My Bucket List...Thus Far

While we all try not to, we spend a lot of time in the past. However, I've noticed recently I spend a lot of the time in the future. I think a lot about what I want to happen in my life and what I want to achieve and see…so why not add to my bucket list?

• See the Northern Lights
• Go to California
• Get into UNCW (should know any day now...)
• Do something great for my parents
• Get published
• Meet Andrew McMahon…for a third time
• Learn how to surf
• Visit South Africa
• Graduate college
• Meet Sophia Bush
• Help the homeless
• Stay at an underwater hotel
• Get another tattoo
• Go to NYC for New Years
• Peirce my nose (Too chicken..)
• Move to North Carolina
• Achieve my dream job (I can be hopeful!)

To be continued…

Response to a Response: Cell Phones and Health. All bad?

I am responding to this blog’s response.

Reading both Justin’s and Kenny’s blogs on how phones and sleep affects us in negative ways made me think, what are the positives of all of this technology? As students, we are constantly on phones, computers, ipads, televisions, and whatever other forms of streaming information, sometimes all at once. Of course there are multiple side effects and ways we are unconsciously effected.
  

Sleep wise I agree with what both blogs had to say. We don’t get nearly enough sleep as we should, and a lot of the time it’s because we are on social media (through our phones/computers) and/or are watching TV right before going to bed. Personally, I am either on my computer watching Netflix (surprise, surprise) or watching TV on my couch while on Facebook on my phone in between before finally deciding to turn in. However, like Kenny said in his response, when I go to check my phone one last time before closing my eyes, I am then up for at least another half hour. At least.

Personally to me it is no surprise that with all this technology we lack sleep and social skills. We are on it all the time, if not for school, it’s for pleasure. Steve Jobs didn’t even let his children use ipads or iphones, so that automatically makes me question the scientific electronic safety of the products.
 

Although we all scold ourselves socially for being so reliant on technology, do we do anything about it? Not really. But why? Adults think our generation can’t go an hour without looking at some sort of social media. So why do we only prove them right and continue to be controlled by technology (phones specifically)? Because we get a good amount of benefit from it.
 

Yes there are a ton of negative effects of phones, socially and health wise. However, we wouldn’t be so lenient and glued to them if they had no benefit.
 

First off, there is the internet. Who honestly can say they don’t genuinely appreciate the internet as a whole? Every answer to any burning question is available to you in seconds. Need help on homework? Google it. Need to get in touch with someone relatively quick? Email them. Need to know literally almost anything else? Look it up on the internet.
 

More specifically, social media and phones. Phones have made getting in contact with other people the easiest thing to do. Seriously. Don’t you all recall your mother’s stories about carrying a pocket full of change for the nearest pay phone, which they then had to search out?
 

Phones have also helped out large businesses for adults too. Blackberrys which were before iphones were business (wo)men’s best friends. They were compact and had all the features a busy working adult would need. Think about how many companies have been created from all the apps created for iphones and jobs that are now available for kids fresh out of college. Kid’s in college can create their businesses themselves.

 
Now that I’ve gotten extremely off topic from what the blogs I’m responding to have discussed, I want to end by talking about the health problems again. Yes, I get way too little sleep thanks to my cell phone. But it’s kind of my fault, because I know when I check it that one last time, it’s not going to be for just one minute. Also, we all know that technology isn’t the best thing that has happened to our health. I spend more time sitting on the computer wasting time than I do almost anything else. But when I know that I have to get up at 6:45am I’m going to try to make getting  out of bed a little bit easier by going to bed earlier with no phone. We are in control. We control what and how much tecnbology and social media we use.
 

Like Justin said in his post, cell phones affect us in the morning as well night time. I personally am more focused on text messages and Facebook notifications than making sure I eat a full breakfast right when I wake up. But again, that is my fault. I personally believe technology is good in moderation simply for the information it holds for us. What it is not good for is the extra hour of sleep and our overall health.

Response to a Non-Classmate: Random Acts of Kindness!

I am responding to this blog post by Cara McGee.

I love those random acts of kindness that make you smile and for a moment make you proud to be apart of this world. I’m such a sucker for social experiments on YouTube, even though there are now an overwhelmingly amount of them all over. Still, I tear up at almost every one.

The post that Cara McGee is responding to in her blog (free hats and scarves tied to trees for anyone that needs them) is an act I have never actually seen, which makes me love it all the more. It’s original.

I agree with her that we all tend to forget how fortunate we are. Yeah, we might not love having all of this work and stress that comes with going to college, but we are lucky enough to have the opportunity and choice of getting an education in the first place. We have clothes and homes and people who love us, yet we forget to value this and instead complain that our moms are calling us too much to check in, simply because they miss us.

Think how great the world would be if we all were just nice. We don’t have to be friends with everyone, but we can all be friendly. I know, this is so cliché. But it’s so true! Why can’t we be nice? Why is everything a competition?

I think that Cara’s list of little acts of kindness was so creative as a response, because it proves that the simple Facebook post she saw of the free scarves and hats affected her and reminded her there are others less fortunate that need our help. We all need that eye-opener.

My favorite bullet on the list she wrote was…well all of them, honestly, but I loved “say thank you to a janitor”. It’s random, but it’s something that would mean so much to them, because they clean our messes as a job without complaining, but also not getting any reward from it. The innocent thank you would just show them some appreciation they probably rarely receive.

So in response of Cara’s list, I thought it was only fitting that I made my own list of random acts of kindness!

• Help someone who looks lost
• Pay for the person behind me in line
• Smile
• Feed the stray animals (can’t forget about them!)
• Be nice to my body…eat healthier!
•  Listen to someone who needs it
• Compliment someone
• Say sorry when necessary
• Check in on an old friend
• Include my parents
• Donate to a charity
• Volunteer more

Although these are very straightforward, they obviously will help people in various ways.

Hopefully my response on Cara’s response will help you with your list of random acts of kindness!

Leggings Are Newsworthy?

I am reviewing this: Kylie Jenner Wears Leggings To Lunch, Just Like You

Before I start picking apart this post, let me just say…I like the Kardashians. Yes, that was very painful to admit, thank you very much. Though, let me explain, with further pain.

I love the family in the sense that…I’m a watcher of their show ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’…and yes, their multiple spinoff shows taking place in Miami and the Hamptons. This is not my proudest moment. I, in a very strange way, respect the Kardashians. Are all of us that criticize them really strong enough to receive that criticism ourselves? Probably not.

Anyway… personally, I believe this blog post, or fashion update, is kind of…unnecessary. I get the ‘celebrities are just like you!’ reel that magazines spit out to those of us that really don’t understand that celebrities are humans, but to say Kylie Jenner wearing leggings is news worthy is simply unnecessary.

When I first saw the title ‘Kylie Jenner Wears Leggings To Lunch, Just Like You’ I laughed, then I clicked on the article. The title worked at making people want to read it… but maybe not in a flattering way.

The post is two paragraphs long, with the first paragraph talking about the other Jenner sister Kendall and her success in the spotlight, and how Kylie has avoided the public (which, c’mon, that’s impossible for the 17 year old).

The second half of the blog post describes in fairly good detail the badass outfit the reality star is wearing to this epic lunch. Props to the writer, Casey Lewis, for the clear image and detail on the shocking, Harley-esque outfit, including spandex leggings as pants (Gasp!). This is the part of the article I did enjoy, for the mere fact that the word choice was interesting for covering such a basic story, that often times is unreadable.

Kylie Jenner Outfit

I get that this blog is part of a fashion/health/beauty/fitness website, and I’m not downing that. These are my favorite kinds of websites to read!… and I’m not one to judge. My sense of style goes downhill as the year goes on and that hill eventually leads to an endless supply of sweatshirts.

I also respect and understand that the author does regularly cover what celebrities are wearing, as just the other day I was hunting for the latest sweater Sophia Bush was spotted wearing. (Update: it was way too expensive. $500 too expensive. Safe to say, I will be loving that sweater from afar.) The author of this series on this website is greatly talented, and I’m kind of envious she has a large forum of readers. I just can’t connect to this particular post.

Love Kylie Jenner. I’m just not fascinated that the most shocking and important thing being publicized about her is her wearing spandex leggings and a leather jacket to lunch. There is more to be covered than that. Like what did she have for lunch?!?!

But seriously, I did appreciate that once clicking the photo, it was said where to find the articles of clothing and at what price. Again, might be loving the outfit from afar.

Apparently I’m not the only one that was kind of ‘meh’ about this article. Well… people leaving the comments felt more than ‘meh’. There was a lot of family shaming, as they commented more on what Kylie and her family does wrong than the outfit being reviewed, or even anything to do with the article. To say it simply: people were are harsh on the Kardashians/Jenners.

There were also some comments that don’t get the big deal of the leggings as pants…and others that did. There is no way to win this debate.

Overall, what I learned from this post: Kylie Jenner wore leggings to lunch. Leggings are not pants, unless you wear them as pants. Then you’ll get an article written about you. Also, I'm a fan of Casey Lewis' writing.

The blog is well written, fact-accuracy and diction wise. Just not a fan of this particular subject, as it offers nothing but the ten-second fascination of the fame the Kardashian/Jenner fam holds.

What's Worse? Lying or Lying about Lying?

The news is anywhere and everywhere - phones, television, computers, the radio, and newspapers. Any medium can report news, obviously television still being the larger outlet since it’s the oldest and everyone has a TV. No matter how little each one of us watches the news, it affects our lives. It’s inevitable. There may not be a clear-cut line that connects the latest breaking news story and our daily lives of work, but if you reflect on it hard enough, you will find a connection, almost always nationwide.

Bottom line is it affects every single one of us.

So what happens when you tweak the news, or say misremember it?

It automatically becomes unreliable, no matter who is reporting it. Even when long-time anchor and journalist Brian Williams provides us with it.

For those of you who are actually oblivious to the news, which I usually am, American journalist and anchor of NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams (If you don’t know him by name - don’t worry, I didn’t either – I was kind enough to provide a picture.) has admitted that the helicopter that he was riding in when covering a story from Iraq, was not in fact hit by a grenade. Though he claimed it had been for the past 12 years.

http://www.nbcnews.com

So what’s worse than lying about that oh-so-tiny detail? Hmm, maybe lying about the fact that you lied about it by insisting that you misremembered it.

Now, personally, I’m someone who gives everyone the benefit of the doubt. Seriously. It’s easy to get certain details confused and intertwined, but… I don’t see the confusion here. Either the helicopter you were in was targeted and got hit, or it didn’t.

As of now, it has been confirmed that the helicopter hit was not carrying Brian Williams, but it was the helicopter in front him. Okay, so it was a mix-up. I get that it’s an extremely hectic and on-edge, dangerous environment. Minds are going in a thousand different directions, regardless of grenades being a factor. However, I’m sure the incredibly smart, experienced Williams could remember being hit, as that would just add to the tension and be a something that is not forgotten.

Again, say he simply doesn’t remember how it all went down. What is overly suspicious to me is this information was only ironed out after veterans involved back in 2003 called the NBC icon out on it. If no one said a word, America would still believe that Williams plane was hit by grenades. What I don’t understand is that Brian Williams is clearly respected and has a reputation to protect – he is expected to be unbiased and reliable, it comes with the job –so if details were a bit fuzzy for him remember, why wouldn’t he simply say he doesn’t remember and leave the blurry part out? Instead he goes on with the story and provides American with false information.

So what’s happened since this whole debacle? Williams has been suspended from NBC without pay for six months. Do I agree with these consequences? Yes. Do I feel it’s too harsh? No. Do I think it’s not harsh enough? Again, no.

I started by saying news affects each one of us. In this case, it obvious has affected Brian Williams the most, however, it was 12 years ago and if this error wasn’t brought to America’s attention, yes it’s a big deal, but it wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t change the outcomes of any other news stories of the past, or any historical events that have taken place in America or overseas since 2003. This information just affects viewer’s trust with Mr. Williams; it doesn’t affect us as citizens and living humans in this world.

While everyone grows up being told lying is bad, it’s even worse in the media age. However, when it comes down to it, no matter what the circumstances are, lying or truly misremembering, we are all human and all are learning, and with that comes error. We face it and move on.