Slow Blinks...

This is a completely 100% whimsical post that serves next to no purpose in society at all. Bar none.

So I just watched this video... about slow blinking. I don't know if you know what in God's name I'm talking about.

Slow blinking: That thing you do when someone says something really dumb or annoying and you just kind of give them a look that resembles this:


It has come to my attention that I do this ALL THE TIME. And I'm not sure if it's because of my lower tolerance for people or people's low capacity for basic functioning.

It has also come to my attention that the above GIF (pronounced either gif or jif I'm not sure at all) is mildly creepy and/or awkward. Sorry.

There's a lot of things that can spark this reaction:

Trips to Wal-Mart
90% of the people in my geometry class my sophomore year of high school (I was asked how to find the perimeter of a square... insert slow blink)
Customers at work
Most walks through Mizzou's Greek Town on a Friday night
My current algebra teacher
High school in general
Liberty traffic between the times of 4:30 PM and 6:15 PM
Gas prices
Jayhawks (sorry dad)
Really bad musicians
Jazz music
Celine Dion
My college tuition

The list goes on.

Here's the thing that growing up has made me realize: I can't change the people / things I slow blink at. They are going to do what they do no matter how I decide to react. Does that mean I shouldn't get angry? No. Does that mean I should never be annoyed? No.

I once read a quote that said "Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." Some people say Buddha said it. Some people say Buddha didn't say it. I don't know what to believe anymore.

Anger is a perfectly natural emotion that everybody experiences. Holding onto it is unhealthy. As a very famous Disney movie song once said "Let it go."

So yeah... that's kind of all I wanted to write about. It's my new initiative for myself and it can be an initiative for you too if you want. Or you can be cranky and bitter. It's whatever floats your boat, really.


Oh! I'm also going to start adding something new to every one of my posts. At the end of each post I'm going to post something that I read on the blogging website "Tumblr." If you're under the age of 30 I'm sure you've heard of it. There's not necessarily a theme involved. It can just be something I read that I found cool or funny. Or disgusting. Whatever I want, really. This is my blog.

So yeah.

Today I read on Tumblr:

I slow blinked at this.

The End of a Chapter...

Yesterday I got to go to my home away from home and spend a night with my second family dancing in the streets for one last time.

Fulton. The name holds a special place in my heart because a lot of the person I am today was formed on the campus of William Woods University.

If my life was a novel, my time with MASC would be a very very long chapter. Probably one of the really thick chapters in the middle of the book.

The part of the book where you meet the most pivotal characters and witness the largest amount of character development.

I owe the people of MASC a lot. I went to camp as a camper in 2012. A junior counselor in 2013. And now, most recently, a visiting alum in 2014. In the scheme of things, it may seem that two years is a very short amount of time.

But if you change perspective you can see that two years is 730 days. It's also 17,520 hours. A lot can happen in an hour. A person can learn a lot about themselves in a day.

By the grace of fate I have gotten to spend a vast number of days amongst many very influential people that have played some type of role in shaping me into the person I am today.

I don't think any groups have played a bigger part in my personal growth than 2012 Kouncil K (no, it's spelled correctly actually), 2013 Council E and the 2013 Junior Counselors.

From Kouncil K I learned that life truly beings when you break out of your comfort zone. During the week I got to spend with Kouncil K I was a cheerleader, chant maker, song writer, speech writer, speech giver, peace keeper, problem solver, leader, and follower... among a plethora of other things. I had to complete tasks that required various amounts of physical activity (something I detest) while working with people that I had known for literally less than 48 hours. It was magical. In Kouncil K I found friends and family. I found a life coach, a best friend, future classmates, and a system of never ending support.

From Council E I learned a very important lesson: Life is wasted if you don't spend your time having fun. These kids never fought... EVER. They were always smiling, laughing, and having a blast. I can tell you right now that when I was in middle school I was not a bundle of laughters and smiles. Middle school was awkward and weird and just not a good time. So I don't know how these dudes are approaching life... but they seem to have the right idea. At first I thought it was kind of odd... I was supposed to be teaching this kids about leadership and Student Council. But I'm 99.99999999% sure I learned more about life from them than they did from me. Keep on rockin' on Council E. You guys are the future movers and shakers of the world.

The 2013 JCs... I'm not super sure where to start. My letter telling me I was selected to be a JC was more than just a ticket to spending another week at the greatest place on planet Earth. It was a ticket to becoming a part of a group of people that make you life until you cry and cry until you laugh and make you feel every emotion possible. That letter was the key to gaining 53 of the goofiest, loudest, greatest, and most supportive friends a dude could ever have. To this day I can still tell you where I was and what I was doing when I figured out I was going to be a part of this family. It will forever be one of the best days of my life. These people have helped me through my lowest of lows and celebrated with me when I was sitting on my highest highs. They taught me that there is nothing in the world that feels better than having a true friend, and I'm lucky enough to have 53 of them.

The MASC of my chapter is ultimately over. For that I'm sad. The good news is that a lot of the people I've met are hopefully going to be recurring characters in my life. For that I'm grateful. I truly don't think there are better people in the world than the friends I've made through student council. So, while this chapter is over, I think a new one is beginning. And I'm sure there are going to be a lot of familiar faces.