I Don't Care!... Okay, Maybe I Do

Hey There!
So this week's tweet is actually one that one of my followers retweeted and upon reading it, I had to retweet it as well. It's also rather funny that I would stumble upon this tweet because as freshman year comes to a close, I realize just how applicable it is to some of the people I have befriended this year.
My freshman year here at Penn State has been a learning experience, to say the least. While I have learned something new in each of my classes, I would say that the bulk of my learning came from experiences outside of the classroom. Namely, through living with someone else.
To sum up the situation with my roommate, we requested one another coming into this year and about a week in, I realized things about her that I really didn't like. Since we requested one another, I didn't know how to confront the situation and eventually things boiled over and the situation got so bad that we didn't talk for weeks. Now, we manage to be friendly with one another without actually being friends. It works for the both of us and provides us with some space from one another. After all, that shoebox we call a room can get cramped when you spend your entire day with your roommate, as the two of us did. But I have to admit that during the time when we weren't talking, I seemed to talking about her the most to other people. I quickly realized that by trying to maintain my attitude towards her and forcing myself not to talk to her, yet by still being consumed with talking about everything she did,  these were all signs that I clearly did care about the situation. What makes it even harder is I have to admit that I did still care about her as well. We had grown really close at one point during the year and if there was a night she was out at a party little later than I expected, a part of me started to worry that she was okay. But then I would quickly remind myself that I'm supposed to be mad at her and I shouldn't care about her wellbeing. Now that my roommate and I are fine, I realize just how ridiculous I was being and just how true this tweet is. I've realized that if you grow close to someone as a friend (the same applies to someone potentially becoming more than a friend), it's difficult to just turn those feelings off and act like you no longer care about them. A part of you will always care about them, regardless of the situation.
Has the same situation ever happened to you? Did you have to learn the hard way like I did?

Skinny? Fat? Just Right!

Hey there!
I thought this tweet was a great one to talk about for this blog entry. While the hype surrounding body image issues has significantly decreased in recent years, it is still a topic of great discussion. We all know that celebrities play a huge role in this body image topic, considering some of our favorite actresses or singers might appear a certain way on a magazine cover and we strive to emulate that person. This issue especially seems to be a huge deal amongst girls but I'm sure the same is applicable to guys. What I find the most interesting though, is just how often our image of the "ideal" body seems to change so frequently.
I can remember not too long ago, it seemed like every magazine cover was something like this:

Magazine covers showed celebrities from Paris Hilton to Lindsay Lohan and even some models, like Kate Moss. It was nearly everywhere! We saw the skin and bones of some of our favorite celebrities and although many of these magazine covers were denouncing their severe weight loss, these celebrities were still gaining much attention, which could lead one to believe that they were actually being praised for being so skinny. During that time, it seemed like weight loss surgeries and procedures were all the rave in an effort to lose weight and have these "ideal" bodies. Then, our societal views seemed to shift, as the bodies of people like Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and more recently, Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj have been gaining much attention. These women are known as being more curvy. They have larger butts, wider hips, thicker thighs. Their bodies are now the "ideal" standard. We've taken this whole body image thing to such an extreme that I've heard that women are able to get injections put into their butts to make them more voluptuous. Ultimately, this is absolutely ridiculous! Women will never be able to successfully achieve this "ideal" body because it is impossible to achieve it. We can work out until we're 98 pounds or pay thousands of dollars to have larger butts and boobs but in the end, we will still never view ourselves as good enough. I decided to use this person's tweet because I love their confidence in accepting themselves just as they are. More people, namely women, need to have a similar view of themselves, which can seriously help us get over this societal obsession with perfecting our bodies.

We're Kind of, Sort of, Dating.... It's Complicated.

Hey guys!
So when I saw this tweet, I had to retweet it and I thought it was absolutely hilarious. I think this tweet especially applies to girls more than it might to guys but all in all, it's hilarious. I think any girl might be able to relate to this tweet in one way or another. There had to be that one time where you really liked someone, so much so that you became almost territorial over them. You completely understood that you and the person were not dating but you still believe, in your head, that you were entitled to have some control over who that person can and cannot talk to. I wonder why we tend to lead ourselves to believe that we are allowed to be territorial over that other person. I wonder if it's our feelings getting the best of us or if it could be contributed to something else. I know when I've had these feelings before, it was strictly because of how I felt for the person and moreover, feeling that if the person is flirting with someone else, they might not be interested in me. Looking back, I realize it's probably ridiculous to act that way but hey, sometimes you just can't help it.
What I also find rather funny is, as this tweet implies, girls have a tendency to get upset with the other person, rather than the girl or guy that they are being territorial over. I don't know if I will ever understand this concept. Granted, I am just as guilty but it is still something I question. That's like when we hear these news stories about women attacking the "other" woman. Um, last time I checked, you were in a relationship with your significant other and not the other person. Therefore, shouldn't you be upset with your significant other and not the other person?! In hindsight, it's actually really ridiculous that girls, especially, tend to get upset with the other person to such a degree when they really should be mad at the person they are talking to, dating, married to, etc.

#Y.O.L.O Has To G.O.G.O!

So for those of you who might not know, recently, the rapper Drake released a song, "The Motto" featuring Lil Wayne. During the chorus of the song, Drake raps, "You only live once: that's the motto ni**a, YOLO..." Since the song gained popularity, we suddenly see people tacking a "#yolo" to end of their tweets on Twitter. At first, it was cool because the song was still new and that tends to be the trend with newer songs; people find a part of the song that they like and they quote it on Facebook and Twitter. But now, this YOLO thing seriously needs to end! I think this tweet nicely conveys my point:









While the rhyme in the song is rather catchy, the overuse of the acronym really just makes people seem like idiots. I'm pretty sure we all know that we only have one life to live but why are we suddenly taking advantage of that privilege because Drake mentioned it in a song? I've seen it used countless times. People consider not doing their homework or choosing to drink on a Wednesday night instead of the typical Thursday night to be an example of "YOLO". Okay, I guess these can be examples of "YOLO" but I'm pretty sure this won't be the last time that you decide not to do your homework and it's not all that atypical for some people to decide to go out on a Wednesday night. Ultimately, I think the overuse of the term to justify making, in some cases, stupid or ridiculous decisions just makes people seem rather foolish. If you decide to do something, you're typically not choosing to do it because you only live once, but you're doing it because you want to. I'm pretty sure 95% of the people who constantly use this "YOLO" term ever really consider the fact that they only live once when they are making decisions... People are just using the term because it seems like the "cool" thing to do. Well, they're wrong. It's really just annoying!
Also, these people who are now suddenly using "YOLO" should probably consider that the deeper meaning of the term is to teach people to actually appreciate the experiences we have in life and to take advantage of opportunities, and not to justify making ridiculous or random decisions.

Recently found this on Facebook... Perfectly explains my point!

"Oh Sorry I Forgot... I Only Exist When You Need Something"

Hello there!
So this week, my younger cousin actually retweeted the tweet I chose to share with you all. I think we all have met this person once before in our lives. The people who manage to exemplify the meaning of the term "user." These are the people who you might see everyday but they rarely ever say anything to you. At most, they might offer up a "hi." But then, all of a sudden when they need or want something from you, they happen to know you on a friendlier basis. They act as if the two of you have been best friends for the longest time when funny enough, just a day or two ago, the person treated you as if you were a stranger. In all honesty, I cannot stand these types of people. I guess I do not understand how someone can really believe they are justified in being so phony. Maybe it's because of my personality type but I try to be as genuinely nice towards people as I possibly can. But when I encounter these user-types... it's a different story. For example, last semester, I took a biochemical and molecular biology class. The class met three times a week and was mostly lecture. One girl would come to class but then spend most of the time on her Blackberry. Later, she would ask that I send her the notes. The first time, I sent them to her since I was trying to be nice. But it made me feel like I was being used when I would see her outside of class with her own friends, and she would walk past me as if I was a complete stranger to her. Really? Are you kidding me? Then, during one class, I noticed that she would sit in class and use her phone so I just stopped sending her the notes all together. I know it was probably mean of me to do that but the same way I could pay attention in class, so could she. This, my friends, is a prime example of a user!
Have you ever had to deal with someone who would only use you for what you could do or give to them? How did you handle that situation?

#GPAProblems

 Hey There! :)
So this week, I found this tweet thanks to one of my followers who happened to retweet it. I thought it was such a great reminder to us college students that while GPAs matter, they do not define us.
We have all been afforded such a wonderful opportunity to attend such a great university like Penn State. And with the academic greatness that Penn State is known for, there also comes much competition between students. Ultimately, we all want to succeed but I've noticed that here, one's GPA definitely seems to "say" a lot about the person and their character. We are all quick to make assumptions to explain why someone's GPA might be whatever it is, "Oh he parties all the time, no wonder his GPA is so low" or "Her GPA is only so high because she lives in the library. She has no social life." And with these assumptions typically come judgments about how "smart" or "dumb" a person is. As we all know, a higher GPA usually means someone is smart. But is this really the case? That then brings about the question, "what constitutes as being 'smart'?" Just because someone might not be able to score a 95 on an exam, that does not mean that they are not smart. Maybe they just aren't the best of test takers? I know from my own experiences with classes, most grades are almost solely based on test scores. While the argument of whether or not this is fair is a whole other situation, it is the reality. Therefore, if someone is not a good test taker and their grade is largely based on test scores, then their GPA might obviously be lower. But a test score and even a GPA really does not reveal much about that person's intellectual ability, as this tweet implies.
In fact, I think it's important to mention that the late Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple and Pixar, dropped out of college after only one semester. We all know of the amazing things Jobs managed to do during his lifetime (one might argue that he single handedly changed technology forever) yet he dropped out of school. Jobs presents a perfect example of GPA not defining intellectual ability.
What's your take on this matter? Do you think a GPA is a reflection of intellectual ability or is it merely a number?

Never Judge A Book By Its Cover

Hey There! So this tweet is actually from someone who I do not follow, but I stumbled upon it thanks to the hash tag "#wordsofwisdom" at the end of the tweet. For those of you who might not be very familiar with Twitter, that hash tag at the end of this girl's tweet is blue because it is actually a link to a page where other Twitter users also tweeted something on the topic of "words of wisdom". I especially loved this tweet because I think it definitely embodies a word of wisdom that people should remember. 

I think often times in society, we get so caught up in judging one another that it has become difficult for us to take a second to consider what someone else might be going through in their own lives. This tweet is especially important for women to consider. We all know that girls tend to be rather catty, finding any and every thing to attack about another woman, regardless of whether or not we actually know that person. As an African-American female, I can speak from first hand experience and this is definitely an issue within our community. I've seen it so many times; one girl sees another girl at a party or some where out and within a few minutes, they have judged that other person from head to toe. It's actually so sad. Black women tend to be especially critical of other Black women. Instead of empowering one another, we have a tendency to tear one another down in any and every which way we can. Sometimes, it seems like it is rather difficult for African-American women to uplift one another because we are too busy being each other's worse enemies. I understand that not all African-American women are this way, and I know that the experience might be different amongst other racial groups, but I am only speaking on what I have observed personally.

When we really stop to think about it, we don't know other people's stories and we definitely don't know what they might be going through at the time. I know I have had days where I was feeling down in the dumps and all it took was someone smiling at me or doing/saying something nice to significantly brighten to my day. That's really all it takes; some small gesture can mean so much to someone, especially when they are upset or feeling down. I believe this tweet really reminds us all, regardless of race or gender, how we should be considerate of other people.

I also have a question for you all to consider: why do you think that we as a people are so quick to judge one another? And how do you think we can correct this judgmental society we have created?