Heros

<---This is our hero right here

You may guess that this is another article blog (click here)

and you are correct.

In short, Chad Lindsey saved a man that fell down onto the subway tracks of the Penn Station, in New York. When he fell, he apparently hit his head on the rails and became unconscious, bleeding everywhere. Lindsey saw this, jumped down onto the tracks where the man was, and lifted him up onto the platform where other passerby's helped by pulling. He then climbed back onto the platform when ten to fifteen seconds later, the subway passed. 

*He's lucky he plays a role in his acting career where he has to repeatedly lift a guy!

What's cool is that he wanted to leave anonymous. So like a secret hero! (obviously he's not secret anymore, though.) and a weird/cool sense of humor:

"I yelled,'Contact the station agent and call the police!' which I think is hilarious because I don't think I ever said 'station agent' before in my life. What am I, on '24'?"

Although I don't know what "24" means...

Anyways, it's great to hear about things like this now and then especially since all we hear on the news is about criminals, deaths, shootings, fights, scandals, etc. Why can't they show more things like this? Heroic acts are cool, right? I mean, If I could, I'd do something brave, too.

 This makes me think that maybe people do care about each other when it comes to someone's life. Chad Lindsey could have died, but that never occurred to him. He just acted. You'd think that right now with the recession, job losses, and an ever increasing do-it-alone attitude, nobody would think twice to even risking their life, their career, and whatever else they have worked for, to save someone else's. 

I think we should all work to have the same selfless attitude and do as much for others as we do for ourselves. If we do, i believe the world would be so much better than it is now because there won't be greed which leads to corruption in business or government or in people. Look at AIG, for instance. If they hadn't made those inconceivable bets, then we wouldn't have to be bailing them out and wasting billions of dollars that could be used for better things like education funding.

Lesson learned: be generous, be selfless.

Bad Products

My earbuds just broke... my Skullcandy earbuds. My $9.99 Skullcandy earbuds. I just bought them two months ago...

You know what? I think the world intentionally created these earbuds to break easily just so that I'd get up and go buy another pair. And then two months later, another pair. And another, and another... the cycle goes on and on! Eventually that $10 will become $100. I do not have that kind of money.

It really is some marketing ploy. Make crappy products for real cheap that work great for a while. Then they "happen" to break, and you have got to get yourself another pair of those "amazing" sound-blocking earbuds. Those evil geniuses over at Skullcandy - I bet their heads are so full of sugary decaying goodness right now- know how to manipulate minds into believing a cheaper product is in actuality cheap.

But no more!  I will no longer live in their manipulated envisioned world of cheap ear-buds, no! I will save up money to buy a better pair, one that will last longer! Ha! Take that Skeleton-Head-Sugary-Treat! Who gets the last laugh now?

*I do!

I Gotta Write

Haven't you ever felt that you just gotta write?? (excuse my my poor word usage. "Gotta" isn't a word) Well, I don't feel like it much anymore. I'd just rather not. But here I am writing two blogs per week because, you know what? This does not restrict me to the conformity of a prompt. I am free to write about whatever I want to write about and I do not have to always have in mind whether I'm going to off topic or not. 

At first it was hard because as a student, I have always been made to write by a prompt and had become comfortable about being told what to do. I mean, I didn't have to put any major effort of thinking. Just do what they tell you to do and thats it. First time in class we were told to free write, all of us were like, "What the heck? What do I write about?" Eventually though we got used to it. I am glad that we were forced in a way to explore and really write what we are passionate about or simply to opinionate (I just made up a word... opinionate. cool). That way we try to break free from the dehumanized, mechanical daily pattern of going to school, the same thing everyday. We get to say what we want to say with no one to say otherwise, unless, of course, they'd like to comment, which is always welcome.

So... yeah... that's what I wanted to write about today.

What is being healthy?

Health: 

noun- the general condition of the body or mind with reference to soundness and vigor.

Soundness:

adjective- free from injury, damage, defect, disease, etc.; in good condition; healthy; robust.

Vigor:

noun- physical strength and good health.

                                                                

The most accepted definition of being healthy is being free from any sickness or ailment. Doctors describe being healthy as being all those things plus being a standard physical weight as compared to size, and being mentally stable. So technically being overweight isn't healthy. The body weight strains the skeletal frame and the heart, making it work harder than it needs to than if that person were an appropriate weight(leading to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attack, etc... blah blah). But does that mean that being a bit on the heavy side is necessarily bad? Not that I am, but I see people everyday that are completely comfortable with their weight and how they look and I think that is so admirable. 

When people get too caught up with their weight it causes people to internalize every little thing, become unhappy with themselves, and sometimes strive to become their vision of "skinny" in any way possible no matter how dangerous. It's scary seeing people battling disorders like anorexia or bulimia. I think people should take the time to see themselves in a different light and not focus so much on the negative aspects of their bodies because those aspects might just be beautiful in a different way. I guess a good example is... my nose! I won't lie, I have a pretty "unique" nose (at least I think so). I sometimes look at myself and think how easy it would be to dislike my nose: it is long, skinny, and has a bump along the top of it. But then I think how much it perfectly fits my face and how nobody else has a nose like mine, so I kinda feel special. :)

It is all mental. Girls and Guys, please don't fuss over yourselves! Love your bodies no matter what. If you won't, remember there is always good ol' exercise. That's what I tell myself, anyways.

P.S. forget diets! they just restrict the foods you enjoy. Only portion your meals, and eat every other hour to keep from going hungry and keep your metabolism going. 

But don't eat crap, guys. Portioned crap is still crap.

P.S.S I just totally went off topic the whole blog... my bad ;)

I Was Blind Today

Ok, I wasn't really blind. Only partially blind- not even! The thing is that I happened to idiotically forget my glasses AND my contacts. I say "idiotically" because I know for sure I put them in my backpack, but then took them out to check something, and then I left without putting them back in. I know I'm forgetful, but hello? Brain, work with me here! 

So I figured this out in my first hour(Am. Hist. AP), and began ranting- I rant in my first hour from some daily complication all the time- about how I was going to be partially blind all day. Everyone in class was like "that's Alicia as usual" and my friend gave me a hug and then said, "It could be worse." It could be worse? It could be worse!? I can't even read the board let alone be aware of my surroundings. The only things I could have seen clearly today were people and things close to me.

Eventually I calmed down and went about my classes as usual, except for English where I had to move to the front seats every time we were required to read something. While we are on the subject of English class, the most embarrassing thing happened to me and I'm not sure anyone noticed, but I'll tell you anyways because I think it is hilarious:

Alright, so I'm walking to the trash to throw away a wrapper, and while on the way there, I notice my right shoe is untied. "I just tied it!" I loudly think to myself. I continue walking to the trash, shoelaces untied, and throw my wrapper away. This is when I decide to tie my shoe. I bend over to reach the laces and out of know where I hear a "CRRSSSHH". I think,"Oh God, no way," hoping that what I just think that happened didn't happen. Lo and behold, there was a tear on the upper inner thigh of my jeans of the left leg. I hear the class laughing, however my partially-blindness deters from my focus, and I do not know if they were laughing at me or somebody else. Not knowing what else to do, I shuffle back to my seat.

It was an OK-sized tear. The only thing that kept me from falling into absolute, total embarrassment was the fact that nobody could notice it. The only good thing that could come out of it is that now I can make a pair of shorts out of them. Hooray for improvising!

I do what I want! Or do I?

There is this article that was mentioned by one of the ladies at my church, and then mentioned again by a man at my church, that goes kind of like this:   

*if you want to read it, click here

Joshua Bell, a famous violinist, was set incognito in a metro station where thousands of people pass through each day. He played six Bach pieces while he sat there. While he played, a few people stopped to listen, but most only stayed for a few minutes; 20 others tipped him, but kept on walking. Of those that listened, the ones who responded the most were children, but they were forced by their parents to continue walking. 

When he finished, there was no recognition, nobody applauded. (he did get $32 in tips though) 

Two days earlier, Bell sold out a a concert with seats averaging $100.

Some people say it's interesting how people perceive beauty. Why not say when people perceive beauty. From this article it seems to me that people notice beauty when its most convenient to them, or when they are supposed. I know it sounds weird saying that people appreciate beauty when told to, but this small experiment just proved it true. Hundreds to thousand of passerby's went on their way as usual although there was Joshua Bell, a renown musician, playing very famous and very nice pieces in the most unlikeliest of places. Although, a few days earlier, he sold out an entire concert. 

What is this? People do things as seems appropriate for the time and place. Someone is at a metro so they are supposed to keep walking and ignore "distractions" to reach their final destination, but then they go to a concert so then it is expected to listen and appreciate the music. We as people become so accustomed to a norm that we don't realize to pay attention to the aesthetics unless that is the norm of the given area. An example would be going to the beach. You go there to have fun so all you focus on is friends, family, the strength of the waves, and maybe even a sandcastle. But once you go there to appreciate a sunset, then that's when you look at the small details: the redish-orange hue of the sky and its reflection on the water, the sound of the waves gently crashing against the shore, and salty, slightly briny smell of the air.

I think in any situation, we should take even a second to stop, listen, and appreciate the beauty around us.