Space Travel? Whatevs.

I feel like this generation is sort of jaded.

No, not in terms of morality - though I think that is true - that's not actually what I mean this time.

I think we've lost sight of what real ingenuity and creativity is.

Point en case: in a class yesterday, we were starting technical writing projects on drones. To get us thinking (it was 8 in the morning), our professor played some clips of robots used today. One of them was the landing of the NASA Discovery Mars rover.

And nobody really cared.

Fifty years ago, that would have been breathtaking and incredible. 

Now it's just . . . meh. 

I mean, we put men on the Moon and brought them back with computers less capable than our smartphones. 

Yes, that's terrifying to think about, but that means that the people involved with that had to know what to do. 

They had to do the math in their heads or with scratch paper. 

They had to be willing to put their lives on the line for that goal. (And think about how awful it would be to die in space if it failed. . .)

They were dreamers. 

But more than that, they were thinkers and doers.

Granted, technology has grown and evolved by leaps and bounds, and I'm not faulting that - I love technology. 

I'm not really sure I'm "faulting" anything.

I'm just lamenting the lack of wonder in our generation. 

I'm lamenting the fact that we don't look at the sea with wonder, remembering that we can go miles and miles down and see the creatures God made.

I'm lamenting the fact that most of us can barely see the stars anymore, and when we do, we don't remember that God knows each of them by name, and that we've put people on the Moon, and rovers on Mars.

I'm lamenting the fact that singers and songwriters with real talent aren't recognized for it, and the fame goes instead to somebody who will shock you rather than move you.

We need to recapture the innocence, the wonder, and the appreciation of simple things that we've lost. . .

Silence is Boring

Okay, I dunno about y'all . . . but I can't sleep with just silence. 

I can't. I've tried. And tried very hard.

People are like "Just don't think about anything".

I . . . I can't. 

Therein lies le problemo.

I went through a phase where I needed a CD of a thunderstorm.

Our CD player broke, so that ended up being a quiet . . . year or so.

Then when I bought my iPad, it was back on.

Plus, I had bought a beach sound, a river sound, and owls and crickets. 

Works great.

I love it.

It usually takes me about two hours to fall asleep on my own.

And that's on a good day.

When I have that stuff playing . . . it's about thirty minutes.

Am I the only one who has this issue?

BOSS STATUS: RE-ACHIEVED?

Last semester I signed up for six classes.

I dropped one at the last minute and only took five.

I lost "boss status".

However!

This semester I signed up for seven (only 19 hours, though).

I dropped one a few days ago - I didn't want half my course grade coming from volunteer hours at events. And it wasn't what I thought it was, anyway.

I added another, but it was only one credit - that put me at 17.

Then, last night, I checked over everything to make sure it was all set. And what do I see? One of my classes I had really wanted had been cancelled!

That put me down to 14, but it's okay.

But still . . . I really wanted that class! 

Anyhoo, I figure I'll just keep the "textbook" (it's more like a style book).

And, for those of you going into college or in college, you'd be robbing yourselves if you didn't join Amazon Student. 

Just sayin'.

Words We Should Change the Definition of: Adorable

Okay, this is what happens when you have too much to do and you do none of it - you think of words to change the definitions of. But whatever. 

So, "adorable". 

What does that mean?

When people say adorable, they usually mean "cute", "sweet", stuff like that.

But to "adore" means to: "regard with the utmost esteem, love, and respect; honor" (Dictionary.com). 

Hmm. Interesting.

To "be adorable" isn't as cutesy as we've made it. 

To "be adorable" is really something everyone should be, not just babies, puppies, and kittens.

Which is unfortunate, because I use adorable a lot. 

But sometimes I do use it in the right context. 

I wonder if people know that . . .

Growing Up Too Fast

Something happened the other day that really made me think. I'll get to what happened later on, so bear with me: what does "growing up too fast" really mean?

(And bear with me; it took me over a week to write this, and some parts really still don't feel quite right, but I'm posting it anyways.)

"Growing up too fast" used to mean that a child had to shoulder responsibilities and had to entertain concepts that would force them to leave childish things behind before most would have them do that. For instance, in the past, children were working full time around the age of fifteen, either because their parents had died, they were needed to help support the family, or they were considered old enough to take on that responsibility. Advancements in namely medical science and technology of all flavors enabled children to have more of an actual childhood.

But what did that bring?

For the purpose of this . . . "article", it brought free time.

Children were able to stay children until they were physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to take on the responsibilities of an adult. They could grow into it gradually, they could be trained, they could be taught, they could consider ideas and grasp the weight of the consequences to every action . . . they could be ready for an adult life.

Then there was too much free time.

Ungratefulness.

Envy.

Always wanting what was just beyond their grasp.

What do we have now?

We have children growing up too fast, but not in the way of the generations before them.

They have too much free time and a care-free (and care-less) attitude.

And although I can't quite put my finger on it, that's what's driving kids today to act the way they do.

What do I mean by that?

Whilst shopping with my mom and my sister, I saw this girl in Rue 21. Don't get me wrong - I love that store. It's one of the few places I actually enjoy clothes shopping. This really doesn't have anything to do with the store really. That's just where I was. But this girl . . . she had to have been younger than my sister, so maybe fourteen years old. But she looked like a . . . well . . . like a prostitute. I'm sorry to say it, but it's true. Her clothes, the way she wore them, the way her makeup was done - and for the record, I have a personal thing about girls that young wearing makeup - the way her hair was done . . . that's what she looked like. If she was on the street at night, I would have thought she was one.

But I remember looking at her and thinking, "Wow. She's grown up too fast."

Then it hit me: society tries to keep us busy, entertained . . . it tries to keep us children.

But in spite of that, we grow up. . . And not always in the best way.

So yeah. I just felt like I should post that.

I mean, innocence is an awesome thing.

Not naivete, that's not necessarily the same thing.

But innocence, purity . . . That's a lost treasure in this society.

It's Official: I'm Allergic to Cats

sniff

Yup. It's official.

I'm allergic to cats.

That's rather unfortunate, because I'm currently house-sitting a dog (who doesn't bother my nose and sinuses) and a cat (who is wreaking HAVOC).

And cats are cute.

And the long haired ones are beautiful.

I can be in the same house with them, even the same room.

But God forbid I try to pet one.

Oh my . . .

See . . . I don't mind sneezing so much . . . but I can't breathe very well, not around the cat. And she was practically on my lap for about 15 minutes.

And when  I do sneeze, I have this rather obnoxious sneeze.

Expectation:

Reality:

sniff

Yeah . . .