These are a few of my favorite things.

1. Pottery 2. Writing things down 3. Infographics 4. Colorguard 5. Exceptional writing 6. Phrases in foreign languages 7. Words. 8. Song lyrics 9. Symbols that speak to me 10. Netflix

The Real World

In a mere 133 days, I will be entering the "Real World." No, I will not be on reality tv, but rather I will be graduating from college in January. For the past three years, "college student" has been my identifier. In January, I will forced to become a member of the Real World, whatrever that really means, and my so-called glory days will be memories rather than realities. 

 As an assignment following an interview I recently had, I was told to create a Twitter post that could be sent to the entire student body. Because I am a senior, and that's really all I've been thinking about these days, I chose to include a countdown until graduation day, though the one in May, not my actual graduation date because I will be a semester early, with the question: what will you do with your final year here? While I was brainstorming my post I thought about asking about the lessons people had learned during their time in college, or the best place to get food in or around campus, advice to underclassmen about how to make the short time worthwhile. Instead, I chose to inquire about the future. 

 Now, I do not believe that I can ask an introspective question of someone else without having an answer to said question myself. So, that will be my own personal assignment for the next few days. What will I do with my next 133 days of college before graduation? 

I'll get back to you on that.

Retail therapy

I work in retail. Sometimes I love it, and sometimes I hate it. I love it because I like talking to people. I enjoy good conversations with nice folks, and I am always in need of gaining perspective. I hate it because human beings are wretched creature incapable of understanding the simplest store policies such as expiration dates on coupons, or the uncleanliness that are earring returns or exchanges.

While at work today, I had two males customers around my age. At the end of the transaction, I spoke a common goodbye, maybe it was an innocent 'have a good day' or perhaps a more knowing 'have a good one.' Their response to myself and a coworker was "God bless you," to which my coworker responded, "you too." The final utterance from the customer was "He does."

Now, I'm not the type of person to get offended by something like this. I don't get bent out of shape when someone blesses me when I sneeze, and believe people who are offended by such pleasantries are strange. I don't mind when someone is trying to evangelize me, because everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  I don't get upset when people say 'Happy Holidays' rather than 'Merry Christmas' because truthfully, we should be more sensitive to the religious preferences of others, and we should not assume that everyone is Christian, because increasingly people are not.

This stranger's acknowledgement of a Heavenly Father has stuck with me all day long, for reason I am unaware of. I am continually amazed by the unquestioning faith that some people have, especially by those members of my own generation. It's difficult for me to imagine that people my own age still have fun and hang out without the use of illicit substances or alcohol. I don't judge or think its weird, but I rather admire those who chose to be different, and who are able to stick to their own convictions, and wish that I could say the same for myself.

That being said, I'm pretty sure I don't believe in a Christian God, though that's not to say I couldn't be swayed by some good convincing. I am very interested in religion, though, especially the religion of others. Though maybe my lack of belief allows me to open to so many new ideas.

My simple message is this: strangers can teach us a great deal about ourselves, perhaps more than we ever cared to know.

This is the beginning...

Of the end.

No, I'm kidding. But it is the beginning of something different. Today marks the day when I came to the realization (with the help of Pinterest and Stumbleupon, amazingly enough) that there are some things in my life that I seriously need to change, not only to become happier, because who really knows what 'happy' is, but to become a better, healthier person, someone that I whole heartledly want to be.

I once learned that when Benjamin Franklin was young, he wrote in a journal one thing he wanted to change about himself, mostly deplorable habits such as gossiping or having slothful tendencies. After awhile, he realized that it was easy keeping up with the change at hand, but once he tried to change another habit, soon an old one would return. The moral of the story is this: it is very difficult to change large parts of your personality, so rather try to change one or two parts and focus on making them stick.

Many people strive to change their lifestyle to be more focused and driven, as well as to lose weight and become healthier. I am no exception. This is my journey to becoming a better person, or better in my own eyes, and those are the only ones that really matter.