Victory!

Victory was once celebrated in Fraternities and Sororities as a celebration. So how did it turn into this huge event that incorporates a formal dance and buses and the whole enchilada? In my opinion formals have become way overblown. For a dance that starts at 10:30, girl start getting ready by 5 to be at a pre-party by 6:30 for dinner at 8 which you still end up being late to the buses which you maybe, if you are lucky, get there by 11. Formals , in my opinion, have become ridiculous. Who made what shoes you wear a huge ordeal? And then after the dance, you continue until 3 in the morning. So how did this celebration turn into a 11 hour ordeal? Society has. I believe that it sad how society has the impact to turn a little celebration into a huge 11 hour event. Society, today has become a huge influence in how we celebrate every little event.

Facebook

one word: ADDICTION! At the moment, my is deactivated. Yeah I said it, deactivated. Say that to any college student, they will think you are crazy. So what is even the big deal? So you can essentially stalk people? So you can show the world your life and everything you do? You want to say no its for networking, but yeah that is precisely it. Even if I promise myself not to go on it, I get emails on my iPhone saying I have new notifications, and well if you have new notifications you have to check it right? Yeah, that is an addiction. Solution: DEACTIVATION! Facebook has become such an imperative part of a young adults life that they cannot go more than 24 hours without checking it. Do I have tagged photos, oh please tell me someone wrote on my wall. What did we do before this? Myspace. Duh. Remember that? And what did we do before that? AIM! Well what about in our parents time? Oh God, lets not even think about that. They must have been antisocial right? Facebook of our time is essential to know when parties are happening, what people are doing, how your friends are doing from back home. You can literally do almost anything, leave videos, chat, message, and even make events. It is a life saviour when you lose your cellphone like me. Facebook is life. That is the conclusion. But I wonder if there is a correlation with test grades going down? I can tell you half the people in the library right now, have facebook up in some tab of their computer, and are checking it regularly which is essentially distracting them. Solution again: DEACTIVATION!

Midterms

Stressful. Anxiety. Late nights. All words that come to mind. Spring break right around the corner, everyone is anxious to get out. However, before we can leave, midterms must take place. Being tested on everything we have learned from the first day of class? Scary. It is funny to watch girl dieting and getting their spring break bodies in shape and then binge eat in the library at 3 am stressed out of their minds.... I believe midterms and finals are stressful times where collaboratively the entire library is thinking oh shit what is going to be on this exam. What I find even more interesting are the midterms the week after spring break and the teachers who believe students will spend the entire spring BREAK studying. Yes, I understand you must study at some points, but isn't it a break for a reason? I thought it was. I find it very stressful to worry about exams the week after. Midterms are a funny thing that must be done but are very stressful and unhealthy. Between the unhealthy eating and the late nights which makes everyone sick which turns into misery between just the thought of freedom and break into studying for my midterms when we get back? It is a funny phenomenon that amuses me to think about.

Red Bull

My late night/cramming addiction. Some people take Aderall to stay up and study hard, some people chug coffee, but all I need is my Red Bull. It gets me through the night. Before coming to Fondren Library at night I always go to 7/11 to stack up on snacks and Red Bull. The caffeine gives me an adrenaline that is irreplaceable. Then as I was sitting here thinking, I must be immuned to it. Or even if I am not it can't give me this huge rush of energy that I make it hyped up to be. I think its the mentality that one night I took it and got a 98 percent on my final. I think Red Bull is half the energy and half the mentality I have towards it. I had one great experience with it and now I am addicted to it. Red Bull, it gives you wings!

Apple

My family has always been PC all the way. However, while searching for laptops for college, I knew I had to have an apple. So what is the big deal about them anyways? I got it just to go with the flow and all my friends were getting them, so why shouldn't I? Now, I don't know how I survived without one. Between syncing my iPhone and using iPhoto and iChat, how did I go without one my entire life. It's funny how you can go without something your whole life and within a week you become addicted and don't even know how to function with your previous one. Apple has slowly started dominating my world. I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing? Is it good to become addicted to one company? What if something ever happened to Apple? What would I do? What if I work at a company with only PC such as my past summer job? I forgot even how to do some simple things on a PC. Apple is great for personal use but what about the broader picture? This is when I thought about how I cannot solely become reliant on one company. This may just end up being self destruction. I need to stay open minded and stay educated on all different types of computers.

Lent

Lent: the start of Easter: a Catholic observance. Tradition goes that you give up something for 40 days to parallel Jesus' long journey in the desert where He did not have food or drink for 40 days and 40 nights. Me, being a very religious catholic, saw a whole different side when I came to college. I saw girls giving up every food except vegetables and fruits. Taking lent into an extreme. Turning a religious holiday into an eating disorder. How does one go from religious observance to essentially starving yourself? I still do not understand it. However, I learned that anyone can take a simple thing into a complex self-interested, unhealthy obsession. The fact that spring break is during lent, only makes these matter worse. I have noticed that people take things differently and justify their instabilities with religion.

Olympics

The rise of nationalism. It is funny how one day we are walking around the street, traveling abroad, going about our day normally, then all of a sudden we are super Americans. We are decked out in Red, White and Blue and anyone from another country is a loser for the next 2 weeks. The olympics cause a huge deal of excitement. All of a sudden everyone is a pro on snowboarding, or skiing, or figure skating and everyone knows better than the referees bad call. A competition meant to test for the best turns into every average American being pros at every sport. People who never even have seen a game of hockey start chucking things at the TV screen because they "know" better than the referee. Everyone has huge American flags flying and are decked out in Red, White, and Blue. The olympics change a nation for an entire 2 weeks. I beleive that it is funny but good for a nation. Every 2 years, whether it be summer or winter olympics, for a nation to come together and rejoice in pride. Especially coming from a country who is clearly athletic and does well, it is a great feeling in even hearing our national anthem on the podium. I believe the olympics do a nation well.

Happiest Place on Earth

I was with my friends, at Mardi Gras, having the time of my life, and thought to myself, I couldn't be happier. I am right now in the happiest place on earth. The saints just won, Mardi Gras is being celebrated and I am with all my best friends, how can life get any better? When I quoted that I was in the happiest place on earth, I instantly thought of how when I was a kid, being from CA, of course Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. Mardi Gras to me was disneyland was to a child. It it is a bustling place filled with happy people... and some creepers... and celebrating the holiday. Saint spirit was everywhere and the rides... well they were the restaurants and the adventures of Bourbon street. It was easy to get lost, just like disneyland, and they had food everywhere, just like disneyland, and you wandered, just like disneyland looking for the best ride out there. It was honestly, the happiest place on earth... at that moment. 3 short days later, I had had my fun and was ready to go back home... just like disneyland.

Multiple Intelligences Test

For the multiple intelligence test, I was not surprised at all with my results. I scored pretty evenly across the board. However, I scored highly in kinesthetic and inter and intrapersonal. I have danced my entire life and when I was little I played a lot of sports. I am very independent and know myself very well. I also have mentored a lot of kids for community service in high school. I scored lower on the spacial/visual aspect which also does not surprise me for I have never been known for my artsy/visual work. I believe that this test was quite accurate and gave me insight in knowing my strengths and weaknesses. I am very interested in taking this test again in a few years and see if anything changes or if it remains the same.

People Watching

While visiting Boston University I came across a club literally called "the people watching club." I was so intrigued that the university allowed such a creative club. One may think what is involved in such a club. Well, I found out that it is exactly as it sounds. They get together once a week, pick a new location and people watch. I decided to try this with my friends when I got home. I learned that you can actually learn a lot about people just by watching them. You can tell if they are having a good or bad day just by looking at their posture and facial expressions. People on the phone, are even more entertaining to watch and look at their expression and reactions to someone on the other side of the phone that you cannot see. Peoples clothes can tell a lot about them too. From this, I learned that people watching can quickly lead to judging which made me think if this club was beneficial and entertaining or just plain superficial. I guess it depends on who is doing the people watching and what they are learning from it. I want to go back and ask them if they just simply watch or if they have discussions about it and talk about how to judgmental thoughts can be turned into positive thoughts. I learned ones simple harmless hobby can actually be causing harm and hurtful thoughts in their head.

Snow

SNOW DAY AT SMU!

Two California girls driving to starbucks in the snow scared. It was a new adventure for me to figure out how to wipe snow off my car and drive. However, as I was driving I thought what exactly is snow? How is it formed? Obviously it happens when water freezes below 32 degree Fahrenheit but what makes it different from freezing rain and ice? Of course, I then went home and googled it to find out that it is made up of tiny parts of ice and ice balls are formed if it melts and refreezes. Still to this day, I am not exactly sure I 100 percent understand exactly what goes on but I definitely learned something new. This made me realize that moving out of California has definitely been a learning experience and I am learning a lot of things I didn't know. Dallas has been a learning journey and I am excited to see what else I encounter and what other journeys I embark on.

Intrinsic Motivation

The Hangover

Instantly upon viewing this commercial, I thought of the movie The Hangover. When the toys are getting out of the car at the Monte Carlo, this movie immediately came to mind. This was due to vertical intrinsic thinking. I had earlier that weekend seen the Hangover and therefore made that connection.

Watches

Who even wears one anymore? Everyone has their phone on them at all times, what is the point in having one? I wear mine every day, however, looking at my peers I see less and less of them wearing one. Once, watches were an iconic thing. Now, people only wear them as accessories and to show wealth. People our age, don't just wear watches to wear watches, they wear them for status and accessories. It is funny to see how times change from our parents age to us. My parents bought me one and made me wear it because in their time, everyone had to have one. To go to an interview for college, I remember my parents almost flipped because I didn't have one on. Watches used to be a big deal, but with all this technology, who needs one anymore? It is now not a practical necessity but more of a just a piece of jewelry.

Signs

They are everywhere. Does anyone even pay attention to them anymore? As I sit in Fondren, I currently can see about 14 signs. Are they overused? Are they even effective anymore? I don't think 30 signs saying the same thing over and over and then posting a few different ones does anything for the message itself. If you overuse something kids, especially us college kids, stop reading them. It is overkill. So what do you do when you are trying to get a message across but don't want to overdue it? I believe that Fondren, and other places like this, just need to make a few and post them on the doors you walk in and out of.

Losing my iPhone

One night I went out and lost my iPhone. I refused to think that someone had stolen it because the only places I had gone that night were SMU affiliated places. I waited an entire week and a half before getting a new one. To lose your cell phone, at first, was the end of the world. I had no communication except of course facebook with my friends. I got to thinking what did people do before cell phones? How did they meet up with other people and find them in public places? I was at first very frantic. How did I tell my parent I lost/broke my 3rd iPhone in a year? Then I debated changing to a blackberry which has insurance and would be a lot cheaper in the future. But a phone without my iPod and all my apps? No way. How do people get so addicted to their phones? I am literally ADDICTED to my iPhone and cannot change. I at first didn't like not having a phone but then after not having it for a week... it was actually quite liberating. No teenager would ever think losing your phone would be a plus. But then I actually enjoyed not having one. I went from frantic to relieved. But of course once I got my iPhone again... the addiction instantly came back.

Whataburger vs. In N Out

When I got to Texas, everyone from Texas argued the Whataburger was the best place to get a fast food burger. Late one night, I reluctantly tried it. In NO way does it even come close to comparing to In N Out. In N Out, hands down, is the best burger. The special sauce that goes on it just makes it incomparible. I am not just being a snobby Californian thinking CA is the best in everything. But really, our burgers are the best. I got to thinking it can't just be the sauce that makes it that much better. I then realized, that maybe half of what makes In N Out is the actual burger and half of it is childhood memories and all the memories that go on there. Just walking into my home In N Out has a sense of security and wonderful memories. The sauce is great, but In N Out privately/family owned business makes it feel like your at home with a BBQ. Every In N Out even ones I haven't gone to all have a home feeling.

Convertible Beetle

Yes, I admit I drive a light blue convertible beetle. I am from Newport and my car over there is very practical. I can park anywhere at the beach, my car fits a lot of places no other cars could even think about fitting. The convertible portion is so nice all year round and I can be cruising PCH with my friends mid january having the greatest time of my life. But lets get real, after coming to Dallas I think to myself why do I even own this car? It is so impractical in the "real world." It fits almost no one, I can never put my top down here. Its either too cold or too humid. When it snowed I almost had a heart attack trying to drive it. So why do people in Texas even buy these cars? Why is there an advertisement for one on the way to DFW? I got to thinking that maybe its just the way someone feels driving one. Then I got to the root of it. People from here don't think 50 is freezing in winter, they dont think 90 is like 10,000 degrees, humidity does not affect them as much because they have grown up in it. I come here in August to start school every year thinking it is worse than the year before and start complaining, when in reality I jut hadn't been here all summer and am not used to it. So yes, people here do own convertibles and they enjoy them just as much as I do.

Insomniac

The result of being a college student. I cannot tell you the last time I got more than 5 hours of sleep. I find it amazing that I can still survive and function as a human being. In fact if I do happen to get more than 8 hours of sleep, I wake up tired and don't know what to do with myself. My dad, being a doctor, freaks out when I tell him my sleep pattern, but what do you do when your swamped with school work? Insomniac is jut something one has to accept when going to college. I don't know how some people actually do get full nights of sleep every week. I believe insomniac is just something you must be willing to acquire as a student and even early in ones careers. I am fully preparing myself for my 20 hour work days as an intern and when I first start my career. And this may sound crazy, but I think it is safe to say that my body is getting used to it and can fully function off of 4 hours of sleep. If you would have told me this a few years ago, I would have thought you were crazy, but now I fully understand, insomnia is a part of college.