Halloween- A Holiday for All.

 I realized today (as I passed out candy to the two and only trick-or-treaters that stopped by) , that I have looked forward to this day as long as I can remember. It seems strange that a holiday can be enjoyable to just about any age. One minute you are only worried about the number of houses you can hit in one night to get as much candy as possible, and then a few years later you are worrying about how cute your costume to wear to a fraternity party is. Even when you grow out of both your trick-or-treating and college partying stages Halloween still seems enjoyable for those who are past that. My parents are empty nester's and they still enjoy passing out candy to all the trick-or-treaters.

I guess although our priorities move from candy to liquor and then back to candy that Halloween is a chance to toy with the "I wish I were ideas". And the best part is seeing what everyone is because you secretly know that at some point in their lives they have probably dreamed of being this.

Celebrity Obsession

I have to admit, I am one who has an iPhone application on my phone for People. I also follow people on Twitter such as E! News and Perez Hilton, along with numerous celebrities just to get the latest tweets from Hollywood. Although this is a guilty pleasure of mine, where do gossip sites, celebrity news channels, and paparazzi draw the line?

Although I do enjoy hearing about what brand celebrities are buying and which celebrities are secretly dating who, I do not need to know every detail of these people's lives. They must want to keep some things private, right? I could not imagine having the paparazzi swarm me every time I left my house or even stepped foot into public. It seems like some B-D List celebs try to go places that are paparazzi central to gain some more press exposure, yet how does someone like Brad Pitt even step foot in a grocery store without people and or paparazzi mobbing him? I think that our culture has gotten so celebrity obsessed, and it has gotten a little out of control. If someone like Kim Kardashian cannot even keep a boyfriend because she is always in the public eye, what is the world coming too? I think that people need to take a step back and try not to be so obsessed with people that they probably never never met before, nor will ever meet, It is unhealthy.

Kim Kardashian being swarmed by fans and paparazzi

Celebrity Obsessions-Destroying our Society

Sex "Sells"

I have always been aware of the phrase "sex sells", but not until recently did I really see how sex can sell just bout ANYTHING. This came to my attention when we were shown in class some advertisements for a company that sold ballpoint pens. Although the story line may have seemed legitimate to the firm that came up with it, a scantily clad dressed couple just does not come to mind when thinking about what kind of pen to buy.

Even though I am not in the market for a ballpoint pen, this advertisement did catch my attention. I can now understand why those creatives came up with this approach. Any barely clothed, good looking person will catch my eye in a magazine. It is just natural. But even though I was drawn to the ad, in no way have I changed my mind and decided to buy this pen. So I think what I have really learned is that sex attracts, and not necessarily sells  a product.

Hidden Talents

One of SMU's general education requirements is to take an art class. Most of the options are studio art classes, so you can choose from painting, ceramics, drawing, etc. Although these are offered as introductory courses and you need no prior skills at all, this is false. Last semester I chose to take the introductory painting course because I figured that would be much easier than drawing, seeing as I knew that I was already artistically challenged. As I progressed through my first week I thought I was doing pretty well, given my natural talent. But then as I walked around the room and looked at other students works, it looked like they had been painting their entire lives!

One of my personal work's of art from class

Although none of these students were studio art majors or pursuing any kind of degree in fine arts, it was astonishing to me how talented some people were and that they claimed they were merely taking the class for pleasure because they enjoyed painting. And even though my TA told me in our first critique that my painting of a nude male model looked quite "cave like", I received a decent grade in the class for effort because my professor saw how hard I tried. Even though I was not one of those people in my class with natural artistic ability (my brother just graduated college with a degree in fine arts- I guess he got all that talent), it was eye opening to me to see how many people can be good at something like that, and simply pursue it for personal pleasure only.

Times Have Changed

For me, the best graduation gift I could imagine were if someone were to offer me a full-time paid job in the field that I have always wanted to work in,  in the city of my choice. That may seem like a lot to ask for, but at least it would answer the question of what am I going to do with my life now? A more realistic gift would probably be a new car, that watch or piece of jewelry I have always wanted, or even a nice check written out to me (hopefully with a lot of zeros at the end). The most bizarre thing I have heard recently though that someone may ask for is plastic surgery. More and more I have heard people discussing how they are going to get a boob job as their graduation present.

It is crazy to think that our culture is obsessed with physical appearance that much. Especially those of us who have watched a show like Laguna Beach throughout the years on MTV.  We related to people on that show because they were the same age as us and going through the same things that we did in high school etc. Yet we saw  go from innocent California girl to a living Barbie doll in just a few years time. Why would any college graduate aspire to be like this? If you look back 50 years, people were just thankful enough that they had the time and money to be able to go to college. Now compare that to the lavish gifts that graduates from my generation are asking for because they have completed this schooling. The times have changed drastically and who knows what the next 50 years will bring.

Being chic can be cheaper than you think

Living in a material world like Dallas where shopping is a sport to most women, you may feel like you have to dress your best when going just about anywhere. One of my teachers even mentioned today how you always have to look your best when going to North Park mall, or else none of the sales people will help you. And although you may envy some of the people you see parading around Highland Park Village always dressed to a tee, somehow I doubt that everyone has the financial or personal ability to buy what they wear. I have come to learn some helpful tricks while in college to make it seem like all of your looks have been effortlessly achieved.

 First of all borrow, borrow, borrow! You may always have that itch to buy that new dress that you just saw at Neiman's- but look in a friend's closet first. Chances are if you are friends then they will probably have the same taste in clothing. Going shopping in a friend's closet is free! (Except maybe a dry cleaning bill later). If you really do not want to borrow something from a friend go make some cash on clothes that you don't wear anymore at a place like Buffalo Exchange, or Plato's closet. These places pay pretty well for clothing, shoes, and accessories that have been gently worn. So then, if you make enough cash from selling some old clothes, now you would think that it is time to buy that dress you have been eying for days. But just before doing this, I would check to see what you find online. There are some many new sites popping up like Gilt Groupe or Who, What, Wear who send daily emails about designer clothing sales. And even if online shopping isn't your thing I would lastly try browsing a site like Rent the Runway. They rent out their dresses- which is sort of like borrowing at a price. But if worst comes to worse, sometimes you just have to give in and buy the dress. Hopefully you will not be feeling any buyer's remorse after all the searching you have done though!

Why you MUST go abroad while in college.

As much fun as being at SMU and living in Dallas for four years of my life has been, one of the best decisions I ever made was to go abroad for a semester. I knew since high school that where ever I went to college that I was going to go abroad for one of those semesters. Not only had my parents always encourage me to go because they never got the opportunity to do it themselves, but seeing how much my older friends enjoyed their experiences with abroad made me instantaneously decide I had to go for it! Even though I was not hesitant about my decision, many people do have doubts because it is such a big decision. So I have compiled three components that seem to make people hesitant about the experience- and hopefully my reasoning will help the undecided say yes and go abroad!

1. Although going abroad is an large expense, if your parents are willing to pay for it then why not do it? When else can you justify jet setting to Germany for the weekend to drink beer at Oktoberfest or tell your parents your school trip involves drinking wine on the coast of France. Most of the time, the tuition price of an abroad program is the same amount of money as you pay to  SMU for one semester. And your parents don't need to know about all of the extra expenses they will be paying for until after you get across the Atlantic!

2. Because we go to a relatively small school, you may think- "But I am going to miss tailgating for football games and all the fun parties in the fall!" Even though you are gone a full semester, the time flies by! And wouldn't you rather spend your time at Barcelona's five-story club, Razzmatazz, partying until 7 am than being at Homebar on a Thursday night in Dallas? There will always be things you miss, but your adventures abroad will outweigh any funny story one of your friends may have from the SAE foam party.

3. You want to pick a place to study that you want to go to, and not choose the place where everyone else is going. There is any easy fix for this problem- do what you want, now what everyone else is doing! First of all if you do choose to go somewhere alone, this will be a great opportunity for you! It will be like starting college all over again, although you may endure the hardships of  having to make new friends, etc. But if you chose to study abroad by yourself in the first place, you probably do not have much trouble making friends anyways. Even more, this gives you such a great excuse to go visit all of your friends who chose to study somewhere else. You could be in a new country every weekend!

A Moment of Truth

Everyone has those moments in life where they just need to step back, take a breath, and think. These moments frequently occur in my life whenever I loose something. Although I am an not a regular loser of my belongings (because I am so anal about my wallet, keys, and phone mostly), whenever I  have "accidentally misplaced" one of these items that I cannot live without (or so I think) I immediately freak out. I break down, start screaming and most times cry. But the worst thing that I do is try and blame someone else.

These moments for me are moments in which I really realize that I am wrong. Although I think someone has accidentally either taken, thrown away, or maliciously hidden what I have lost, I have to stop and really regroup my thoughts. And even though I make accusations, I always have to remind myself that these are all my possessions, so why would it be someone else's fault if they were lost?

It can be hard admitting that you are in the wrong. You would also think that once it happens, that it would be easier to do again. For me, admitting I am wrong has become harder and harder. Maybe it is because I am getting older and think I am getting wiser, but really I think I am getting more forgetful and blaming my absent mindedness on others.

Where did you come from?

It is very easy to walk by an object you see just lying on the ground. An object left on the ground seems either unimportant or forgotten. No one would leave something on the ground that they really care about unless it was by mistake. And usually people do not intend to leave things on on the floor, because it is a place where things go that got ignored.

For the past few days I keep walking by an object that seems to have not moved at all. It is a cigarette lighter from a car, and it has been sitting on the curb in front of my apartment for days. The first time I saw it I wondered, that isn't from my car is it? (I actually checked just to make sure, and it wasn't). Then I started analyzing how it could have gotten there and why. My first thoughts were, it must have rolled out of some one's car floor. But then I thought, maybe it was not lost by a cigarette smoker who had used it. But maybe it was pushed by a dog who was riding in a car, and the driver accidentally burned themselves so they got mad and threw it out the window! Or perhaps a mother found out that her young daughter had been smoking so she wanted to get rid of all ways for enabling her to keep smoking. Whatever is the story behind it, today I ended the story by being a picking it up and simply putting in the dumpster.

Facebook Ettiquette- My Top 5 DO NOT's

I would say that I live in a community of what I like to call "Facebook Feigns". Everyone I know has it, and when they are not Facebook stalking at home, they are browsing it during class and even checking it on their iPhones or Blackberries ALL THE TIME. So although I cannot stop everyone from checking their mini-feeds while stopped at red lights or under the table at dinner, I can give my personal pet peeves of Facbook- a little Facebook etiquette for my friends.

1. DO NOT make a group invitation called "I broke my phone! I need numbers!" Chances are no one will respond because if you are good enough friends with me, I will see you eventually and you can then ask me for my number. Plus no one wants to put their digits out publicly on the worldwide web!

2. DO NOT invite me to either "Like" something or send me and invitation for something that pertains to the specific school I go to or where I live. UNLESS-I do actually go to school with you still or do still live in the same place. I do not need to be on the Goose Bar invite list at CU Boulder because I went to high school with you. Guess what, we all do not go to Boulder!

3. DO NOT put up embarrassing or scandalous pictures of you or anyone else you know. Once those hit the web they will be on there forever. It only hurts you and those other people pictured. A good rule of thumb: only put a picture that you would want your Grandmother to see.

4. DO NOT put up 10 statuses a day stating each time what you are doing. No one really cares that you are "eating breakfast, then going to class, then running, and then studying", or "just bought a new dress on ShopBop!" Statuses are just information overloads and who wants everyone to know what they are doing at all times anyways? That's just creepy!

5. Finally DO NOT be that annoying chatter. When the application that allows you to chat with other Facebook users was introduced this added a whole new dimension to the site. You could actually see when people were on the site and chat with them. If you are always on then people can see, just turn it off from time to time so you are not deemed a Facebook stalker.

For a more extensive list- Check out Top 15 things you should never do on Facebook

Fun-Employment

Being a senior in college, I am scared to death of graduation in May. Not because I have another semester of 4000 level courses to get finished, or not because I am sad to leave Dallas. The only thing that is on my mind is "what the hell am I going to do when I graduate?"

It makes sense that the closer you get to college graduation, the more and more you have to think about what's next in life. But after seeing all the of classes that have graduated before me in the past 4 years that I have been at SMU it seems that more and more people are undecided about their next step.  I seem to either know those who have already have been offered jobs, those who are still applying and interviewing for jobs, those taking the LSAT's or going back to school for another degree, or those who just have no idea what they are going to do. This summer especially it seemed like all my friends who had graduated in the spring took the summer to travel, lay around, and for the last time take advantage of living off their parents.

As I left for school though in August it all of a sudden hit those who had not found jobs yet, "what am I going to do now?" It wasn't like these kids had not been networking, interviewing, or looking for work at all, it seems like just not as many people are hiring these days. As September has flown by, and October is now in full swing, these friends of mine call themselves "fun-employed". They do not have the burden of homework that they had while in school, and have all the time in the world to do whatever they want because they are unemployed. As much fun as this sounds, I know they are secretly wishing that they were back in college or actually had a job. For the sake of my parents and me, all of these fun-employed people I know (including my recently graduated older brother), have  given me motivation to work harder than ever to look for work now. Someone please employ me!

Fun-Employment Article

Life in 2069

This weekend I had the pleasure of being the first person my Grandmother got to talk to via a computer. My Grandmother's 80th Birthday was this past weekend, and after years of stubbornness and saying that she will never need one of of those "stupid contraptions" she finally gave in. The whole family chipped in and got her her own Macbook computer.

It is weird to think about the differences between our generations. I am pretty sure that my
 Grandmother had never even played around on an type of computer in her life, yet I started using computers when I was in elementary school. This really made me think, will I be like my Grandmother some day? Refusing to use the newest technology? It seems so foreign to me that in this day in age that we would know someone who has never come to face to face with a computer, but as we all get older technology is still evolving and things like a computer are becoming old news. It is all about the newest and best technological gadget.

Before I know it, I will be at my 80th Birthday party in 2069. Maybe instead of Skyping, like I did with my Grandmother this past weekend, my grandchildren will be trying to teleport me. The possibilities for new technology are infinite. I just hope I am around at this time and am still able to learn about these new gadgets to come.

Body Image- at least someone is trying to make a change?

After reading an article in the SMU Daily Campus about body image it actually made me notice that there are advocates here at SMU trying to support a healthy lifestyle for young women. Going to a college where body image is very important to most, it is easy to notice those who clearly pretend to eat, extremely watch what they eat, or blatantly just do not eat anything. Look at the Dedman Center gym at around 5pm, those elliptical and treadmills are all in use by women of SMU (a lot of them being sorority women, or freshman who next semester want to be sorority women).

Although body image will forever be an issue among women at this age, I am glad to see that a  healthy body image is being promoted. The women of  Delta Delta Delta recently held an event for their sorority in which other women paid $2 to attend an exercise event for a four hour long period. By offering opportunities like this, especially targeted to freshman who could some day be a  Delta Delta Delta, they are promoting a healthy ideal for those girls and not a thin ideal that so many seem to seek. As well, this week Kappa Kappa Gamma is holding an event at the Dedman Center that offers an exercise opportunity hosted by their sorority.

Even though both of these events are held by Greek organizations I think it is important that another organization  (preferably non Greek) should start to promote the healthy ideal. Although you can receive information at SMU's health center, it is so much more empowering to see girls just like you promoting a healthy ideal. I hope these events help to change the minds of many young people who are "dying to be thin".

What my mind-map says about me

Although I was a bit hesitant in making my mind-map because I thought it would be very challenging, I have actually come to realize after looking over my final product that what I wrote down really reflects me as a person. First of all, everyone comes up with ideas differently. In my mind-map, although I used more simple words than complex phrases I doubt that everyone would connect the word underwear to fashion. Every one's brains work differently and certain words can trigger so many different ideas, etc.

As well, unlike other mind-maps, I made my words different colors, yet I made no real thought of what color to make each word. I just wanted there to be color spread out throughout my mind-map. Maybe this means I am not as systematic as those who color coded some words on their maps. I think that my drawings also explain the simplicity in my thoughts. I am not an artist but the certain words that I illustrated, mostly just my main branches, I felt were important to draw because I thought it would help the viewer visualize the connections I made more easily. Although some of the decision I made while creating my mind map are visible, there are many that I will never really be able to explain because the inexplicable things that take place in the process of creativity.