The calm before the storm

Today I have my first two advertising exams. Over the course of the week I have been pretty nervous and studying every day, but no matter how much work I have due the night before always feels the same for me. I don't study or stress out. I feel prepared and try to give myself a night to relax. Cramming the night before actually hurts my performance so I have learned that instead you need a clam night with a decent amount of sleep before you go in to take your test.



People who cram the night before and go in to the class still reading their notes are putting themselves through a lot of mental stress. This could actually cause them to panic during the test and "blank out". After having that happen to me a lot through high school I managed to come up with my current way of studying. 

Wait, I havent turned on my tv in how long?

Today marks the two week mark since the last time I have used my TV. Even now, I haven't turned it on to watch cable, but to play some games on my ps3. Its crazy thinking how dependent I used to be on cable. I used to always keep my television running for white noise and just a way to combat the solitude. Now I use music and podcast, and it really made me think about the shift in media.



Ten years ago televisions were the number one source of entertainment in the home. I remember everything coming from there, whether its news, cartoons, or music. Now we have shifted this focus to the computers. User generated content and the freedom to choose what you read has made the computer a huge hit in the entertainment field. People no longer want to be told when to watch what they like, they want to do it on their schedules. I just think this is really interesting and makes me wonder what the next evolution of entertainment will be. Televisions are starting to add "apps" in an attempt to stay current, but I do not think this enough. I would like to see more unibody computers that will replace televisions that come with a wireless keyboard. This way we can really move the user generated content to the couch and living room. 

Conformity

"I know they are wrong but why should I be the one that stops it?"
This sentence and others like it are one of the biggest detriments to innovation.  People in meetings do not stand up for an idea because they do not want to be against everyone, people do not speak up for whats right if everyone around them is staying silent. Its things like this that really hold us back as a society. Its the people who see this situation but still speak up who help push our culture to new edges.
This made me think about college and how much people use this rationalization to support what they do. People black out because they think its what they are supposed to be doing at this age. They see the image of cramming for test and partying and decide if that's how everyone else is doing college, that they should too. Another example is greek life. Different fraternities and sororities have stereotypes. And when people join these they begin to shift their lives to fit this scripts, in order to fit in with the rest of the group. I am not saying that every greek does this, but it does happen.
I feel like our culture needs to support the radical, the one who stands up for themselves, but at this time this isn't the case. 

What if: I wasnt a geek

Yesterday I was reading a web comic in class about two gamers who are living together. I find it really entertaining because so much of it relates to the conversations I have with my friends. While reading it my friend sitting next to me said that she couldn't get any of the comments and asked why I found it so entertaining. It then hit me how hard it would be to explain all the references that have been made by this comic. All these things that are just in my memory are completely missed by this girl. I found that really fascinating.
This got me thinking about how different my life would be if I wasn't geeky. I spend most of my time working online and with computers, and its crazy for me to think what life would be if I just didn't have that knowledge. But then again people who know about other stuff probably couldn't imagine what life would be like without that. For example, is a sports fan didn't know the name and stats of every player on their favorite football team they would probably think it would be the end of the world.
Its these multiple knowledge bases that make human thought so interesting. If ten people are given a problem to solve they will each reach into what they already know and make a decision based on that. That would lead to ten completely different answers.

its cool to hate on america

Isn't it weird that in today's culture everyone wants to hate on America? And I don't mean other countries, but teenagers and adults here. Everyone wants to say that we are wrong, and that we do not know what we are doing. A lot of this comes from hatred toward our presidents. Bush sure had a lot blamed on him and now Obama does. I think people need to stop with the complaining and hatred and just think for a minute about where else they would go.

People have grandiose visions of other countries, but they do not really know the difference economically. America is where capitalism reigns, which is a blessing and a curse. Our system allows anyone one to prosper with enough determination. I know people think that phrase is corny and outdated but it is true. My dad graduated high school and worked at a local donut shop, then, through years of hard work, made his own pharmaceutical company that now brings in millions in business every year. I think his story, and others like his in the technology field, really show the power that America has as a land of opportunity.

When Flow become reality, not a concept

Image via WikipediaWe talked about Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow and how it envelops people who are in the activity. I can relate to this when I am free running. When I am running I do not feel like the gaze of people watching me, the awkwardness of misunderstanding, or the fatigue that comes from pushing myself, I only feel the activity. At times I will be so involved in parkour that I don't even realize where I am going, I will go to take a break and realize that I am in a section of town I have never been to before.



This feeling is amazing because you can just let go of every in the world except yourself. You aren't worrying about your text next week, what your friends or doing, or what you are going to do next weekend; you only think of whats in front of you and how you are going to get to the next obstacle. After experiencing this, you start to put your life in perspective. You start to think of how much you worry about small things and how to relinquish that. You got an 86 on that exam you wanted an A on? no big deal. Four points on a test will not change your life, do not waste your time thinking of what could have been or how you will never get your dream job because that teacher put a tricky multiple choice.
In the end, you have yourself; not your money, not your career, yourself. Take the time to enjoy life and do what you are passionate about. 

Plane manners

Do you ever see people in an airport and just ask "why are they acting like this in public?" Today while I was in the airport I saw some people do things that just made me want to call them out so badly. One person seriously cut the entire line for the medal detector and then said that "he needed to see the end of the game at the bar" as his excuse. It was funny that for a split second, everyone was feeling and thinking the same thing. It was a kind of general hatred for someone which, if rallied, could have caused a small riot the likes of a wallmart the day after thanksgiving and destroyed the cultural concept of lines and order.


This made me think about how everyone tries to follow these unspoken laws of civilization; not cutting people off driving, holding the door for someone behind you, and letting people in front of you actually use the service before you. When one person breaks these rules, everyone questions whether they should follow them as well. I mean, who cares if some strangers give you a weird look, you came out on top and got to go in front of everyone right? 
Sometimes it is just entertaining to think about how humans would act in a certain situation, I would encourage my readers to take some time when you are in a public place and just watch and see if you can spot an event similar to the one I encountered.

Cant escape your childhood

This weekend I came home to see my parents and go to a show in New Orleans. When I got home I realized how much you cant escape being a kid. My parents immediately wanted to hear everything I have done, bring me to dinner, and generally want to help me any way they could. After living for a two months in my single apartment I started feeling pretty independent and self-sustaining; but that feeling quickly melted away when I was home.



Waking up and being around my family, having cooked meals, and just seeing everyone really made me feel special. Its hard to see why everyone wants to grow up and leave their home when you realize how much you leave behind. My parents were extremely happy to see me and that to them, this was the return of a child who they hadn't seen for two months. It must be hard to go through that and I have been so involved in my own goals that I forgot about this. I think that everyone should really take a break from being an independent college student and just revert back to being a kid in your parents home every once in a while.  This will give you a fresh perspective on what you have been doing and give you a new view on how you live on your own.