The Procrastination Trap

Here we are. The bane of high school and college students everywhere.

You're given weeks to do a project, which would be simple, but who can deny the temptations of more desirable activities such as hanging with friends, playing games or sports, and watching some good ol' tv. We tell ourselves over and over to focus on schoolwork, but it rarely works. Everyone's got this problem, in one form or another. But how do you solve it?

Well, I'm here to say that it's possible. Through an honest desire to cure oneself, it is entirely easy to turn a potential problem into the solution. What do I mean? Well, perhaps waiting until the last minute isn't such a bad thing. For example, it heightens the desire to do an activity substantially. Out of the need to accomplish an assignment, motivation skyrockets.

The only thing is, you have to strategically procrastinate. By this, I mean plan your work. Compose a list of the meaningless tasks you see as potential hazards to your project. By doing this, you will gain peace of mind in knowing the things that lie before you. And then it's time to work. You will switch up between working on your large goal and doing the small things. Slowly but surely, you will begin to accomplish your large goal, while feeling satisfied in completing the small tasks that you have written down. Your list will become your loading bar toward the end game.

If you're anything like me, this will help tremendously. I find myself thinking of all sorts of compromises to stave off working on large projects, and through making a list, I can organize anything and everything that needs to get done. Try it out, and if it cures your problem, you're welcome. If not, you tried: no harm done.

Summer's On Its Way

Ah, the time of year when it's warm and bright, when you can stay inside and stay up all night. It's about to be summer, and everyone knows it. But what are you going to do?

A lot of the people I know will spend that extra time studying and preparing for the school year to come. LOL. But seriously, what's better than hanging out with friends and maybe some family, chilling out and having fun all day long? Nothing I can think of. So that's where I'll be found all summer long, in the company of fellow fun loving teenagers.

But that's not all. I had almost forgotten about the five weeks of intense "learning" I'll be doing due to my admission into the Governor's Scholar Program. While I'm very glad to have been accepted, I can't help finding myself a little disappointed to miss out on such a long period of summer fun with friends. But I simply keep telling myself that I'll have fun with the new people I meet there. After all, plenty of other high school students are going to be at similar camps and things, so I'm not in the minority. Plus, I've decided to have a little extra fun with it.

I was thinking of how to mix up my experience, and I've come to the conclusion that it may be entertaining to act a little differently around the members of the camp. I haven't chosen how to act yet, but among the possible faux personalities are: Hardcore Conservative, Stuck-up Snob, and Foreigner. So, I'll pick one and stick to it. Hopefully it'll be worth some good laughs, and an interesting series of events.

My Music Review

So I know everyone's been wondering this very questions, "What music should I listen to?"

Well, I'm here to help, because I've decided to share knowledge of music, as well as my adept ear for classy music to influence whoever will listen. So here we go.

Easy Listening

Red Hot Chili Peppers - If you've never heard of the good ol' peppers, you've missed out. Cruising into the popularity scene in the 90's, they've maintained a significant role in music ever since. They've got some big hits, like "Under the Bridge" and "Scar Tissue", but unlike most bands today, their music is of such a quality that you could listen non-stop for hours to every song on an album of theirs.

Heavy-ish

Chiodos - Not for the faint of heart, this music will surely get your blood pumping. They're not of the same variety as most, and aren't too heavy for someone interested in an array of music genres. The lead singer makes the band; but along with the inventive melodies, Chiodos has constructed a truly unique sound.

Feel-good Music

MGMT - While I'm sure not everyone could agree with me, MGMT is by far one of my favorite bands. Their songs truly inspire me, and every time I listen to them, I feel a little better. They have an interesting electric/techno-ish sound that's catchy.

Well, that's all I'm going to grace you all with tonight, so investigate and hopefully you will take a liking to these artists.

Attaining Happiness

When you think of being happy, how do you see yourself?

I ask this because many would say that they want to be rich, good looking, have a nice house or have a hot boyfriend/girlfriend. They may not even say it out loud, but I would venture to guess that there are plenty who quietly yearn for these things. But what really would make you happy? I'm talking smooth sailing, relaxed, raw joy that seems to only be achieved after work is over and old age has caused an end to a hectic schedule. And even then, it's not a guarantee that you'll be happy and old.

I'm not claiming to know the secret to happiness; there isn't one. I believe that we make our happiness ourselves, and that we're all in charge of this. When you let the bad stuff take over your mind, you'll find it very difficult to keep the shiny outlook that you'd like. So what I'm saying is this: take things into your own hands, and out of the world. Take responsibility for your own actions, and through this you can revel in the bright side of things. Keep telling yourself to block out the bad, and you'll be able to. It's a common rule that you tend to find what you look for. Look for the good things in life, and you'll surely find them. But you have to believe it; if you don't, there's still some part of you that's saying you're not going to be happy, and you have to get rid of it.

To wrap up, it's all in your head. Over time, controlling your emotions is achievable, and should be learned by everyone. It IS possible, I'd know. As collected as I am now, I was once an off the handle anger junky. But not anymore, for I've learned to control my own happiness. And man does it feel great.

Hypo"critical" Situation

Have you ever heard the phrase "do as I say, not as I do"? This phrase is often used when one is caught committing an act that they have previously put down. I find it disturbing that the phrase is so common, because it means that many many people are hypocrites to their own causes.

For example, I've observed situations before in which a parent lights a cigarette, while simultaneously disapproving of the action with their children, claiming to know better and that the entire act is wrong. Now I'm no advocate to smoking, but it shouldn't be the case that the current smoker tells a non-smoker not to smoke. It just shouldn't work that way, and most of the time doesn't. Studies have shown that a non-smoking parent who teaches their kid of the errors of cigarettes has a greater chance of their child being a non-smoker than a smoking parent who claims has personal experience on the subject and disapproves of smoking. It's just that simple; hypocrisy isn't trustworthy.

All that being said, I think we should hold ourselves accountable for the hypocritical things we do. Even knowing this, I find myself acting in opposition of the values I uphold. But the point is, we should do our best to keep our ideals straight, and to not act in blatant disregard. However, in doing so, we must not become so close-minded that we fail to recognize other points of view as possible, because we are just shifting to an extreme, and living life in extremes is easy; learning how to maintain a balance is the difficult thing to do.

All in all, to battle and understand hypocrisy, we must understand that most people act on a situational basis, disobeying ideals for the moment to carry out behaviors that contradict them. While this isn't a cut and dry issue, I think our behaviors should match our ideals, however you see fit to do so. If you wish to form your beliefs around the way you act, go for it. If you want to choose a set of ideas to abide by, reform your behavior and maintain it. Either way, you will be avoiding hypocrisy, and you will most likely find that you are peaceful in the knowledge that you choose your actions or basis for actions; they don't choose you.

What if...

Ok, bear with me here.

Imagine a world where everyone is held to a higher standard. Every man and woman looks out for one another, simply for the greater good of every other person; every child is taught to value everything about a person, and are swayed from common hypocrisies in favor of focus on variation as a positive.

We would combine the world into one nation, by the people of Earth, for the people of Earth, and the World is regulated by a government that receives no pay. Everyone is allowed to vote on all bills, on every single election. This leaves less room for corruption and enables the people to directly affect their world. The ability to vote on such issues is made easily accessible, so that anyone may vote publicly or privately, based on preference, through public stations or wristwatch-like devices. Both test for DNA authenticity, as well as other factors of identification, in order to vote effectively. There would be little need to rig or sway political elections, as the politicians would have notably less power and would lack paychecks. These people would lead out of sheer recognition of the need for a leader, which would lead to highly intelligent representatives. There would be no parties; this only distracts from the traits of the individual, who would be held to the highest standards.

All healthcare in this world would be provided at legitimate prices, without overinflated "bs" to overcharge customers. With increases in technological advancement, the jobs of doctors and medical professionals will become less strenuous, and therefore this would be possible.

 Education would be viewed as the priority; children would be placed according to their likes and dislikes, and would be set on a track towards improving their happiness over a lifetime, contrary to the system today in which many see their happiest days as kids and teenagers. So many more things could be achieved, if only we had the desire, and we would fight for it (verbally of course).

I can foresee all of these things happening fairly soon. Their limitations will become irrelevant in the near future due to advances in technology, and the opportunity for worldwide happiness will be on the horizon. Will we take that chance? Who knows. But I can tell you one thing: If we don't stop forcing people to jump on the bandwagon, or we don't stop treating others as though they are merely here to hinder our success, we won't make it to this future. Just some food for thought, I may be ranting, but I just had a vision of such a bright future that I thought I would share it.

You're wrong! *Lalalalalalala* I'm not listening!

You're wrong. I'm right. End of story. Queue 15 minute conversation. You're
still wrong, I'm still right, and we're both angry at each other. What have we
solved? Too often this is the way things go when having a conversation/debate.
One or both of the parties involved will stay completely firm in their
argument, giving no room whatsoever for open-mindedness, and turning a blind
eye to the only way to learn. By rejecting even the idea of being wrong, the stubborn
person has denied logic and reason. In denying the possibility, they have shown
that they are overly prideful.

However, I suppose that's not the entire story. Many people have lessons or
beliefs instilled in them from day one, and it is remarkably difficult to
change such things. Sure, there is some degree of pride in knowledge such as
this, but whether we wish to believe it or not, we believe in these lessons
because we were taught that they were the right things to believe. It's as
simple as that. For example, regardless of your religious affiliation, your
parents or guardians probably taught you what to believe and how to believe in
it. They taught you this from day one, and in doing so blinded you to other religions.
I'm not saying this is bad; without doing this, they would consider themselves
bad parents. According to most belief systems parents are required to teach the
religion and make sure the children follow it, so it would follow that this is
the way to do it. However, this is a prime example of a truth that has been
pounded into memory and tradition, giving no leeway for new information.
Sometimes, this can hurt more than help. So, it's not always entirely the
stubborn person's fault that they are stubborn, but unmoving negotiators still
hold themselves to some level of pride due to their "correct"
beliefs, and you will always be wrong if you differ.

The point I'm trying to achieve is that we should always keep an open mind
to the possibilities. In the end, we can only benefit from guided
open-mindedness in our vast attempt to learn, whether it is learning about the
meaning of life, or simply disproving some faulty math lesson. Now I know that
not everyone will agree with me that open-mindedness isn't always good;
sometimes, they would say, it shows inability to stand firm and hold ground. I
find that this is especially prevalent on matters of religion, when people will
not give the time of day to anyone with differing opinions. But I would ask
such people to answer these questions: Why are you so afraid to question
yourself? Are you so afraid to be wrong that you won't take the chance? After
all, why not shoot for the only two possible outcomes: Prove yourself wrong and
be better educated, or strengthen your own knowledge through proving it to your
debate opponent.

Well, that having been said: