As an English major and future journalist, there are certain random things that run through my brain. Some of them revolve around grammar, some revolve around life and some are just plan weird.
One thing that ran through my mind a minute or so ago was the notion that I am a little too addicted to the internet--more specifically to social media. There's no question I love the internet, but it's difficult to tell where the love ends and where work begins.
For the FSView I have to write on social media (pardon the shameless plug) constantly. I update our facebook page, twitter feed and our tumblr. Where does that stop being work and become play?
04 August 2011
06 June 2011
Lies routinely believed
I'm different than the rest.
This lie is told time and time again when dating someone. No matter what, it's believed. If a guy tells a girl (or a guy...) he's different than her cheating, no-good, lying ex-boyfriend, she's going to believe him. This particular lie is way too believable. Yes, everyone is different and we're raised to see the unique beauty in each other, but let's be honest. I'm all about honesty. I'm no different than any other man. I have the same desires, the same motives and the same lust as every other guy. I am also very straight-forward. I'm going to tell it like it is; I'm going to tell you what's on my mind without hindering it or sugar-coating it. So, I guess that makes me different. (See what I did there?)
I won't cheat again.
Really? Who's to say that you won't do it again. The one phrase my parents always said to me--and I can't believe I'm actually typing this--was: "You can only judge a race horse by how it has run in the past." Once a cheater, that's it. Why would I ever believe that you were sorry that you cheated? If you were sorry, you would have thought about the consequences before you decided to cheat: plain and simple. Once a cheater, always a cheater.
This lie is told time and time again when dating someone. No matter what, it's believed. If a guy tells a girl (or a guy...) he's different than her cheating, no-good, lying ex-boyfriend, she's going to believe him. This particular lie is way too believable. Yes, everyone is different and we're raised to see the unique beauty in each other, but let's be honest. I'm all about honesty. I'm no different than any other man. I have the same desires, the same motives and the same lust as every other guy. I am also very straight-forward. I'm going to tell it like it is; I'm going to tell you what's on my mind without hindering it or sugar-coating it. So, I guess that makes me different. (See what I did there?)
I won't cheat again.
Really? Who's to say that you won't do it again. The one phrase my parents always said to me--and I can't believe I'm actually typing this--was: "You can only judge a race horse by how it has run in the past." Once a cheater, that's it. Why would I ever believe that you were sorry that you cheated? If you were sorry, you would have thought about the consequences before you decided to cheat: plain and simple. Once a cheater, always a cheater.
04 June 2011
Don't Ask, Don't Tell -- overnighted?
A recent article from the Associated Press got me to thinking. Perhaps we, meaning mainstream media, misunderstood the "DADT" laws.
This is something that has marred military society since the 1990s, a Clinton-era policy. Perhaps it's not meant to keep gays out of the military, what if it is designed as a safeguard to keep them from unnecessary harm IN the military. There is, no doubt, hazing aboard ships. No sailor will admit to it, but does anyone think that hazing is truly a thing of the past? We don't believe fraternities have abolished hazing, why would we believe otherwise for the military? What if this law is in place to keep someone--who is being hazed--safe? Maybe the law was intended to give them an escape route. But, if that's the case, what about straight service members? They would get hazed too, right?
So, this story from the AP said that this particular Airman wished to be discharged "expeditiously." Let me repeat that: "The airman in the case asked to be separated expeditiously," USAF Spokesman Lt. Col. (Lieutenant Colonel, for those non-military savvy folk) Todd Vician said.
The airman requested separation from the military, but it's not clear (from this story) why he wished to be separated. Perhaps he knew this was his last chance to be legally discharged without going UA or without being considered a deserter.
We currently have over 1.4 million boys and girls who wear our nation's uniforms. A report says that over 40,000 troops have deserted their post (left without intent to return) since the year 2000. Why would this particular airman not just desert his post like these others? Why choose to go out with a dying piece of legislation? Was he being hazed? Did he just disagree with current military engagements enough to wish to be separated, and if so, why enlist in the first place?
Some say that this shows the flaws in the legislation. Alexander Nicholson says this airman could be using the 'law is still on the books' excuse to get out of current obligations. "It shows why the DADT law is flawed and harms the military--it can also be abused to allow someone to receive expensive training and then skip out on their commitment to serve, or it can simply be used to quit the military early by forcing an early separation."
Is this what happened here? Was he overwhelmed with his commitment? Was he hazed? Was he seeking the military training then ditching on his service obligation?
This story leaves too many questions unanswered.
This is something that has marred military society since the 1990s, a Clinton-era policy. Perhaps it's not meant to keep gays out of the military, what if it is designed as a safeguard to keep them from unnecessary harm IN the military. There is, no doubt, hazing aboard ships. No sailor will admit to it, but does anyone think that hazing is truly a thing of the past? We don't believe fraternities have abolished hazing, why would we believe otherwise for the military? What if this law is in place to keep someone--who is being hazed--safe? Maybe the law was intended to give them an escape route. But, if that's the case, what about straight service members? They would get hazed too, right?
So, this story from the AP said that this particular Airman wished to be discharged "expeditiously." Let me repeat that: "The airman in the case asked to be separated expeditiously," USAF Spokesman Lt. Col. (Lieutenant Colonel, for those non-military savvy folk) Todd Vician said.
The airman requested separation from the military, but it's not clear (from this story) why he wished to be separated. Perhaps he knew this was his last chance to be legally discharged without going UA or without being considered a deserter.
We currently have over 1.4 million boys and girls who wear our nation's uniforms. A report says that over 40,000 troops have deserted their post (left without intent to return) since the year 2000. Why would this particular airman not just desert his post like these others? Why choose to go out with a dying piece of legislation? Was he being hazed? Did he just disagree with current military engagements enough to wish to be separated, and if so, why enlist in the first place?
Some say that this shows the flaws in the legislation. Alexander Nicholson says this airman could be using the 'law is still on the books' excuse to get out of current obligations. "It shows why the DADT law is flawed and harms the military--it can also be abused to allow someone to receive expensive training and then skip out on their commitment to serve, or it can simply be used to quit the military early by forcing an early separation."
Is this what happened here? Was he overwhelmed with his commitment? Was he hazed? Was he seeking the military training then ditching on his service obligation?
This story leaves too many questions unanswered.
24 May 2011
So fast, so fast
Looking back now it makes me laugh: we were growing our hair; we were cutting class.
Great words by singer Kenny Chesney, they describe the feelings I've been having as I grow toward my last year of college. It's hard to believe that it was three years ago that I was first heading to Florida State University. Fresh out of high school, I thought I was all that. Oh how wrong I was. At a fresh 17-years-old I was heading to college, not knowing what to expect, what changes I would go through, what experiences were about to be had.
Looking back, I can easily say that my time (so far; remember I'm only three fourths done) at Florida State has been the best time of my life. I've grown in so many ways. I've learned about myself, learned about life, learned about love, learned about truth, lies, friendship, and so many other things. It's hard to adequately explain all that I've learned in the last three years at FSU.
I started in June of 2008. It's not June of 2011 and I am looking forward to going back as an RA (Resident Assistant/babysitter) for the CARE program. I'll be in Landis Hall--one building and three floors away from where I began my collegiate career three years earlier. Gilchrist 101. Those six weeks held memories that have partially shaped my times at FSU. I met people I would lose touch with, I met some of my best friends. I grew as a person. I learned what it meant to truly have freedom: the ability to go out and come back home as you please without answering to anyone.
I thought I knew freedom back in high school; my parents were very relaxed and open, while being very strict and parental at the same time. It's hard to explain my relationship with my parents, save to say it's the best relationship I think parents and their son can have. I learned at college that it's my life, compiled of my decisions (good, bad and ugly), my thoughts, my emotions. MY life. That's the crucial part that far too few people understand. It's your life. The only person you have the ability to make happy is you. I know too many people who live their lives to please those around them.
Forget that. A poet, who happens to be my grandfather -- the man I get all of my writing ability from -- once said that this life "is about all said and done. I realize it won't be my only one." This life isn't our only one, but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend this one working for someone else.
Back to the point. I've come so far in the last three years. June 2008--I had no idea what I was going to study in college. If even then you had told me I'd be an English major I'd have told you that you're nuts. That being said, here I am writing my thoughts. I even got an "A" in my advanced writing course. There are so many things that can be learned in college.
As many before me have said, "you learn more in college outside of the classroom than you do in the classroom." This is absolutely true. While colleges focus you on taking this class or that class, or what your major is and your GPA, they all realize that you're going to learn more about yourself than you could ever learn about biology or chemistry or psychology or any other -ology.
Selfology. That's what any college really sells. The learning of your self. You can learn how you think politically, socially, emotionally, psychologically and methodically. People think in different ways. Some like it blunt; some like it to be sugar-coated. Your parents can only do so much molding of your character. It's up to you, who you become. You can follow the rules, dot all of your i's, cross all of your t's. Or you can rebel and be that which all parents fear: the free-spirited thinker. Know this though, society never progresses without rebels at the head. Do you think Martin Luther King, Jr. crossed his t's? Do you think Maya Angelou dotted all of her i's (metaphorically of course. She's a writer so she dotted her i's literally)? Do you think John Fitzgerald Kennedy just followed the status quo?
I'm not telling you to be the change you see in the world, but be the change you see in your world, that's all you can do.
Great words by singer Kenny Chesney, they describe the feelings I've been having as I grow toward my last year of college. It's hard to believe that it was three years ago that I was first heading to Florida State University. Fresh out of high school, I thought I was all that. Oh how wrong I was. At a fresh 17-years-old I was heading to college, not knowing what to expect, what changes I would go through, what experiences were about to be had.
Looking back, I can easily say that my time (so far; remember I'm only three fourths done) at Florida State has been the best time of my life. I've grown in so many ways. I've learned about myself, learned about life, learned about love, learned about truth, lies, friendship, and so many other things. It's hard to adequately explain all that I've learned in the last three years at FSU.
I started in June of 2008. It's not June of 2011 and I am looking forward to going back as an RA (Resident Assistant/babysitter) for the CARE program. I'll be in Landis Hall--one building and three floors away from where I began my collegiate career three years earlier. Gilchrist 101. Those six weeks held memories that have partially shaped my times at FSU. I met people I would lose touch with, I met some of my best friends. I grew as a person. I learned what it meant to truly have freedom: the ability to go out and come back home as you please without answering to anyone.
I thought I knew freedom back in high school; my parents were very relaxed and open, while being very strict and parental at the same time. It's hard to explain my relationship with my parents, save to say it's the best relationship I think parents and their son can have. I learned at college that it's my life, compiled of my decisions (good, bad and ugly), my thoughts, my emotions. MY life. That's the crucial part that far too few people understand. It's your life. The only person you have the ability to make happy is you. I know too many people who live their lives to please those around them.
Forget that. A poet, who happens to be my grandfather -- the man I get all of my writing ability from -- once said that this life "is about all said and done. I realize it won't be my only one." This life isn't our only one, but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend this one working for someone else.
Back to the point. I've come so far in the last three years. June 2008--I had no idea what I was going to study in college. If even then you had told me I'd be an English major I'd have told you that you're nuts. That being said, here I am writing my thoughts. I even got an "A" in my advanced writing course. There are so many things that can be learned in college.
As many before me have said, "you learn more in college outside of the classroom than you do in the classroom." This is absolutely true. While colleges focus you on taking this class or that class, or what your major is and your GPA, they all realize that you're going to learn more about yourself than you could ever learn about biology or chemistry or psychology or any other -ology.
Selfology. That's what any college really sells. The learning of your self. You can learn how you think politically, socially, emotionally, psychologically and methodically. People think in different ways. Some like it blunt; some like it to be sugar-coated. Your parents can only do so much molding of your character. It's up to you, who you become. You can follow the rules, dot all of your i's, cross all of your t's. Or you can rebel and be that which all parents fear: the free-spirited thinker. Know this though, society never progresses without rebels at the head. Do you think Martin Luther King, Jr. crossed his t's? Do you think Maya Angelou dotted all of her i's (metaphorically of course. She's a writer so she dotted her i's literally)? Do you think John Fitzgerald Kennedy just followed the status quo?
I'm not telling you to be the change you see in the world, but be the change you see in your world, that's all you can do.
29 April 2011
A bit of Pingüi
So, as a reporter I very rarely take part in any publication of a "cause," but in light of the recent twister devastation that hit much of the American South, it's hard for me to let it just pass me by. The best way I know to help is to tell the story; what can I say, I'm a story teller at heart.
This disaster hit FAR too close to home. Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the town where my little sister goes to school. There is video on the web of a tornado hitting Bryant-Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama. After seeing that video, I realized that she lives in Ridgecrest South, a mere 3/4 mile away from the stadium.
This supercell thunderstorm spawned over 173 tornadoes in one night. Over 300 people in five states are dead, and at least three 'Bama students are dead. 87 people are dead in Tuscaloosa alone.
This is one of the deadliest storms in Southern history. This supercell is compared to a storm that hit back in the 1930s that killed 332 people. There are bodies still missing, which could make this storm even more deadly than the 1932 storm.
Finals at 'Bama were canceled and students were told to head home if they can. My parents and I are heading up there this weekend to pack my little sister's things up to bring her home. We'll stay for a few days to help wherever we can, knowing that we truly dodged a bullet.
Prayers are being ferociously sent to this part of the country and to all of those affected by this horrifying tragedy.
This disaster hit FAR too close to home. Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the town where my little sister goes to school. There is video on the web of a tornado hitting Bryant-Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama. After seeing that video, I realized that she lives in Ridgecrest South, a mere 3/4 mile away from the stadium.
This supercell thunderstorm spawned over 173 tornadoes in one night. Over 300 people in five states are dead, and at least three 'Bama students are dead. 87 people are dead in Tuscaloosa alone.
This is one of the deadliest storms in Southern history. This supercell is compared to a storm that hit back in the 1930s that killed 332 people. There are bodies still missing, which could make this storm even more deadly than the 1932 storm.
Finals at 'Bama were canceled and students were told to head home if they can. My parents and I are heading up there this weekend to pack my little sister's things up to bring her home. We'll stay for a few days to help wherever we can, knowing that we truly dodged a bullet.
Prayers are being ferociously sent to this part of the country and to all of those affected by this horrifying tragedy.
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