So I thought of the first time I heard the term “autodidact” used in a culturally relevant way: the new 90210. And that really explains it. There’s something wrong with learning educational terms from the crappy remake of a crappy show.
Okay so I used to be obsessed with this show. Here’s the autodidact pushing the popular girl up against a locker 😛
I just looked for the clip on youtube for a half hour, lost a few brain cells, and then gave up. The summary is that this tall, anorexic-looking, blonde girl accidentally makes the new bad boy’s mom realize he’s not going to school. Because the girl is annoying, he explains to her that he does not need help from school. He is an autodidact. Then he condescendingly explains what that means. They start dating later in the show.
Autodidactism is fascinating to me, because most people don’t even learn much when they are supposedly made to do so by schools. Personally, I never would have considered teaching myself something outside of my high school world. Just like with Chinese, I’ve always waited for a legit class to happen before I really put any effort into learning something. Is it the pressure of getting a good grade that makes me do it? I don’t know.
The idea of autodidactism is super fascinating because I could have learned SO MUCH in these past 20 years of my life if I’d just read a few books and had taught myself certain theories, explored certain ideas. I know people who read non-fiction for fun, and I am becoming that sort of person. I listen to NPR now, as the Honors advisors told me to do during my freshman year in college. I didn’t.
Did anyone else ever think that the news, documentaries, educational youtube clips and podcasts were either lame or boring? Yeah. This is coming from someone who graduated close to the top of her class in high school. How does the rest of the world approach this?
Why, yes, Boromir. This is true. We all wish we knew five languages and calculus but we’d really rather look at that meme. Or this one:
Okay, I got those here because I accidentally started a sentence with “One does not simply” and then couldn’t resist…
Anyway, back to the point. I am allowing myself to become knowledgeable by deciding to see learning as learning again, and not equating class with grades. Yes, I want to keep my GPA because it’s perfect, but I actually want to retain some information for once.
I need to become an autodidact in some ways anyway, because I am not taking a Spanish class this semester, and I don’t know how to use Excel.
Don’t you have anything that you’ve always wanted to learn but never did? Technology can help. One of my roomies looks everything up on youtube and she installs door stoppers and stuff without help now!
Let’s spend some more time on ted and npr! Let’s autodidact a little sometimes. We don’t have to be Albert Einstein about it or anything. 😀
It all comes back to the search for finding your passion.. but that’s another blog for another day, and it’s time for me to study now.
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