Oh, hi.

Just thought I would drop by for an update.

Basically, my life is awesome.  I am living an awesome life.

Can't wait to see what happens.

Auditing a class this J-Term - Video Games as an Art Form.  Should be fun.

I just have a few things left to do.

Spring Break 2012

It's kind of like a sabbatical, I think.

I have goals, like reading the books I need to read for my one huge term paper this semester, but mainly this week is about me.

For the first time, the majority of my work this semester has consisted of creation.  I wrote more than fifty pages of original work for one class alone.  Add the thirty-four pages for my other classes and it becomes natural to think that I am feeling a bit drained.

I need to be rejuvenated, and I really think the only way to do that is to remember why I am doing all of this.  So Friday, I watched Glee.  Sunday I watched Star Wars.  Today I am watching Harry Potter and I may or may not be watching Avatar later.  Also, I think I'll be reading Catching Fire tonight.

Already, I am thinking of fresh ideas to apply to my work.  New and better ways to accomplish what I really want to accomplish.  Maybe sometime this week I'll try to apply them, but I think I'll hold off on school-related creation this week.  If I write anything, it'll be fandom related.  That's more of a game than creation, anyway.

Of course, sometimes I feel like I'm beginning to take myself too seriously.  Writing is supposedly to be about expression and all that.  But if I learned anything this semester, it's that writing is about communication, or rather conveying that expression to an audience.  Therefore, if I am going to be successful, I must begin to strictly adhere to what I want to say.  It is a careful and serious business, writing.

I know that sounds pretentious, but if I were to remain artsy rather than serious about my craft, I am sure I would achieve nothing.

This week is to prepare me for the work ahead.

I Know I'm Not on Here Much Anymore

But I feel like I should let you all know that some of my work has been selected for publication in LU's literary magazine, Arrow Rock.  I'm thinking it will be in print in April.

Next task: The GRE.

So I haven't been here in awhile.

Sorry about that.

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Updates About My Life:

• More in love with Glee
• But I also hate it so much
• I realize that is unhealthy
• I am far too attached to my iPhone
• How did I survive without it?
• I realize that is unhealthy
• Going to be published in LU literary journal
• Fun stuff.
• School is awesome
• Need to think about the GRE
• Also need to think about the Writing Assessment 
• Developing a love for hipster music
• Although, this is happening so late, can it be called hipster music anymore?
• Feel free to recommend more.

And Miles To Go Before I Sleep

Sometimes I get so tired.  I just want to pack it all in and say, "Screw everything.  Everybody thinks I am so crazy for wanting what I want out of this life; I probably am.  Life is hard. So hard, in fact, that I really shouldn't even try to achieve anything I really truly want, because that's too hard."

Hopes and dreams are overrated; Realism is where it's at.  Taking the path of only relatively mild resistance--that is what you are asking of me.  That is what you call practicality.

In those times, I realize that I am confusing Realism for Fatalism; it's a family trait.

The only thing that is 'real' is the feeling I get when I think about where I'll be in five years.  That sensation of unbridled excitement and anticipation is the only 'real' thing I know these days.

Think what you will.  After all, I cannot stop you.  But the conflict between environmental and personal logic perspective it what is truly tiresome.

If only you could see what I see.  Nothing here is enough.

A Political Post

I watched this PBS documentary called "God in America" which was extremely interesting.  It's basically broke down exactly how the Evangelicals became so involved and influential in conservative politics.  It's all Reagan's fault.  This explains why the relatively large community of conservative-extremists I shared a high school with seemed to worship Reagan.  Hmm.

Anyway, from watching this documentary and thinking quite a bit, I concluded that if the Right Wing wants to realistically end abortion, they have to stop treating it like a political issue and begin to understand it as a social issue.  I mean, in Iran, abortion is illegal, which is what the Right Wing wants--it wants to obliterate Planned Parenthood and clinics that offer abortions.  Okay.  Well, conversely, in Iran it is legal to sell one of your kidneys, granted that it meets certain standards.  In fact, Iran is the only country that allows the sale of kidneys. That's ridiculous, right?  Yeah, people can live with one kidney, but why would anyone be so desperate for money that they would sell a kidney?  The answer is simple:  They need the money to pay for black market drugs (that may or may not be expired), and to then pay half-ass operation, under-the-table, group of shady individuals to perform an illegal (and not to mention completely unregulated by medical professionals) abortion.  Now, you may think I am inferring this, but I am not--I have watched several documentaries and researched the issue.  Clearly, the legal status of abortion makes little difference in the existence of the procedure.

The question, then, is how does one actually put an end to abortion?  For me, it seems that Pro-Life Conservatives need to adopt some rather liberal ideals.  Starting with teaching legitimate sexual education courses in school and promoting the use of contraceptives during sex. (Notice what I did there?  I said, "promoting the use of contraceptives during sex" not "promoting sex", which seems to be a common misinterpretation of the syntax.  Please, see the difference.)  This would also included changing the legal system's attitude towards rape from "Don't get raped" to the simple, but efficient "Don't rape".  And perhaps it wouldn't hurt if everyone came to terms with the idea that women can function in the workplace just as well as men, with or without wanting to "settle down and have a family"--career motivated women can also be good mothers, just as career motivated men can also be good fathers.  Men don't have to make a choice, so why should the workplace pressure women into doing so?

Right there, I have outlined every possibly politics-related reason a woman would have an abortion, and it seems to eliminate these reasons politically, the Right Wing Conservatives should consider crossing party lines for a spell.  I will concede that there are several other reasons why a woman would want to get an abortion, but the remaining reasons boil down to social-economic and moral atmosphere and personal choice, which for the most part cannot be regulated politically.  Hence why I said abortion should be treated as a social issue earlier in this post.  And, yes, because those remaining factors cannot be regulated politically, adopting the aforementioned liberal ideals will not bring a complete end to abortion, but it is the closest thing to an end any Pro-Life advocate can realistically hope for.  And if, in the words of John Winthrop and later Ronald Reagan, America truly wants to be a "shining city on a hill" for all of society to look towards, our only concern is that we are closer to perfect than anyone else.  When it comes to abortion, this is the only way to accomplish that.

Unpopular Opinion

America is a nation built on hypocrisy and betrayal.

I am sorry if that is hard for some of my readers to hear, but it is the truth.

If you disagree, I suggest you learn about a people called "Native Americans".  I know they aren't that popular these days, but it would probably be worth your while.

We killed a way of life, and we said God smiled on us.