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You can now find me at www.shayfan.com
No, seriously.
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| Has it really been about a month since I've written a blog entry? Oops.
I wish I could say that the past month was filled to the brim with things to do, people to see, and important decisions to make ... but quite honestly, the truth is closer to the fact that I had things to do, people to see, and lots of time to waste.
I've been thinking a lot lately (yet again) about my favorite question in the world: what do I do with my life? Other than the fact that I've been turning and toiling over this question for years now (and for years to come, I imagine) I didn't have an "ah-ha!" epiphany moment until yesterday, when I grabbed a quick drink with a classmate from UT.
She told me what she was doing: working, blogging, writing, coding - all sorts of things that I wished I could be juggling at once.
I confessed my slight envious feelings of her life - and then she asked me: "Why don't you do the same thing? What's holding you back? What's the worst that can happen even if you fail?"
Quite honestly, I never know what holds me back. Is it my penchant for lazing around? My love of sleep and television? Or is it my inability to say "no" to time-consuming tasks that aren't that important to me?
I think, it's everything. But most of all, it's me.
But other than my shortcomings, I feel like I've come a long way. I've been living and working in a new city. I've been learning to enjoy things on my own. I went on random adventures, went snowboarding for the first time, and I'm running a half-marathon. I even took an acting class, learned a monologue, and worked on scenes with a partner. I tried writing for a blog, but sadly that hasn't been as going as well as I would have liked.
So what's next? For starters, here are things I want to do -
- Finally learn how to make a web site, even if it's a nicer wordpress blog (sadly, this means your days are numbered, xanga)
- Draw, doodle, or sketch more often
- Write a short story or scripts
- Try to freelance
Do-able?
We'll see...
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| When I think back to the person I was four years ago, one stark difference would be how much campaign fever I had. I was interested in reading about the issues, I watched the debates, I also watched the charts on USA Today and CNN with the avid devotion of a puppy dog staring at a steak. But lately, even though this has been one of the most exciting races to date (for many MANY reasons) I can't help but feel a bit disengaged and disillusioned by it all. The fanfare, the canned speeches, and the promises - they just don't do it for me. I find it interesting how people like to dissect how someone delivers a speech. As I mentioned earlier, it makes sense that we scrutinize the way a person presents themself - mostly because that's all we got. But at the same time, we need to take things with a grain of salt. Sure, it's nice and dandy that someone can pronounce words correctly and rally the crowd - but what about other things? The one issue I've been pondering about is the scrutiny (and in recent cases, the defense) of Palin's pregnant daughter. My initial thoughts are - okay, teen pregnancy. It happens. It shouldn't be a big deal. But on the other hand, one thing does bother me (as pointed out by an admittedly partisan writer): isn't it rather ironic that Palin is supposed to be socially conservative, as in - abstinence only teaching? Apparently, it didn't seem to really work in that birds and the bees talk. The media also seem quick to print that her daughter is getting married to the dad. Oh, yes. That's wonderful. Some 17-year-old who probably knows nothing about life (other than accidentally creating it) is going to be hitched (supposedly) FOR LIFE with some 18-year-old who probably has even less of an idea what it's like to be an adult. Granted, I don't know them. They could be really mature 17 and 18-year-olds. But I guess it doesn't hurt for them to get hitched to help someone's image. There is the argument that this isn't a big deal, as long as the wife and husband of the child aren't a burden on society. Really? Okay. I guess it's pretty lucky that this girl was born in the right family. But what about those kids who AREN'T born in the right family where mommy and daddy can plan a shotgun wedding and pay for everything they need? And if I read another story about that other knocked up 17-year-old, I'm going to scream. Way to propogate the popularity of teen pregnancy, media. Way to go. Do I think that the fact that her daughter is pregnant should be taken into consideration? On one hand, no. Her daughter made a mistake and it shouldn't reflect on how she is as a leader and future VP, right? On the other hand, YES. How can you proudly tout that you are going to be a great leader yet somehow fail to realize that your daughter was getting it on? It's not even the fact that she was getting it on (it happens)...it's the fact that she was naive (and, sure, unlucky) enough to get pregnant. The most interesting fact to me is how the Republican party managed to spin this into "no big deal." If anything, I am in awe of their diligence with containing fires. | | |
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With all the buzz about the election and upcoming race, I find it incredibly interesting how communication really plays a key role in everything. Many people often scoff at those who major in Communications (admittedly, I am often a bit hesitant to tell people my real major) but when I read analysis by journalists or commentators on HOW a speech was delivered and the word choices in said speech, I can't help but smile to myself.
Politicians, and the whole political game in general, is a little bit juvenile to me. I believe that we ought to have a leader and that the government was formed for the purpose of the greater good, but when the colors are flying and the fingers are pointing, it feels more like a contest to see who can say the right thing the right way to the right people. And the way to get the votes or to win the game is the way you communicate, verbally or non-verbally.
There is no possible way I would ever know what John McCain or Barack Obama are like in real life - I doubt I would ever have the privilege of carrying on a personal conversation with either candidate. So what I see and digest - their words, their presence on television - is really what I have to base my vote on. As Chinapocahantas pointed out, it's quite interested that these people are essentially actors. They are told what to say, how to say it, and they have a swarm of people buzzing around them to try to win.
Is that a bad thing? Aren't they essentially puppets? And how can we trust what they say?
I think there are two sides to this. On one hand, I think that the ideal purpose of Communications specialists and speech writers isn't solely based on the win, or crafting together the perfect prose. If anything, they are the ghostwriters and artists who are working hard to help a candidate - a leader - say what they want to say in a way that resonates.
Yet, on the other hand, it's like the advertising industry where the sole intent is to make something appeal to the masses - perhaps without the intention that it is the best for everyone.
But despite how you look at this - good or bad - there is no denying that communication is of the utmost importance.
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| When things happen in the past, we should just forget about them, right? After all, what's been said and done is already history - instead, we shouldn't look back, we should move on. To an extent, I agree with this. But in other instances, I think that things that have happened in the past should be noted. We should learn from history, take our lessons from our mistakes, and be wary of those that have burned us or betrayed us. Everybody deserves a second chance, nobody should dwell in the past - but at the same time, there is something to be said about wising up. What if you find out something about the past where you had no idea it was occurring? In essense, the past that you had in your mind is suddenly tainted. Opinions, exchanges, and other occurences no longer seem to be what they were in your mind before. My first instinct was to get incredibly angry - which I did - but then, after talking about it, I realize that in the specific instance that I am referring to (as cryptically as I am describing it) there really is no point any longer. As one friend said - my real friends will be there for me. My real friends won't be tainted by vicious lies, and hateful things said about me unbeknownst to me. Part of me still wants to rage about it - after all, even if it were in the past, it makes me angry to know that people, many people that I may not even have met have a ill pre-conceived notion of me because of one person's hateful whim. Thank goodness that is in the past. But, it doesn't mean that I am likely to forget. | | |
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