Every morning, Monday through Friday, I wake up, eat breakfast, and take my Adderall. And… I absolutely hate it. I hate taking medicine that makes me feel calm, and hindering my personality. Adderall also changes my mood and increases my irritability throughout the day. It is miserable and annoying. Plus, I love to eat. The medicine decreases my appetite and sometimes, changes the taste of foods. Unfortunately, I am ADHD, and dependent on it to help me stay focused in class and when I study.
What I don’t get though is how people that are not ADD or ADHD want to take Adderall or similar medicines? Several people have asked me to give them one because they “need to stay up and study” or “need to stop eating,” but I have never given any out.
Not only is it a felony, it isn’t fun. Any chance I get to not take it (non-school days, and breaks), I don’t. Not taking my medicine allows me to be free and enjoy being the person I really am. But, I understand that it helps me concentrate, so I withstand the pain.
I guess what I am trying to say is that an overwhelming amount of young adults abuse Adderall for the purpose of studying, staying up all night, eating less, or in some cases, desiring the opposite effects for those that are not ADD at all. I have so many friends that are jealous and want to take Adderall on a daily basis. I also have some that claim they have an attention deficit problem and need to get checked by their doctor. If that’s the case, go to the doctor and have him write you a prescription, don’t take it upon yourself to find a friend to help solve your problem. I hate taking my medicine, and I cannot believe the amount of people that either want to take it, or are taking it illegally.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Pretty, Smart, Poetic
Pretty, Smart, Poetic is a play written by Brigham Mosley (B.F.A.’10) for the 2010 SMU Meadows School of the Arts’ New Visions, New Voices student production.
The only reason I saw Pretty, Smart, Poetic was for extra credit in my theatre class, Mirror of the Ages. Mosley is a Teacher Assistant for my class, so it was interesting to watch his vision and what he had created on stage. I am not interested in the theatre or the arts whatsoever. However, I left Mosley’s production rather satisfied.
In summary: Pretty, Smart, Poetic is the story of three girls: one pretty, one smart, and one poetic, and their unbalanced and unhappy life as a result of their dad’s overprotection and his desire to love and to be loved. He loved his daughters so much he did what he thought would protect them by over exaggerating their talents and lying about their deceased mother. He placed special emphasis on his girls’ extraordinary talents, or really what they had been told to focus on by their father all their lives. This only led to resentment of their father and unintentional pain inflicted on his daughters.
The play generated questions concerning the complexity of human identity and love. According to Brandon Sterrett (B.F.A’10), a critic and scene shop assistant for Pretty, Smart, Poetic, “Having logical thoughts, artistic souls, and physical bodies makes us humans endlessly complex and exasperatingly messy”. The moral of the story is enjoying a balanced life, and living because you want to, not because your parents force you to.
I think we all can relate to the story. Fathers never mean to hurt their daughters, nor does any parent. We have all experienced pressure from our parents in one way or another, and may not have known necessarily how to deal with it. I encourage you all to love what you do and have that balanced life needed to be happy.
The only reason I saw Pretty, Smart, Poetic was for extra credit in my theatre class, Mirror of the Ages. Mosley is a Teacher Assistant for my class, so it was interesting to watch his vision and what he had created on stage. I am not interested in the theatre or the arts whatsoever. However, I left Mosley’s production rather satisfied.
In summary: Pretty, Smart, Poetic is the story of three girls: one pretty, one smart, and one poetic, and their unbalanced and unhappy life as a result of their dad’s overprotection and his desire to love and to be loved. He loved his daughters so much he did what he thought would protect them by over exaggerating their talents and lying about their deceased mother. He placed special emphasis on his girls’ extraordinary talents, or really what they had been told to focus on by their father all their lives. This only led to resentment of their father and unintentional pain inflicted on his daughters.
The play generated questions concerning the complexity of human identity and love. According to Brandon Sterrett (B.F.A’10), a critic and scene shop assistant for Pretty, Smart, Poetic, “Having logical thoughts, artistic souls, and physical bodies makes us humans endlessly complex and exasperatingly messy”. The moral of the story is enjoying a balanced life, and living because you want to, not because your parents force you to.
I think we all can relate to the story. Fathers never mean to hurt their daughters, nor does any parent. We have all experienced pressure from our parents in one way or another, and may not have known necessarily how to deal with it. I encourage you all to love what you do and have that balanced life needed to be happy.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
I'm so happy, I could cry...
I know these blog posts are suppose to focus on controversial issues to create some type of debate or something, but for some reason I find myself inclined to write about my feelings.
For the first time in my life, I have nothing to worry about. Growing up I have had to worry about going to practice for gymnastics, and even in college with cheerleading… it gets exhausting. It has been two weeks now since Nationals and the year is flying by. One full week of classes until exam cramming begins.
Beyond the shock of surviving my freshman year of college, lies surviving an entire year in the dorms. I honestly cannot believe my roommate and I have not killed each other yet.
It is all coming to a close. We are packing up and moving out. I am definitely sad it is over. And, even though summer and all of its excitement are near, I will miss seeing everyone. It is hard going to school with people from all over the country and knowing I probably will not see half of the friends I have spent all year with for the next four months of summer.
On the upside of things, we have all summer off, which is really exciting. I cannot wait to move into my house close to campus for summer school either! Seeing my friends from home also adds to the suspense leading up to summer.
Before you know it summer will end, and after that, the school year begins again. Recruiting all fall semester as a sophomore is something I know I am looking forward to, and meeting the new class is always fun.
For the first time in my life, I have nothing stopping me from having fun. I can find something positive to look forward to at the end of the school year, which is something that does not usually happen.
It is all so bitter sweet. It is time to close up the year and go home. It will all start again soon.
But hey, I have nothing to complain about… I guess this is what it feels like to be a full time college student…
For the first time in my life, I have nothing to worry about. Growing up I have had to worry about going to practice for gymnastics, and even in college with cheerleading… it gets exhausting. It has been two weeks now since Nationals and the year is flying by. One full week of classes until exam cramming begins.
Beyond the shock of surviving my freshman year of college, lies surviving an entire year in the dorms. I honestly cannot believe my roommate and I have not killed each other yet.
It is all coming to a close. We are packing up and moving out. I am definitely sad it is over. And, even though summer and all of its excitement are near, I will miss seeing everyone. It is hard going to school with people from all over the country and knowing I probably will not see half of the friends I have spent all year with for the next four months of summer.
On the upside of things, we have all summer off, which is really exciting. I cannot wait to move into my house close to campus for summer school either! Seeing my friends from home also adds to the suspense leading up to summer.
Before you know it summer will end, and after that, the school year begins again. Recruiting all fall semester as a sophomore is something I know I am looking forward to, and meeting the new class is always fun.
For the first time in my life, I have nothing stopping me from having fun. I can find something positive to look forward to at the end of the school year, which is something that does not usually happen.
It is all so bitter sweet. It is time to close up the year and go home. It will all start again soon.
But hey, I have nothing to complain about… I guess this is what it feels like to be a full time college student…
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Religion in college? ... I don't think so.
I went to church almost every Sunday morning growing up. I honestly think I’ve been to church less from August to now than I have been all my life. I remember during Sunday School last summer they would talk to the seniors and present statistics about students post high school graduation turning their back on their faith.
Why is that?
Because the majority of students are tired of waking up and having to be at school by 8 AM, they’ve scheduled their classes much later in the morning in college. I know we’re partying more than we should, but probably not much more than we did our senior year. I think we’re also sleeping more. I am definitely guilty of sleeping in and skipping some of my earlier classes from time to time, so why can’t I get up and go to church on Sunday morning? And, it’s sad too because there’s a church walking distance from my dorm.
I don’t know about y’all, but I’m excited to go home for Easter. I know I’ll make it this Sunday to church, and it’s definitely somewhere I need to go. Even if you’re not religious, you can probably relate to something you used to do religiously, but stopped doing once you got to college.
Why is that?
Because the majority of students are tired of waking up and having to be at school by 8 AM, they’ve scheduled their classes much later in the morning in college. I know we’re partying more than we should, but probably not much more than we did our senior year. I think we’re also sleeping more. I am definitely guilty of sleeping in and skipping some of my earlier classes from time to time, so why can’t I get up and go to church on Sunday morning? And, it’s sad too because there’s a church walking distance from my dorm.
I don’t know about y’all, but I’m excited to go home for Easter. I know I’ll make it this Sunday to church, and it’s definitely somewhere I need to go. Even if you’re not religious, you can probably relate to something you used to do religiously, but stopped doing once you got to college.
Since when are sports all about winning?
It’s the end of March, and cheerleading nationals in Daytona, Florida are just around the corner. April 8th will be here before we know it. We’ve had practice four days a week all semester. And, since Sunday after spring break, we’ve been at the gym seven days straight.
We spend at least three hours with each other every single day. And to be honest, I’m definitely getting tired of it. We’re all dealing with injuries, stress, lacking in sleep, sore bodies, and bad attitudes. SMU lost last year in Daytona to University of Louisville by .01, so with adding that extra pressure, it’s hard to let loose and have fun at practice. I can’t find the time and energy to focus on anything but cheerleading at this point.
The team is constantly yelling at someone for falling down or missing a motion during the routine. We always find a mistake to fit in somewhere during the two and a half minutes we’re performing. We get along so well off the mat, but when it comes to nationals season, everything changes.
What does winning really mean if we can’t work together as a team?
NOTHING.
I mean winning is fun and everything, but that’s not all I have to cheer for. I love getting out there and showing off everything I’ve worked for all year, but it’s hard to have fun doing it when myself and nineteen others are depending on me to do my job. I wish we could just put winning aside, and perform solely for the benefit of hitting the routine and knowing we did the best we could. After that, nothing else really matters. If we hit perfectly and don’t win, we know there’s nothing else we could have done. I just want to go out there April 8th and leave my heart out on the floor. I don’t care if we win or not, I want to do my best and have fun doing with the support of a loving team.
We spend at least three hours with each other every single day. And to be honest, I’m definitely getting tired of it. We’re all dealing with injuries, stress, lacking in sleep, sore bodies, and bad attitudes. SMU lost last year in Daytona to University of Louisville by .01, so with adding that extra pressure, it’s hard to let loose and have fun at practice. I can’t find the time and energy to focus on anything but cheerleading at this point.
The team is constantly yelling at someone for falling down or missing a motion during the routine. We always find a mistake to fit in somewhere during the two and a half minutes we’re performing. We get along so well off the mat, but when it comes to nationals season, everything changes.
What does winning really mean if we can’t work together as a team?
NOTHING.
I mean winning is fun and everything, but that’s not all I have to cheer for. I love getting out there and showing off everything I’ve worked for all year, but it’s hard to have fun doing it when myself and nineteen others are depending on me to do my job. I wish we could just put winning aside, and perform solely for the benefit of hitting the routine and knowing we did the best we could. After that, nothing else really matters. If we hit perfectly and don’t win, we know there’s nothing else we could have done. I just want to go out there April 8th and leave my heart out on the floor. I don’t care if we win or not, I want to do my best and have fun doing with the support of a loving team.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
CD Warehouse Anyone?
Last night my roommate and I drove around until One O’clock AM looking for the Justin Bieber CD. We tried Blockbuster, Wal-Mart (not a super center), Barnes and Nobel, Premier Video, and others. All of which were either closed or no longer selling CDs. I mean we did realize we could buy the CD on iTunes, but we wanted the actual album. We literally could not think of any stores that were selling what we were looking for. We then thought about other places we had purchased CDs in the past. Only one came to mind…
I’m not intentionally continuing the Net generation theme and how we’re technologically impacting the world, but seriously, what happened to CD Warehouse?
When I was little, my mother would take my brother and I to buy CDs at CD Warehouse and other stores that explicitly sold music. Nowadays, we just buy them on iTunes, purchase individual songs, illegally download them on the Internet, or burn copies of our friends CDs.
I know where I buy CDs isn’t really a “major issue” to blog about, but after reading these books on the Net generation, I’ve really come to notice how we’ve affected so many aspects of life. It’s kind of sad how much everything has changed. Obviously, as a Net gener myself, I’m a proponent fully engaging in Internet usage; but I still appreciate going out and actually buying products at stores. I like to think I’m not THAT lazy.
Another example is Blockbuster. So many locations are closing down because of the invention of Netflix and other online movie companies. We’re too spoiled that we can’t drive four miles to the nearest renting store, we have to buy them online.
Convenience is one thing, but pure laziness is sad. Why can’t we still appreciate and use what was created in the past while continuing to embrace the future and its resources?
I’m not intentionally continuing the Net generation theme and how we’re technologically impacting the world, but seriously, what happened to CD Warehouse?
When I was little, my mother would take my brother and I to buy CDs at CD Warehouse and other stores that explicitly sold music. Nowadays, we just buy them on iTunes, purchase individual songs, illegally download them on the Internet, or burn copies of our friends CDs.
I know where I buy CDs isn’t really a “major issue” to blog about, but after reading these books on the Net generation, I’ve really come to notice how we’ve affected so many aspects of life. It’s kind of sad how much everything has changed. Obviously, as a Net gener myself, I’m a proponent fully engaging in Internet usage; but I still appreciate going out and actually buying products at stores. I like to think I’m not THAT lazy.
Another example is Blockbuster. So many locations are closing down because of the invention of Netflix and other online movie companies. We’re too spoiled that we can’t drive four miles to the nearest renting store, we have to buy them online.
Convenience is one thing, but pure laziness is sad. Why can’t we still appreciate and use what was created in the past while continuing to embrace the future and its resources?
Sunday, February 14, 2010
I have nothing to talk about...
As I’m sitting here thinking about what to blog about, I’m realizing I have nothing to say. But, how is this even possible?
We have so much going on around us. Fairly often, I find myself with nothing to talk about. While my roommate is up to date on current issues and bringing them up for conversation, I’m not doing anything. I don’t watch the news, nor do I pay attention to what’s going on around me at all.
After reading parts of Don Tapscott’s book, Grown up Digital, I find the fact that I’m so uninformed seriously discouraging. I have so many resources available with 23934529458 ways to connect to the world, and I’m not taking advantage of them like I should be. I think it’s because most of us are so concerned about what’s going on with ourselves that we don’t pay attention to what’s happening to others. I should know so many things to post about, but I don’t. I think most college students can relate with spending so much time with school, extracurricular activities, sports, partying, etc. that we forget to stay involved.
Can you relate? What can we do to stay in tune and why are some of us so disconnected?
We have so much going on around us. Fairly often, I find myself with nothing to talk about. While my roommate is up to date on current issues and bringing them up for conversation, I’m not doing anything. I don’t watch the news, nor do I pay attention to what’s going on around me at all.
After reading parts of Don Tapscott’s book, Grown up Digital, I find the fact that I’m so uninformed seriously discouraging. I have so many resources available with 23934529458 ways to connect to the world, and I’m not taking advantage of them like I should be. I think it’s because most of us are so concerned about what’s going on with ourselves that we don’t pay attention to what’s happening to others. I should know so many things to post about, but I don’t. I think most college students can relate with spending so much time with school, extracurricular activities, sports, partying, etc. that we forget to stay involved.
Can you relate? What can we do to stay in tune and why are some of us so disconnected?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
“They’re dumber than we were at their age”
Summary:
Don Tapscott, a proponent of the net generation, gives an example of an opposing view in Grown Up Digital that suggests our generation is dumber than we should be at our age because of our use technology. Psychiatrists are concerned that our overuse of the Internet is causing us to be “a shallow, distracted generation…” (Tapscott 3). Technology and the Internet are adversely affecting our communication skills, ability to perform inside the classroom, reading, and focusing to get things done. We are hoping computers and the net generation will change the world, but in reality, it will bring us nothing.
Response:
The net has already and will continue to change the world. Our ability to research information online and learn faster than ever before has in no way hindered our intelligence. We have the ability to perform better academically because of technology. Yes, we are able to communicate over the Internet, but that does not mean we cannot effectively carry on a conversation with others. It is unfair to judge us just because we have the world at our fingertips. Times are changing, and with the advancement of technology, we are more informed, smarter, faster, and use resources that were not even accessible to past generations.
Don Tapscott, a proponent of the net generation, gives an example of an opposing view in Grown Up Digital that suggests our generation is dumber than we should be at our age because of our use technology. Psychiatrists are concerned that our overuse of the Internet is causing us to be “a shallow, distracted generation…” (Tapscott 3). Technology and the Internet are adversely affecting our communication skills, ability to perform inside the classroom, reading, and focusing to get things done. We are hoping computers and the net generation will change the world, but in reality, it will bring us nothing.
Response:
The net has already and will continue to change the world. Our ability to research information online and learn faster than ever before has in no way hindered our intelligence. We have the ability to perform better academically because of technology. Yes, we are able to communicate over the Internet, but that does not mean we cannot effectively carry on a conversation with others. It is unfair to judge us just because we have the world at our fingertips. Times are changing, and with the advancement of technology, we are more informed, smarter, faster, and use resources that were not even accessible to past generations.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
NEW NEW NEW
My last post focused on first semester and discussed my concerns and expectations for the spring semester. Were my friends and I going to end up in the same sorority? If not, will we still be friends? Now that it’s here, I don’t have to wonder anymore.
I was right.
All of my friends found their homes in different sororities. And so far, nothing has changed. I don’t think I want it to change, EVER.
The only change I’m welcoming is if it’s for the better. I love having an opportunity to make new friends, and I especially enjoy bonding with my new sisters. But, I want to continue sharing and growing up through my college experience with those that were a part of my first semester.
It’s a NEW semester in a NEW year with NEW friends, but that doesn’t mean you can’t KEEP THE OLD.
Has anything changed for you? I encourage maintaining those strong friendships that helped you in your transition to college, as well as embracing the new opportunities.
I was right.
All of my friends found their homes in different sororities. And so far, nothing has changed. I don’t think I want it to change, EVER.
The only change I’m welcoming is if it’s for the better. I love having an opportunity to make new friends, and I especially enjoy bonding with my new sisters. But, I want to continue sharing and growing up through my college experience with those that were a part of my first semester.
It’s a NEW semester in a NEW year with NEW friends, but that doesn’t mean you can’t KEEP THE OLD.
Has anything changed for you? I encourage maintaining those strong friendships that helped you in your transition to college, as well as embracing the new opportunities.
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