"Genorosity" by G.

You do a great service when you give to others in need. Generosity is something that represents our better side; showing kindness. But working at a shelter or dropping a few coins into a poor man's hand isn't the only way to show your generosity. Now I've seen this movie a few times, but it took me a while to realize that a damn good idea it is; that it really could work. Pay it Forward presents the idea that you help out three different people in a big way; the only thing you ask in return is for them to do the same thing; to Pay it Forward. There is actually a real foundation for the Pay it Forward idea; the link is on this blog, or you can click here. This is a amazing expression of generosity, but just imagine if everyone tried to do it. Kindness and Goodwill would be spread everywhere; ordinary people's lives can be changed for the better. So try it out. Help someone who fell down in the hall. Give that extra quarter if the guy in front of you doesn't have enough. That warm fuzzy feeling you get inside by showing kindness; it makes you more complete. Some people say that we start out evil or we start out good. I think we start out blank. By showing kindness, you make yourself, and the people you help, become just a bit better.

"Music" by G.

Music is a beautiful thing. It touches your mind and your soul. It can completely change your mood. And sometimes it has the power to inspire. Music has been part of the human culture for centuries; almost as if the sounds were built into us. A article at Psychology Today; a interview with a professor of neurobiology, suggests that music is actually part of our genes. It is noted that music has a definite influence on our brain. I know what when I'm feeling down or I just need some peace, music is always like a soothing balm for my mind. If there was something you wanted to do, but just couldn't make yourself get out of the slump, music can motivate you do that. I just think that everyone on this planet should have the opportunity to listen and create music. A Time Magazine article also states that people who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease respond better to music; it has a calming effect. Some Alzheimer's Patients can actually still play music even after they have forgotten many other things. Music truly does have a therapeutic effect. So hey, you just keep listening to that I-Pod of yours; careful though, don't blast out your eardrums by playing it too loud. I really wouldn't like to see anyone go deaf because of that. But enjoy your music, whatever kind it is. Music really does make the world and the people in it a bit saner and calmer, even if it is just for a little while.

"Money" by Shinji

Money does exactly what everyone says - it makes the world go around. But still, it's the cause of our servitude. It's the reason why some people are impoverished, it's the reason we have taxes, it's the reason we have prices. A handful of people have lots of money and no use for it and yet some people are so poor they have to live in the streets. And yet the governments across the world say that they are trying to spread economic wealth evenly? Obviously there's a flaw in that. If all of the world's money could be pooled into one big pot and then spread evenly to every person in the world, everyone could live fairly well. Quite well, actually, seeing that some families in the world have millions of dollars to their name while some families don't have two pennies to rub together. If everyone did get that base amount of cash and then people have to work to earn their keep and make more money, it would show us who deserve the money they make and who don't. Naturally, once everyone had a base amount of money to live comfortably, the ones who do work will make money and those who would rather be lazy and spend all their money would wind up in the gutter. Welfare? Unemployment insurance? Yes they are needed when people get laid off of work or when they get injured, but you have alcoholics who don't even try to get a job and just collect welfare. Anyways, getting back on track here and wrapping this up, money is the curse and blessing of the world, and I think that something should be done to distribute it more evenly so we can allow people to live comfortably and so people do not have to suffer.

"Fear" by G.

Ah Fear. It's pretty annoying sometimes, dontcha think? Back in the days of cavemen, fear was a very useful thing. If a person was scared of something, they would stay away, and they would be safe. Obviously, today's world is a radically different place. Fear has become a powerful mental barrier for many people for many things. It's not a sabretooth tiger or some sharp vines we are scared of anymore, oh no. Our new and improved modern fears include fear of talking to others, of rejection, and of change to name a few. Indeed, fear is a weakness that we all share. And yeah, it is a formidable enemy. But... imagine, just imagine, if you had no fear? You could do pretty much anything. Want to talk with any random person you see? You got it boss. Want to get that job? Easy as pie. But seriously, when you have no fear, you no longer have limits on yourself. Now I know none of us will ever be completely fearless. Fear is a normal thing. However, if your fear is irrational and preventing you from living life to the fullest, then we have a problem. Fear can have a strangely powerful influence, as most of us know. So remember, you are not the puppet with fear manipulating your strings. If you are sick of being afraid, sick of wanting to do something but can't, sick of watching life pass by because you are afraid to take action, then listen. You are the master. Only you can master your fear. You can and you will. There is no real special method to "cure" fear, because fear isn't truly a disease. To master fear, you must face it. And yeah, it will be difficult, but the rewards are endless. As a person once said, if you are fearless, then the world and everything in it is yours.

"Meditation" by G.

Today I decided to switch gears a little and talk about something different; Meditation. Meditation is a excellent practice that not only calms you but lets the stress melt away too. Now when some people think of Meditation, they might picture some holy monk floating five feet above the ground in some cave in the mountains. I mean, really, Meditation is a extremely simple thing to do. Find a nice, comfy little spot with no distractions. While people usually sit cross-legged, you should just sit or lie down in whatever way you feel comfortable with. Then comes the part that some people might have trouble with, clearing your mind. I know that we all have our worries and thoughts zip zapping their way through our stressed heads, but hey, it's just for a short while. And I'm sure they will all be there when we come back from our happy place. Anyways, it takes practice, but just try to make your mind go blank as best as you can. Begin to slowly breathe, inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. Finally, pick one, and I mean one, peaceful thing to focus on while you are peacefully Meditating. I prefer to think of slowly flowing water in a stream, but people have their preferences. Just sit there for 10-15 minutes, slowly breathing in and out, and thinking only of the one peaceful thing you chose. When you are done, you will feel extremely relaxed, both mentally and physically. So instead of watching mindless television or trying to throw paper airplanes into the wastebasket, just take a little bit of time and just relax. I promise, hopefully, that your gonna feel hella better afterwards.

"Hero" by G.

Heroes. People who choose to display mankind's more noble and valiant traits. For all the bad and evil people in the world, somewhere in the mix there is someone different. A person who doesn't let evil seduce them. People will argue that good and evil are human concepts; this is true. But the ideas of good and evil need to exist. Good will help us flourish and keep order; Evil will let us revert back to our complete animal selves; animals ruled by nothing but desire. All you have to do is pick up a newspaper or look at the evening news to know that our world can be a sad and frightening place. Wars, terrorism, sexual crimes, human and animal rights abuse; these things are part of our reality. On a smaller scale, we probably see bad things happen in our daily lives anyway. Stealing, cheating, racism, hate... for supposedly highly intelligent beings we don't act very intelligent at certain times. It's easy to feel hopeless, like we are just being pulled along by the winds of fate. If only there was someone who could give hope, and be the single person to face the evils of our world; evils that we and we alone have created. The world needs these "heroes". People think that heroes have to be amazingly powerful and unnaturally strong to be a hero. Truth is, heroes are everywhere. If you even give one thought to the people around you, and have that little bit of compassion, then you already have the makings of a hero. I'm not saying to put on a cape and go Rambo and liberate everyone; that kind of thing is movie material. But you don't have to go looking for heroes, you just might be one yourself. Giving to the less fortunate, defending a person being bullied, standing out in the face of adversity; these things make you noble. Evil is always about overpowering desires and the easy way out. It's easy to cheat, easy to go with a group and verbally abuse a single person, easy to start war. But these things are cowardly and reveal the weakness in the people who do them. It takes a person of true spirit to even think about facing the evils of society, but many people possess this fighting spirit. So somewhere out there, for every bad person, there is a person who will refuse to bend to the will of our weaker, more evil selves. They can be people walking past you on the street, that kid in your math class, the driver next to you on the road. But they are there. And when something bad happens, these people will show what human beings are truly capable of. We can be brave, compassionate, and empathic people. You have the free will to decide what you want to do in your life. Who knows, maybe you have a little of the hero in you.

"Conformity" by Shinji

Nowadays everyone conforms and everyone follows the same trends. Why is this? Could it be because the media sets the standards of how everyone should look and act? And then again, we are also to blame for obeying and following the media. Of course, once a few people follow the media, they can use peer pressure to force everyone else to conform. The way I see it, everyone is turning into mindless drones. People should follow their own path (or even make a new one!). Everyone's losing their individuality; I say we reclaim it for ourselves. Just because everyone is into one look, it doesn't mean you can't dress your own way. Listen to your own music. Buy your own stuff. Become your own person, not a clone created by the media.

"Anger" by G.

People are gonna get mad once in awhile; ok, maybe alot of times, its inevitable. But how your anger comes out is what determines the ultimate outcome in that situation. Most anger is like a volcano.. tick tick BOOM! A explosion. Fire flies through the sky, and the flying globs of lava continue to damage the surroundings even after the eruption has ended. A angry person usually isin't as rational as that person would be normally, and will say things that they will come to regret, stinging even after the anger melts away. Well you know what I think? Take a giant mountain sized bucket of ice water and just dump it over that volcano. Turn that blazing hot anger into something calm and cool. If you gotta get mad, "Cold" anger is much more preferable and is more useful than hot anger. For one thing, it confuses people with hot anger. They wonder why you haven't become a irrational monkey like they have, and that will defuse them a bit. The main benefit is that you haven't turned into a raging bull; your calm and your more likely to quell the argument quickly and prevent a situation from becoming worse. Anger is one of those emotions that can have powerful control over a person if they aren't careful. Mastering your own anger brings you one step closer to mastering yourself.

"Choices" by G.

Of course we all know about choices...we make them everyday. Obviously you made a choice to take a peek at this blog. Maybe you made a choice on whether to eat that greasy hamburger or a small salad for lunch today. Choices are everywhere, and effect everything. Choice is one of the powers that distinguishes us as human. But I'm not here to talk about your food choices or which candidate you like or if you would rather walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Those are minor choices; they will not significantly impact you in the long-term. Let's talk about bigger choices shall we? Like what a guy wants to do after high school. What a person wants to do with their life. Whether they choose to attempt to get a college education or not. Important choices that take alot of thought and a little bit of dreaming. Most Important Choices have two things in common; they require you to change and to give a crapload of effort toward your goal. Goals. Goals and Choices are two things that are intertwined. Because a person will not go toward reaching a goal unless deep inside they choose to attempt it. So I lead to my final point. A Choice is a gateway. A hopefully one way plane ticket to begin the journey to your goals. A person can work toward something but if they didn't really choose to do it and they don't care enough about it then their heart won't truly be in it. So, what do you want to do today? Time to make a choice.

"Anti-Semitism" by Shinji

So these days the thing everyone does to insult something, be it human, animal, or even an inanimate object, is call it a Jew. You don't call someone an idiot anymore, no, you call them a Jew. Your lawnmower break down? It's Jewish. This really gets me pissed off. Now first thing's first - what's wrong with Jews? Jewish people haven't done anything to you or anyone else; they're totally innocent people. So why do we say such anti-Semitic comments? There are more and more Jew hating jokes being made up daily, and there's no reason for it. It goes to show you that mini-Hitlers are popping up left and right these days. I'm not saying target another religion for insults, I'm saying cut out the insults that target a race, religion, gender, etc. General insults like calling someone an idiot is acceptable because it doesn't make fun of any race or religion or gender or (insert specific target here). So why don't we cut out the unnecessary anti-Semitism in our everyday speech and focus more on uniting religions, cultures, and the like instead of dividing them even more? To me it sounds like a good plan, and I'm gonna keep sticking with it.

"Keep Going" by G.

I feel pretty run down and tired today, more than I usually am. I'm sure many other people feel the same way at one point. Maybe school or your job is stretching you to your limits. We begin to wonder, what's the point? I keep studying hard or slaving at a job or trying to change something about myself, but everything just stays the same, day after day after day. Many of us just hope that something good is gonna happen, or we will magically become the person we want to be... someday. But you gotta remember, you can't stop; you have to keep going. At least if you want to improve something in your life. Fact is, life will shove you down into the dirt once in awhile, and its the same for any person. What can set you apart from the other people around you is how you get up again. Will you get up expecting to fall down again sometime soon? Or will you stand tall and refuse to let the challenges of your life take you down? So even if your tired to the bone, and getting sick of your routine, don't lose heart. Tomorrow is a new day. Get up tomorrow, make the Energizer Bunny your role model, and take what you want from Life with renewed vigor.