Textitis

I was watching the nightly news yesterday and a report came on about teenagers texting. Normally, I would've just flipped the channel because I'm so tired of hearing about how everybody uses their cell phones too often. However, the targeted audience caught my eye. Every single person they interviewed or talked about was my age. They didn't ask a single person over the age of eighteen any questions about texting. The news report claimed that our generation has become addicted to texting and that more often than not, the texting is about absolutely nothing. They also claimed that teens are losing sleep over texting and that our academics are starting to dwindle because of this. Some scientists are even going as far as doing studies about texting and publishing books. They've deemed addictive texting a disease of our generation. Apparently textitis is becoming an epidemic of "generation x".

Sure, there are many of us that text constantly, our fingers moving maniacally over a tiny keyboard. However, I would like to point out that by making news reports like this that show an overwhelming amount of people claiming one thing, the media is grouping every single teenager together and putting a stereotype on us. The media does this to every young generation. Even my dad was saying how they put stereotypes on him and his friends when he was young. Is this fair? Is it fair to say that our generation is doing "too much" of something? If you truly think about texting and Facebook and Twittering, aren't we really just finding new ways to develop a stronger relationship with those around us? If anything, I believe that communication is at it's strongest within our generation. The older folks are just seeing too many new things and are afraid that with all of this communication, we're going to ban together and start a revolution or something when really, all we're trying to do is see what's going on in the world.

Enlighten Me

If we let life pass us by each day and not live it to the fullest, what do we have to say for ourselves? I was stumbling one day (that's where most of my blog topics come from) and I found this image. I found the quote, "All that we are is the result of all that we have thought" very intriguing. I've always been interested in Buddha and his spiritual thoughts and encounters. To think about life as something that we build ourselves is to believe that we all have total control of the lives that we live. I believe that this is essential in living an entirely happy life. I believe in living life to the fullest each and every day. The idea of Buddhism is to become a sentient being and to transcend into another way of life. I've thought about practicing Buddhism but have never had the devotion to practice the everyday rituals and uphold the guidelines. I have also thought about trying to meditate each and every day and maybe taking the time to explore my creative side whether it be by writing poetry and writing these blogs. I think that when I finally go to college, I'll be able to have that alone time once in a while to do these things.

Back to the idea of "thoughts"... Now more than ever, we as teenagers and young adults need to begin having more pure thoughts. We need to learn to value what we have and to experience true happiness not only with others but with ourselves. What are the steps in becoming truly happy with ourselves? Perhaps meditation and reflection can lead to happiness. I believe that to be happy with yourself, you need to be comfortable with yourself and the person that you've become. I haven't quite reached that point yet and I still rely on others to keep me sane and happy. However, just writing this blog helps me discover my true being. I can only hope that when I'm ready, I will know who I truly am and I will be truly happy with myself.

To Do

With high school coming to an end and college about to begin, I've been starting to think about all the different things I want to do before I die. Whether they're little or big, each and every task is important. Here's what I've come up with so far:

1. Go skydiving
2. Be fluent in another language
3. Go on a road trip with friends
4. Go white water rafting
5. Meditate every day
6. Have a garden
7. Keep a consistent blog
8. Build a snowman
9. Redesign a piece of clothing into something new
10. Own one pair of designer jeans

While those tasks are somewhat surface level and can be accomplished easily, there are other goals I have set that could perhaps take a lifetime to complete.

11. Get married
12. Have a family
13. Own a dog
14. Graduate from college with a Master's degree
15. Make over $100k per year... after taxes
16. Build my own house
17. Have a closet full of clothes
18. Make a scrapbook of my entire life

More tasks will come as life goes on. Plans will change and things won't go how I want them to. However, I'd like to look back on this list and be able to say that I've done all of these things, at least to some point. We'll see how it all plays out.

Talk to Me

I was stumbling the other night to avoid doing potential schoolwork (go figure) and I came across a very interesting page. There's only about a paragraph on the page but I found the general idea absolutely fascinating. This man, Steve Lambert, decided to set up a table near a park, offering to talk to anyone about anything. At first, this might seem like a simple idea and perhaps a bit boring considering the fact that he gives people such a broad spectrum of things to talk about. The thing that made me want to expand the topic further was the difference in reactions from people to the table. Some simply continued walking, some made small talk. Then of course there were the fanatics and the crazies shoving their ideas down someone's throat because their opinion needed to be heard. We all know those people....

It made me think about all those moments where you just feel like having a deep conversation with someone, anyone. I love those conversations where you just sit there, wondering what if? The best way to start one of those deep conversations that could last hours is have you ever thought about... I've had many of those. Which brings me back to this idea of the table. I've made a conscious decision that I will do this someday. I just think it would be really cool to be able to talk to a complete stranger about something random but thoughtful and insightful. Or be able to pour your heart out and just have someone from the outside be able to listen.

We all need that little outlet for all of our complicated human emotions. I feel like it would be really interesting to analyze the different reactions I got from the table. I would only hope that people would be able to confide in me and tell me things I've never heard before.

I Told You So

Why do teachers feel the need to say that we'll never see each other again after high school? It really bugs me when they tell us that none of this matters or that we won't remember each other's names in five or ten years. How do you know? Sure, you went through high school before. However, I would like to point out that most likely, you had a completely different experience than the one you would have had at Tech High. Instead of having sixty classmates, you had a thousand. You didn't spend the entire day with the exact same people for nine months out of the year. You didn't have those four years to get to know each and every one of those sixty kids.

I can tell you right now, that in twenty years when I have kids or grandkids or whatever showing me a cool picture of a tiger, I will be able to say, "Hey, my friend Nate from high school was obsessed with tigers." I'll still remember texting Frank, Shane, and Emma every morning telling them what I was wearing so that they could match me. Most importantly, I'll still remember that day we're all standing all that stage and I'm sobbing because I won't get to see these people everyday. I will remember every single inappropriate joke and every single coordinated, exasperated sigh I shared with my best friend.

So don't tell me nobody will matter in five years because to me, high school has been the best four years of my life so far. I know I have many more years to come but high school will definitely be a highlight. We're actually planning to have an informal reunion dinner every year and a formal reunion in ten years for sure. I just hope that at that reunion in ten years, all of you teachers that say we won't remember each other will be there so I can laugh and say, "I told you so."

Here I Am, Laid Down at the End of My Rope

Sitting here listening to my iTunes library on shuffle, the past three songs have matched exactly how I've been feeling. Say I'm feeling a bit down and I feel like I've been screwing up lately. The song Sorry by Buckcherry will come on. Or say I'm feeling happy and giddy. The song Such Great Heights by The Postal Service will come up. No matter what, the song lyrics will always somehow match or describe how I'm feeling or what I'm going through at the time. What is it that causes these random little coincedences in the world? This doesn't just happen with music. Even something like the weather can coincide with our moods. Or perhaps it's the other way around with weather, but that's another story.

Some believe in fate or destiny. I don't believe that there is a set plan for each and every one of us in the world. Life's too crazy to be able to predict things like what we're going to be when we grow up or how many kids we're going to have. Different experiences shape the people we grow to be. Even the most innocent of people can go through a tragedy and come out scarred and broken in the end. It works the other way too with the not so nice people. They might see some random act of kindness and have an epiphany in life. The message here is that nothing is certain in life. These little random coincedences when you're listening to the radio are simply coincedences. Whether you want to believe that it was meant to happen, it's up to you. I think it's more fun to leave a bit of mystery in things, even if it's just some song on shuffle.

Every Man Has a Molly

Capture the Moment

What if a camera existed that could take pictures exactly how you see them through your own eyes? Imagine the possibilities of photography. What if you could take a photo as your dog is trying to shake off water in the bathtub? Or what if you could capture those little squiggles that go by when your eyes are shut tight? It's true that there are some high resolution cameras that can capture each line in your fingerprint or the different pores in a plant's surface but wouldn't it be much more effective if a camera was somehow planted inside your head? Think about all the different things you could capture. Then there's always those moments when something happens and you say to yourself I really wish I had a camera right now. That would never happen if you always had a camera on you.

Of course there are the different precautions to take when actually putting something inside your body. Other people with similar ideas have come up with the idea of creating a contact lens that can act as a digital camera. This seems like it would be the perfect solution but then again, creating a camera that small that can still take high quality pictures would be extremely difficult. It also doesn't address the different things we see in our mind's eye. You still wouldn't be able to take a picture of the different lines or dots you see when you rub your eyes or when you're just about to fall asleep at night.

And then again, perhaps this wouldn't be the best idea. Think about being able to capture exactly what you're thinking in a photograph. It could easily incriminate people or get people into trouble with their close friends or family. It would basically be a "diary" of your thoughts, printed out on sheets of paper. While this idea seems really cool in theory, there are many different things that have to be considered before beginning to build a prototype of a "mind's eye".