The Thanksgiving Takeover

Alright boys, here's the game plan: Sleep for 12 hours a day, start on the turkey, move on to stuffing and mashed potatoes last, always save room for that pie. When the next morning hits, down those leftovers like no tomorrow - don't forget to finish that pie.

Photo originally from here

Thanksgiving has become a holiday focused on food and Black Friday sales. It gets little enough recognition due to Halloween and Christmas overtaking it in the market as they're both much more profitable holidays than Thanksgiving. The best way to advertise Thanksgiving seems to be slapping a turkey on the window and calling it a day. People seem to forget the reason why we have this holiday - to give thanks, thanks-giving.

The food and the time off is great, but Thanksgiving is time to appreciate and be thankful everything we have and the people around us. Food has always been the best way to share time together with family and friends. It doesn't matter if you have turkey, pie, or what have you, as long as you're with people you love and care about.

I know a lot of people on campus have been homesick and dying to go back to their families, myself included. So I decided to post about this to remind everyone to be thankful and happy for what they have, and remember that they've come this far in life with help and support. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving/Fall break!

Now... where's that turkey...

Life is a Blur, Learn to Freeze time

Everyone's pretty aware of the incredible marketing strategies stores seem to make around holiday season - discounting candy a month before Halloween, selling Christmas things before Thanksgiving. Everything is sold way too early and once one holiday is over with, the new merchandise is ushered out as if on cue. As it is now November, Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming around the corner, and I've realized our need to rush things doesn't just apply to holidays and vacations, but the seasons in general. We can never seem to wait for the next one to come around, yet when it does we don't appreciate it and look forward to the one after that.

The thought came to mind while I was walking to go out for dinner with my roommate one night. I noticed how clear the sky was, how bright the moon was, how crisp the air was. It was a perfect Autumn evening. While the other students were rushing back to their dorms with hands shoved in pockets and arms pulled in close, I was embracing the cold, fingers outstretched and feeling the cold air, breathing it in. People suffered while I was having a great time, and I wondered why.

I always hear people complain about the current season and wished the next one would come. "I can't wait for winter to come, it's too cloudy and rainy right now... I can't wait for spring, it's way too cold...I can't wait for summer, I need a vacation... I can't wait for fall, summer's too hot..." When the season starts, it's all well and good, but half a month in, people want change. We're always changing, going fast and rushing through life, skipping weekdays for weekends, work for vacations, something for something else, then back again. We flip-flop so much and we're never satisfied. I suppose it's just the way our culture nowadays is. Life feels shorter as we get older and we want to have mundane things over with. We get bored easily and we need something new to spice up our lives. 

If only people slowed down and made smaller moments worth while, maybe we'd be more satisfied with life. A lot of our experiences come from our senses - we should learn to use them more. Each season has a smell, a feeling, a taste. Every day is different. Being able to take in everything in your surroundings gives a refreshing sensation of living in the moment, existing in the now. Next time you go outside, try standing still and absorbing everything around you. No day is the same and you can only live them once, so might as well make it a good experience. 

Shadows on a Sidewalk

Leaf imprints on a sidewalk - original photo

In Schwenksville, PA, my home town, we don't have many sidewalks. Then again, I didn't do much walking back in the small town of Schwenksville. Suffice it to say, that changed when I came to PennState. Walking everywhere was pretty much mandatory (though I did ride the bus once and that was exciting), and I've noticed how well the campus is kept. The grass is always clear of leaves and fallen branches, the sidewalks are blown clean, and the flowers and shrubs are mulched weekly.

It wasn't until one misty morning when walking to class I noticed these leaves on the ground - leaves that weren't there. The pigments of the leaves bled onto the concrete to create imprints of themselves after they've been wet and stepped on by hundreds of pedestrians. After several days of observation, I found that these imprints lasted several days despite multiple days of rain. 

These "ghosts" are becoming more and more common as more leaves touch the ground, and they reminded me of similar imprints that are unfortunately not as pleasant to view...

The Ghosts of Hiroshima.

August 6, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The impact of the bomb was so instant and so catastrophic, the people in the city were gone in a flash. Nothing remained except their shadows. If you go to Hiroshima, they're still there, frozen in time. I don't think I would ever have the heart to see them in person, but the thought of stepping over an image that used to be a person sends chills down my spine, and the same was true of these leaves.

I think it's because we have never seen devastation and horror within our boarders that causes Americans to romanticize war and remain distant on the topic. We are lucky, yet we are ignorant. Being such a military-focused country, I doubt we will ever see war within our boarders unless there was an all-out world war, and the only way we can make ourselves aware of the consequences is to empathize with history. The next time you hear a heated debate on countries at large, World War III, or nuking someone because we can, remember the leaves.

Be glad you're not one.

A man with a walking stick - original post

Profound Thoughts From A Dead Squirrel

It was a fairly normal Saturday evening that I decided to get some take-out for dinner. I returning to my dorm, bag of Noodles and Company in hand, and I almost walked into the most adorable little blonde-haired boy, with his even littler brother stumbling behind him. Whist thinking of all the ways I could say "Aww" and "Oh my goodness they're so cute" in my mind, by that time, the two boys and their parents had walked passed me, the father laughing and asking his little guy, "did you bump into that lady?" That family was so cute. Ah, I wish more families were like that. I want to have kids one day.

Oh wow, a dead squirrel.

Barely a minute later I found myself newly entranced at this deceased tree-rodent, with a tiny pool of blood congealed under its bleeding mouth. I was completely stopped in my tracks. A jogger passed by and looked at me funnily before realizing the obstacle ahead and awkwardly stepped around the grave site. I believe I stood there for a solid few minutes, staring at a dead squirrel on a sidewalk, listening to crows in the distance, "Caw! Caw! Free food! Look here!" It was then I realized the fragility of life and how it comes so suddenly to everyone, human and squirrel alike.

If I had viewed that dead squirrel without almost bumping into those stumbling boys, I don't think the train of thought I had that day would have been as profound. The stark contrast of life and death touched my soul! My inner not-quite-an-adult-but-gosh-I-like-to-think-I-am soul! I wanted to attend college because I wanted to get a job, and I wanted to get that job because I need to make money, and I need that money to sustain myself, and I need to sustain myself to sustain a family, and I need to sustain a family because my family is all I'll have left when I'm old and haggard and dying and dead.

It was like my whole life from now till I die flashed before me. All because of some kids I don't know and this random dead squirrel. Rest in peace, Squirrel. Your memory will live on forever in the mind of this newly enlightened college student.

Love The Little Things

It's hard to appreciate the small things in life when you're busy doing work, and losing yourself to the digital world. A typical day probably isn't very exciting unless you see your favorite food item is available today while browsing the PSU Dining App (well... I find that exciting at least).

Get up. Go to class. Eat. More classes. Eat. Work. Sleep. Repeat.

Yeah, life seems pretty dull when you put it like that, right? What I want to show people in my Passion Blog is how to be bored. In a work-oriented world where it's important to be focused at all times on the job at hand, I feel it's important to let yourself go sometimes, take a break, slow down, and get distracted. 

A lot of joy can be taken out of the little things that happen around you or the weird stuff you find just walking around: the leaves changing color, the sound of an afternoon breeze, the smell of fried food, the profound thoughts of viewing a dead squirrel on a sidewalk... Whoa, what? That was oddly specific and morbid... (Will be elaborated in a later post)

I hope my Passion Blog, "Loving the Little Things", will let others see how something small can make their whole day better. Happiness doesn't come to you, it's what you make of it.