Governor's Island

While vacationing on Lake Winnipesauke this week, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the lake and landscape that I was surrounded by.
Most days we traveled around the lake by boat. I passed by this one island with homes all in the multi-millions on it. All the houses and boats and cars on just this one island could be valued at over 1 billion dollars. It got me thinking. What if all that money had been spent on something else? What problems in the world could that money have been used to fix? World hunger? Cancer? Poverty?

Finals...Finally

Why do we have finals, other then to test what we remember from the beginning of the year? Why is one test more important than all the other tests we have taken throughout the year? This one test requires us to recall all the information we have learned throughout the year. It is often times weighted more heavily into our grade then the tests and assignments we have done throughout the year. In real life there are no tests. We will never be required to stay up late studying and memorizing facts for a test. Either you know something or you don’t. Every moment of real life is test of who you are and what you know.

…tion

Why do we procrastinate? Why do we put off to tomorrow what we can do today? Some people get a thrill out of working under pressure. Others procrastinate because they would rather be doing something else.
I am definitely one of these people, but I try desperately not to be. I just find so many other things to do prior to doing me work. I first need to make a list of all the things I need to accomplish. Then I need to organize my work area. I, then, need to get a snack and a drink. But why not get your work done now and do what you’d like once you’re finished? How can we stop the cycle of procrastination and increase our productivity?

Procrastinat...

A Date for the Prom

Why is it that girls "need" to have a date for the prom? Is it because it's what's expected of them? Is it due to peer pressure?
Girls spend weeks and weeks stressing over thier date for prom in a time my friend affectionately dubbed "Prom Date Hunting Season." They have this picture in their mind of a perfect night in a beautiful dress with a charming young man.
At my high school's walk-in today I witnessed two exceptions to the "prom date" rule. First I saw two best friends who were either unable to get dates or didn't want them in the first place, walk together, looking as those they were thoroughly enjoying themselves and having no pressure of entertaining a date for the night. In addtion, I saw one boy walk with twice, once with his actual date and the second time with another female friend who was unable to get a date.
Why do we worry and stress over one night? We should care less about what others think about our choice in prom date or lack of prom date and more about what will make us happy.

Self-analysis

Have you ever looked at yourself and your life and wondered, “How did I get here?” or “How did I become the way I am?”
After a life changing event, we tend to reevaluate our lives and make changes. Good can come from bad situations. Growth and development help us to become better versions of ourselves.

Sentimental Value

Although Americans have a disposable attitude, there are some objects that we hold on to because they hold sentimental value. But is it okay to love an object less for what it actually is and more for the memories associated with it? What inanimate objects do you cling to and why?
At this point in my life, I don’t have anything that holds any extreme sentimental value. However if I had to pick an object that holds a lot of memories for me, it would be my backpack. I got this backpack at the beginning of seventh grade after going through five backpacks in sixth grade. This backpack has gotten me through junior high, high school, and two years of college, in addition to traveling with me to Bulgaria and South Africa. This backpack has been with me through at lot. It’s not something I immediately think of when I look back on my life, but when I consider it, it has always been there for me carry my stuff.

Discarded Futons

I traveled to SUNY Oneonta today to pick up some my cousin’s furniture from her dorm room. While there I saw not one, not two, but five discarded futons. I was surprised to see such waste. We have grown up in a generation with a “throw-away” mentality. If I don’t need it anymore, I’ll just throw it out. If it’s broken rather then fixing it, I’ll just throw it out. It is circular problem. As a result of the disposable attitude of consumers, modern products have decreased in quality. As a result of the decrease in quality, items break and lose value more quickly causing them to be thrown away without second thought. This attitude is rapidly filling our landfills and destroying our earth. When we are so quick to trash, we lose the value of our treasure.

In response to Mother’s Day Everyday

The ideal man...this seems the talk of childhood fairytales, but in reality it is easily achieved. I am in no way trying to suggest that there exists an ideal man, but rather that men can work toward being the best husbands for their wives. And this in no way implies that wives do not have an equal responsibility to their husbands. Each person has specific, individual ways in which they feel loved by their spouse. If you knew the ways that made your spouse feel loved by you, then why wouldn’t you go out of your way to do those things? In doing so, you would become the ideal spouse.
The key to this is you don’t have to be the ideal man for all women; you just need to be your woman’s ideal man.
Although the definition of ideal is “existing only in the imagination; not real or actual” so maybe I am just crazy for thinking that someone would ever want to make another person happy out of nothing more then mutual love.

Mother’s Day Everyday

At church this morning, my pastor told us the story of the first mother’s day with his firstborn child. As the day went on his wife grew sadder. When he inquired as to why she was upset, she informed him that he had forgotten that it was mother’s day. To which he replied, “You’re not my mother.” Needless to say that was the last mother’s day in which he did not get his wife a gift.
This has gotten me thinking about how certain men treat their wives and the mothers of their children.
On mother’s day, the women in our lives deserve extra special treatment. But how much different should that be then every other day?
I believe that husbands should go out of their way to make everyday special for their wives. If you know your wife is having a particularly hard week, buy her a small bouquet of flowers. If you know that she has been stressed out, treat her to a manicure. If she is harried after running after the kids, give her a break by taking them out for a couple hours while she relaxes. Maybe rent her favorite movie and have a “movie date” after the kids are in bed. Help her out with the chores around the house without being asked. And most important, complement them. Women are meant to be loved and adored.
Maybe I’m just a romantic or maybe I just think that the most important women in our lives deserve more.

Parental Control

This week I went to the elementary concert at my alma mater. It was being held in the new activity center, which is really just a gym, rather then at a local church as it has been in the past, which was a not an ideal location. First the acoustics of the gym made everything sound awful because it is so echo-y in there. Second, there aren’t seats in the gym, only bleachers, which are not made to be sat on comfortably for long periods of time, not to mention you are way too close to the people you are sitting near. Third, there were a ton of little children there. Now don’t get me wrong, I love children, but some of these kids were awful. For instance the three-year old sitting directly behind me was talking the entire time. Even worse then that, his parents were not doing anything to stop him. He was going on and on about everything under the sun, and his parents were ignoring him as if this was perfectly acceptable behavior at a concert. He’s only three and I don’t expect perfection, but the incessant talking without being told more then twice to stop was a bit ridiculous. Then there were the kids who thought, “I’m in a gym, I must run around.” There were kids running back and forth in front of the band and chorus, behind the band and chorus, and one brave little fellow who ran right up to someone in the chorus, who I am assuming to be his sister, right in the middle of a song. I do not blame the children for this behavior. It is the parents that should be able to control their children. I was sitting with two four -year-olds that were perfectly behaved the entire hour and a half performance. They were quiet and, to the best of their ability in those uncomfortable seats, sitting still. I was amazed at these two young girls’ ability to act appropriately. This I can only attribute to great parenting. I am very impressed. I would like to complement their parents on an excellent job well done and can only hope that I can do as good as they have done when I have children.

What's Your Confidence Theory?

Confidence is the best accessory. It is the one thing that makes every person not only feel great, but look great. When you have confidence you have a smile on your face that lights up a room, you hold your head up, you stand a little taller, and you have this radiance that comes from within. Other people can’t quite put their finger on in it, but they can see that there is some special about you. The ironic thing about confidence is that it attracts people toward you like a magnet, giving you more confidence. It’s easy to talk about having confidence, but it’s hard to actually be confident.
Confidence is knowing who you are and being happy about it.
Confidence is not working toward perfection; it is working toward being the best possible version of yourself.
Confidence is knowing that no matter what another person may say or do to you, it won’t effect who you are. Even if someone hurts you in the worst possible way, confidence is knowing that you can forgive. It doesn’t mean you have to get rid of your feelings, just that you can still continue to live your life despite what you’ve been through.
Confidence is knowing that whatever life throws your way, you can handle it.Confidence is knowing that only person whose opinion truly matters is your own.
Confidence is trying something new and different.
Confidence isn’t taking the easy way out of a situation; it’s taking the best way.
Confidence isn’t thinking that you are better then everyone else but rather knowing that every single person has value.
Confidence is knowing that you have worth and that you deserve the best that life has to offer. Most of all confidence is knowing that you are free to be you!

Inspired by an article on Soulpancake.com by Chris Hardwick.
http://www.soulpancake.com/view_post/270434/whats-your-confidence-theory.html/