It's a Sunday afternoon around 12:30 and you're beginning to wonder where everyone is. Campus is completely deserted except for the occasional resident of the city of Richmond who has wandered over to campus to find a place to walk their dog and, for some reason, pay $8.50 to eat lunch in an overpriced cafeteria. You wander in circles aimlessly, stopping to get some food in said overpriced cafeteria (because meal swipes are cheaper than real money) until it gets to be 1 and you decide to get coffee in the library. It is at that moment, as you close in on a line of 30 people that has somehow formed in the 2 minutes since the coffee shop opened, that you realize where everyone is. The library. And then you remember that it's the day before finals begin and you should probably have spent your weekend doing something more productive that screwing around on tumblr, hopelessly refreshing webcomics, TFMs, and Texts from Last Night, or skypeing. Like maybe studying. Maybe.
...Just finished my last major (non-exam) assignment of the semester, which is due tomorrow at noon! Congratulations to ME!
And, to those of my readers who are:
a) Still reading
b) In college...
Happy Finals Week and Good Luck on Your Exams!
This is a blog about things, about thinking about things, about talking about things, and about being as snarky and poignant as I can manage. I hope you enjoy it.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Random Thoughts
It's been a while, anonymous readers! Since then, I've found myself wasting a lot of time on sites like CollegeACB.
Why is it that people get so cruel when they're anonymous? I mean, seriously, the UR CACB page is just a bunch of trash-talking (particularly different sororities and fraternities bashing each other) and people talking smack about each other. I guess another major question is why I read it.
On another note: I REALLY love Blaine on Glee. I mean really. Darren Criss is adorable. And so talented. Have you heard his cover of "Baby It's Cold Outside" with Chris Colfer? It's amazing. Plus, I mean, I fell in love with "Teenage Dream." All. Male. Acapella. It's THE quickest way to my heart, I'm pretty sure.
Sorry. I'm just...guh. In. Love.
Lovingly,
Rachel Leigh
Why is it that people get so cruel when they're anonymous? I mean, seriously, the UR CACB page is just a bunch of trash-talking (particularly different sororities and fraternities bashing each other) and people talking smack about each other. I guess another major question is why I read it.
On another note: I REALLY love Blaine on Glee. I mean really. Darren Criss is adorable. And so talented. Have you heard his cover of "Baby It's Cold Outside" with Chris Colfer? It's amazing. Plus, I mean, I fell in love with "Teenage Dream." All. Male. Acapella. It's THE quickest way to my heart, I'm pretty sure.
Sorry. I'm just...guh. In. Love.
Lovingly,
Rachel Leigh
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
On ELECTION DAY
You might remember my previous Election Day post, made back when I was still blogging over at freedomofknowledge.org, a site which is now down for the count. You'll really only remember that if you've been reading my stuff for years. Which means you might remember it if you're Mike or if you're me, but it is otherwise largely unlikely that you will.
Well, it's that time again. Seriously, get out and vote if you haven't already today. I went through the somewhat grueling process of getting an absentee ballot. You can go stand in line for a little bit and vote. It's important. Richmond's having an election-results-viewing-party in the Westhampton Center tonight, so clearly people are taking this seriously. As well they should.
You have a patriotic duty to vote. You have a civic responsibility to vote. And, well, you have a personal interest in voting. You have no right to complain about the behavior of the government if you don't take the time and initiative to go vote. You could have changed things.
So please, go out today. Vote. Starbucks will give you free coffee, I think. And it's pretty cool. And Christine O'Donnell is not a witch, she's just like you.
Also, to our Californian readers, if you're out there: Vote "Yes" to Prop 19! ;)
Hope you had a wonderful Halloween. Happy Election Day!
Politically yours,
Rachel Leigh
Well, it's that time again. Seriously, get out and vote if you haven't already today. I went through the somewhat grueling process of getting an absentee ballot. You can go stand in line for a little bit and vote. It's important. Richmond's having an election-results-viewing-party in the Westhampton Center tonight, so clearly people are taking this seriously. As well they should.
You have a patriotic duty to vote. You have a civic responsibility to vote. And, well, you have a personal interest in voting. You have no right to complain about the behavior of the government if you don't take the time and initiative to go vote. You could have changed things.
So please, go out today. Vote. Starbucks will give you free coffee, I think. And it's pretty cool. And Christine O'Donnell is not a witch, she's just like you.
Also, to our Californian readers, if you're out there: Vote "Yes" to Prop 19! ;)
Hope you had a wonderful Halloween. Happy Election Day!
Politically yours,
Rachel Leigh
Thursday, October 28, 2010
A Late-Night Post with No Real Thematic Content
Today, something interesting happened. I was sitting in my room with my roommate at about 4:45 when sirens started going off. Really loud sirens that really confused my poor, innocent brain because I was worried that campus was breaking. After the third or fourth siren went off, I decided to stick my head out into the hallway to see what was going on.
My RA was walking up the hallway, advising people to come into the hallway, close their windows, and not leave the building. Apparently the campus had gone into tornado lockdown. We have TORNADO SIRENS. WTF? Anyway, after promptly texting/facebook IMing several of my friends to get their endangered asses inside to safety, we went out into the hall to join the rest of our building in the first floor hallway.
Apparently lightning hit X-lot. Which is kind of dangerously close to our dorm. My friend told me he hoped it jump-started his dead car battery. I hope so, too. One of the girls on my hall was on her laptop (well, we all were, pretty much), and asked if she would be electrocuted if she left her laptop plugged in. I suggested she unplug it, though my reason was not that she would be electrocuted and shocked to death and die on the spot, but rather because if lightning hit the building and hit her laptop, her computer could very well be fried. But whatever.
After about a half hour in the hallway, the sirens stopped and we were allowed back outside. Just in time for my American Government class, ohjoy.
So that was my exciting day.
Near-deathlyly yours,
Rachel Leigh
My RA was walking up the hallway, advising people to come into the hallway, close their windows, and not leave the building. Apparently the campus had gone into tornado lockdown. We have TORNADO SIRENS. WTF? Anyway, after promptly texting/facebook IMing several of my friends to get their endangered asses inside to safety, we went out into the hall to join the rest of our building in the first floor hallway.
Apparently lightning hit X-lot. Which is kind of dangerously close to our dorm. My friend told me he hoped it jump-started his dead car battery. I hope so, too. One of the girls on my hall was on her laptop (well, we all were, pretty much), and asked if she would be electrocuted if she left her laptop plugged in. I suggested she unplug it, though my reason was not that she would be electrocuted and shocked to death and die on the spot, but rather because if lightning hit the building and hit her laptop, her computer could very well be fried. But whatever.
After about a half hour in the hallway, the sirens stopped and we were allowed back outside. Just in time for my American Government class, ohjoy.
So that was my exciting day.
Near-deathlyly yours,
Rachel Leigh
Sunday, October 17, 2010
40!
This is my fourtieth post on this here blog. I feel like that's actually a pretty decent milestone, though I find it kind of sad that it took this long to reach this milestone.
So right now, my psyche is in a state of conflict, because the solemnity I felt this afternoon after my trip to the Gay Community Center of Richmond for an exhibit on Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals has been contrasted by the music I have recently been rocking out to, courtesy of:
http://www.onlythefinest.org/
http://www.camelbackmusic.com/
http://www.dirtymexicanlemonade.com/
On the one hand, the trip to the GCCR for the Holocaust exhibit was amazing and sobering. Homosexuals were persecuted under Paragraph 175, a law put in place under Kaiser Wilhelm, which made "indecency" between two men a crime punishable by imprisonment (a repeated theme throughout the exhibit was the fact that lesbianism was virtually ignored by this statute). One of the things that I found the most disturbing about the entire exhibit was the focus on rigid, old-fashioned gender roles under the Nazi regime. They felt the need to reinforce the strength and masculinity of the German man, and blamed homosexuality and feminism for the declining birthrate and declining status of Germany in the world post-war. In the Weimar Republic, both the feminist movement and the gay community in Germany made huge strides, and the actions of the SA party in the Holocaust set both movements back decades. According to both the exhibit and the head of the Student Alliance for Sexual Diversity here at Richmond, the burning of the library of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a prominent sexologist in Germany before WWII, set the gay rights movement back almost a century.
...Paragraph 175 remained on the books in Germany until 1969. Similar laws are still on the books, though deemed unconstitutional, in states like Virginia and Texas today.
On the other hand, the bubbly, upbeat, dance-y music I've been listening to for the last few days (weeks) is making it really hard to maintain the sense of solemn respect I had leaving the exhibition.
Conflictually yours,
Rachel Leigh
So right now, my psyche is in a state of conflict, because the solemnity I felt this afternoon after my trip to the Gay Community Center of Richmond for an exhibit on Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals has been contrasted by the music I have recently been rocking out to, courtesy of:
http://www.onlythefinest.org/
http://www.camelbackmusic.com/
http://www.dirtymexicanlemonade.com/
On the one hand, the trip to the GCCR for the Holocaust exhibit was amazing and sobering. Homosexuals were persecuted under Paragraph 175, a law put in place under Kaiser Wilhelm, which made "indecency" between two men a crime punishable by imprisonment (a repeated theme throughout the exhibit was the fact that lesbianism was virtually ignored by this statute). One of the things that I found the most disturbing about the entire exhibit was the focus on rigid, old-fashioned gender roles under the Nazi regime. They felt the need to reinforce the strength and masculinity of the German man, and blamed homosexuality and feminism for the declining birthrate and declining status of Germany in the world post-war. In the Weimar Republic, both the feminist movement and the gay community in Germany made huge strides, and the actions of the SA party in the Holocaust set both movements back decades. According to both the exhibit and the head of the Student Alliance for Sexual Diversity here at Richmond, the burning of the library of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a prominent sexologist in Germany before WWII, set the gay rights movement back almost a century.
...Paragraph 175 remained on the books in Germany until 1969. Similar laws are still on the books, though deemed unconstitutional, in states like Virginia and Texas today.
On the other hand, the bubbly, upbeat, dance-y music I've been listening to for the last few days (weeks) is making it really hard to maintain the sense of solemn respect I had leaving the exhibition.
Conflictually yours,
Rachel Leigh
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
On the LGBT Suicides and On Harrassment
I'm sure you've heard about it. Recently, the LGBT community and its allies have been up in arms about the group of 7 recent suicides that were the result of bullying and harrassment that they faced because of their sexuality. As well it should be. When people like Billy Lucas and Tyler Clementi are pushed to suicide by the harrassment they face at the hands of their peers, the community SHOULD be riled up.
I love the fact that people have been so responsive about this problem. Richmond held a candlelight vigil last Wednesday night. There have been huge surges in public service annoucements (including a beautiful project on YouTube called It Gets Better, which features prominent gay figures from both on and off of YouTube letting kids who are facing harrassment and confusion now know that it does get easier). Thousands of people plan to wear purple in honor of the lives that have been lost and in solidarity with those facing similar problems still. I am proud to know that my friends and family have been public about their concern for the problem.
But here's my issue, and the reason I'm posting. This is not, first and foremost, a gay rights issue. Yes, the LGBT community has jumped on this problem because it's clearly a crisis. But when a large number of kids are killed or driven to suicide because of bullying and harrassment they face, for any reason, the crisis is bigger than any one community. This is an issue that comes down to a very basic fact: for all the anti-bullying programs in schools, all the information about cyberbullying, all the discussions of fairness, tolerance, and respect, people are still capable of being so horrible to one another that death seems like a better option than continuing to deal with it.
This should not be a gay rights cause. This should be the cause of every parent, friend, sibling, teacher, and colleague of someone who ever faced harrassment that made their life hard to deal with. Yes, Billy Lucas committed suicide because he was harrassed for being gay. The fact of the matter is that bullying-related suicides are unfortunately common and, if anything, the focus on the gay suicides recently has dwarfed the importance and the tragedy of a lot of other suicides which stemmed from harrassment. My heart goes out to the families and friends of the boys who took their own lives because they were harrassed for their sexuality...and to those of every other harrassment-related suicide. Your loss is something I cannot even fathom, and I hope it never has to happen to anyone again.
--Rachel
I love the fact that people have been so responsive about this problem. Richmond held a candlelight vigil last Wednesday night. There have been huge surges in public service annoucements (including a beautiful project on YouTube called It Gets Better, which features prominent gay figures from both on and off of YouTube letting kids who are facing harrassment and confusion now know that it does get easier). Thousands of people plan to wear purple in honor of the lives that have been lost and in solidarity with those facing similar problems still. I am proud to know that my friends and family have been public about their concern for the problem.
But here's my issue, and the reason I'm posting. This is not, first and foremost, a gay rights issue. Yes, the LGBT community has jumped on this problem because it's clearly a crisis. But when a large number of kids are killed or driven to suicide because of bullying and harrassment they face, for any reason, the crisis is bigger than any one community. This is an issue that comes down to a very basic fact: for all the anti-bullying programs in schools, all the information about cyberbullying, all the discussions of fairness, tolerance, and respect, people are still capable of being so horrible to one another that death seems like a better option than continuing to deal with it.
This should not be a gay rights cause. This should be the cause of every parent, friend, sibling, teacher, and colleague of someone who ever faced harrassment that made their life hard to deal with. Yes, Billy Lucas committed suicide because he was harrassed for being gay. The fact of the matter is that bullying-related suicides are unfortunately common and, if anything, the focus on the gay suicides recently has dwarfed the importance and the tragedy of a lot of other suicides which stemmed from harrassment. My heart goes out to the families and friends of the boys who took their own lives because they were harrassed for their sexuality...and to those of every other harrassment-related suicide. Your loss is something I cannot even fathom, and I hope it never has to happen to anyone again.
--Rachel
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Just a Random Update / On When You Shouldn't Be Surprised
Wow. It's been almost two weeks since my last post. Sorry, my darling readers! I have been trying to do better, but clearly I've been failing a little. The last five days have been part of a much-needed chance to relax known as Fall Break. Prior to said relaxation, there were about two consecutive Hell Weeks of a rather absurd amount of work and a mid-term that I felt certain I was going to fail, so the break was definitely appreciated.
What can I say about life recently?
Well, first of all, I've been shown the best possible site to check the weather, which I now use religiously. Seriously, check out http://www.thefuckingweather.com/. It makes my day.
I feel like all of my recent posts have been really UR-centric, which I guess makes sense because it's really my whole life now, but I also feel like it makes my blog insanely boring to read. I really hope I'll find other things to talk about.
A friend and I were having a conversation in the dining hall the other day, because we were watching CNN and a story about a lion in a circus mauling a man. We both seemed to agree that there really isn't a reason this should be news. Lions are fierce, ferocious, wild animals. You really shouldn't be surprised that one (even one raised in captivity) would attack someone. COME ON. They're predators. That's what they do. They attack things. Maybe you should be surprised if someone got mauled by a sloth. I mean, that would be unexpected. They're lazy and they're herbivores, so if one went insane and mauled somebody, THAT would be news. But don't be surprised when bloodthirsty predators decide to be bloodthirsty and predatory. That's dumb.
Carnivorously yours,
Rachel Leigh
What can I say about life recently?
Well, first of all, I've been shown the best possible site to check the weather, which I now use religiously. Seriously, check out http://www.thefuckingweather.com/. It makes my day.
I feel like all of my recent posts have been really UR-centric, which I guess makes sense because it's really my whole life now, but I also feel like it makes my blog insanely boring to read. I really hope I'll find other things to talk about.
A friend and I were having a conversation in the dining hall the other day, because we were watching CNN and a story about a lion in a circus mauling a man. We both seemed to agree that there really isn't a reason this should be news. Lions are fierce, ferocious, wild animals. You really shouldn't be surprised that one (even one raised in captivity) would attack someone. COME ON. They're predators. That's what they do. They attack things. Maybe you should be surprised if someone got mauled by a sloth. I mean, that would be unexpected. They're lazy and they're herbivores, so if one went insane and mauled somebody, THAT would be news. But don't be surprised when bloodthirsty predators decide to be bloodthirsty and predatory. That's dumb.
Carnivorously yours,
Rachel Leigh
Thursday, September 30, 2010
On Metablogging (Again)/On Elitists
People who complain about facebook on facebook irritate me. If it really annoys you that people post about their lives on facebook, then what possibly justifies your posting to complain about it? I recognize that you might find the constant status updates annoying. You might be annoyed that I posted a facebook event to try and convince people to come play in the rain with me. You might find it all a bit trite and obnoxious. I respect that.
But if you are annoyed that people post their every thought on the internet and on facebook for you to read, then do not complain about it by posting on the internet for every person you know to read. That makes you look like an elitist, a hypocrite, and just straight up like a bitch. We give as little of a crap about your not giving a crap as you do about the things you're complaining about. I get it. You don't care about my life. So delete your facebook or remove me as a friend so you don't have to read about it. That is of no concern to me. But do not bitch to the world at large about the fact that you don't like to read the bitchings of everyone around you. We are as entitled to post on the internet as you are.
You don't understand why the internet has become a vehicle for everyone to talk about their lives and get attention for it? Aren't you inherently using the internet as a vehicle to get attention for YOUR life and for your elitist viewpoint? Screw you and everyone like you. You are the reason people hate hipsters.
Fuming,
Rachel Leigh
But if you are annoyed that people post their every thought on the internet and on facebook for you to read, then do not complain about it by posting on the internet for every person you know to read. That makes you look like an elitist, a hypocrite, and just straight up like a bitch. We give as little of a crap about your not giving a crap as you do about the things you're complaining about. I get it. You don't care about my life. So delete your facebook or remove me as a friend so you don't have to read about it. That is of no concern to me. But do not bitch to the world at large about the fact that you don't like to read the bitchings of everyone around you. We are as entitled to post on the internet as you are.
You don't understand why the internet has become a vehicle for everyone to talk about their lives and get attention for it? Aren't you inherently using the internet as a vehicle to get attention for YOUR life and for your elitist viewpoint? Screw you and everyone like you. You are the reason people hate hipsters.
Fuming,
Rachel Leigh
On Playing in the Rain
Virginia has been in a drought. Apparently a terribly bad one recently. In the last two days, however, we've been hit rather epically with rain. This is, most likely, thanks to Tropical Storm Nicole, which I think made landfall in Florida sometime today. I love hurricane weather. I really want to play in this rain. I did a little bit of rain-playing today but it's only so fun by yourself.
Great Weather-Controlling Cthulu (or...whoever is in charge of this stuff): I want a natural Slip 'N' Slide, damnit. I feel like this is not so much to ask. I just want a good quality place to play in the rain.
And I want people to play in the rain with me. Join me, people. It's fun.
This is not really a post.
Loving the rain,
Rachel Leigh
Great Weather-Controlling Cthulu (or...whoever is in charge of this stuff): I want a natural Slip 'N' Slide, damnit. I feel like this is not so much to ask. I just want a good quality place to play in the rain.
And I want people to play in the rain with me. Join me, people. It's fun.
This is not really a post.
Loving the rain,
Rachel Leigh
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Even MorOn College
So the last couple weeks have been pretty hectic. I've had papers due left and right (thank you, professor, for making us turn in a two page written assignment analyzing every reading we do for the next 3 weeks. I appreciate that, especially when I have three other classes to do work for), and it seems like I have club meetings or lectures or chances to hang out every time I turn my head. So, needless to say, my blogging (and many other things) haven't gotten the attention they quite deserve.
So today, in between my 10:30 class, which ended early, and my 1:30 class, which I don't need to leave for for another hour, I have gotten in touch with my roots. Namely, I've spent the last hour on RollingStone.com catching up on all things musical. I just finished reading every album review they have posted since July. The fact that I had to go that far back should tell you how badly I've been slacking. The results were about what I expected: mixed reviews on Lady Gaga's Remix album, praise for Brandon Flowers' solo work (while mocking his hair...understandably), and a commentary on Of Montreal's new album that left me incredibly confused about what I might be getting myself into.
I then proceeded to walk myself to D-Hall (the UR dining hall) in the pouring rain (Thank god for new rain boots!), where I have set up shop with my laptop, a bowl of some kind of crab soup that smells delicious but I don't particularly want to eat, and a glass of delicious BLUE DRANK. I had intended to just sit by myself and blog, but a friend of mine and her big walked up and are now eating with me. We've been discussing...poverty! It's really interesting to be discussing this at a school where very, very few people have any conception of going without.
So...needless to say, college has been intertesting thus far.
I'm going to actually interact with the people I'm eating lunch with now.
Don't Stop Believing,
Rachel Leigh
So today, in between my 10:30 class, which ended early, and my 1:30 class, which I don't need to leave for for another hour, I have gotten in touch with my roots. Namely, I've spent the last hour on RollingStone.com catching up on all things musical. I just finished reading every album review they have posted since July. The fact that I had to go that far back should tell you how badly I've been slacking. The results were about what I expected: mixed reviews on Lady Gaga's Remix album, praise for Brandon Flowers' solo work (while mocking his hair...understandably), and a commentary on Of Montreal's new album that left me incredibly confused about what I might be getting myself into.
I then proceeded to walk myself to D-Hall (the UR dining hall) in the pouring rain (Thank god for new rain boots!), where I have set up shop with my laptop, a bowl of some kind of crab soup that smells delicious but I don't particularly want to eat, and a glass of delicious BLUE DRANK. I had intended to just sit by myself and blog, but a friend of mine and her big walked up and are now eating with me. We've been discussing...poverty! It's really interesting to be discussing this at a school where very, very few people have any conception of going without.
So...needless to say, college has been intertesting thus far.
I'm going to actually interact with the people I'm eating lunch with now.
Don't Stop Believing,
Rachel Leigh
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
On Things About College I Still Don't Understand
So I've been here for a month now. I had hoped I wouldn't still be really confused by things, but there are some that still persist.
-If lanyards are the mark of a freshman, what do upperclassmen do with their keys? Do they not HAVE keys? Is this possible? ...Actually, given the number of people who don't lock their apartments (HELLO TICKLER), that's actually a pretty reasonable assumption.
-Was the person who numbered the apartments on crack? So 1300 and 1400 are over here...but 1500 is on the other side of the apartment blocks? And 100 is somewhere in between? Knowing WHERE the apartment blocks are does not keep me from being deeply concerned about the logic behind numbering them.
-In a similar vein, why is the Health Center over by the apartments? Upperclassmen are far more likely than underclassmen to have cars. So let's put it close to the people who CAN drive, and force the people who can't to walk their sick/injured selves to the Health Center from across campus? Does this make sense?
-Why is the bathroom in the Quiet Study Section of the library? Doors slamming, toilets flushing, and god forbid if someone is sick... Let's put one of the most disruptive activities in the entire library right where people are trying to work quietly! That's a great idea, right?
-A question which I believe still confounds seniors: Why are 8:15 (the on-campus coffee shop) and Tyler's (on-campus fast food stuff) closed on weekends, when they could be making a lot of money from hungry/caffeine-craving people?
I'm not pretending to be the most logical person in the world, but this complete lack of logic in these areas completely confounds me. If anyone can explain, I'd love it.
Confusedly yours,
Rachel Leigh
-If lanyards are the mark of a freshman, what do upperclassmen do with their keys? Do they not HAVE keys? Is this possible? ...Actually, given the number of people who don't lock their apartments (HELLO TICKLER), that's actually a pretty reasonable assumption.
-Was the person who numbered the apartments on crack? So 1300 and 1400 are over here...but 1500 is on the other side of the apartment blocks? And 100 is somewhere in between? Knowing WHERE the apartment blocks are does not keep me from being deeply concerned about the logic behind numbering them.
-In a similar vein, why is the Health Center over by the apartments? Upperclassmen are far more likely than underclassmen to have cars. So let's put it close to the people who CAN drive, and force the people who can't to walk their sick/injured selves to the Health Center from across campus? Does this make sense?
-Why is the bathroom in the Quiet Study Section of the library? Doors slamming, toilets flushing, and god forbid if someone is sick... Let's put one of the most disruptive activities in the entire library right where people are trying to work quietly! That's a great idea, right?
-A question which I believe still confounds seniors: Why are 8:15 (the on-campus coffee shop) and Tyler's (on-campus fast food stuff) closed on weekends, when they could be making a lot of money from hungry/caffeine-craving people?
I'm not pretending to be the most logical person in the world, but this complete lack of logic in these areas completely confounds me. If anyone can explain, I'd love it.
Confusedly yours,
Rachel Leigh
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
On The Freshman 15
Maybe it's because I go to one of the fittest colleges in the country [ranked #10 in 2006...I have yet to find a more recent list (http://www.mensfitness.com/college_rankings/79 )] or because of personal behaviors, but to be honest, I'm not especially worried about the Freshman 15.
The food in the dining hall is relatively healthy and (kilo)calorie counts are pretty easy to access. I live RIGHT next to the on-campus fitness center, which is open (and, weirdly enough, in use) until midnight every night. Seriously, I've seen people in there at 11 at night. I regret to admit that I haven't yet used it, but to be honest, I really don't feel like I need to.
I walk everywhere on campus, and with the exception of a small portion of the population, so does everyone. Except when the GreenUR bikes are around. Then you see lots of kids on bikes. Because they're faster. (Drunk kids on bikes are funny. Really funny.) It also helps that the farthest walk I usually have to make in a day is actually to the Dining Hall. It keeps me from walking there to bored-eat, which has always been a problem, AND it helps burn off the calories I consume while I'm there.
To be honest, most college campuses are at least as big as this one, and it surprises me that there are so many people who gain a lot of weight their freshman year. I...don't see that happening to a lot of the people here.
We are fitness (Hannah!),
Rachel Leigh
The food in the dining hall is relatively healthy and (kilo)calorie counts are pretty easy to access. I live RIGHT next to the on-campus fitness center, which is open (and, weirdly enough, in use) until midnight every night. Seriously, I've seen people in there at 11 at night. I regret to admit that I haven't yet used it, but to be honest, I really don't feel like I need to.
I walk everywhere on campus, and with the exception of a small portion of the population, so does everyone. Except when the GreenUR bikes are around. Then you see lots of kids on bikes. Because they're faster. (Drunk kids on bikes are funny. Really funny.) It also helps that the farthest walk I usually have to make in a day is actually to the Dining Hall. It keeps me from walking there to bored-eat, which has always been a problem, AND it helps burn off the calories I consume while I'm there.
To be honest, most college campuses are at least as big as this one, and it surprises me that there are so many people who gain a lot of weight their freshman year. I...don't see that happening to a lot of the people here.
We are fitness (Hannah!),
Rachel Leigh
Monday, September 6, 2010
More On (but not Moron) College
So, as a proud college student, I feel the need to talk about some things about being a proud college student in my blog.
In my previous post, I referenced being a Westhampton College student. Which, to some people, produces a "lolwut" response because, well, I'm a freshman at the University of Richmond. When originally founded (like most colleges), Richmond was an all-men's college. In 1914, they decided to incorporate a women's college into the University: Westhampton College. To this day, though classes, housing, and most activities are now not separated by gender, the women entering UR enter Westhampton College and the men enter Richmond College. The things that stayed separate? The deaneries, the student government, and a lot of the traditions. For example, the girls have a tradition known as Proclamation Night which is apparently a pretty big deal, but I don't quite understand it yet. Maybe I'll elabor (credit: Max) after Proclamation Night once I understand it more.
Other things about college:
Well, I just left the URMUN (University of Richmond Model United Nations) interest meeting. There are SO many interest meetings. Last week there was a Student Organization Fair and I, like most freshmen, signed up for about 10 different clubs. I do not fool myself into believing I will be able to participate in every single one. I will feel accomplished if I manage to participate in like...3. But it's just insane the number of things there are to do: activist groups (UR Body, UR Choice; Dems; Global Health), fun things (like Ballroom Dancing, which I wish didn't conflict with my Wednesday night class), general nerdliness (URMUN, Quidditch, etc), and...about a million other things. Like Meditation Club. Which sends out really funny emails. There is literally just more stuff to do than I previously imagined possible. Which is funny, because there are other things that have to have time, too.
...Like class. I have it pretty easy most days. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday I only have one class. Friday I have two. But Wednesday? The same day that they have Ballroom Dancing, which I really wish I could participate in? Well, I have three classes on Wednesday. One of which runs from 6:30-9:30 every Wednesday night. Head, meet desk. Desk, meet head. The rest of the time, I love my schedule, but Wednesdays, I want to kick small children.
What I find with college stuff is just that I have so much I want to talk about, and so little of it that fits with what I'm trying to say. There is no overarching, deeper theme to this post. It's just college.
Future posts (honestly, this list is as much for my reference as yours, because I don't want to forget what I wanted to talk about):
-When really awesome/important people come to UR and what I think about it
-Why I'm not worried about the Freshman 15
-Probably some reflections on things I've learned in class
...Speaking of, my classes:
-Introduction to Public Policy
-Introduction to American Government
-Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: Sexual Violence and War
-First Year Seminar: Shakespeare and the Politics of Leadership
...yeah, it's awesome.
Cheese and rice (the topic of the last Meditation Club email),
Rachel Leigh
In my previous post, I referenced being a Westhampton College student. Which, to some people, produces a "lolwut" response because, well, I'm a freshman at the University of Richmond. When originally founded (like most colleges), Richmond was an all-men's college. In 1914, they decided to incorporate a women's college into the University: Westhampton College. To this day, though classes, housing, and most activities are now not separated by gender, the women entering UR enter Westhampton College and the men enter Richmond College. The things that stayed separate? The deaneries, the student government, and a lot of the traditions. For example, the girls have a tradition known as Proclamation Night which is apparently a pretty big deal, but I don't quite understand it yet. Maybe I'll elabor (credit: Max) after Proclamation Night once I understand it more.
Other things about college:
Well, I just left the URMUN (University of Richmond Model United Nations) interest meeting. There are SO many interest meetings. Last week there was a Student Organization Fair and I, like most freshmen, signed up for about 10 different clubs. I do not fool myself into believing I will be able to participate in every single one. I will feel accomplished if I manage to participate in like...3. But it's just insane the number of things there are to do: activist groups (UR Body, UR Choice; Dems; Global Health), fun things (like Ballroom Dancing, which I wish didn't conflict with my Wednesday night class), general nerdliness (URMUN, Quidditch, etc), and...about a million other things. Like Meditation Club. Which sends out really funny emails. There is literally just more stuff to do than I previously imagined possible. Which is funny, because there are other things that have to have time, too.
...Like class. I have it pretty easy most days. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday I only have one class. Friday I have two. But Wednesday? The same day that they have Ballroom Dancing, which I really wish I could participate in? Well, I have three classes on Wednesday. One of which runs from 6:30-9:30 every Wednesday night. Head, meet desk. Desk, meet head. The rest of the time, I love my schedule, but Wednesdays, I want to kick small children.
What I find with college stuff is just that I have so much I want to talk about, and so little of it that fits with what I'm trying to say. There is no overarching, deeper theme to this post. It's just college.
Future posts (honestly, this list is as much for my reference as yours, because I don't want to forget what I wanted to talk about):
-When really awesome/important people come to UR and what I think about it
-Why I'm not worried about the Freshman 15
-Probably some reflections on things I've learned in class
...Speaking of, my classes:
-Introduction to Public Policy
-Introduction to American Government
-Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: Sexual Violence and War
-First Year Seminar: Shakespeare and the Politics of Leadership
...yeah, it's awesome.
Cheese and rice (the topic of the last Meditation Club email),
Rachel Leigh
Sunday, September 5, 2010
On Freshmeat
So, this is the first time since having left for the University of Richmond (UR, Richmond, U of R, and any number of bad puns involving the abbreviation "UR") that I have taken a seat and flipped open my laptop with the intention of putting my fingers to the keys to blog.
I have been a college freshman for almost 3 weeks now. And everyone on campus can tell. Forget the obvious trademarks of the Class of 2014 (or, traditionally, any freshman class): an overabundance of lanyards, the green Westhampton College (I'll explain this in a later post) t-shirts (our class color), that predominant look of complete confusion and disorientation when you stumble outside of your normal stomping ground. And don't even get me started on the troves of lost freshmeat wandering around the University apartments, completely lost. Guys: there are maps. Find them. Learn them.
The fact of the matter is that, while I've tried to overcome these obvious freshman-markers, there are other things. Like, for example, the fact that I have braces. In college. I met a girl the other night who said it was cute and reminded her of Indonesia, because apparently it's a trend there to have braces into your 20s?
I just wish it weren't so obvious. It's like having a target placed on my back that says "I'm new, I have no idea what's going on. Please, take advantage of this." It's frustrating.
In future posts:
-Why I'm a Westhampton College student and how coordinate colleges work
-When REALLY Important/Awesome People Come to Richmond
...and more
Ta for now,
Rachel Leigh
I have been a college freshman for almost 3 weeks now. And everyone on campus can tell. Forget the obvious trademarks of the Class of 2014 (or, traditionally, any freshman class): an overabundance of lanyards, the green Westhampton College (I'll explain this in a later post) t-shirts (our class color), that predominant look of complete confusion and disorientation when you stumble outside of your normal stomping ground. And don't even get me started on the troves of lost freshmeat wandering around the University apartments, completely lost. Guys: there are maps. Find them. Learn them.
The fact of the matter is that, while I've tried to overcome these obvious freshman-markers, there are other things. Like, for example, the fact that I have braces. In college. I met a girl the other night who said it was cute and reminded her of Indonesia, because apparently it's a trend there to have braces into your 20s?
I just wish it weren't so obvious. It's like having a target placed on my back that says "I'm new, I have no idea what's going on. Please, take advantage of this." It's frustrating.
In future posts:
-Why I'm a Westhampton College student and how coordinate colleges work
-When REALLY Important/Awesome People Come to Richmond
...and more
Ta for now,
Rachel Leigh
Friday, August 13, 2010
On...Good-byes? Maybe?
4 is an absurdly small number when it comes to facing the biggest transition in your life. It hardly seems like enough time to pack and get ready to go.
It's astounding and disconcerting how soon I'm leaving. It's kind of scary that I'm saying good-bye. Last night, I said good-bye to several good friends (and a few acquaintances) who, in all likelihood, I will not see before I leave in 4 days. And then I may not ever see them again (though I sincerely hope this is not the case (I have found out that I can go to Philly from Richmond by bus in about 8 hours for about $35 round-trip (thank you Megabus.com for running from DC to Philly for $20!))). I never thought I'd feel this way. Of course I'm excited, but it's all kind of tinged with these negative emotions (anxiety, sadness, nostalgia). To be honest, I'm even kind of feeling regret about opportunities I've missed and things I wish I could have changed before I left.
I'm so ready to start my life: to be independent, to go by my own schedule, to live (and learn, and love, and laugh, and lose, and everything that goes with those things). It's just hard to reconcile that excitement, this beautiful feeling that this is the step I need and want to take to be who I want to be, with the fact that I have a life that I like, a life that I'm comfortable and happy in, which I'm going to have to leave behind to make this change.
In a way, I hope most people are going through what I'm going through. I know a lot of people are just excited, and it kind of surprises me, because I always thought I'd be one of them: ready to walk away and never look back and never regret a single moment that passed without me. I don't think that's true anymore. I still can't wait to go to college, to be a spider, and to live my life. I just don't think I'll be able to turn my back and pretend I don't miss my family and my hometown and my friends anymore.
Love, Love, Love,
Rachel Leigh
It's astounding and disconcerting how soon I'm leaving. It's kind of scary that I'm saying good-bye. Last night, I said good-bye to several good friends (and a few acquaintances) who, in all likelihood, I will not see before I leave in 4 days. And then I may not ever see them again (though I sincerely hope this is not the case (I have found out that I can go to Philly from Richmond by bus in about 8 hours for about $35 round-trip (thank you Megabus.com for running from DC to Philly for $20!))). I never thought I'd feel this way. Of course I'm excited, but it's all kind of tinged with these negative emotions (anxiety, sadness, nostalgia). To be honest, I'm even kind of feeling regret about opportunities I've missed and things I wish I could have changed before I left.
I'm so ready to start my life: to be independent, to go by my own schedule, to live (and learn, and love, and laugh, and lose, and everything that goes with those things). It's just hard to reconcile that excitement, this beautiful feeling that this is the step I need and want to take to be who I want to be, with the fact that I have a life that I like, a life that I'm comfortable and happy in, which I'm going to have to leave behind to make this change.
In a way, I hope most people are going through what I'm going through. I know a lot of people are just excited, and it kind of surprises me, because I always thought I'd be one of them: ready to walk away and never look back and never regret a single moment that passed without me. I don't think that's true anymore. I still can't wait to go to college, to be a spider, and to live my life. I just don't think I'll be able to turn my back and pretend I don't miss my family and my hometown and my friends anymore.
Love, Love, Love,
Rachel Leigh
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
On Impatience and Opportunities
I'm a fan of the phrase "Patience is a virtue." Because, well, it is. I've been incredibly impatient and anxious recently, however, about an opportunity at Richmond that I'm really excited/terrified to hear back about. I received an email about two weeks ago about an opportunity to blog for the Spider Diaries, which is the student campus life blog.
The application process was pretty simple: 500-1000 words on who you are and why you chose Richmond. But now I have to wait while they process the other applications and make their decisions. To be honest, I really want this job. A lot.
Here is a list of reasons why I should get one of the Spider Diaries slots:
The application process was pretty simple: 500-1000 words on who you are and why you chose Richmond. But now I have to wait while they process the other applications and make their decisions. To be honest, I really want this job. A lot.
Here is a list of reasons why I should get one of the Spider Diaries slots:
- I already maintain a blog (this one), so I'm used to writing my thoughts down and posting them for the world to see. Plus, I've got some pretty loyal readers, some of whom are interested in UR, who I might be able to sway.
- I'm fabulously fascinating, duh. (Just kidding.)
- I've got a decent amount of free time this coming semester to both live life and blog about it.
- I've been living for 18 years. I think I'm pretty good at it nowadays.
- I've been blogging on and off for 5 years. I think I'm pretty good at it nowadays.
- I'm going to be a Spider. I'm proud that I'm going to be a Spider. I'm really excited that I'm going to be a Spider.
- I like talking.
- I wrote my application post about spider waffles in the UR cafeteria, being an arachnophobe going to a school whose mascot is the spider, and wearing sung
lasses at my graduation. - I wore sunglasses at my graduation. Cool, right? (That's me on the far left.)
- I'm smart, driven, quirky, energetic, and snarky. I'm open-minded and forward-thinking, and with some of the changes UR has been trying to make to its image over the next few years, I'm a good representation of the slightly unusual Richmond candidate.
So, in conclusion:
a) I really want this job.
b) I'm terribly anxious to hear back about it.
c) I should be more patient.
d) EEEEP.
Spider-ly Yours,
Rachel Leigh
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Follow-Up: On Walls
So, after I made my last post about my wall, I've been getting some feedback about my blog and my move and such.
First of all, it's really great to hear from people who actually like what I'm doing, so thanks guys. ^-^
Second of all, my friend Maya (she's a real sweetheart and an avid follower of ChartJackers and CharlieIsSoCoolLike (www.youtube.com/charlie) on YouTube) sent me a link to a really entertaining and related video, starring CharlieIsSoCoolLike himself, Mr. Charlie McDonnell, taking down...a wall very much like mine. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uINiAbQdj0U . Maybe I'll make a video at some point chronicling some of the things coming down.
For the time being, though, you should watch Charlie being adorable about it.
First of all, it's really great to hear from people who actually like what I'm doing, so thanks guys. ^-^
Second of all, my friend Maya (she's a real sweetheart and an avid follower of ChartJackers and CharlieIsSoCoolLike (www.youtube.com/charlie) on YouTube) sent me a link to a really entertaining and related video, starring CharlieIsSoCoolLike himself, Mr. Charlie McDonnell, taking down...a wall very much like mine. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uINiAbQdj0U . Maybe I'll make a video at some point chronicling some of the things coming down.
For the time being, though, you should watch Charlie being adorable about it.
On Change
Normally, I start my blog posts with a title and a clearly-defined purpose: “on…whatever.” Right now, if I were to do that, the resulting title will be “On…I’m not quite sure.” Maybe I’ll keep that title. For now, I just need to talk.
Last September, I was applying to college and I wrote an essay about a wall. Not THE Wall, not the Great Wall, but MY wall. My wall was a 68 square foot, multi-media (as in several media, not as in flashing, twinkling, music-playing) collage. I thought I had a picture of it. I don’t. I would take a picture now, but, as it turns out, in addition to my leaving for college in 2 weeks, my family is also moving.
So, long before I was ready, my precious wall has begun to come down.
I guess it’s time for change. My wall has been a huge representation of who I am for the last two years, but I’m moving on to another point in my life, and maybe my wall won’t be the representation of who I am in this new stage.
Hey look, I found a slightly deeper angle! Sweet. I can now name this post something other than “On Wall.”
In Metamorphosis (Shedding my exoskeleton and growing some wings),
Rachel Leigh
Monday, July 5, 2010
On Extended Breaks and Razor Bumps
It has been over a month and I have yet to impart on you, my darling readers, any fun, moderately offensive, or sarcastic commentary on life, the universe, and everything.
I blame this partially on graduation and the rather hectic weeks leading up to it, partially on personal issues and illness, and partially on somewhat of a lack of things to say.
Part of me felt the need to blog anyway, but I found that nearly every time I tried, what surfaced was mostly just a commentary on whatever entry I had read that day on The Seventeen Magazine Project [http://www.theseventeenmagazineproject.com (which, while now finished, has been followed up by a new project run by the same somewhat fascinating mind, http://www.teenagerie.com)]. I found that while my interest in reading and frequenting other blogs increased and became more consistent, my ability to come up with somewhat original content was slightly hindered. (To be quite frank, the comments about my blog being apologetic, pseudo-intellectual, and offensive certainly didn't help).
I am (hopefully) proud to say that I am (hopefully) back, as the summer between senior year and college shows the potential for many reasons to rant and rave for a couple of paragraphs on a regular basis.
One of my more personal problems with the summer season is, I feel, actually pretty common. In all honesty, I do not like shaving. In fact, between razor bumps, cuts, dry skin, and general time consumption, I find it to be the least enjoyable part of my summer. Do not mistake me, I find smooth legs to be as entertaining as the next person, because soft skin is more touchable and fun. But summer finds me in need of shaving...pretty much everywhere. Bathing suits mandate a clean bikini line, t-shirts and tank tops and such require well-groomed underarms, and shorts, skirts, swimsuits, and pretty much any clothing suitable for 90 degree weather demand shaved legs. I, like many girls, find this whole process annoying and also find that, 9 times out of 10, my knees are still stubbly after shaving.
And you know what I've noticed? The only people who really seem to care are other girls or the ill-shaven themselves. The people asked to marvel at a well-shaven leg? Close female friends. The person most likely to comment on your hairy knees? Yourself. The one most likely to comment on your bikini line? ...Okay, a lot of the time that's a guy. I've just noticed that, assuming that nothing is absurdly grotesque, the only person who really cares about your shave is, well...yourself. So maybe it's not such a huge deal after all. No one gives a crap about your hairy knees. Go in peace.
Back and better than ever (hopefully),
Rachel Leigh
I blame this partially on graduation and the rather hectic weeks leading up to it, partially on personal issues and illness, and partially on somewhat of a lack of things to say.
Part of me felt the need to blog anyway, but I found that nearly every time I tried, what surfaced was mostly just a commentary on whatever entry I had read that day on The Seventeen Magazine Project [http://www.theseventeenmagazineproject.com (which, while now finished, has been followed up by a new project run by the same somewhat fascinating mind, http://www.teenagerie.com)]. I found that while my interest in reading and frequenting other blogs increased and became more consistent, my ability to come up with somewhat original content was slightly hindered. (To be quite frank, the comments about my blog being apologetic, pseudo-intellectual, and offensive certainly didn't help).
I am (hopefully) proud to say that I am (hopefully) back, as the summer between senior year and college shows the potential for many reasons to rant and rave for a couple of paragraphs on a regular basis.
One of my more personal problems with the summer season is, I feel, actually pretty common. In all honesty, I do not like shaving. In fact, between razor bumps, cuts, dry skin, and general time consumption, I find it to be the least enjoyable part of my summer. Do not mistake me, I find smooth legs to be as entertaining as the next person, because soft skin is more touchable and fun. But summer finds me in need of shaving...pretty much everywhere. Bathing suits mandate a clean bikini line, t-shirts and tank tops and such require well-groomed underarms, and shorts, skirts, swimsuits, and pretty much any clothing suitable for 90 degree weather demand shaved legs. I, like many girls, find this whole process annoying and also find that, 9 times out of 10, my knees are still stubbly after shaving.
And you know what I've noticed? The only people who really seem to care are other girls or the ill-shaven themselves. The people asked to marvel at a well-shaven leg? Close female friends. The person most likely to comment on your hairy knees? Yourself. The one most likely to comment on your bikini line? ...Okay, a lot of the time that's a guy. I've just noticed that, assuming that nothing is absurdly grotesque, the only person who really cares about your shave is, well...yourself. So maybe it's not such a huge deal after all. No one gives a crap about your hairy knees. Go in peace.
Back and better than ever (hopefully),
Rachel Leigh
Thursday, June 3, 2010
It has come to my attention that some people view my blog as pretentious, moderately offensive, and, to quote, "wannabe intellectual bullshit."
I recognize that with more than 500 friends on facebook, all of whom I annoy with links to my most recent entries, some people will have this view. I apologize. I have never claimed to be any more than a teenage girl with a penchant for pseudo-intellectual crap. I write about things that bug me and I do so in a way that I enjoy, and I apologize if I've offended anyone. I recognize that some of the things I say are controversial or uninformed, but I also write under the assumption that most people won't read what I've written. Even so, most posts written about things on which I'm not an expert have actually been researched. I am not a troll. I write what I feel, but I do not spew mindless, factless hate speech.
If you have a problem with what I've written, please tell me. I seek to offend no one.
On the other hand, if you don't like my blog title, you can suck it up and go elsewhere.
Love,
Rachel
I recognize that with more than 500 friends on facebook, all of whom I annoy with links to my most recent entries, some people will have this view. I apologize. I have never claimed to be any more than a teenage girl with a penchant for pseudo-intellectual crap. I write about things that bug me and I do so in a way that I enjoy, and I apologize if I've offended anyone. I recognize that some of the things I say are controversial or uninformed, but I also write under the assumption that most people won't read what I've written. Even so, most posts written about things on which I'm not an expert have actually been researched. I am not a troll. I write what I feel, but I do not spew mindless, factless hate speech.
If you have a problem with what I've written, please tell me. I seek to offend no one.
On the other hand, if you don't like my blog title, you can suck it up and go elsewhere.
Love,
Rachel
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
On Emily Post and the Antiquated Art of Etiquette
Sitting outside on the grass today was a challenge. As spring has sprung, I have gotten into the habit that many girls my age adopt around this time of year: embracing the skirt and dress (sans tights or stockings) as the most fun and weather-friendly clothing option.
Needless to say, when one is wearing a skirt, her sitting options are severely limited. Especially if she is insistent on sitting on the ground. Basic etiquette says a young lady wearing a skirt must sit up, on a chair or other raised platform, with knees crossed. Let us return to our dear ground-sitting friend who wishes to be comfortable on the groud. Her options seem to be as follows:
Needless to say, when one is wearing a skirt, her sitting options are severely limited. Especially if she is insistent on sitting on the ground. Basic etiquette says a young lady wearing a skirt must sit up, on a chair or other raised platform, with knees crossed. Let us return to our dear ground-sitting friend who wishes to be comfortable on the groud. Her options seem to be as follows:
- Become a nuisance by stretching her legs out completely in front of her.
- Risk the hopefully-avoided panty-flash by sitting either cross-legged or with her knees up in front of her.
- Take a page from the Marilyn Monroe Book of Narrowly-Avoided Social Faux Pas, and use her hands to strategically hold down her skirt.
Why is it, though, that in 2010, we feel the need to characterize all of these sitting positions as "un-ladylike" and un-befitting of a young lady? I blame Emily Post. Born in 1873, and formally published as a "philosopher" of all things proper in 1922, Emily Post has been the go-to source for good manners for almost the last century. Though she died in 1960, the Emily Post Institute continues to release guides for proper manners and etiquette in social settings, at work, and even online.
It makes perfect sense, I suppose, to allow the 19th-century guidelines of someone who was born a decade after the Civil War to dictate the 21st-century Netiquette. After all, when much of interpersonal communication is now done over a screen, it makes sense to base its laws and rules on a set of standards established in the early days of the telephone.
Personally, I think Emily Post's world has been dead for years now.
When Playboy bunnies, rather than being hidden in paper bags in the back shelves of skeevy magazine racks, have their own television shows watched by over 2 million people, and the stars of Disney movies can continue their careers after naked photos of them have been leaked to the internet, it's time to stop judging girls by 1920's standards of propriety. So what if I want to wear a skirt without sitting like I have something shameful to hide? I'm not suggesting that girls should go around showing off their lady-bits to everyone they see. I'm just saying maybe it's time we stop judging girls who don't feel the need to subscribe to the old world etiquette of Emily Post.
Always lady-like (regardless of how I'm sitting),
Rachel Leigh
On Gaming
I hope you know what TED is. For the good of all mankind, I hope everyone with internet access knows what TED is. If you don't know what TED is, I hope for the good of all mankind, you go to this webpage (http://www.ted.com/) immediately and find out.
For a quick synopsis, TED is a website devoted to three things: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. The goal of TED is to promote the spread and growth of ideas through brief (usually 20 minutes or less) lectures on anything and everything related to technology, entertainment, and design.
Last year, one of my classes began to integrate TED lectures into the lesson plan, to help foster ideas and generate informed and empowered discussion. And, God, it works. Today, we began watching a talk by a female gamer (yes, they exist, as a matter of fact, according to a study by the Entertainment Software Association in 2004, they make up 34% of all gamers, and 43% of online gamers) who talked about the importance of playing video and online games in mental development in problem solving.
Jane McGonigal, PhD, the Gamer Girl to whom I am referring (smart, beautiful, AND a video game designer), said that she thinks the world's problems could be more easily solved if, worldwide, we spent 21 billion hours a week (that's approximately 1 half-hour per person) in search of gaming's fabled "epic win." This means, of course, that if all 6 billion people on the planet are expected to get their game on, we need...more Gamer Girls.
And this, my friends, is my point: if you know me at all, you know that I think girls can kick ass. From a young age, I was started on video games: Duck Hunt when I was very young, FPS's like Goldeneye 007 as I got older, Super Smash Brothers and its more developed counterpart, SSBB,... To this day, I frequently transport a device I call "The Brick"... a 1989 GameBoy, which, combined with Tetris, Super Mario Brothers, and Pokemon Yellow, served as my childhood.
There's some stigma against girls who play, especially in "guys games" like FPS's and, one of my favorites, Grand Theft Auto. It's almost like we've been relegated to games that need to have fairies or elves or princesses (though Link is pretty awesome and Peach kicks butt) in order to not be looked down on as inferior.
We don't need to be 34% of the gaming population, ladies. When women make up 51% of the WORLD population, we should be making up 51% of the gaming population...though maybe not WoW. I've seen too many people disappear down that path.
Girls...stop the mind games and pick up the video games. You'd be surprised what you can do. And if Jane McGonigal is right...maybe we can even save the world.
Stop reading and start playing,
Rachel Leigh
For a quick synopsis, TED is a website devoted to three things: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. The goal of TED is to promote the spread and growth of ideas through brief (usually 20 minutes or less) lectures on anything and everything related to technology, entertainment, and design.
Last year, one of my classes began to integrate TED lectures into the lesson plan, to help foster ideas and generate informed and empowered discussion. And, God, it works. Today, we began watching a talk by a female gamer (yes, they exist, as a matter of fact, according to a study by the Entertainment Software Association in 2004, they make up 34% of all gamers, and 43% of online gamers) who talked about the importance of playing video and online games in mental development in problem solving.
Jane McGonigal, PhD, the Gamer Girl to whom I am referring (smart, beautiful, AND a video game designer), said that she thinks the world's problems could be more easily solved if, worldwide, we spent 21 billion hours a week (that's approximately 1 half-hour per person) in search of gaming's fabled "epic win." This means, of course, that if all 6 billion people on the planet are expected to get their game on, we need...more Gamer Girls.
And this, my friends, is my point: if you know me at all, you know that I think girls can kick ass. From a young age, I was started on video games: Duck Hunt when I was very young, FPS's like Goldeneye 007 as I got older, Super Smash Brothers and its more developed counterpart, SSBB,... To this day, I frequently transport a device I call "The Brick"... a 1989 GameBoy, which, combined with Tetris, Super Mario Brothers, and Pokemon Yellow, served as my childhood.
There's some stigma against girls who play, especially in "guys games" like FPS's and, one of my favorites, Grand Theft Auto. It's almost like we've been relegated to games that need to have fairies or elves or princesses (though Link is pretty awesome and Peach kicks butt) in order to not be looked down on as inferior.
We don't need to be 34% of the gaming population, ladies. When women make up 51% of the WORLD population, we should be making up 51% of the gaming population...though maybe not WoW. I've seen too many people disappear down that path.
Girls...stop the mind games and pick up the video games. You'd be surprised what you can do. And if Jane McGonigal is right...maybe we can even save the world.
Stop reading and start playing,
Rachel Leigh
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
On Those Intolerant....Liberals?
My liberal friends: the Tea Party Movement has ruined us.
Now, before you go and get all confused on me, I am not saying that Tea Partiers have ruined America or ruined society...because I don't think they have. I think the Tea Partiers have turned us into monsters. Hateful, intolerant monsters.
I'll admit to having used the term "Tea Baggers" to describe the Tea Party Movement. It's shorter than saying "The Tea Party Movement," and I've admitted that I've gotten angry enough about things that have happened that I've used it as a derogatory term.
But when I realize I'm doing it, I stop myself. The reaction to the Tea Partiers has been hateful. Yes, there are racists in the Tea Party movement. Yes, the most outspoken voices (Limbaugh, Rand Paul, Glenn Beck) are crazies. But the fact of the matter is that there are some normal people who are scared by what has happened to the country they live in and have been dwarfed by the radical right, who really just want a different option from the ones they have now.
Let's face it: the very heart of the Tea Party movement is anti-corporate and anti...big. They don't want big business. They just want to know that their peaceful, quiet lives aren't going to be controlled by things bigger than themselves. At worst, you could call that misguided.
We've made the Tea Party so radical because they're under constant attack. When a child misbehaves, you get the best results for a change in behavior by ignoring them...neither positively or negatively reinforcing their behavior. It's basic psychology. When a movement misbehaves and we respond with press coverage and intolerant hate speech, the behavior is reinforced.
Let security handle the guns at rallies. That's their job. It doesn't need to be publicized and super-politicized. Let the hate speech sit with the people who are truly hateful. The solution to face a hateful movement is not by hating those people.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Hate cannot drive out hate. It can't. The more hate in the world, the stronger the hatred and the grudges become.
D0n't blame the problems of the world on FOX News. Don't bad mouth people just because you believe their opinions are misguided. There is still a moderate Republican. Refusing to separate the individual from the voice of the party is an intolerant mistake we can't afford to keep making.
Peace and Love,
Rachel Leigh
Now, before you go and get all confused on me, I am not saying that Tea Partiers have ruined America or ruined society...because I don't think they have. I think the Tea Partiers have turned us into monsters. Hateful, intolerant monsters.
I'll admit to having used the term "Tea Baggers" to describe the Tea Party Movement. It's shorter than saying "The Tea Party Movement," and I've admitted that I've gotten angry enough about things that have happened that I've used it as a derogatory term.
But when I realize I'm doing it, I stop myself. The reaction to the Tea Partiers has been hateful. Yes, there are racists in the Tea Party movement. Yes, the most outspoken voices (Limbaugh, Rand Paul, Glenn Beck) are crazies. But the fact of the matter is that there are some normal people who are scared by what has happened to the country they live in and have been dwarfed by the radical right, who really just want a different option from the ones they have now.
Let's face it: the very heart of the Tea Party movement is anti-corporate and anti...big. They don't want big business. They just want to know that their peaceful, quiet lives aren't going to be controlled by things bigger than themselves. At worst, you could call that misguided.
We've made the Tea Party so radical because they're under constant attack. When a child misbehaves, you get the best results for a change in behavior by ignoring them...neither positively or negatively reinforcing their behavior. It's basic psychology. When a movement misbehaves and we respond with press coverage and intolerant hate speech, the behavior is reinforced.
Let security handle the guns at rallies. That's their job. It doesn't need to be publicized and super-politicized. Let the hate speech sit with the people who are truly hateful. The solution to face a hateful movement is not by hating those people.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Hate cannot drive out hate. It can't. The more hate in the world, the stronger the hatred and the grudges become.
D0n't blame the problems of the world on FOX News. Don't bad mouth people just because you believe their opinions are misguided. There is still a moderate Republican. Refusing to separate the individual from the voice of the party is an intolerant mistake we can't afford to keep making.
Peace and Love,
Rachel Leigh
Monday, May 24, 2010
On Blog Face-Lifts
So I've been playing around with a new layout, and with the exception of the fact that the title text does not adequately fit in its little box, I rather like this new minimalist one. I really like white text on black background. It's refreshing and it pops nicely.
Anyway...
Part of my blog tune-up included the input of an "About Me" section (YAAAAY!), a change in photo, and all sorts of other fun things.
I'm not sure why I want to give my blog a makeover, knowing few people will actually read it, but I like knowing that, were someone to stumble upon my humble blog, there might be reason enough to check it out a bit more.
On that note, to flesh out my About Me bio:
As of this moment, I am not yet 18, but will be in 6 days. I am a graduating high school senior in suburban Philadelphia with a strong interest in politics, especially international. In the fall, I'll be attending the University of Richmond, and who knows? Maybe you'll get a view of college from the inside. I'm a little scared to be going to school in the South when I'm a Yankee, born and bred, but I think I'll survive. I started blogging, or at least posting my personal thoughts on the web, when I was 14, and have done so on and off since then. I rarely post about my personal life. I love the internet. I currently have a laptop with a broken spacebar and "t" key. It also has Adobe PhotoShop CS4, which I love.
I think that's about it for now.
Love,
Rachel Leigh
Anyway...
Part of my blog tune-up included the input of an "About Me" section (YAAAAY!), a change in photo, and all sorts of other fun things.
I'm not sure why I want to give my blog a makeover, knowing few people will actually read it, but I like knowing that, were someone to stumble upon my humble blog, there might be reason enough to check it out a bit more.
On that note, to flesh out my About Me bio:
As of this moment, I am not yet 18, but will be in 6 days. I am a graduating high school senior in suburban Philadelphia with a strong interest in politics, especially international. In the fall, I'll be attending the University of Richmond, and who knows? Maybe you'll get a view of college from the inside. I'm a little scared to be going to school in the South when I'm a Yankee, born and bred, but I think I'll survive. I started blogging, or at least posting my personal thoughts on the web, when I was 14, and have done so on and off since then. I rarely post about my personal life. I love the internet. I currently have a laptop with a broken spacebar and "t" key. It also has Adobe PhotoShop CS4, which I love.
I think that's about it for now.
Love,
Rachel Leigh
On The Gospel According to Ann
Hello hello hello again, readers!
I'll admit it: this post is mostly a shout-out to my friend Jamie at http://www.theseventeenmagazineproject.com/. The idea is pretty simple: 30 days of fashion, beauty, and social commandments as issued by our Lord and Master, Ann Shoket, editor-in-chief of Seventeen Magazine.
I have a dirty secret: I'm a subscriber. Yes, I turn in my family's Coca-Cola Coke Points for 6 issues of garbage. I started getting it when CosmoGirl stopped printing and they moved my remaining subscription to Seventeen. Most of it serves as the basic material for my wall (including a really fantastic picture of Anthony Michael Hall smoking a joint in classy black Wayfarers from my favorite movie of all time, The Breakfast Club, from an article discouraging girls from hitting the THC), which is a 60-square-foot monstrosity of a collage done in a lot of shiny, semi-glossy magazine print.
Being my cynical self, though, I do have to question it. I keep most of my back-issues for collage material or just petty entertainment, but a lot of the girls and the lifestyles it promotes annoy me. For example, Whitney Port and Lauren Conrad have been cover girls for Seventeen multiple times in the last year. One issue I have, I blacked out both Whitney's eyes and mouth...which I kind of wish I could do to her in reality. These are two girls who gained fame for hook-ups, break-ups, and drama, and have used their not-so-earned fame to...what? Release a clothing line which they designed partially by themselves? Write two pieces of trashy teen literature about girls behaving exactly like they do? It's kind of shameful that these are the role models we as readers have been given.
What about Emma Watson's animal activism? She's beautiful, famous, AND has a cause that gives girls something to look up to. Or better yet, how about the young, female moguls and entrepreneurs they mention deep in the depths of the magazine in the 100-something pages, after the make-up tips and "Styles to Make You Happy"? Aren't THESE the girls we should be aspiring to be? Beautiful, independent, creative, strong?
So why Whitney and LC?
Waiting on the world to change,
Rachel Leigh
I'll admit it: this post is mostly a shout-out to my friend Jamie at http://www.theseventeenmagazineproject.com/. The idea is pretty simple: 30 days of fashion, beauty, and social commandments as issued by our Lord and Master, Ann Shoket, editor-in-chief of Seventeen Magazine.
I have a dirty secret: I'm a subscriber. Yes, I turn in my family's Coca-Cola Coke Points for 6 issues of garbage. I started getting it when CosmoGirl stopped printing and they moved my remaining subscription to Seventeen. Most of it serves as the basic material for my wall (including a really fantastic picture of Anthony Michael Hall smoking a joint in classy black Wayfarers from my favorite movie of all time, The Breakfast Club, from an article discouraging girls from hitting the THC), which is a 60-square-foot monstrosity of a collage done in a lot of shiny, semi-glossy magazine print.
Being my cynical self, though, I do have to question it. I keep most of my back-issues for collage material or just petty entertainment, but a lot of the girls and the lifestyles it promotes annoy me. For example, Whitney Port and Lauren Conrad have been cover girls for Seventeen multiple times in the last year. One issue I have, I blacked out both Whitney's eyes and mouth...which I kind of wish I could do to her in reality. These are two girls who gained fame for hook-ups, break-ups, and drama, and have used their not-so-earned fame to...what? Release a clothing line which they designed partially by themselves? Write two pieces of trashy teen literature about girls behaving exactly like they do? It's kind of shameful that these are the role models we as readers have been given.
What about Emma Watson's animal activism? She's beautiful, famous, AND has a cause that gives girls something to look up to. Or better yet, how about the young, female moguls and entrepreneurs they mention deep in the depths of the magazine in the 100-something pages, after the make-up tips and "Styles to Make You Happy"? Aren't THESE the girls we should be aspiring to be? Beautiful, independent, creative, strong?
So why Whitney and LC?
Waiting on the world to change,
Rachel Leigh
Saturday, May 22, 2010
On Emotional Masochism (and why continuing the cycle is selfish)
Have you ever noticed how there are some people who seem to enjoy their own misery? It seems like someone who was nearly halfway as miserable as they say they are would go out of their way to avoid the people or things or places that upset them, yet they appear to want nothing more than to repeatedly wallow in things they know will do nothing more than depress them.
I just don't get it. Do people not realize that continuing to pick at scabs does not help them heal. It's not like the treatment for the flu is more flu virus or the treatment of post-war PTSD is to put people back in combat. You heal better and faster if you don't just keep poking the same old wounds. If you insist on doing that, there's a part of you (a part big enough to overcome your urge for emotional self-preservation) that for some reason (guilt, self-disgust, or irrational belief that things will suddenly change) wants to continue to suffer. And if that's the case, you have no right to be depressed.
When you're at the point when you're hurting or upsetting the people around you by your bad mood [which you will, because people who care about you are always going to be impacted by your emotions (you treat people worse, are less personable, and generally drain good moods when you are depressed)], it becomes selfish to continue to wallow in your own misery. To quote a terrible commercial, "Who does depression hurt? Everyone." Everyone who comes into contact with a depressed person suffers, so continuing to depress yourself when you could very easily desist the behavior which causes the depression is incredibly unfair to anyone who cares about you.
Cynically yours,
Rachel Leigh
I just don't get it. Do people not realize that continuing to pick at scabs does not help them heal. It's not like the treatment for the flu is more flu virus or the treatment of post-war PTSD is to put people back in combat. You heal better and faster if you don't just keep poking the same old wounds. If you insist on doing that, there's a part of you (a part big enough to overcome your urge for emotional self-preservation) that for some reason (guilt, self-disgust, or irrational belief that things will suddenly change) wants to continue to suffer. And if that's the case, you have no right to be depressed.
When you're at the point when you're hurting or upsetting the people around you by your bad mood [which you will, because people who care about you are always going to be impacted by your emotions (you treat people worse, are less personable, and generally drain good moods when you are depressed)], it becomes selfish to continue to wallow in your own misery. To quote a terrible commercial, "Who does depression hurt? Everyone." Everyone who comes into contact with a depressed person suffers, so continuing to depress yourself when you could very easily desist the behavior which causes the depression is incredibly unfair to anyone who cares about you.
Cynically yours,
Rachel Leigh
On...Trending?
Okay, I'll admit it, internet community:
I'm a trending junkie.
Seems weird, right? But my desktop homepage [at least for the shared computer (I personally am an iGoogle nut)] includes the Yahoo! "Trending Now" box, and I check it several times a day.
Can someone please explain to me the sudden surge in searches for Val Kilmer?
I love trending because it gives me some sort of insight into the global universal consciousness, which is pretty damn cool, if I do say so myself. As an attempted intellectual and concerned global citizen, however, I have to voice a little concern that the brilliant technology which allows us to tap into the international collective overmind has revealed that the most pressing thing on the minds of many, many people around the world is...Pee-Wee Herman? Really?
I certainly wouldn't expect people to be searching for the answers to the great questions of life, the universe, and everything (because we all already know that's 42 anyway), but I feel like this kind of opportunity, the ability to find out what is on the minds of the world at large at any given moment by searching their searches is rather wasted on Heidi Montag's latest plastic surgery (she's already 98% silicone, is her new boob job REALLY that important?) or the fact that Miley Cyrus was caught on tape grinding at a party (WAIT, teenagers dance suggestively? Where has my wholesome America of the 1950s gone?!?!).
My point is pretty simple: I like trending. I like knowing what the people of the world are thinking right at any given moment, and trending analysis is a pretty fantastic way to achieve that. But come on, international cyber community: couldn't you have something a little more worthwhile on your minds to search for?
Like...my blog? (Kidding)
Psychically tapping into the global consciousness,
Rachel Leigh
I'm a trending junkie.
Seems weird, right? But my desktop homepage [at least for the shared computer (I personally am an iGoogle nut)] includes the Yahoo! "Trending Now" box, and I check it several times a day.
Can someone please explain to me the sudden surge in searches for Val Kilmer?
I love trending because it gives me some sort of insight into the global universal consciousness, which is pretty damn cool, if I do say so myself. As an attempted intellectual and concerned global citizen, however, I have to voice a little concern that the brilliant technology which allows us to tap into the international collective overmind has revealed that the most pressing thing on the minds of many, many people around the world is...Pee-Wee Herman? Really?
I certainly wouldn't expect people to be searching for the answers to the great questions of life, the universe, and everything (because we all already know that's 42 anyway), but I feel like this kind of opportunity, the ability to find out what is on the minds of the world at large at any given moment by searching their searches is rather wasted on Heidi Montag's latest plastic surgery (she's already 98% silicone, is her new boob job REALLY that important?) or the fact that Miley Cyrus was caught on tape grinding at a party (WAIT, teenagers dance suggestively? Where has my wholesome America of the 1950s gone?!?!).
My point is pretty simple: I like trending. I like knowing what the people of the world are thinking right at any given moment, and trending analysis is a pretty fantastic way to achieve that. But come on, international cyber community: couldn't you have something a little more worthwhile on your minds to search for?
Like...my blog? (Kidding)
Psychically tapping into the global consciousness,
Rachel Leigh
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Apologies
As you can tell, seeing as the title of this post does not begin with the word "On," it does not have a topic other than to apologize for my lack of posting. I guess I don't have anything to snark about. Sorry :(
Monday, March 29, 2010
On...March?
So March is almost over and I have to say that it has passed like the most agreeable March I've ever witnessed. Weather-wise, I mean. The month has a reputation for "going in like a lion and out like a lamb," so the first few weeks are meant to be terrible. I have to say, with the exception of some rain and snow (which hit, might I add, this weekend, so it's not like it was at the beginning of the month), the month on the whole has been fairly warm and sunny and beautiful. I really appreciate it. It made the Rita's-hopping on the first day of spring (FREE WATER ICE) much more enjoyable than it would have been if it had been gross and rainy. Not like that would have stopped us. It just wouldn't have been as fun.
I guess that's really my only thoughts on March as a month. Other things that have happened in March -- getting waitlisted by two awesome schools (but accepted by one awesome one, so yay!). I guess that kind of sucked, especially because I kind of thought I was a lock for one of them. :( I really liked it, too, and it would have been a great school for my major, but I'm not really a huge fan of being waitlisted. Oh well. I'll live.
MIT released their college decisions at 1:59 on March 14. Really, only MIT would do that. 3/14 1:59 (3.14159 being pi). It's such a dorky school. I kind of wish I had applied, just for that. Not that it would have made sense with my major.
Soon it will be April and I will be one step closer to graduating and moving on with my life. I'm really excited about this fact. Until then...
Marching onward,
Rachel Leigh
I guess that's really my only thoughts on March as a month. Other things that have happened in March -- getting waitlisted by two awesome schools (but accepted by one awesome one, so yay!). I guess that kind of sucked, especially because I kind of thought I was a lock for one of them. :( I really liked it, too, and it would have been a great school for my major, but I'm not really a huge fan of being waitlisted. Oh well. I'll live.
MIT released their college decisions at 1:59 on March 14. Really, only MIT would do that. 3/14 1:59 (3.14159 being pi). It's such a dorky school. I kind of wish I had applied, just for that. Not that it would have made sense with my major.
Soon it will be April and I will be one step closer to graduating and moving on with my life. I'm really excited about this fact. Until then...
Marching onward,
Rachel Leigh
Friday, March 19, 2010
On Politics
Someone on Formspring (www.formspring.me) asked me why I am a democrat. I thought my answer would be relatively brief and glib, but it turned out to be rather long and in-depth. So, I decided to post it here. Please note that the individual issues are stated in Reader's Digest-form, since this is mostly just laying out the basic premises of my belief system.
Well, really, I'm not. As I've told people, I'm a Communist. And I'm serious when I say that. I really am your ultimate bleeding heart. I believe in peace, love, equality, freedom, and understanding. They're the ideals I was raised on. As a human, you accept other people, take care of those in need, and love your neighbor as you would love yourself.
I believe in universal health care because I believe no one should suffer bad health because of a bad situation that's out of their control, and recognize that many Americans live on minimum wage and cannot afford decent coverage.
I support the right to choose because I believe no one has the right to have dominion over your body more than you do.
I support welfare because I recognize that there are hard-working people who need help and that a flawed system is better than no system.
I am anti-war (and pro-kittens) in 98% of cases (excluding, perhaps, the World Wars, Civil War, and the American Revolution, and even so, our actions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were rather unforgivable), supporting war only when it is the only feasible path to peace and all other diplomatic channels have been exhausted, but I support our troops 100% and recognize that the sacrifices they have made for our country and our safety are more than I will ever have the opportunity to repay.
I support educational reform that begins at home, rather than beginning in the standardized testing rooms. I support educational reform that rewards progress, not reform that punishes failure or stagnation.
I support green reform and climate change legislation, because I like the planet I live on. I like having air I can breathe and not roasting. I like having snow in the winter. I like coastal regions remaining coasts instead of being engulfed by the water.
I support gay marriage rights because I believe that nothing but good comes from increased ability to love someone freely and happily.
I support legalization, because I believe there are many worse things to be in prison for than deciding to smoke pot.
I believe in internationalism and globalism. I believe that there are more important issues outside our borders than those we currently worry about within them. I believe in the importance of the UN, even if it lacks a lot of practical power. I believe NGOs and charities can change the world. I believe in human rights, not just for Americans, but for everyone. I believe in "Never Again," and I believe in stopping hatred at the source. I believe in the power the US has to change the game everywhere in the world. I believe we should exercise this power more often.
So...that's why I'm a democrat. If a Republican candidate ran who stood by these ideals, or even most of them, he (or she) would have my full support. These are the things I stand for as a human being. I hope that's okay with you.
Monday, March 15, 2010
On Love and Selfishness
In Bokononism, they have a term: a sin-wat. A sin-wat is a person who is greedy and wants all of a person's love, which is, according to the ideals of Bokononism, meant for everyone and meant to be shared. Unless, of course, you exist in a duprass, in which case, you have much bigger problems than wanting all of someone's love.
But this term brings me to today's thought. Is love selfish? Does love have a right to be selfish? Do you have to be truly selfish to really love someone else? And is it wrong to want all of someone's love to yourself?
I used to promote myself as a Bokononist. It's a religion (stemming from Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle) surrounding the ideals of pleasure, free love, and living by the innocent lies which allow you to be happy. One of the major ideals of this hedonistic view is very similar to the slogan of Huxley's Brave New World: that "Everyone belongs to everyone else."
I guess, recently, I've deviated from this ideal, because I've started to want very much to become the sin-wat that Mona Aamons Manzano would hate. A friend of mine said that to love anyone, you had to be selfish to truly want to make them happy: that to be in love, you had to put your interests, and thus the interests of your greatest interest (them), above anything or anyone else.
Aside from that, they say you have to love yourself before you can truly love anyone. Isn't narcissism inherently selfish?
So does love really require selfishness and greed? Or is love meant to be shared and spread? Should we or should we not be sin-wats? Is it fair to categorically decide that?
I'm still not sure.
With love,
Rachel Leigh
But this term brings me to today's thought. Is love selfish? Does love have a right to be selfish? Do you have to be truly selfish to really love someone else? And is it wrong to want all of someone's love to yourself?
I used to promote myself as a Bokononist. It's a religion (stemming from Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle) surrounding the ideals of pleasure, free love, and living by the innocent lies which allow you to be happy. One of the major ideals of this hedonistic view is very similar to the slogan of Huxley's Brave New World: that "Everyone belongs to everyone else."
I guess, recently, I've deviated from this ideal, because I've started to want very much to become the sin-wat that Mona Aamons Manzano would hate. A friend of mine said that to love anyone, you had to be selfish to truly want to make them happy: that to be in love, you had to put your interests, and thus the interests of your greatest interest (them), above anything or anyone else.
Aside from that, they say you have to love yourself before you can truly love anyone. Isn't narcissism inherently selfish?
So does love really require selfishness and greed? Or is love meant to be shared and spread? Should we or should we not be sin-wats? Is it fair to categorically decide that?
I'm still not sure.
With love,
Rachel Leigh
Sunday, March 14, 2010
On Secrets
This might seem a bit contradictory to my previous post. Surprisingly, though, it isn't, and once I outline my point, I'll explain why they make sense together.
A lot of the response to the views expressed in my last post were a little bit upset, I feel, because I didn't stress that honesty is always the best policy. I don't believe in secrets. I think secrets hurt the people they are kept from and do irreparable damage to the person keeping them. I rarely do keep secrets, and when I do, 99 times out of 100, it's because the secret isn't really mine to share.
For example, there was an inside joke between one of my best friends and I last year which revolved around a mutual secret. When people wanted to understand the joke, I would have explained it myself, not really caring about what a creep it made me look like. I have been through worse. This secret, however, was not merely mine to share. Because everyone who knew of the inside joke knew it was a mutual secret, if I had spread my secret, I would also have spread hers, and I cannot knowingly do that to someone I care about. Their secrets will always be safe.
Back to the point at hand, though. I think secrets are painful and altogether stupid. There shouldn't be anything that you need to keep a secret, because if you need to do so, you're clearly ashamed of it. I really don't think you should ever do anything you know you're going to be ashamed of.
How does this not contradict my policy on when honesty becomes selfish? Well, simple. The secret shouldn't be there in the first place. Those secrets gain the power to hurt people by being kept secret, and they amplify in power over time. There shouldn't be a secret to keep from someone you care about, but if there happens to be one, the longer it has been a secret, the more vital it becomes that it stay secret.
Secretly yours,
Rachel Leigh
A lot of the response to the views expressed in my last post were a little bit upset, I feel, because I didn't stress that honesty is always the best policy. I don't believe in secrets. I think secrets hurt the people they are kept from and do irreparable damage to the person keeping them. I rarely do keep secrets, and when I do, 99 times out of 100, it's because the secret isn't really mine to share.
For example, there was an inside joke between one of my best friends and I last year which revolved around a mutual secret. When people wanted to understand the joke, I would have explained it myself, not really caring about what a creep it made me look like. I have been through worse. This secret, however, was not merely mine to share. Because everyone who knew of the inside joke knew it was a mutual secret, if I had spread my secret, I would also have spread hers, and I cannot knowingly do that to someone I care about. Their secrets will always be safe.
Back to the point at hand, though. I think secrets are painful and altogether stupid. There shouldn't be anything that you need to keep a secret, because if you need to do so, you're clearly ashamed of it. I really don't think you should ever do anything you know you're going to be ashamed of.
How does this not contradict my policy on when honesty becomes selfish? Well, simple. The secret shouldn't be there in the first place. Those secrets gain the power to hurt people by being kept secret, and they amplify in power over time. There shouldn't be a secret to keep from someone you care about, but if there happens to be one, the longer it has been a secret, the more vital it becomes that it stay secret.
Secretly yours,
Rachel Leigh
Monday, March 8, 2010
On Honesty
Here's a fairly simple question with what I fear is a fairly complex answer: At what point does honesty become selfish?
My first instinct is to say that honesty is never selfish, because people lie to cover their own flaws, and so therefore, when they tell the truth, they expose themselves to criticism, drama, and hatred.
But I don't think that's true, completely. At first, lying is caused by an urge to mask one's flaws. But the need to confess your sins comes later: when the guilt from your web of lies and secrets finally overrides the shame and negative consequences you anticipate for yourself when your secrets are revealed. The people who have gotten to this point, however, find themselves in a peculiar situation: when you have lied for months or years or weeks or decades, exposing that lie hurts everyone in its presence.
I know. I hurt someone who cares very much about me, and now feels they cannot trust me, because I kept a secret for months and then decided to suddenly drop it with no regard for their feelings. I did it to clear my guilty conscience, to make my life easier, and to make myself feel better about the things I had done. But all it did was hurt other people.
Maybe you're supposed to suffer a guilty conscience when you've done something wrong and lied about it. Maybe it's supposed to keep you up at night, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep and unable to bear being awake. Maybe that's your punishment for lying or cheating or stabbing someone in the back. And then, being honest to clear yourself of guilt you deserve, of suffering you've earned: that's just selfish. You'll hurt everyone in your path, and that's wrong. You have no right to ruin lives or break hearts or hurt others to clear your own soul.
So I suppose honesty can be selfish. Some secrets are better off kept, because opening up can mean opening up old wounds, creating new ones, or rubbing salt in ones that were just ready to heal. So either be honest from the start, or take your secrets to the grave.
I'll Keep You My Dirty Little Secret,
Rachel Leigh
My first instinct is to say that honesty is never selfish, because people lie to cover their own flaws, and so therefore, when they tell the truth, they expose themselves to criticism, drama, and hatred.
But I don't think that's true, completely. At first, lying is caused by an urge to mask one's flaws. But the need to confess your sins comes later: when the guilt from your web of lies and secrets finally overrides the shame and negative consequences you anticipate for yourself when your secrets are revealed. The people who have gotten to this point, however, find themselves in a peculiar situation: when you have lied for months or years or weeks or decades, exposing that lie hurts everyone in its presence.
I know. I hurt someone who cares very much about me, and now feels they cannot trust me, because I kept a secret for months and then decided to suddenly drop it with no regard for their feelings. I did it to clear my guilty conscience, to make my life easier, and to make myself feel better about the things I had done. But all it did was hurt other people.
Maybe you're supposed to suffer a guilty conscience when you've done something wrong and lied about it. Maybe it's supposed to keep you up at night, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep and unable to bear being awake. Maybe that's your punishment for lying or cheating or stabbing someone in the back. And then, being honest to clear yourself of guilt you deserve, of suffering you've earned: that's just selfish. You'll hurt everyone in your path, and that's wrong. You have no right to ruin lives or break hearts or hurt others to clear your own soul.
So I suppose honesty can be selfish. Some secrets are better off kept, because opening up can mean opening up old wounds, creating new ones, or rubbing salt in ones that were just ready to heal. So either be honest from the start, or take your secrets to the grave.
I'll Keep You My Dirty Little Secret,
Rachel Leigh
Thursday, February 4, 2010
On...Reading?
Hello darlings! Sorry I missed yesterday to post. I seem to be doing that frequently this week. I don't know what the deal is with that except that I appear to be in some inexplicable funk that makes me feel sad and unwilling to post.
Yesterday, I finished reading Kieli, a manga about a girl who can see ghosts (which was surprisingly good). I highly recommend it. As a matter of fact, you should go to mangafox.com right now and find it. Do not be dissuaded by the first chapter. The first chapter sucks. But the rest is quite good.
I then asked for suggestions for new reading material and got a suggestion for "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas. I actually really enjoyed it. A plain-text version of the short story can be found here. I thought it was good, albeit depressing, because it's about a utopian world that can only be maintained by a sick and twisted practice. It came highly recommended as a friend's favorite short story of all time, and while I don't necessarily rate it that highly, I think it's a very decent read which you should check out.
Please keep reading,
Rachel Leigh
Yesterday, I finished reading Kieli, a manga about a girl who can see ghosts (which was surprisingly good). I highly recommend it. As a matter of fact, you should go to mangafox.com right now and find it. Do not be dissuaded by the first chapter. The first chapter sucks. But the rest is quite good.
I then asked for suggestions for new reading material and got a suggestion for "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas. I actually really enjoyed it. A plain-text version of the short story can be found here. I thought it was good, albeit depressing, because it's about a utopian world that can only be maintained by a sick and twisted practice. It came highly recommended as a friend's favorite short story of all time, and while I don't necessarily rate it that highly, I think it's a very decent read which you should check out.
Please keep reading,
Rachel Leigh
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
On...They Might Be Giants??
"When you're following an angel, does that mean you have to throw your body off a building? Somewhere they're sitting on a pinhead, calling you an angel, calling you the nicest things."
I'm currently listening to "She's An Angel" by They Might Be Giants. I really used to hate TMBG, but I they've definitely grown on me. I think their songs pretty much take the cake for the most varied between brilliance and complete nonsense.
I mean, Particle Man is just plain ridiculous. There's a character named Triangle Man. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) is...well, kind of stupid, honestly. "Istanbul was Constantinople. Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople." Well yes. That is completely accurate. And obvious. And fairly undeserving of a song. Birdhouse In Your Soul is one of my favorite songs, and yet it's about a nightlight. Was it written by a five-year-old? And I feel like even lines in "She's An Angel," "Ana Ng," and more are just plain ridiculous. But then there are the really brilliant lines that make me love these songs.
Like the line at the top of this post. And "I don't want the world; I just want your half," in Ana Ng.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I feel like I should hate TMBG. So much of their music is simplistic, childish, and inane. But I DON'T hate TMBG. I kind of love them.
Not to put too fine a point on it, say I'm the only bee in your bonnet,
Rachel Leigh
I'm currently listening to "She's An Angel" by They Might Be Giants. I really used to hate TMBG, but I they've definitely grown on me. I think their songs pretty much take the cake for the most varied between brilliance and complete nonsense.
I mean, Particle Man is just plain ridiculous. There's a character named Triangle Man. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) is...well, kind of stupid, honestly. "Istanbul was Constantinople. Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople." Well yes. That is completely accurate. And obvious. And fairly undeserving of a song. Birdhouse In Your Soul is one of my favorite songs, and yet it's about a nightlight. Was it written by a five-year-old? And I feel like even lines in "She's An Angel," "Ana Ng," and more are just plain ridiculous. But then there are the really brilliant lines that make me love these songs.
Like the line at the top of this post. And "I don't want the world; I just want your half," in Ana Ng.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I feel like I should hate TMBG. So much of their music is simplistic, childish, and inane. But I DON'T hate TMBG. I kind of love them.
Not to put too fine a point on it, say I'm the only bee in your bonnet,
Rachel Leigh
Monday, February 1, 2010
On Television and Computers
Let us take a moment and mourn the loss of my "t" key on my laptop. Luckily, I have a spare peripheral keyboard in my room for just such emergencies. It is not quite as portable, but you live with what you've got, eh?
Anyway, I'd like to use this post to make a plug for one of my favorite TV shows. I am a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory. It takes a certain kind of person to really appreciate the lunatics in that cast, but I watch it and I really can't stop laughing.
Today's episode was hilarious. Sheldon Cooper, a socially-stagnant physics genius with the emotional maturity of a five-year-old, got stuck trying to figure out why electrons behave as if they have no mass. His resulting attempts to work through his mental block were rather comical, including a scene in which he decided to break into the local Chuck E. Cheese-type establishment and to use the balls in the ball pit to model carbon atoms.
I think it's actually pretty sad how many people I know who actually behave that way in many respects. I mean, clearly, no one I know is quite that emotionally stunted, but I know quite a few people who come close.
Explore your inner genius,
Rachel Leigh
Anyway, I'd like to use this post to make a plug for one of my favorite TV shows. I am a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory. It takes a certain kind of person to really appreciate the lunatics in that cast, but I watch it and I really can't stop laughing.
Today's episode was hilarious. Sheldon Cooper, a socially-stagnant physics genius with the emotional maturity of a five-year-old, got stuck trying to figure out why electrons behave as if they have no mass. His resulting attempts to work through his mental block were rather comical, including a scene in which he decided to break into the local Chuck E. Cheese-type establishment and to use the balls in the ball pit to model carbon atoms.
I think it's actually pretty sad how many people I know who actually behave that way in many respects. I mean, clearly, no one I know is quite that emotionally stunted, but I know quite a few people who come close.
Explore your inner genius,
Rachel Leigh
Saturday, January 30, 2010
On Adorable Things and Sleeplessness
Hello all!
So, it's Saturday and I promised a post. Happy Saturday. I spent much of the day sleeping after I got home. I hate when you're sleeping at someone else's house and someone decides to set their alarm for 6 am after you've all been up until 3...and doesn't turn it off when it goes off. Hence, making up sleep once I got home. Delicious.
Speaking of delicious, my friend posted a link to something wonderful on the Facebooks today. CLICK ME
They're plushie sushi! Cuddly AND delicious! I had to spread the love to you all, in hopes that you too can appreciate the adorable stuffed noms. I think they look down right appetizing. Yum. :)
But anyway, my point is that losing sleep is terrible. As I've already said in earlier posts, the teenage body is not meant to sleep under the schedules mandated to us by the education system, and needs proper sleep schedules in order to function properly. It turns out that sleeping 3 hours in cramped conditions surrounded by other people is also detrimental to getting adequate sleep. Can someone come up with a solution for this?
Hope your weekend is restful and delicious,
Rachel Leigh
So, it's Saturday and I promised a post. Happy Saturday. I spent much of the day sleeping after I got home. I hate when you're sleeping at someone else's house and someone decides to set their alarm for 6 am after you've all been up until 3...and doesn't turn it off when it goes off. Hence, making up sleep once I got home. Delicious.
Speaking of delicious, my friend posted a link to something wonderful on the Facebooks today. CLICK ME
They're plushie sushi! Cuddly AND delicious! I had to spread the love to you all, in hopes that you too can appreciate the adorable stuffed noms. I think they look down right appetizing. Yum. :)
But anyway, my point is that losing sleep is terrible. As I've already said in earlier posts, the teenage body is not meant to sleep under the schedules mandated to us by the education system, and needs proper sleep schedules in order to function properly. It turns out that sleeping 3 hours in cramped conditions surrounded by other people is also detrimental to getting adequate sleep. Can someone come up with a solution for this?
Hope your weekend is restful and delicious,
Rachel Leigh
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
OHDEAR-- On Voices
Hey, my lovely readers (real or metaphorical)!
So I almost went to sleep without posting. That would have been a travesty. I had intended to post after the State of the Union address this evening with some witty critique of things said by Mr. Hope-and-Progress himself, but I really do not have much to say on the matter. Except "Boo off-shore drilling." And "Why does the entire Democratic Party have to give a standing ovation every time the President takes a breath?" I love Barack Obama as much as the next person, but I'd be frustrated if every time I paused for a comma, the room erupted in applause. It delays the next thought.
Anyway, the reason I almost went to sleep without posting was because a friend of mine (he vlogs daily on the YouTube, maybe one day I'll link to his profile so you can meet him and get to know the strange people I have befriended over the years) posted a video tutorial on how to do one's hair and make-up to look like Sailor Moon. I like Sailor Moon. This is not a secret. I would much prefer, however, to be Sailor Jupiter. She's more awesome. But yeah, so then I got distracted by YouTube videos of this girl doing cosmetics tutorials. I really liked her voice. That happens a lot. I'll watch TV shows, movies, listen to songs, and favorite random people on YouTube because I just really like the intonation and musical qualities of their voices. Part of the reason I watch Everyday Italian on the Food Network is the fact that I like the way Giada DiLaurentis pronounces her "cr"s, like in "crust" or "crumbs." It sounds so nice. My favorite part of watching RENT is hearing Jesse L. Martin's voice. It's like butter and warm chocolate and cinnamon all rolled into one. It's literally delicious-sounding.
In case you can't tell, I really like voices. I like using and listening to different voices. I think they're beautiful and funny and fun and awesome.
Listen to the voices in your head (they're often right),
Rachel Leigh
So I almost went to sleep without posting. That would have been a travesty. I had intended to post after the State of the Union address this evening with some witty critique of things said by Mr. Hope-and-Progress himself, but I really do not have much to say on the matter. Except "Boo off-shore drilling." And "Why does the entire Democratic Party have to give a standing ovation every time the President takes a breath?" I love Barack Obama as much as the next person, but I'd be frustrated if every time I paused for a comma, the room erupted in applause. It delays the next thought.
Anyway, the reason I almost went to sleep without posting was because a friend of mine (he vlogs daily on the YouTube, maybe one day I'll link to his profile so you can meet him and get to know the strange people I have befriended over the years) posted a video tutorial on how to do one's hair and make-up to look like Sailor Moon. I like Sailor Moon. This is not a secret. I would much prefer, however, to be Sailor Jupiter. She's more awesome. But yeah, so then I got distracted by YouTube videos of this girl doing cosmetics tutorials. I really liked her voice. That happens a lot. I'll watch TV shows, movies, listen to songs, and favorite random people on YouTube because I just really like the intonation and musical qualities of their voices. Part of the reason I watch Everyday Italian on the Food Network is the fact that I like the way Giada DiLaurentis pronounces her "cr"s, like in "crust" or "crumbs." It sounds so nice. My favorite part of watching RENT is hearing Jesse L. Martin's voice. It's like butter and warm chocolate and cinnamon all rolled into one. It's literally delicious-sounding.
In case you can't tell, I really like voices. I like using and listening to different voices. I think they're beautiful and funny and fun and awesome.
Listen to the voices in your head (they're often right),
Rachel Leigh
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Metablogging
This is what I shall call "metablogging." It consists of any time that I blog about blogging.
I find it really funny, blogging. Just the word is funny. But more than that, I think the concept is funny. The fact that thousands of people around the planet convince themselves that enough people are interested in hearing their opinions that they end up posting their innermost thoughts and feelings on the internet. It's really quite funny.
Unless you're a celebrity or the things you say are particularly insightful, the rest of the world probably doesn't care about what you did today, or your reflections about a cup of coffee.
Of course, I lump myself in with this sillyness. I, of course, post every day and frequently wonder what people think of the things I'm saying. The fact of the matter, though, is that most of the world really just doesn't care that much. Sure, a few of my close friends will probably read this when I post a link to the latest entry on facebook, and maybe it will come up if colleges or future employers decide to Google me as the internet safety lectures try and convince me will happen. But aside from that, the likelihood that this blog will be noticed by anyone, and therefore be read by anyone, is fairly small.
So I shall continue my blogging and my metablogging, but really...why?
Meta-love,
Rachel Leigh
I find it really funny, blogging. Just the word is funny. But more than that, I think the concept is funny. The fact that thousands of people around the planet convince themselves that enough people are interested in hearing their opinions that they end up posting their innermost thoughts and feelings on the internet. It's really quite funny.
Unless you're a celebrity or the things you say are particularly insightful, the rest of the world probably doesn't care about what you did today, or your reflections about a cup of coffee.
Of course, I lump myself in with this sillyness. I, of course, post every day and frequently wonder what people think of the things I'm saying. The fact of the matter, though, is that most of the world really just doesn't care that much. Sure, a few of my close friends will probably read this when I post a link to the latest entry on facebook, and maybe it will come up if colleges or future employers decide to Google me as the internet safety lectures try and convince me will happen. But aside from that, the likelihood that this blog will be noticed by anyone, and therefore be read by anyone, is fairly small.
So I shall continue my blogging and my metablogging, but really...why?
Meta-love,
Rachel Leigh
Monday, January 25, 2010
A Nighttime Post
This is a nighttime post. As this blog progresses, these will become the norm. This is because, as a full-time student, most of my free time comes, shockingly, at night. There are also lovely filters on the school's computers which prohibit access to blogs and blogging websites. Something about wanting to make sure students are focusing on their school work during school hours. What the crap?
Anyway, did you know that the teenage body is supposed to get nine hours of sleep every night? I'm not entirely sure how that's possible. No teenager I know gets that much sleep. Our schedules rarely permit it. School, work, homework, studying, and socializing keep people up until midnight, if not later. And then we all have to wake up in time to make the first bell at 7:30. There aren't enough hours in the day.
Aside from that, research has been done that says that melatonin-production schedules in teenagers are contradictory to our current schedules. Melatonin is the hormone that puts the human body to sleep, and in teenagers, the hormone doesn't even begin production until 1 o'clock in the morning. This means that the teenage body is not naturally accustomed to going to bed in time to get those 9 hours of sleep it needs and still wake up in time for school.
Clearly, something's gotta give. And for most teenagers I know, what gets tossed to the wayside is adequate sleep. Hooray for nocturnal teenagers.
Sleep well, my darlings,
Rachel Leigh
Anyway, did you know that the teenage body is supposed to get nine hours of sleep every night? I'm not entirely sure how that's possible. No teenager I know gets that much sleep. Our schedules rarely permit it. School, work, homework, studying, and socializing keep people up until midnight, if not later. And then we all have to wake up in time to make the first bell at 7:30. There aren't enough hours in the day.
Aside from that, research has been done that says that melatonin-production schedules in teenagers are contradictory to our current schedules. Melatonin is the hormone that puts the human body to sleep, and in teenagers, the hormone doesn't even begin production until 1 o'clock in the morning. This means that the teenage body is not naturally accustomed to going to bed in time to get those 9 hours of sleep it needs and still wake up in time for school.
Clearly, something's gotta give. And for most teenagers I know, what gets tossed to the wayside is adequate sleep. Hooray for nocturnal teenagers.
Sleep well, my darlings,
Rachel Leigh
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Day 3: On Slumps
My blogging has yet to hit a slump. Perhaps that's because the rest of my life seems to have run head-first into the wall protecting me from going insane with boredom and isolation.
Let me make this very clear: I cannot stand to be alone. I am terrified of it. There is a long list of things I would rather do than be alone, and it includes getting teeth pulled without an anesthetic, drinking mildly-corrosive acid, and being poked repeatedly with a fork. I think pretty much the only thing I had more than solitude is the idea of being eaten alive by a giant spider. That might be more terrifying. I'm not sure, though. It could be less scary.
Anyway, so for the last three days, I have had no human contact outside of my own mother (and even that has been limited) and a two-minute conversation with my friend from through a ticket-window which was ended when people needed to actually purchase tickets from said window. And this solitude is starting to drive me completely bonkers. I have spent approximately 30 of the last 72 hours doing absolutely nothing, and approximately another 30 sleeping. The remaining 12 hours were spent either walking or in school. Ugh.
I have, decided, however, to fix my slump. I have had some coffee to get my body charged, and have gotten up, gotten cleaned up, and gotten dressed. I took a walk, and if it's the last thing I do, I shall show this slump who is boss. Which is me.
Tomorrow I shall discuss more things.
Don't get in a slump,
Rachel Leigh
Let me make this very clear: I cannot stand to be alone. I am terrified of it. There is a long list of things I would rather do than be alone, and it includes getting teeth pulled without an anesthetic, drinking mildly-corrosive acid, and being poked repeatedly with a fork. I think pretty much the only thing I had more than solitude is the idea of being eaten alive by a giant spider. That might be more terrifying. I'm not sure, though. It could be less scary.
Anyway, so for the last three days, I have had no human contact outside of my own mother (and even that has been limited) and a two-minute conversation with my friend from through a ticket-window which was ended when people needed to actually purchase tickets from said window. And this solitude is starting to drive me completely bonkers. I have spent approximately 30 of the last 72 hours doing absolutely nothing, and approximately another 30 sleeping. The remaining 12 hours were spent either walking or in school. Ugh.
I have, decided, however, to fix my slump. I have had some coffee to get my body charged, and have gotten up, gotten cleaned up, and gotten dressed. I took a walk, and if it's the last thing I do, I shall show this slump who is boss. Which is me.
Tomorrow I shall discuss more things.
Don't get in a slump,
Rachel Leigh
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori
For Christmas this year, my best friend gave me a copy of The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen. I reread some of it after my Comparative Government final. After reading through a few of the contained poems and the biographical introduction, I began thinking about Owen's writing and why he is one of my favorite poets of all time. This is what I got out of it:
What I like about Wilfred Owen's poetry is how real it is. People often find it depressing. Of course it's depressing. It's war poetry. War is depressing. People lose limbs. Bright, healthy, happy boys go off in search of courage and with dreams of glory. Many of them come home in body bags, if at all. Owen saw this long before the rest of the world. He was a fatality of the first World War, the so-called "Great War," and he saw that the war he fought was sad and disgusting. He commanded men, men he thought were brave, strong, and worthy of all the best things in the world, and watched them die. He watched as gas hit and he saw men's faces hanging "like a devil's sick of sin" as they hoped and waited for death. His poetry is beautiful and horrifying and disgusting and heart-wrenching and political.
I guess the biggest tragedy is that he died before the end. He found himself in the trenches in France and never lived to see the fruition of his growth. After so loudly opposing war and getting so close to peace, he just...died. He warned that death for one's country was neither sweet nor glorious, but he was both sweet and glorious, and his death was a tragic loss.
What I like about Wilfred Owen's poetry is how real it is. People often find it depressing. Of course it's depressing. It's war poetry. War is depressing. People lose limbs. Bright, healthy, happy boys go off in search of courage and with dreams of glory. Many of them come home in body bags, if at all. Owen saw this long before the rest of the world. He was a fatality of the first World War, the so-called "Great War," and he saw that the war he fought was sad and disgusting. He commanded men, men he thought were brave, strong, and worthy of all the best things in the world, and watched them die. He watched as gas hit and he saw men's faces hanging "like a devil's sick of sin" as they hoped and waited for death. His poetry is beautiful and horrifying and disgusting and heart-wrenching and political.
I guess the biggest tragedy is that he died before the end. He found himself in the trenches in France and never lived to see the fruition of his growth. After so loudly opposing war and getting so close to peace, he just...died. He warned that death for one's country was neither sweet nor glorious, but he was both sweet and glorious, and his death was a tragic loss.
"Blood's dirt," he laughed, looking away
Far off to where his wound had bled
And almost merged forever into clay.
"The world is washing out its stains," he said.
"It doesn't like our cheeks so red:
Young blood's its great objection.
But when we're duly white-washed, being dead,
The race will bear Field-Marshal God's inspection."
--"Inspection" by Wilfred Owen
Welcome to Day 2 of the Snarkfest
I'm sitting on my floor, surrounded by two broken backpacks, a laptop case, books on the meaning of Shakespeare, a sock, and a wet towel. My trash can is literally overflowing with college mail and papers from the past semester that I am finally and happily ridding myself of forever. I'm honestly wondering what is wrong with my life. Right now, though, my major concern is my impending appointment.
You'd think by now I'd be used to these. It's the seventh visit in a round of psychiatric appointments designed to test me for and help me cope with ADHD. On the one hand, I feel like I'm one of the most functional ADD kids I've ever met. On the other, I twitch like crazy and never stop talking, and apparently my lack of focus interferes with my executive functions.
I think the reason I'm concerned about this appointment is just that I don't know where we're going now. I got back the results of my testing over the last two appointments and...now what? I know she wants me to phase out processed sugars and artificial flavors and get regular exercise to handle my hyperactivity but I really don't know what else she might want me to change. And I'm not sure I like it.
I swear I will talk about Wilfred Owen soon.
Hope You're Doing Well,
Rachel Leigh
You'd think by now I'd be used to these. It's the seventh visit in a round of psychiatric appointments designed to test me for and help me cope with ADHD. On the one hand, I feel like I'm one of the most functional ADD kids I've ever met. On the other, I twitch like crazy and never stop talking, and apparently my lack of focus interferes with my executive functions.
I think the reason I'm concerned about this appointment is just that I don't know where we're going now. I got back the results of my testing over the last two appointments and...now what? I know she wants me to phase out processed sugars and artificial flavors and get regular exercise to handle my hyperactivity but I really don't know what else she might want me to change. And I'm not sure I like it.
I swear I will talk about Wilfred Owen soon.
Hope You're Doing Well,
Rachel Leigh
Friday, January 22, 2010
Hello World
So, every time I start blogging--seriously blogging--something seems to get in the way. I finally found a blog that I could really get in to, and...the server went down. And thanks to my darling friends at freedomofknowledge.org, never went back up. Really, guys? You couldn't protect my darling blog? Oh well.
The point is that after a year on hiatus from blogging, I am back, on a new hosting site (yes, I know blogspot is not the most advanced of blogging tools, but what can you do when you can't afford a domain name on your own?), and better than ever. I'm hoping I can think of something to post about every day to make this blog actually worth reading, but if I can't, you'll have to forgive me.
For those of you who did not read or frequent my previous blog (Harmony, Melody, and the Music in My Head), my name is Rachel Leigh Hall. I am currently a senior in high school who specializes in saying a lot while saying a little. Or vice versa. I am proud to say that I really enjoy blogging and pretending that you all want to read about my life. This blog will be a little bit rant-y, most likely, but it's always fun to write those posts. I assume one of my first posts will be some thoughts about Wilfred Owen that I wrote down the other day.
I hope to be snarky, witty, and critical enough to warrant this blog title.
Hope you're having a wonderful day,
Rachel Leigh
The point is that after a year on hiatus from blogging, I am back, on a new hosting site (yes, I know blogspot is not the most advanced of blogging tools, but what can you do when you can't afford a domain name on your own?), and better than ever. I'm hoping I can think of something to post about every day to make this blog actually worth reading, but if I can't, you'll have to forgive me.
For those of you who did not read or frequent my previous blog (Harmony, Melody, and the Music in My Head), my name is Rachel Leigh Hall. I am currently a senior in high school who specializes in saying a lot while saying a little. Or vice versa. I am proud to say that I really enjoy blogging and pretending that you all want to read about my life. This blog will be a little bit rant-y, most likely, but it's always fun to write those posts. I assume one of my first posts will be some thoughts about Wilfred Owen that I wrote down the other day.
I hope to be snarky, witty, and critical enough to warrant this blog title.
Hope you're having a wonderful day,
Rachel Leigh
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