Break The Box... And Then Crush It

This semester, I am taking sociology. I actually like it very much. It is, in fact, my favorite class. It's kind of funny because when I was signing up for my classes this semester, I was ecstatic over my psychology course and a little miffed about having to take the sociology course. Guess what? Hated psychology, loved sociology. (Part of the reason for my intense dislike of psychology was because of my instructor, but I'll save that for another time.)

Anyway.

We were reading about this guy. (Duh, we do a lot of reading in college, don't we?) There was a picture of this man and I found him to be utterly fascinating. He was big and burly - huge muscles! - with tiny, squinty eyes and short blond spiky hair with red streaks. His arms were covered in bright, colorful tattoos of animals and people and words. His face even had tattoos, along his lower lip and chin, under his eyes, along the side of his face and on his forehead. He had a bushy mustache and bushy eyebrows. On the bridge of his nose were two piercings that looked like arrows going through the bridge. He had an eyebrow piercing on each eyebrow and ear piercings as well. AND!! Listen to this: He legally changed his name to 'Scary Guy'. In short, this is not the type of guy that I would want to face on the street, night or day! However, that's categorizing him, isn't it? That's expecting him to be just like any big, burly, scary looking guy because that's what he personifies.

However.

Scary Guy breaks the rules of categorization and generalization. He has broken out of the box we tried to make him fit in. Scary Guy doesn't want to beat you up or lead a revolt. He actually just wants to be your friend. (wait, what?)

It's true. Scary Guy travels across the country, speaking to school kids promoting understanding, love, acceptance, and awareness. Scary Guy isn't scary.

I think about this when I see different kids at my school. Sometimes they are classified as punks, sometimes as emo's, and sometimes as preppies. There are dumb blonds, jocks, sluts - a whole slew of them. Its so easy to put everyone in a box. Take one look and then go, 'Oh, they are such and such.' (which makes me wonder, what exactly would I be? Other than funky and unconventional?)

I hate the phrase 'don't judge a book by it's cover'. It's so over used that it's sickening. So I am going with, 'don't underestimate the creative image of a specified person.' (I love using college sounding words). Most people are very nice. (notice, I said most, not all)

I don't know what I'm trying to say other than that I don't like being judged or put in a box. I am me. You can't generalize that because there is no other me, just as there is no other you. I wear black, but I'm not emo. I paint my finger nails the color of a rainbow, but I'm not overly girly. I wear make-up but I am definitely not fake. (actually, I'm painfully blunt and honest) I wear my brother's socks when I run out of my own, I listen to classic rock, my bedroom is always a pigsty, and I enjoy doing random things. Welcome to my world. (just be careful not to trip on the messy floor)

So, break out of your box and then crush it. Show the world who you really are (without breaking the law, preferably) and shine like a star!!

May the frets be with you.

The First Eight

Things To Do When I Am Bored #1:
Leave random, strange messages on my mother's facebook wall.

"Hi mom! I'm so happy, I could pop and shower you with yellow chocolate candy!"

(no, I don't do drugs. I wasn't high.)

Things To Do When I Am Bored #2:
Poke Steven Peter incessantly and without remorse.

"poke...poke...poke...poke...etc."

(this was also on facebook)

Things To Do When I Am Bored #3:
Stalk Mr. Joe Marino through twitter (lol)...which turns out to be incredibly easy and a little boring.

(Joe is my best friend, so no, he doesn't mind...although, he never did respond to this.)

Things To Do When I Am Bored #4:
Stand in the hall, look furtively around, and whisper quietly into my phone.

(later, one of my friends suggested i whisper into my wrist instead. I liked this idea immensely.)

Things To Do When I Am Bored #5:
Sit in the Art Gallery and stare with incurable fascination at the lady dressed in bad fur.

(the Art Gallery is called an 'Art Gallery' for a reason...)

Things To Do When I Am Bored #6:
Constantly push the handicap button to open doors for people and then smile and say 'Thank you, have a nice day!'

(please keep in mind that I come up with these ideas when I am imprisoned at my college)


Things To Do When I Am Bored #7:
Sit outside and enjoy the nice weather while being bombarded by smokers who forgot their lighter at whom I smile and say, 'Sorry, I don't smoke...I only drink.'

(no, I don't really drink. I hate alcohol.)

Things To Do When I Am Bored #8:
Put my headphones on, turn up Skillet and perform some amazing air guitar.

(Skillet is a heavy metal Christian band. They rock. Literally.)

Don't Listen To Me

Life as a college student can be a thrill ride. Then again, it can also be incredibly boring and tedious. If you have a schedule like mine, then you have a long break in the afternoon that's about two hours long, and it's the only long break you have. If you're creative or have a lot of friends, you can usually find something to occupy your time other than homework. However, my schedule doesn't coincide with any of my friend's schedules and I get become easily bored with facebook and twitter.

So...

I've come up with a plan to combat my boredom. Each day I am at school, I will come up with one or two ridiculous things I can do for fun without getting in trouble...at least, I hope I can avoid the trouble....

I do not suggest that you follow in my footsteps. I don't want any irate parents, professors, or fellow students to bring hell upon my head. Therefore, this is my disclaimer: DON'T DO IT! Just read about me doing it and live it vicariously. It's much safer that way, and you won't suffer any bodily harm that may be inflicted upon me.

It started off simple enough. Now I find that my obnoxious side has surfaced and I'm beginning to learn what it's like to 'dance like nobody is watching'...and if they are watching, I'm learning not to care quite so much.

May the frets be with you.

The Noticer

We've been studying Mark Twain in Humanities class. One thing my professor pointed out was that Mark Twain was a 'noticer' and she encouraged us to be noticers as well. Now, people fascinate me. I always want to figure out how they work and why they do what they do. Becoming a 'noticer' was not hard for me to do because I already pay a lot of attention to things. Here's a tip for all you writers: Pay attention to your surroundings. Pay attention to the way things sound, feel, taste, and look like so that you can describe it more accurately in your prose. If you've ever read Mark Twain, then you are aware of how descriptive he was. In 'Huckleberry Finn', he captured the essence of Americanism in that day, both in the language of the people and how they lived. He had talent for portraying things the way they really were. Part of being a good writer is making it seem real. Instead of writing, 'The air smelled like grease' you could write, 'The air was heavy and sticky with grease making it hard to breathe easily.' Which sentence paints a more mental image for you?

I love details. I love having things explained, even if it means taking something apart and dissecting it myself. The question and answer format used in most writing styles is also found in song writing.

In my own songwriting, I try to capture a real problem and give a definitive answer. It could be about religion, faith, politics, education, war, or peace. It can be hard to get exactly what I want when I am rhyming lines and trying to make smooth stanzas, bridges, and choruses. However, If I know exactly what I want to say in one particular song, I simply pinpoint that idea and separate related ideas or views. I just wrote a song about how easy it is to lose sight of what's important, and what I was referring to was God. No worries, I'm not going to preach at you. My whole point here is that you have to figure out what it is you want to pinpoint. In order to be a good noticer, you must first notice yourself.

What do I know, I'm just a poor college student. Although, I know that macroeconomics is the study of aggregate economic behavior focusing on employment, inflation, and economic growth. I also know that if you are still reading this, I must not have bored you too much, and that's always a stellar thing.

So, go notice and be noticed...in a good way.

May the frets be with you.

My Valentine

Removed by User.

Thank You Jesus

Yes, I got my second chance...

May the frets be with you.

Two Realities

Its hard, sometimes, to separate what we choose to believe from the true reality. Its easier to believe lies and live in your own reality. Of course, then you world slowly falls apart because it's been built on lies and it has no real foundation to rely on. But what is harsher - having your reality ripped away, or continuing to live in it without ever realizing what you're missing?

I'm glad I live in a real reality. Yes, my own reality is much nicer and softer and exactly what I need. Or is it? It is what I choose to believe is good for me. There are so many harsh things in true reality that I come to face with. Though I wouldn't see them in my own dream, I would never have the experience to grow, to overcome, to thrive, to become. I would become a vegetable, never having to exercise my brain or body --and that I could not bear.

However, I've come to find that in CERTAIN aspects of reality, it is safer to retreat back into my own. In times of duress and pain, surrounded by the constant needs and wants of others, I can receed slightly into my own reality and downplay the pains, murmurs, heartbreaks, and gasps for breath that I myself endure. I can make them become almost unreal. The sad part is when they become too real for my fake world and they enter the real one and I realize I shouldn't be downplaying them. However I never learn, and I stuff them back. I have no time nor do I have any desire to focus on myself. It is the last thing I want to do.

So where do I go now? I go to sleep. That's the beautiful thing about tomorrow. It's as if today never happened. It is only a faint recollection of the mind, and the mind is a faulty, undependable mediator between yesterday and today. So I sleep...and I dream...and I awake and decide that today is not the day to think of myself, it is the day to think of others. I, myself, am not that important, nor am I that fragile and weak that I need the attention. I may want it, desperately want it, but my selflessness will always win.

So where do I go now? I go to sleep so I can wake up and pretend that today never happened.



May the frets be with you.