Its that time of year again. The weather gets just a bit colder (then immediately hotter...stupid southern prairies), the green of the land gets a little bit browner and school starts back up again. To many kids in grades 1 to 12...ok maybe 7 to 12...it is a time of agony. And schools don't make in any easier by starting earlier and earlier each year. But for the kids who have graduated high school, it is a time of great mystery and excitement. They get to go to college. Being in my third year at Briercrest College, the excitement lies in seeing all the people you met in the previous years and discovering how many of the kids on the hall you don't know. But for freshman, its a whole new world. For some of these, its scary. And I can understand that. New friends, new teachers, new home, almost a new life. But I am here to tell you that it is the most refreshing thing you will ever experience. It's like a breath of fresh air. No, better yet, its like a breath of pure oxygen. None of that stupid nitrogen.
I can think back onto my first year. I was finally surrounded by people who wanted to hang out with me and do stuff I liked, and I wanted to be around them. Learning stuff that I liked and would directly aid my future. It. Was. AWESOME. But I also can see that there was places in which I could have done things differently. Not that I would, because I am tickled peachy on how things have turned out, but some things that I can warn others to watch out for or do.
See where I'm going with this?
College is a time to figure out who you are. But I have discovered a few universally applicable things that will aid in your journey.
1. Get out. Where? Anywhere. Just don't hide in your room and wait for people. Don't get me wrong, I love my alone time, but to develop relationships with people and figure out which people you like and which ones you want to either avoid or duck tape takes experimentation. So talk to everyone you can. Hang out with people you normally wouldn't. Just go do something.
2. Buy Christmas lights. Dorms can be very dim, especially if you live in a dungeon like basement. Like me. Want some cheap lights that don't turn people into epileptics? The warm glow of Christmas lights are perfect. I have bought a strand of 70 (I think) for each year I've been here. So I have 2 strands. But they're great for times when its night (which actually happens a lot) or you don't want it to be really bright. Also great for movies. And Christmas.
3. Drink coffee. I know its not everyones cup of tea...mainly because its coffee, but you can't avoid it. It will find you. Besides, what are you gonna do when someone (especially if its a very pretty lady) asks if you want to go get some coffee?
"Sorry, I don't drink coffee."
NO
4. Meet girls. Yes, I realize this is more for the guys. But don't be the guy who has no friends that are girls. Because girls are awesome. You will discover that its essential to have girl friends (not girlfriends) to balance dude stupidity. Dupidity (as I will now call it) is present in all guys and is the inner voice that tells us to laugh at fart jokes and punch each other. Controlled, this is fine. Left unchecked, however, and it creates in us the "too old for high school" guy. Those are the guys who you look at and think, "When they will ever grow up?" Don't be that guy. Hang out with girls.
5. Be yourself. Cliche? Oh muchly yes. True? Very. College gives us opportunities to figure out who we are and experiment, but remember who you are. College is different than high school in that any disguises are seen through right away. So don't pretend to be someone your not to impress people. The beauty of college is that you will find people who like you for you. Everyone is basically an equal, no matter year or age or whatever. No more cliques or bullies or popular kids. You can actually do what you do and avoid mockery or judgement. You're free. See? Breath of pure oxygen.
If you remember these 5 tips, you'll be good to go. You'll be able to make the most of your college experience and be able to look back on these years with fondness and appreciation.
Oh ya, doing assignments and tests and stuff is kinda important too. You know, for your career and such. So do that too.
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Friday, 8 July 2011
Girls and Kittens
There is a phenomenon in our world that has had science stumped for years. It's not the theory of evolution. It's not the size of our universe. It's the mystery of girls and kittens.
You may have witnessed this in your own home and with your own family and friends. When a girl is handed a kitten, her mind seemingly becomes mush. Instead of a typical response to cuteness, such as, "Aw, its so cute", a girl will respond with "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ITS SO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE! Aren't you! Yes you awer! Yes you AWER!" It can be very disturbing. Even with extremely smart girls, the response is the same. Though some seem to have gained a mild resistance to it, none seem to be safe. Doctors and scientists have spent years trying to find out what causes this and possibly a cure, but, so far, to no avail.
Until now
Recent discoveries have unveiled that when kittens are born, they have a special gland located at the bottom of their brain. Though the use of this gland is unknown, it does send chemicals throughout the body and releases them through the pores of the kitten. When the kitten grows into an adult cat, the gland is dissolved by the body and the remaining matter is absorbed into the brain. There are no negative side effects, though traces of the chemicals can still be found in some adult cats, but with significantly less potency. The chemical is odorless, colourless and tasteless but when this chemical is combined with chemicals in female humans, it creates a volatile concoction that quickly flows through the blood to the brain. Once in the brain, it reacts with the brain cells and causes a temporary numbing of the brain. Regular cognitive thought becomes slow and only the simplest thoughts can pass through. This is observed in childlike speech, possessiveness, and unintelligible sounds. To put it simply, the thought process is reverted to a toddler.
Like many other chemicals exposed to the human body, overexposure can cause immunity. Females who have lived around cats for many years generally are not as affected as those who only see kittens every once and a while. This rule, however, is not solid. During the teenage and young adult years, which are years of great change, chemicals in people are much more susceptible to these kitten chemicals. Also, personality, maturity, even hair colour, can all effect the potency of the reaction.
As for a cure, none currently exist. To remove the kittens gland is an extremely invasive surgery and only has a success rate of approximately 20% in lab tests. Kittens that do survive tend to be more susceptible to diseases and suffer a major drop in cuteness. The chemical in a females blood is bonded to the chemical make up of the blood and is impossible to extract, and the surgery to remove a girl's blood has a success rate of 0%. Until technology advances enough to remove this gland or let people survive without blood, we simply cannot do anything to prevent it.
As for a cure, none currently exist. To remove the kittens gland is an extremely invasive surgery and only has a success rate of approximately 20% in lab tests. Kittens that do survive tend to be more susceptible to diseases and suffer a major drop in cuteness. The chemical in a females blood is bonded to the chemical make up of the blood and is impossible to extract, and the surgery to remove a girl's blood has a success rate of 0%. Until technology advances enough to remove this gland or let people survive without blood, we simply cannot do anything to prevent it.
I hope that I was able to bring light to one of the many mysteries of our world. Now, instead of laughing quietly to yourself at the unexplained behavior, you can laugh quietly to yourself and know what's happening.
Saturday, 2 July 2011
The Power of the Book
Tonight, as I mulled over several thoughts and frustrations in my mind that only come to me after midnight, I came to an interesting thought. How do friendships relate to the internet, specifically facebook? Can you have a successful relationship over the internet? Instantly, thousands of ideas flood into your head. What about the successes of eHarmony and other such sites? Long distance friends? Keeping up with old high school friends? While there is proof that relationships can be created and sustained over the internet, they also can fall apart. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not condemning the use of facebook or other internet social sites. I am rather going to look at the proper way to have a internet friendship.
Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with friends across the world. Where as texting, phoning or mail costs money, facebook is basically free (if you don't count the cost of internet). You can find where old friends you've lost touch with over the years have ended up. Its quick and easy to stay updated with other people's lives. But how much of this represents friendship? Because of my age, I have seen people adopt different personalities on the internet. Heck, I'm one of those people. On facebook, I have less restraints that hold me back from saying funny quips or sharing emotions and such. This is because I have a strength in the written word. Spoken word, not so much. So on facebook, I can appear more outgoing and social than I would in person, especially with a person I know little about. I think that the internet, for a lot of people, takes away many inhibitions that people have in talking to someone face to face. Its like a separate person for them. So to view what you see on facebook as the real person can cause some major problems in dealing with that person. You may gain expectations that they can't fulfill. You may see things that don't seem of character of that person and taint your view of them, with a "what else are they hiding?" approach.
So how is this conquered? Basing the bulk of a friendship on facebook can turn it in the wrong direction. There are 2 things that we can do. First, simply, is to remember that this may not be the whole person you know. Especially if you don't know that person outside of the internet. Ask questions of why they put certain things on their page in person. That way you can get a better and more accurate answer. It may be a misunderstanding or hidden aspects you never knew. This way, you can learn more about the person that you ever could by simply creeping their profile. I'd say thats a win for face to face talking.
The second is a bit more complicated. It involves watching what we put on facebook. Whether we like it or not, it will affect parts of relationships, for better or worse. There are people I see on facebook that put just random thoughts that they would never say in public as their statuses. Then people get offended that you looked at this private information. We must realize that what we put on the internet can be views by anyone. It becomes public information. The internet is not our own private world. If you would never say something to someone's face, then leave it off facebook. That causes people to get confused and cause misunderstandings. Whenever I write something like this, I am fully aware that someone will read it. I write it so that people will read it and take something from it, whether its a deep thought or funny one liner. (Now I realize that you would not see me spewing this in person, but that's because I organize my thoughts better when I'm alone and I can type them out). Even inside jokes can confuse people. It is so important to remember that facebook is a representation of you to those you know. So be who you were made to be.
Facebook has become a major force in our society, as well as other social networking sites. Electronic talking controls much of our socialization today. Am I against using the internet as a social tool? No, I am simply saying that because it is so powerful, we must be as careful on it as we are with people around us everyday. There is so much potential in these things to expand our social barriers, but there is also dangers. I need to remember this as much as anyone. People can be stupid on facebook. It can look really bad on their part to you. But I will continue to try and represent myself as accurately as I can to those I call facebook friends.
Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with friends across the world. Where as texting, phoning or mail costs money, facebook is basically free (if you don't count the cost of internet). You can find where old friends you've lost touch with over the years have ended up. Its quick and easy to stay updated with other people's lives. But how much of this represents friendship? Because of my age, I have seen people adopt different personalities on the internet. Heck, I'm one of those people. On facebook, I have less restraints that hold me back from saying funny quips or sharing emotions and such. This is because I have a strength in the written word. Spoken word, not so much. So on facebook, I can appear more outgoing and social than I would in person, especially with a person I know little about. I think that the internet, for a lot of people, takes away many inhibitions that people have in talking to someone face to face. Its like a separate person for them. So to view what you see on facebook as the real person can cause some major problems in dealing with that person. You may gain expectations that they can't fulfill. You may see things that don't seem of character of that person and taint your view of them, with a "what else are they hiding?" approach.
So how is this conquered? Basing the bulk of a friendship on facebook can turn it in the wrong direction. There are 2 things that we can do. First, simply, is to remember that this may not be the whole person you know. Especially if you don't know that person outside of the internet. Ask questions of why they put certain things on their page in person. That way you can get a better and more accurate answer. It may be a misunderstanding or hidden aspects you never knew. This way, you can learn more about the person that you ever could by simply creeping their profile. I'd say thats a win for face to face talking.
The second is a bit more complicated. It involves watching what we put on facebook. Whether we like it or not, it will affect parts of relationships, for better or worse. There are people I see on facebook that put just random thoughts that they would never say in public as their statuses. Then people get offended that you looked at this private information. We must realize that what we put on the internet can be views by anyone. It becomes public information. The internet is not our own private world. If you would never say something to someone's face, then leave it off facebook. That causes people to get confused and cause misunderstandings. Whenever I write something like this, I am fully aware that someone will read it. I write it so that people will read it and take something from it, whether its a deep thought or funny one liner. (Now I realize that you would not see me spewing this in person, but that's because I organize my thoughts better when I'm alone and I can type them out). Even inside jokes can confuse people. It is so important to remember that facebook is a representation of you to those you know. So be who you were made to be.
Facebook has become a major force in our society, as well as other social networking sites. Electronic talking controls much of our socialization today. Am I against using the internet as a social tool? No, I am simply saying that because it is so powerful, we must be as careful on it as we are with people around us everyday. There is so much potential in these things to expand our social barriers, but there is also dangers. I need to remember this as much as anyone. People can be stupid on facebook. It can look really bad on their part to you. But I will continue to try and represent myself as accurately as I can to those I call facebook friends.
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