I commented on Kelevra's post about Adderall and Ritalin serving as "Steriods for the Brain". They have an interesting blog and even include a very educating article about the topic at hand.

A Rugged & Real Experience

College has proved to be a whirlwind of decisions, events, and friendships. The party scene has been everything I expected, and more. But, I can’t help but feel that the “college experience” is overrated. After all, my college voyage has only been going for three months and my friends and I have already run out of ideas. The fraternity house parties were fun for a while, but you can only pee in the same bathroom as guys so many times before you lose interest. The bar scene is fun, but it’s impossible to meet people and a showcase for people to make fools of themselves. All of the gossip and hook ups that happen and are talked about on this small campus were proving to get the best of us. That was, until we were invited to go to Hamilton Texas for a weekend get away at a friend of my friend’s ranch.
My friends and I had never been to a ranch before. Vacations for us usually consist of a pool, beach, and sun tanning. But, we were excited for a new experience. We drove for three hours to the Garrett Ranch. As the black rod iron fence opened and showed us the fifteen hundred acre ranch, I couldn’t help but exclaim, “it’s cool we’re being rugged.” The overwhelming feeling of being rugged hunters only lasted for a few minutes as we finally made it to the destination; a ranch house with enough bedrooms for all ten of its guests to sleep alone.
Through out the weekend we participated in activities such as driving around a Polaris, which is used to hunt because it’s smaller and quieter than a truck. We each took turns learning how to safely handle a gun and shoot it. We ate raw pecans from the ground that had fallen off pecan trees a short walk away from the house. And, we took a trip into the barren town. To put things into perspective, Hamilton has a population of 2,977 people. That day there happened to be a championship game in the neighboring town of Glen Rose. Shops and restaurants were closed down just like in old-fashioned movies so that the people who owned them could go to the game. So, instead of meeting people nearby our newest favorite place, we took in the scenery. Everything was old-fashioned and rugged. It felt like we were walking in a scene of an old country western movie.
The trip to Hamilton was one of my favorite things that I’ve done so far in college. It not only made it easy to get my mind off of the stresses of college. It put college into perspective for me. The drama and the parties are fun, but they won’t last forever. I know that I have just begun my partying days and will meet plenty of new people as time goes by here at SMU. But, I think it’s important to be adventurous. When you have a chance to do something outside of your comfort zone, try it because you never know what new hobbies you’ll acquire along the way.

Please Don't Stop the Music.

What is it about music that makes everything ok?  No matter what I’m feeling – I could be overwhelmed, recently find out bad news, or just soul searching- and I can always find the perfect song to make everything in the world seem irrelevant.  I never used to listen to music until I needed some sort of safe haven at college.  Sharing a bedroom, bathroom, and bedtime were things that I never experienced at home and were things that I was struggling with. It’s weird to have to ask if I can change the channel on the TV, or worry about eating my roommate’s chips instead of mine.  It’s even weirder to be so far away from my family and friends.  I used to struggle to find places to study that were quiet and comfortable enough that I could still focus.  My roommate always had her headphones in and so one day I decided to try it.  I haven’t looked back.

I’ve found that it’s so much easier to concentrate when you have your books, or computer, and music and that is all.  Over the past few months I have developed different iTunes play lists for my different feelings or types of work I had to get accomplished. When I need to write a paper I usually go for Colbie Callait or Natasha Bedingfield.  When I’m just researching or wandering on the web I tend to listen to more intense music; such as Dashboard Confessional, or Jimmy Eat World.  When I miss home I listen to oldies and classics that remind me of fond memories that I experienced with my family.

Recently, I’ve found myself missing my family and old routine more than ever.  The transition from high school to college was easy for me – how couldn’t it be with all of the distractions and new friendships.  But, these past weeks have been extremely hard for me to get through.  I don’t think that I’d be here and focused if it wasn’t for music.  It’s such an overrated gift that we’re all given.  Not appreciating things to their full potential seems to be a common theme in my life lately.  But, now I can honestly say I’m thankful for the world of music and how it applies and helps my world of academia and life in general.

Heat-Moons Journey

"Here we can never be more than a mile or so from any place we can reach by feet, and yet our people aren't walkers any longer." says Miz Alice to Heat Moon while they're walking.  Is Heat Moon's journey with simple tools, transportation, and roads practical?  If you lost your wife and job would you travel the backbones of America?

Personally, I think that traveling with the bare necessities and forming relationships with local people you come across along your journey is the perfect way to pick up the pieces of life.  When you lose everything you have everything to gain.  It's interesting that a man would choose this way to feel better about his own life.  My dad wouldn't cope by traveling barren roads.  Instead he'd probably buy himself a nice new car or go golfing with his friends. I personally don't think that I would be able to travel without major roads or find nameless towns to explore.  But, this outlook is interesting to read about and think about comparatively. His experience is truly one of a kind, especially after he comes across such interesting people.  He learned about being one with nature and those around you with the Hopi student.  Then, he learned about how important it is to know your surroundings and the things that make up nature from Miz Alice.  The journey Heat-Moon is on is one of a kind and truly inspiring. It's nice to know that some people have enough faith in themselves and in the world to go on a voyage like that.

...The World May Never Know

Since coming to college with no car I’ve realized that I haven’t been able to run little errands that seemed so easy to do back at home.  I can’t go to the mall whenever I want, or even go out to eat unless I find someone with a car who is headed in the same direction.  This also means that I haven’t been able to get a haircut.  I definitely have found that I took the little things for granted in the past – and now my hair is three inches longer than it was when I first arrived at school. 

            It has gotten so long that I’m currently contemplating getting it cut for locks of love when I go home.  I proposed this idea to my friends today and we came up with a question that we debated for a while.  If you have curly hair and you donate it to locks of love and they straighten it, does it stay straight forever or does it get curly again? I personally think that it would stay straight because it’s dead and no longer receiving nutrients from the scalp.  My roommate thinks that it would get curly again because hair is dead when it leaves your roots and it’s in the DNA of the hair.  I tried looking it up on google to see if there was anyone who had a personal experience; but there was nothing. Is there anyone who knows the truth who could end this debate about locks of love?

I posted a comment on New Kid on the Block's blog. He wrote about how he thought that our dining halls on campus closed too early on the weekends.  I completely agree and have the same discussion with my friends on a weekly basis.  Check it out, maybe we could start a petition to make the schedule of our dining halls change?

Trick or Treat?

Halloween’s coming up and my friends and I spent all of yesterday rummaging through Electrique Boutique looking for something to wear.  We decided on Spice Girls, something that I was when I was 10 and can’t wait to be again.  History is repeating itself in my own personal life when it comes to celebrating Halloween, which made me wonder where Halloween came from.   I had no idea that Halloween was initially celebrated in England by poor people who begged for food on the streets. People would give them “soul cakes” in exchange or prayers for family members or friends who have died.  The idea of costumes comes from European beliefs that on “Hallows Eve” the souls of the dead would wake up and come to people’s homes.  To avoid being recognized, people would wear masks to trick the ghosts into thinking they were also ghosts.

These initial rituals of this holiday have become lost in translation over the years.  These days Halloween is about gathering the most candy, wearing the flashiest candy, and making it to the most houses you can.  At least it was when I was a little kid.  The older I get the more Halloween is “an excuse for people to dress slutty” according to Mean Girls (a movie everyone’s seen that has is about high school.  This year I’m tempted to throw my short leopard mini dress and go-go boots in the closet and dress like a ghost or goblin or something to scare the lost souls away.  I think that Halloween would be much cooler if we made it into the spooky holiday it was in the past.  While scary movies and TV shows are being played on TV the reality and fear of ghosts has diminished.  I can’t help but wonder how much cooler Halloween would be if it was still about dodging ghosts and superstitions.  No one worries about crossing paths with black cats or walking under ladders anymore, but I think it’d be so cool to go out on Halloween because I was too spooked to stay in, instead of just to show off my costume or gather candy.

I commented on Goose's blog about Nick Hogan's recent release from jail.  Goose seems to think that the Hogans got divorced to keep from losing all of their money due to being sued for Nick's poor judgement and terrible driving.  But, I don' t think that's the case at all.  I think they got divorced because their relationship wasn't what it used to be. 

Share and Share Alike?

            I woke up this past Tuesday at around 6:30am.  I couldn’t help but wonder how I was awake after celebrating my 19^th birthday the night before.  So, I went to the bathroom and discovered that I had pink eye.  I went to the Health Center as soon as it opened because I remembered that it was extremely contagious and got medicine.  The doctor asked me how I thought I had gotten such a disease and I told her that my friends and I share everything. She seemed alarmed and advised me against it.  But, I soon realized that this sharing was inevitable.  Without asking I walk in on my roommate using my brush.  Because my water bottles have been free game in the past my friends were helping themselves. I never realized how annoying it was that my stuff was being used until my doctor told me not to share.  I’m the oldest of four and sharing was always something that I was supposed to do.  But, sharing didn’t include my sparkly blue eye shadow or my toothbrush.  It meant non-personal, unimportant goods.  But, as far as I know there aren’t time machines that can go back and make me request that certain things remain just mine.  So how can I limit my friends on what they use without seeming like a bitch?

Merriment or Profanity? (revised)

“HE’S AT THE 30, THE 20, THE 10, TOUCH DOWN!!” The thrill of scoring takes over the crowd and millions of fans stand up and cheer.  But, the moment of complete euphoria takes a turn for the worse, when the athlete who scored begins to celebrate. The celebration usually consists of making the sign of the cross, or even pounding the ball at the ground.  I can understand the adrenaline rush after completing a crucial pass or running half way down the field but, I can’t help but think that the post-play celebrations are a little over the top. They take the place of the perfect play that probably put the team ahead of their opponent. So, I decided to look up some of the various celebrations that players had performed over the years and how the league, and fans, reacted to these oftentimes-profane actions.

To my surprise, the celebrations were worse in the past.  I came across a news story from The Hilltop Online, Howard University’s newspaper about Randy Moss mooning the Green Bay fans after scoring a touchdown. (To read more go to http://media.www.thehilltoponline.com/media/storage/paper590/news/2005/01/18/Editorials/Nfl-Getting.Too.Tough.On.Player.Touchdown.Celebrations-834391.shtml) I was happy to see that the NFL was taking a stand against the professional athletes who weren’t acting professional.  I think that the rules are necessary and fines should be issued to those players who don’t comply. Everything seems to becoming bigger and flashier than ever these days.  Celebrities don’t drive cars; they drive Range Rovers and Bentleys.  Athletes have more bling bling than anyone should be able to afford due to their large salaries. But, flashy doesn’t have to mean trashy.  Why can’t athletes stick to the traditional “hand slap” or “chest bump” post-play celebrations? 

Is the World Wide Web too Wide?

www.juicycampus.com is the most scandalous websites I have ever come across.  On this website people take extreme advantage of the fact that you can write things about people online anonymously.  With networking websites of the past you had to make an account, log in, and take credit for the things you say.  But, juicycampus has turned online blogging into online degrading.  The worst part about it is that half of the threads and blogs are untrue, almost all of them are mean, and people read it like it’s the Bible.  I wonder who creates these websites and if their intentions were to hurt people in certain communities.  Every morning I wake up and my roommate asks me if I have checked juicycampus.  Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes the answer is no, but regardless it is checked to make sure that events that occurred over the weekend haven’t made it for everyone to see.  I think that it is terrible that people write things about the way people look, who they are dating, and what they wear.  Why does everyone have to be so judgmental?  I wish that it could be turned into a positive website where people highlight good qualities in our peers here at SMU.  The Internet is a great tool, especially for social networking, but I don’t think that it should be something that can make people depressed about themselves.  We need to take a step back from our computers and put ourselves in the shoes of those who wake up and do find things written about themselves.  Would you want rumors spread about you that people think are facts?

Merriment or Profanity?

Sundays are typically the day people use to relax.  It is the perfect day to catch up on sleep, do some homework, and for some people, watch football.  I was never really one to watch football until I came to college, where everyone is very competitive and gung ho for their home teams.  Mondays are the day where everyone compares scores and good plays.  So, I decided to watch a game so that maybe on Monday I could contribute, or at least relate, to their conversations. Because I was in Dallas I decided to watch the Cowboys vs. the Redskins.  While the game was hard to follow, there was one thing about the game that was impossible to miss, the celebrations.

         After a touchdown the players would point to the stands, make the sign of the cross, or even pound the ball at the ground.  I can understand the adrenaline rush after completing a crucial pass or running half way down the field but, I couldn’t help but think that the post-play celebrations were a little over the top. So, I decided to look up some of the various celebrations that players had performed over the years and how the league, and fans, reacted to these oftentimes-profane actions.

To my surprise, the celebrations were worse in the past.  I came across a news story from The Hilltop Online, Howard University’s newspaper about Randy Moss mooning the Green Bay fans after scoring a touchdown. (To read more go to http://media.www.thehilltoponline.com/media/storage/paper590/news/2005/01/18/Editorials/Nfl-Getting.Too.Tough.On.Player.Touchdown.Celebrations-834391.shtml) I was happy to see that the NFL was taking a stand against the professional athletes who weren’t acting professional.  I think that the rules are necessary and fines should be issued to those players who don’t comply. Everything seems to becoming bigger and flashier than ever these days.  Celebrities don’t drive cars; they drive Range Rovers and Bentleys.  Athletes have more bling bling than anyone should be able to afford due to their large salaries. But, flashy doesn’t have to mean trashy.  Why can’t athletes stick to the traditional “hand slap” or “chest bump” post-play celebrations? 

If you don't exist can you have a Birthday?

was sitting on what my roommate and I refer to as our “love shack”; a twin sized mattress surrounded with a million silky silver and black pillows trying to come up with something new to blog about when I decided to enter www.google.com into my browser.  Whenever I need to find something, Google is my go to website.  You can find anything you want on Google, and even things you don’t care to know.  My favorite part about Google is the decorations that the have so that you know something’s going on, for example fireworks made out of the letters on the Fourth of July, or pumpkins to signify Halloween.  But, today instead of some national holiday or event, Google was decorated with the number 10 and a birthday cake. I was taken aback by this change in layout and hoped that Google had not given up on its quirky but perfect designs.  I scrolled down to read that Google was celebrating its 10^th birthday.  I immediately asked myself how it was possible for something that was never “born” to celebrate birthdays?  No one I know celebrates the 4^th birthday of a calculator they used through out high school.

I then started thinking about birthdays in general.  There are some birthdays in history that everyone knows about and celebrates such as Jesus’s birthday, December 25^th.  The only birthdays I know that are celebrated are those of family members or close friends.  But, here Google is, my favorite website, asking me to celebrate with them.  It’s not like we could throw a birthday party for a computer program.  So why even equate the word birthday with non-animate objects.  Why wouldn’t Google say that it’s their 10^th anniversary like schools and organizations do?  I’ve always been one who loved birthdays and all that they entail. The waking up early and opening presents, getting cards and hugs from friends close by.  But Google can’t receive hugs. 

I guess we can just be grateful that Google has made it for ten years.  I know that without it half of my high school papers would have been impossible.  So I feel more than happy congratulating google.com on its success but feel like something is being taken from the special celebration that a birthday entails. In my opinion, if you never had a birth and aren’t living you shouldn’t celebrate a birthday.  So, with my irritation I closed my google.com browser and will try and use it again tomorrow, hopefully the decorations on the homepage won’t be celebrating Google’s 10^th year 1 day birthday because then I’ll have to refrain from using my once favorite website. 

I can't figure out the blog linking, but her blog is found at http://misssunshine823.blogspot.com/

I commented on Paris's blog about taking attendance in classes.  I think that she had a good point about the fact that attendance shouldn't be taken, if people miss class they'll only hurt themselves but sometimes you have to get a few more hours of class which may cause you to  miss a class.  

I commented on Lauren's blog. her post about college and the new challenges and reasons for going to class were interesting.

I commented on Patrick's blog. I think what he said about Palin's privacy and the elections in general were very enlightening.

The "Mrs. Degree"

The anticipation for that first day of college is one that all of us can now relate to.  We've all experienced thoughts filled with doubt, fear, excitement, and hope.  But what is it that we’re excited for?  If you’re an engineering major you may be excited to invent a smoother running program for the power plants, if you’re a communications major you’re probably looking forward to being published, but what about those of us who aren’t attending SMU to become the best in a field?  There are many girls, and even some guys, who have admitted to going to the prestigious Southern Methodist University just to find someone to spend the rest of their life with. Who wouldn’t want to go to a college with reputation to have a population of students with money to spend and houses to vacation to?

At first, I was a little intimidated by this reputation, but as I thought more about it, I couldn’t help but be excited. SMU is not only a fun University that is improving more and more every day, but it’s a place where I have a very good chance of finding someone who would measure up to mom and dad’s standards.

 After attending classes for a week, I’ve learned that it will not be too hard to pursue my dreams of earning a “Mrs. Degree” as my uncles love to call it.  All I have to do is read a couple pages each night and dress to impress.  And while I haven’t run into “Mr. Right” yet, I know he’s out there somewhere.