The one thing i want to take away from Immaculee's talk was advice she was given from her father. She said he always told her no to put people into boxes based on something they were, stood for or even acted upon.  No matter what a person was or did, they did not deserve to be sorted and put into certain boxes, because this creates prejudices.

Immaculee Ilibagiza, what a woman. My junior year of high school, Immaculee came to my school and gave a talk. It was a big deal because our administration took a trip to Rwanda and met Immaculee and invited her back to my high school. When i found out that BV was having her, i did a mental double take? Like WHHAA? twice in a period of four years seeing the same amazing woman is rare.

So when asked to read her book for a second time, i was excited. I've was required to read her book Left to Tell in my literature class and we wrote journals everyday. I re-read the journal writings and compared them to the feelings i held the second time around. The part of her story that surprised me the most was knowing how her family stood among the village. Her father was a man people came to for help and for guidance. So she saw people in their most vulnerable states, but then after the genocide began, people continued to turn to her father for help. The most interesting part of the genocide is how people completely forgot their morals and values. She described how neighbors slaughtered each other, family friends and people who had been under cohabitation in the same village for up to multiple years. What intrigued me about this was where is the switch that turned on that made people ruthless killers? This fact also disturbed me. Knowing that there have been instances where certain people for whatever reason can turn on you, makes me feel less likely to trust anyone.

Thrive by Dan Buettner

So when finding out this book was on our reading list, i was excited for the fact that it was published by or through National Geographic. I'm a big fan. Really i am, i love going to the journals of my universities library and checking out old editions of "nat geo" through the years. Anyway this book talks about happiness, according to location. In the building stages of the book, the author uses quotes from specialist and one spoke out to me.

Is Happiness overrated? was the question and it was answered by Ed Diener, who has a Ph.D in Psychology. He believes we underrate happiness and says that we are happy we function better, we perform better, we are generally healthier and interact better with others. It seems to me that being happy sounds like the best goal in life because it makes you have a better outlook on everything you do.  Being happy makes life enjoyable and seems to make every task that much easier. But on the flip side those who are unhappy and depressed seem to have no energy and no excitement for daily task. Who wants to be that way, who wants to feel nothing all day, everyday? That's why happiness is on such high demand, and people will go to great lengths to just feel some happiness. Thrive explores the possibilities of finding happiness in different locations of the world, and i'm excited to dive into this book.

The happiest place on Earth, but not DisneyLand

I am from a city compared to where i am attending college and that is the lovely Lincoln, Ne. From its incredibly, surprisingly large hipster population to the home of the great Husker Memorial Stadium, Lincoln is my hometown. I love that city. Really i do. I would say it is generally a happy place to live. There are nice streets, multiple great bike paths, farmers markets everywhere, wonderful local places to eat, and tons of cool shops and restaurants. Lincoln has hundreds of businesses', but their have been some sad closings. Crime-rates are low but the city does have its down-sides. Some neighborhoods have gone to the ruins and homeless shelters are filling. Nebraska has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation but Lincoln still suffers in the economy.

On a Scale of 1-10 i would give Lincoln a 6, generally on how happy people are. Depending on what side of town they live on, where they work and other social factors. Lincoln generally has many smiling faces but the sad ones are partially hidden. The city as a whole is dividing up into three major classes: The wealthy, The upper middle class, and middle class. The upper middle class is creating a large gap between the wealthy and the standard middle class. But then again that is happening all over America today.

Happiness in your area depends on what you are doing with your life, how you are spending your time, and your money. Lincoln has a lot of things to offer that can cost you little to nothing. Its just choosing to not sit at home all day watching NFL.

Solid.

 Biblioteca

Procrastin atio n

Procrastination, what a word that pops into everyone's mind at least thirty times in their life. Don't you dare tell me you haven't, you'd would just be lying to yourself.  But here on this blog, no judgement.i think procrastination can be useful.......with CAUTION.  well mainly in two ways....taking a break during a terribly long assignment. and one word: Adrenaline.

This past Monday, i procrastinated on an assignment and while working on it with a friend in a library study room, we decided to take mental breaks. Doing Calculus problems.

yeah that sounded less nerdy in my head.

but alas! Doing those problems helped because they got our minds of the assignment for a a couple of minutes and then we got back on track. We finished the assignment and made it to bed (separately) to have a solid 8 hours of slumber under our belts for Tuesday.

This worked for me, because it was a quick distraction that i knew wouldn't take that long. Because if i break to check a social media site, i fall into a black hole and then i wonder where my hour went.

Another good use of procrastination is adrenaline. This strange hormone just makes individuals better at thinking, running or whatever activity they are doing. one problem though, we cant turn it on and off. So i wouldn't go around waiting for last minute to finish things errrrrevyyyytime because of adrenaline, because well we are organisms and organisms adapt to things, and we adapt to stress. meaning good'ol adrenaline wont be there every last minute project you do, but when you really need it, i think it will start to kick in. My advice don't rely on your back-up plan, because what happens if plan C falls though?

My personal Road Blocks

I am so very hard on myself. Especially when i am feeling mentally weak. For example when i run by myself, i constantly think of what hurts, from my ankle to my knee. Then my thoughts start saying that i can stop anytime i want to. No one will know, just you. Then my integrity comes in and i go military sergeant on myself and will i push myself to try and finish. My idea is to make small approachable goals on my running path.

For example: get to the fire hydrant, ok gooooood! now try for that small tree and so on.  The worst part about running on my own is that i have to be my own support system. But it makes me mentally tough.

My goal was to be apart of Dean's and Honors throughout my college career.

I feel that my negative thoughts would be that i can just quit.
I don't have to be apart of these programs. I don't have to attend all the pointless meetings and such. I can just drop the class and never worry about it again. It is extra. Not Required.

I can spin this.

Why quit? it sets you apart from other students. You were invited into these programs because they saw your previous experience that you can handle it and more. The meetings are fun, and great ways to share your interests. It is Extra, but It is worth it, and i am worth the effort.

So that sums up my thoughts while i run. And some intrinsic motivation.