Waiting on the world to change?

I actually just heard this song on the way home from class today… sorry to disappoint you, but this post has nothing to do with John Mayer.

The word “change” has been haunting me lately and it has been kind of weird. I have this weird urge and it’s telling me I need change. A change or scenery, a little bit of fun, SOMETHING. Not that anything is bad now, don’t get me wrong; I love everything in my life. Just sometimes school gets a little too routine and, well, I guess I can blame this crap weather too, right? Once the snow (and ice and rain and sleet and more snow) has been around for about 2 months, I think we all get a little restless.

Well, back to my point, I’ve been wanting change lately real bad. However, the past two days has just really made me think.

Rewind about 13ish years. Mom and dad got a divorce, her and I moved on and now we’re better off and living a great life (yeah go mom!). However, my dad is stuck in the time pre-divorce. Once in a while he’ll call us to reminisce or tell us how he wishes he could go back in time. Don’t get me wrong, it is incredibly sad, but it just shows how sometimes change is good for some and not for others.

For instance, he told my mom last night he wish he could go back in time and never sign the divorce papers (that’s totally understandable) and today he called me and told me he was sitting outside of our old house in Cleveland. I can’t help but feel bad, sure, those days were great. Being a kid, playing outside, living with both parents. But sometimes change is for the better. You can’t live in the past, you can’t dwell on things that are out of your control (or they were in your control but you let them get out of hand). Life has a set path, it’s going to take you where you’re supposed to be going. If you’re wanting change, sometimes you just have life happen. Don’t spend  your time wishing on something else because who knows what it’ll be.

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Cleveland is growing

I was just at work — being on-air at WRMU — and I was reading the news when I came across a story that totally grabbed my attention.

For starters, here at school, I kind of live in a box that keeps me rather oblivious to the outside world. My routine is the same every day: leave for class in the morning, class/work/meetings/meetings/work… and so on and so on. I don’t hear all of the goings-on around the state or country. Rarely I come across a good story or two when I’m on air, or on Tuesday nights when we have our radio show some Hollywood gossip will strike me. But today, however, I finally heard some news I am excited for!

Cleveland will be opening an aquarium! Ok, you a) already knew this or b) don’t care as much as I do. Well… I’ll tell you why I am excited (other than the fact that I love animals)

1. They hope to bring in 400,000 visitors a year which means $$$ for Cleveland

2. They claim this will open at least 40 part time jobs

3. More fun things to do in Cleveland!

4. Making Cleveland’s lakefront even better.

They’re to be adding this in the flats within a preexisting building (The Powerhouse). I’m so pumped. CLE will also be adding a casino and some other sights and $-bringer-inners (yeah, you like that?)

All I am saying is I have high hopes for Cleveland. We’ve been doing everything we can do bring this city where it should be and it seems like we’re on the right page. Even the sports teams are doing what they can to at least stay in the fans’ hearts (see earlier posts about Tribe On Tour)

Please let me know what you think about all this new Cleveland-ups.

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Social media and me.

If you know me, you know I have a strong love for social media. If you don’t, well, now you know.

Sure, I was into Myspace back in the day, then had my love (obsession?) for Facebook. Nowadays I have moved on to Twitter and the blogosphere. I am not saying I am over Facebook…I am just not as obsessed with it any more. It takes the term “social” way too far. I still like it, I still get distracted by it, it is just not my top favorite anymore.

Anyways…

In my Communications Theories class, we are learning about the Symbolic Interaction Theory (SIT). To sum it up, it basically talks about how what is around us forms who we are. The people we surround ourselves with mold our personality, our surroundings mold who we are, etc…

We were assigned to an article about the theory and it was about how people use social media to, I guess make themselves. People can use these networking sites to make their personalities be anything they want. Ya know, you can write your best interests, write up a short bio about yourself expressing only the positives or your favorite traits, you can put up only flattering pictures, make smart, bold comments, etc… You ultimately can illustrate a whole new you via social media.

Well I thoroughly enjoyed this article for many reasons.

1. I love social media. I love studies about social media. I love finding out more positives about social media.

2. I agree completely with the fact that it helps us form a new personality.

3. I find some sort of weird escape from it.

Weird escape, you ask?

On Twitter, I don’t have to be the everyday, student Sam. I can be the me I want to be or I want people to see me as. I have this daily-weekly routine here at school; it is almost claustrophobic.

Through my blog and through Twitter I can be whoever I want to be. I have made so many contacts and even some friends through this portal and I love it. It really makes me even that more ready to leave school and start anew. I feel like I really made a whole new name for myself and I just started getting into that part. One can totally create a whole new identity through these sites.

I believe we can be whoever and whatever we want to be; there is no one who can tell us otherwise. I just happened to find a little escape that is helping me change the way I want to change. I don’t have to please anyone, I can talk to whoever, express my interests, state my opinions and learn from social media. It is almost like creating your own reality.

So there, that is a small portion of just one explanation as to why I love social media so much.

Pursuit of Happiness

A friend of mine posted this on her Facebook today and I thought it was cute so I just had to share! 15 steps to the pursuit of happiness!

 

1. The only person that can ever truly make you happy is yourself. Stop depending on everyone else.

2. People lie, stuff happens. Don’t take it too personally.

 

3. Want people to think you’re amazing? Start believing you are, and then they will too.

4. Smiling is the ultimate anti-depressant. Smile and laugh out loud, it doesn’t look stupid, I promise.

5. The world is never just black and white, right or wrong, one way or another. Try and see things from as many points of view as possible.

 

6. “Let everything happen to you

Beauty and terror

Just keep going

No feeling is final”

— Rainer Maria Rilke

7. Have empathy.

8. Gossip, problems of the past, events you cannot control, negative thoughts and negative people; time spent on these is time poorly wasted.

9. When you’re jealous or find yourself filled with hate for someone/something, stop. The only person its hurting is you.

10. Although the newest, most expensive material things may make you feel as if you’re a better person, they won’t hold you at night or listen to you when you need it. Make sure your priorities make sense.

11. Step outside your comfort zone- it’s when you’ll really feel alive.

12. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, the people who really matter, don’t mind

13. Let your emotions out sometimes, humans have them for a reason.

14. Celebrate the things you have. Think only positively of the things you don’t (but would like to have) and they too will come.

15. Love unconditionally ♥.

 

Do you believe?

Do you believe in guardian angels? I sure do. Granted, I am not a good Christian — I used to be… I went to church almost every week from baptism until confirmation, and then here and there throughout high school. Eventually, I stopped attending mass, but that didn’t mean I stopped believing in God.  More so, however, I am a firm believer that there is always someone watching over you. I believe there is a specific angel assigned to each of us and they help us with our lives day to day.

My mom is a firm believer in this and I can assume that that’s where I get it from. She has even went to a psychic-person who actually described her guardian angel to her. I hope to someday have the same experience.

Throughout my life I have had many instances that  truly made me believe. In turn, I got angel wings tattooed on my right foot to illustrate that someone is walking with me all the time.

Lately my mind has just been going in a million different directions and, well basically,  I just really need to stay strong. I’ve been doing pretty well, ya know, keeping my head high, having confidence, realizing what is important, etc… I know that I wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere without someone higher helping me out. The other day in class, I looked at my book bag and saw an imprint/shape of an angel. Ok, yeah, I sound like those people who see Jesus in toast, hate all ya want, but I take it as a sign.

What do you believe in?

Making history!

So, if you’re a student at Mount Union you know exactly what I’m talking about… if not, here, let me fill you in! Today, February 2nd 2k11, marks the first snow day MU has had in… well, I’m not sure how long. I’ve heard 30 years, I’ve heard 50 years… let’s just say in a long time. Throughout my MU career, I’ve seen some wicked snow storms, but all Mount would do to guarantee our safety was send out an email telling us to be careful or to wear good shoes. Hmm. Last year, as I recall, we had this outrageous level of snow that required us to literally DIG OUT our cars. Absolutely ridiculous. This year, however, we got an ice storm — talk about ridiculous. It took me a half hour, a huge bowl of hot water, an ice scraper (RIP) and almost a hammer to get the inch or so of solid ice off of my car. Unfortunately, that is how it was for everyone down here at school. Out of control. By nightfall, the pine trees in our front yard were so covered with ice that they were weighed down to the ground! Huge branches even fell! Yeah, pretty crazy. But, come 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, all Mount students received a text message telling us that the university has finally canceled class! *side note, everyone spells canceled differently* Talk about unbelievable.

I’ve learned that we shouldn’t settle for anything less than we deserve. I know I’ve went on this rant before, but seriously, no one deserves to be lied to, to be yelled at…etc…. And for real, don’t take people who love you for granted. One day you’re gonna lose them, things change, ya know? You’re going to be wishing that you could go back and have them do the things you hated at the time.

I’ve been on this big “find happiness” kick lately, as you may have picked up in recent posts and Tweets… Find it, live it, keep it. If you’re passionate about something and people trash your passions, screw ’em. Don’t tell them anything if all they are going to do is bring you down. You have to learn to surround yourself with people who support you and who are happy for you. Once you find true happiness, anything is possible.

Nuff said.

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