+Sleep, Zzzzz

Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than being in hibernation or a coma. Sleep is also a heightened anabolic state, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems. It is observed in all mammals, all birds, and many reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

The purposes and mechanisms of sleep are only partially clear and are the subject of intense research. Sleep is often thought to help conserve energy, but actually decreases metabolism only about 5–10%. Hibernating animals need to sleep despite the hypometabolism seen in hibernation, and in fact they must return from hypothermia to euthermy in order to sleep, making sleeping "energetically expensive."
(SleepLink)

+Types of Dreams

Daydreaming is classified as a level of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness.  Studies show that you have the tendency to daydream an average of 70-120 minutes a day. It occurs during waking hours when you let your imagination carry you away. As your mind begins to wander and your level of awareness decreases, you lose yourself in your imagined scenario and fantasy.   

Have you ever thought you have woken up and gone about your daily morning routine: getting up, brushing your teeth, eating breakfast and going to work, only to wake up "again" and realize that what just happened is just a dream? That sensation is referred to as a false awakening.  

Lucid dreams occur when you realize you are dreaming. "Wait a second. This is only a dream!" Most dreamers wake themselves up once they realize that they are dreaming. Other dreamers have cultivated the skill to remain in the lucid state of dreaming. They become an active participant in their own dreams, making decisions in their dreams and influencing the dream's outcome without awakening.   

A nightmare is a disturbing dream that causes you to wake up feeling anxious and frightened. Nightmares may be a response to real life trauma and situations. This type of nightmares fall under a special category called Post-traumatic Stress Nightmare (PSN). Nightmares may also occur because you have ignored or refused to accept a particular life situation. Research shows that most people, who have regular nightmares have a family history of psychiatric problems, are involved in a rocky relationship or have had bad drug experiences. These people may have also contemplated suicide.  Nightmares are an indication of a fear that needs to be acknowledged and confronted. It is a way for the subconscious to wake up and take notice. "Pay attention!"  

Recurring dreams repeat themselves with little variation in story or theme.  These dreams may be positive, but most often they are nightmarish in content.  Dreams may recur because a conflict depicted in the dream remains unresolved or  ignored. Once you find a resolution to the problem, your recurring dreams will cease.  

Healing dreams serve as messages for the dreamer in regards to their health. The Ancient Greeks called these dreams "prodromic". Many dream experts believe that dreams can help in avoiding potential health problems and healing when you are ill or when you are grieving. Research shows that asthma and migraine sufferers have certain types of dreams before an attack. Your bodies are able to communicate to your mind through dreams. The dreams can "tell" you that something is not quite right with your bodies even before any physical symptoms show up. Dreams of this nature may be telling the dreamer that he or she needs to go to the dentist or doctor. If you can understand the language of dreams, your dreams will serve as an invaluable early warning system. They can help inform, advise and heal. 

Prophetic dreams; also referred to as precognitive or psychic dreams; are dreams that seemingly foretell the future.  One rational theory to explain this phenomenon is that your dreaming mind is able to piece together bits of information and observation that you may normally overlook or that you do not seriously consider. In other words, your unconscious mind knows what is coming before you consciously piece together the same information.  

Signal dreams help you how to solve problems or make decisions in your waking life.  

Epic dreams (also referred to as Great Dreams, Cosmic Dreams or Numinous Dreams) are so huge, so compelling, and so vivid that you cannot ignore them. The details of such dreams remain with you for years, as if you just dreamt it last night. These dreams possess much beauty and contain many archetypal symbology.  When you wake up from such a dream, you feel that you have discovered something profound or amazing about yourself or about the world. It feels like a life-changing experience. 

Progressive dreams occur when you have a sequence of dreams that continue over a period of nights. The dream continues where you left off the previous night. Such dreams are problem-solving dreams and help to explore different options and various approaches to a problem, situation or relationship.  

Mutual dreams are described as such when two people have the same dream. Mutual dreams may be planned, meaning that two people actively work toward achieving one dream scenario or goal. It is a way to improve communication and build trust. Mutual dreams can also be spontaneous. You find out that a friend, a significant other, faraway relative, or someone has had the same dream on the same night as you. Not much study has gone into the phenomenon of mutual dreams, but there is a very strong bond that exists between these two people.  

(DreamLink)

+Sleep Timing

Sleep timing is controlled by the circadian clock, sleep-wake homeostasis, and in humans, within certain bounds, willed behavior. The circadian clock—an inner timekeeping, temperature-fluctuating, enzyme-controlling device—works in tandem with adenosine, a neurotransmitter that inhibits many of the bodily processes associated with wakefulness. Adenosine is created over the course of the day; high levels of adenosine lead to sleepiness. In diurnal animals, sleepiness occurs as the circadian element causes the release of the hormone melatonin and a gradual decrease in core body temperature. The timing is affected by one's chronotype. It is the circadian rhythm that determines the ideal timing of a correctly structured and restorative sleep episode.

Homeostatic sleep propensity (the need for sleep as a function of the amount of time elapsed since the last adequate sleep episode) must be balanced against the circadian element for satisfactory sleep. Along with corresponding messages from the circadian clock, this tells the body it needs to sleep. Sleep offset (awakening) is primarily determined by circadian rhythm. A person who regularly awakens at an early hour will generally not be able to sleep much later than his or her normal waking time, even if moderately sleep-deprived.
(SleepLink)

-REM Sleep

Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep) is a normal stage of sleep characterized by the random movement of the eyes. REM sleep is classified into two categories: tonic and phasic. It was identified and defined by Nathaniel Kleitman and Eugene Aserinsky in the early 1950s. Criteria for REM sleep includes rapid eye movement, but also low muscle tone and a rapid, low-voltage EEG; these features are easily discernible in a polysomnogram, the sleep study typically done for patients with suspected sleep disorders.

REM sleep in adult humans typically occupies 20–25% of total sleep, about 90–120 minutes of a night's sleep. During a normal night of sleep, humans usually experience about four or five periods of REM sleep; they are quite short at the beginning of the night and longer toward the end. Many animals and some people tend to wake, or experience a period of very light sleep, for a short time immediately after a bout of REM. The relative amount of REM sleep varies considerably with age. A newborn baby spends more than 80% of total sleep time in REM.  During REM, the activity of the brain's neurons is quite similar to that during waking hours; for this reason, the REM-sleep stage may be called paradoxical sleep.

REM sleep is physiologically different from the other phases of sleep, which are collectively referred to as non-REM sleep (NREM sleep). Vividly recalled dreams mostly occur during REM sleep.

(SleepLink)

-She's Dreaming Again

Another strange dream occurred last night. I was in a warehouse. I was being chased by a small blonde haired boy with a pair of scissors. He was yelling at me that he was going to cut my hair. He chased me into a dark room and I couldn't find my way out. I screamed and jumped through the wall. A bright light appeared and a bunch of kids and a teacher walked in. I kept running. I ran up the stairs screaming the names of the kids to help me. No one stirred. I woke when I reached the top of the stairs.

"To dream that you are in a darkroom suggests that you are waiting for something to happen. You are curious to see what might develop in a situation."

"To dream that you are screaming symbolizes anger and fear. You are expressing some powerful emotion which you have kept pent up inside. If you try to scream, but no sound comes out, then it indicates your sense of helplessness and frustration in some situation. No matter how hard you try to get someone's attention, they cannot hear you. The dream highlights your difficulty in communicating with this person. You need to immediately identify your fears or feelings and confront this situation in real life."

"To dream that you are being chased signifies that you are avoiding a situation that you do not think is conquerable. It is a metaphor for some form of insecurity. In particular, to dream that you are chased by an animal represents your own unexpressed and unacknowledged anger which is being projected onto that animal. Alternatively, you may be running away from a primal urge or fear."

"To dream that you are walking up a flight of stairs indicate that you are achieving a higher level of understanding. You are making progress into your spiritual, emotional or material journey. The dream is also analogous to material and thoughts that are coming to the surface."

"To dream that you are cutting your hair suggests that you are experiencing a loss in strength. You may feel that someone is trying to censor you. Alternatively, you may be reshaping your thinking or ambitions and eliminating unwanted thoughts/habits."

"To dream that you or someone is yelling represents repressed anger that needs to be expressed. If you are yelling and no one hears, then it suggests that you are being overlooked in some waking situation. You feel that your voice does not matter or that your opinion does not count."

"To see a warehouse in your dream represents stored energy or hidden resources. The warehouse also refers to memories. Alternatively, the warehouse means that you are putting your ambitions and goals on hold."

(DreamLink)

-Your Downfall

For most people, when they hear the word "drugs", they assume nothing of it, believe drugs are bad and move on. In my sixteen year old mind, the word appears in front of me. It looks like a flat surface with the letters cut out. It moves towards me, slowly at first then accelerates, swallows me whole, and slams shut. I'm floating in a dark room. Its empty, pitch black, and I'm terrified. There are no walls, no floor, and no ceiling. Colors shoot out from the darkness, swirl around my small body and constrict me till I suffocate. A bright light approaches so radiant that it sears my green eyes, blinds me and then fades. I'm strapped down to a stretcher. I'm being rushed down a hospital hallway. What's happening? Doctors swiftly pick up my body and strap me to a hospital bed. The walls are moving closer, and closer. How is this happening? I jump up and run towards the walls, hoping to find an exit. What? The walls are soft and squishy now. Padded cell? How did I get in here? The bed has disappeared along with my arms. How did I get into a strait jacket? I scream for hours and nothing happens. No one helps me. One wall turns into a window, there are people watching me, laughing. Pointing and staring at my insanity. I hear and slash and feel a sudden tug on my head. I turn around to see a boy who had reached through the bars that somehow appeared behind me. He is holding a large chunk of my golden brown hair in his left hand and a pair of scissors in the right. He smiles an evil crooked smile, laughs, and walks away without another sound. I shut my eyes, cry a single tear, and open them again. I'm running down a road. What? Why? What am I running from? Who is following me? Is someone following me? Why am I still running? I turn to see what's behind me, I see a small, golden brown haired, green eyed, sixteen year old girl. She looks kind and fragile. Why am I running from her? She steps towards me and reaches for her pocket. I ask her who she is. She looks up and straight into my eyes, "your downfall." I gasp for air as I tug at the needle and syringe she had thrust into my heart. I fall to my knees clutching onto my chest. I lie on the dark cold asphalt and listen to my heavy breathing. The air smells of blood and regret. Blood is pouring out of my neck as I embrace death. I can't die. I won’t die. Am I already dead? This pain won't end. Kill me already. I shouldn’t be alive anymore! I close my eyes and feel an insanely sharp pain in my stomach. Two dark red hands with sharp claws just jutted through the earth and pierced through my stomach. I gasp for air and twinge at the sight of the two claws sticking out of my stomach. I can’t move. I’m terrified of what might happen next. The claws move around my stomach, grab both sides of my rib cage and pull me through the ground. My screams fade out into the darkness.

+Divulge Your Dreams

Last night I woke up in a cold sweat after a confusing dream that had made my brain thrust itself and my body awake. I dreamt that I was a ghost, I tried to talk to people but no one could hear or see me. I screamed and jumped but I wasn’t there. A select few people could feel my presence and tried to communicate with me. One boy whom I had only met once in my life could see and hear me, I was shocked and thrilled. They all disappeared in that moment and I was now in a forest. I then thought to myself, “I’m dead, that means I can finally see Chandler again.” (Chandler was a friend of mine and an ex-boyfriend who committed suicide a few months ago) I sprinted through the forest looking for him then came to a sudden stop. I looked down at my feet where a snake was outstretched across my toes. I woke up after the snake appeared to look at me and lunge forward towards my face.

“To see your own ghost in your dream symbolizes aspects of yourself that you fear. This may involve a painful memory, guilt, or some repressed thoughts. Or you may be afraid of death and dying. Alternatively, ghosts are representative of something that is no longer obtainable or within reach. It indicates that you are feeling disconnected from life and society. Try to figure out what the ghosts wants or what it is looking for. The dream may also be a calling for you to move on and abandon your outdated modes of thinking and behavior.”

“To dream that you are lost in a forest indicates that you are searching through your unconscious for a better understanding of yourself.”

“To see the ghost of a dead friend/relative in your dream suggests guilt and regrets concerning the past relationships with that particular person.”

“To see a snake or be bitten by one in your dream signifies hidden fears and worries that are threatening you.  Your dream may be alerting you to something in your waking life that you are not aware of or that has not yet surfaced. The snake may also refer to a person around you who is callous, ruthless, and can't be trusted. As a positive symbol, snakes represent healing, transformation, knowledge and wisdom. It is indicative of self-renewal and positive change.”

(DreamLink)

My Ghost: Before I went to sleep I was speaking to my friend about how I was trying to change into a better person, I didn’t like the horrible kid I was and I wanted to get rid of the evil inside of myself.

Forest: My mother asked me if I was trying to just fit in with the cheerleaders now, my reply was that I didn’t know what I was trying to do or who I was trying to be. I told her I really didn’t know who I was.

Chandler’s Ghost: The last time me and Chandler spoke it was a fight that I had started. I called him all sorts of awful names and calling him out on stupid stuff and we hadn’t spoken to each other for two years when I found out he committed suicide on the dreadful Monday morning of February 21, 2011.

Snake: I am changing myself in a positive way, have learned of some backstabbing friends, and it might be warning me of something coming my way.

Dreams can depict so much about your life, your actions, and the way you brain functions and processes everyday activities and conversations. What are your dreams telling you?

+ABC's of Psychology

Since one of the main topics I talk about on my blog is psychology, I decided it might be a swell idea to put the “ABC’s of Psychology” for those who know next to nothing about the subject to begin with.

• A: Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Affect is a key part of the process of an organism’s interaction with stimuli. The word also refers sometimes to affect display, which is “a facial, vocal, or gestural behavior that serves as an indicator of affect. (Affect)

• B: Behavior refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment. It is the response of the system or organism to various stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary. (Behavior)

• C: Cognition is the scientific term for mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. In psychology and cognitive science, it usually refers to an information processing view of an individual’s psychological functions. It is also used in a branch of social psychology called social cognition to explain attitudes, attribution and groups’ dynamics. (Cognition)

Maybe this helps you understand some of my posts better, maybe not. I’ll continue defining things about psychology on my blog to help those who don’t know anything about psychology and cannot completely understand everything I am writing about.

+Dwelling in Disociation

Dissociation: is an altered state of consciousness characterized by partial or complete disruption of the normal integration of a person’s normal conscious or psychological functioning. Dissociation is most commonly experienced as a subjective perception of one's consciousness being detached from one's emotions, body and/or immediate surroundings. Van der Kolk et al describes dissociation as a "compartmentalization of experience." Under normal conditions, consciousness, memory, emotions, sensory awareness, affect, etc., are integrated; with dissociation, in contrast, these traits are discretely compartmentalized to greater or lesser degrees. (ThinkLink)

Have you ever wondered impossible things? Have you ever thought about things your own mind cannot processes? I do every single day. I try to understand things that can't be understood.

Imagine that when you die, that light you see is really you being reborn from your new mother.

Imagine birthmarks were indications or clues to your past lives death, like a bullet wound or being stabbed.

Think about when you are asleep, you aren't aware that you are asleep until you wake up. Excluding when you dream, all you remember is black. Is that what it is like when we die? Is it like a deep sleep that we are unaware of? Do our souls just disappear from the universe?

Think about the way you think, how you process and see things your own way. Now think about other people. Do they think the same things? Do they think the same things? What is it like to see things from someone else's point of view?

Is everyone's mind like a different world? Are things set up in our thoughts because we all have a different world our minds are set in? It’s our own personal movie, but what if someone else is the screen writer? We are puppets controlled by some other force. What if nothing we do is actually our choice, we are just controlled, mind and body by someone else?

Just think about these things, think long and hard about the possibilities of the world around us. Does it hurt to think about it? Can you comprehend any of this? What do you believe in? That's the real question.

-Living in Dreamland

"Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Dreams are a connection to the human subconscious. They can range from normal and ordinary to overly surreal and bizarre. Dreams can often at times make a creative thought occur to the person or give a sense of inspiration. Dream imagery is often absurd and unrealistic, and the events in dreams are generally outside the control of the dreamer, with the exception of lucid dreaming. Dreamers are usually not self-aware in their dreams; thus the dreams may seem very real to them while asleep. Dreams can vary from frightening, exciting, magical, and melancholic to adventurous." (DreamLink)

Have you even woken up screaming because of a terrifying dream? Have you ever had such a wonderful dream that you woke up way to happy, only to forget what you dreamt about within the next 10 minutes? Of course, we all have. Dreams give one a sense of fantasy. Sometimes there are weird quirks for people’s dreams. Most people have many dreams that occur only once, some people have reoccurring dreams; some only dream in black and white; some dream in different languages; some only dream lucidly, where they know they are dreaming and they can control what happens within the dream. Dreams have a connection to psychosis, dissociation, and hallucinations. These are effects of certain illegal drugs as well. Are the drugs being abused boosting the part of your brain that creates dreams? In our dreams everything is crazy, maybe that’s just the conscious mind that crazy people actually live with. The mentally insane could possibly just be living in dreamland.

-Social Outcast

Today, I am to hang out with a very good friend of mine, will just call him “C”. C was targeted in an outrageous immature twitter account made by someone who goes to my high school. This twitter account was only up for 24 hours before gaining 1000+ followers by starting rumors about girls and boys personal sex lives. Four accounts were up about 3 different high schools, two being mine. Two were shut down, one is still going, and the other isn’t tweeting. The police are tracking the people and pressing charges. After reading the tweets, I almost cried. C doesn’t even go to my school anymore, he graduated two years ago, he is probably completely unaware that he was included in the awful tweets and I hope he doesn’t find out. All three accusations about him were false, and they also spelled his name wrong!

Some of the tweets were so completely awful that I wanted to throw my phone across the room and transfer schools back down to my home town in Florida. I am embarrassed to be a part of this high school. I felt sick to my stomach. Who would personally humiliate another person just for a cruel laugh? Do people not realize that this is illegal? It’s harassment and has caused many teenagers to commit suicide. It really happens and the only time anyone will notice it is when someone really close to them commits suicide. What if you were the one terrorizing and humiliating these kids? Their blood is on your hands. Their death was entirely your fault.

It is one thing to say something to someone’s face, but hiding behind a computer is just a dirty coward, especially if you don’t even know the person to begin with. If you haven’t met the person nor talked to them, don’t speak harsh words about them. You don’t know them personally, you don’t know their lives. C has had one of the hardest lives of anyone I have ever met. His parents are divorced and he’s been split from everyone since he was little. He has been back and forth to his mom and his dad. He didn’t graduate high school because he became a drug addict. He is an alcoholic and he has no job. He has nowhere to go and no way to fix it. He has to steal to survive. Imagine having this life? Imagine how hard it is to look in the mirror every morning hung over. Imagine reaching for a needle everyday just to get out of your head and out of this life you are stuck in. Imagine the horror of his mind being entangled within itself, not knowing what to do, who to turn to. Imagine all this, and then read those tweets again.  You don’t know these people you are talking about. You have no right to say or accuse anything about them, especially if you know for a fact that it isn’t even true!

I just can’t wait for high school to end. Once we all graduate, we will all realize that none of this even matters. Who cares what shoes she is wearing or what guy she is dating or whoever that guy is talking to. It’s none of our business, and we don’t need to weasel our way into it. This is a disgrace, if we can’t respect each other, what hope do we have? I have no faith in humanity. Until I see progress, I am not proud to be part of the human race. Grow up or get out, you don’t deserve to learn at this establishment; neither do the people who supported this awful act.

-Silently Speaking

“Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements.”

I observed my friend for a few weeks; I noticed all of his little quirks and his strange body language. When he is nervous or just thinking really hard he puts his hand over his face; when he lies he will not look you in the eye, he will simply look down or in a completely different direction; He wears his hood when he is uncertain of his situation; If he wants a kiss, he stares at you, smiles, looks down, and comes back for what he wants; If he is sad, he slumps, chain smokes, and he barely moves; When he feels guilt he hides in his hands and slumps over really far and continually rubs his face; If he’s scared, he shakes and trembles; if he’s excited he won’t stop smiling and tells me weird things he notices that no one in their right mind would. I could always tell what he was feeling or thinking just by the way he sat, looked around the room and just his overall appearance in general.

It is said that human communication is 93% body language. That means that a huge majority of human interactions and understanding isn’t even being said out loud. Everything you do with your body could mean something to someone else. Your own body language can reveal your emotions and feelings to others as well as other people’s body language can reveal the same to you. Giving and receiving body language is on an unconscious and conscious level. Body language isn’t exact, so don’t ever decide anything based on someone’s body language alone; things could be misunderstood for something else and taken the wrong way. The fact is that body language is a huge part of our human communication and it’s amazing how much we learn about each other from it.

+Progression Depresssion

Is change a good thing? Is the act of constantly moving forward and gaining more knowledge and technology an excellent thing to achieve? Most people would say yes, I would say have to say maybe. I mean think about it, with our phones getting smaller we are losing them more, with TVs becoming larger and more clear people aren’t leaving their couch, with video chat you always have to look good while on the phone you don’t have to. This post is mostly just to make you think. I just had a thought about the progression of the world, and realized it isn’t always a good thing. Weapons are becoming deadlier and easier to get a hold on. Nuclear energy for example, the radiation is extremely dangerous yet we still use it every single day. Our cars release gases that poison the earth and create nasty black smoke. I’m just wondering when we will start making advances that aren’t bad or harmful to the environment or even ourselves. I’m not saying that all progression is bad though; the smaller phones are more convenient; the TVs are a really nice luxury; video chat is great when you have friends or family far away and can’t see them often; cars get us from point A to point B quickly, cheaply, and efficiently; weapons still keep us safe; and nuclear energy is a great energy source. Progression is good for us, but also harmful. I’m just saying we need to find a happy balance of progression that gives off more good than harm.

+Have You Been Drinking?

I was at lunch with my best friend a few days ago when it occurred to me that he was drinking kind of awkwardly. I observed his behavior, watching him only drink without a straw, without ice, and with every single soda mixed together inside of the cup. I asked him why he does some of these things, he said that he just can’t drink with a straw and he hates the ice. He also said that he hates sharing drinks; he can’t drink after anyone else. So I thought about it for a moment. I cannot drink out of the 2 liter bottles; I hate it. Usually I only like cans, although I will accept a fountain drink or something from a smaller bottle. At restaurants and fast food establishments, I have to have a straw. I won’t drink water unless I’m dying of dehydration. Isn’t this just a bit strange? What else do people do when drinking? Do people really stick their pinkies out? No they slurp for a reason? I asked around a bit and another friend of mine told me how he always has to have ice in his drink so he can chew on it. No matter what it is he has to have ice to chew on after finishing his beverage. Another girl will not drink anything warm with the exception of the drinks that are meant to be hot; coffee, hot chocolate, etc. I then did some research on my strange topic. Unfortunately, the words “drinking habits” all tend to swing towards alcohol, but after extensive Google use, I found a few articles that were exactly what I needed.

“At that point Steve reached over the side of his chair, presumably to pick up a cup of coffee. It’s poor form to eat in front of clients but many of us will sometimes have a beverage on hand. But when Steve returned to his natural sitting position, he wasn’t holding a glass or mug; rather, a 2-Liter bottle of Diet Pepsi. It looked particularly huge in his small hands. Thinking that he would be pouring it into a paper cup or glass, he surprised me further by simply chugging it straight from the bottle, without a trace of self-consciousness. It was as if he treated those family-sized bottles as his own personal allowance of cola for that session.

 I watched further as he continued to drink from the bottle every few minutes. When he stood up to walk the still invisible patient to the door, I realized it was 45 minutes later and the bottle was empty. Steve just tossed the plastic into the trash, a symbolic middle finger to the recycling community.

I’ve mentioned my own quirks and I’m sure I have plenty of others of which I’m not aware. However the last time I checked I wasn’t slurping down colossal bottles of Pepsi like a horse with a feedbag attached to its face. And the strangest part about it is that Steve is the last person I would imagine would engage in such gauche behavior. He prides himself on his impeccable office space, his luxury automobile and his tailored clothes. Is Steve some type of interpersonally awkward freak behind the therapy door? Unless I get some unusually impressive explanation (e.g., the Pepsi has magical therapy powers that only emerge if you drink right from a gigantic bottle), that’s what I’m going to assume from now on.”
(ShrinkLink)

“It's unclear whether UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida's daily habit is a form of superstition or self-torture, but every morning the Brazilian Shotokan karate master drinks his own urine. Revealing that he picked up the practice from his father, himself a karate master, the 31-year-old Brazilian has said he believes urine is a natural medicine that cleanses his body. While it sounds disgusting, Machida may be onto something—The Dragon has yet to lose a round in his professional mixed martial arts career.”
(UFC Heavyweight Drinker)

So we now have a shrink who has to have large amounts of Diet Pepsi in front of his clients and he has to drink it out of the bottle; and we also have a UFC Light Heavyweight Champion who drinks his own urine every night. I’m glad I’m not the only crazy one here. Pay attention to how you drink and how others drink now, you’ll chuckle at the silly things people do.

+Distracting Focus

Learning in a classroom setting is difficult for some people because they can’t focus well. I personally can’t focus without music. I have to have at least one headphone in at all times in order to learn anything in class. Today my headphones broke and I couldn’t focus at all, I think I failed the whole day. My friends told me some of their focusing habits; One of my friends has to be chewing gum, another has to bite her nails, others have to have complete silence and no music, some have to have their phones on their desks at all times. Why is it that we need a small distraction to keep our minds on track? Our attention on certain subjects aren’t interesting sometimes, so in order to not be completely bored with the topic and begin snoozing away in the middle of world history class, we distract our minds slightly with a small amount of entertainment. The definition of focus is "a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity." Even though not all our attention is on one topic it is still the central thing that has our attention. The little things we do to distract ourselves can actually help direct our attention to focusing on the topic at hand.

-Would You Kindly?

First thing’s first, never play this game in the dark, alone, at night. It’s too intense. Bioshock is an excellent thrilling game that is almost like a movie. There is a story behind everything you do and everything you see, it’s like a movie you are a part of. The character becomes trapped in a underwater city full of drug addicted psychos, little sisters, big daddy’s, and scientists. In order to survive, you must inject yourself with different plasmids. These plasmids are like super powers, with a good amount of Eve you can use your strange medicinal advantages to beat you enemies and other obstacles in your way. The only way to obtain more plasmids is to gain more Adam. Adam is gained by killing a big daddy and taking the little sister. You can either choose to save the little sister, resulting in less Adam but more special prizes throughout the game; or to harvest her and receive maximum Adam. Once enough Adam is collected you can go to a Gatherers Garden and purchase new gene upgrades, tonics, and plasmids. The plasmids are typical yet unusual. Everything comes out of your left hand, you can throw traps, fire, ice, electricity, telekinesis, hypnosis, decoys, and you can shoot a swarm of bees out of your arm. I know what you are thinking, bees?? Yes, bees. It’s pretty intense. All these and other weapons are used to get you throughout the underwater city of Rapture and to get you to the safety of land. Only by figuring out what happened to Rapture, can you escape it.

-Mood Swings

I was driving down the road singing loudly and obnoxiously when something dawned on me. I was so stressed out all day that day. I had so much work to do including homework, studying, cheer practice, and making eighty signs for the Varsity football players. Everything had to be done by the next day and I was freaking out about it throughout the day. Why such a relaxing yet sudden uproar of happiness during such a difficult time? Why was I so content when I was simply driving down the road listening to music?

"In general, responses to music are able to be observed. It has been proven that music influences humans both in good and bad ways. These effects are instant and long lasting. Music is thought to link all of the emotional, spiritual, and physical elements of the universe. Music can also be used to change a person's mood, and has been found to cause like physical responses in many people simultaneously. Music also has the ability to strengthen or weaken emotions from a particular event such as a funeral. "(Laurence O'Donnell)

Music affects your mood, it’s a fact we all know; common knowledge. Although, I never thought it could be that powerful. I always thought that people just listened to certain music when they were in that kind of mood. People listen to rock when they’re mad, pop when happy, classic when relaxing, country when sad, etc.  Nope, our bodies and minds react to the sounds, beats, voices, and rhythms that flow through our ear drums.

"Responses to music are easy to be detected in the human body. Classical music from the baroque period causes the heart beat and pulse rate to relax to the beat of the music. As the body becomes relaxed and alert, the mind is able to concentrate more easily. Furthermore, baroque music decreases blood pressure and enhances the ability to learn. Music affects the amplitude and frequency of brain waves, which can be measured by an electro-encephalogram. Music also affects breathing rate and electrical resistance of the skin. It has been observed to cause the pupils to dilate, increase blood pressure, and increase the heart rate. "(Laurence O'Donnell)

While in class or doing a project or something like that, I always have at least one headphone in. Come to think of it, the only time I’m not listening to music is in my sleep, while watching TV, or while reading some form of literature. I can focus on everything except for reading while listening to music. In fact, I am listening to music while writing this. The song “If Not, For Ourselves” by Woe Is Me. It makes me type faster, more focused, determined even. I just want to sing! Laaaaaa. I really didn’t know music was this powerful.

-Fallout of Reality

I have dedicated a large percentage of my teenage life to playing Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas. It seems silly but I am completely in love with these games. They are my all-time favorite video games. The point of the game is to survive in a post nuclear apocalyptic world; the wasteland. Everything to drink and to eat is full of radiation, the people aren’t quite right in the head, and everything is out to get you. The game is full of quests to keep you busy for weeks.

I played nonstop Fallout 3 for four months and still haven’t gotten all of the achievements. I’ve beaten the game but there are so many different side quests to complete before all the achievements are unlocked. Fallout 3 was based in Washington D.C. after the great nuclear war.  You were born and raised in an underground vault and have never been outside of it. Your dad escapes that vault and you must go after him and help him create “the purifier”, a machine that would purify all the radiated water so everyone can drink clean water. The gameplay and map is very accurate to the real life D.C. Everything is there, the Lincoln Memorial, The museums, the Washington Memorial, the subways, the Arlington library and cemetery, it’s all there. The game is nonstop fun with challenging enemies like ghouls, super mutants, radscorpians, giant fire ants, mole rats, vicious dogs, death claws, centaurs, protectrons, and raiders. 

Fallout New Vegas was based in what was left of Las Vegas after the great nuclear war. New Vegas was insanely easier than 3. There are a few ways to beat New Vegas. You can take the side of Mr. House, Yes Man, New California Republic, or Caesars Legion. There is also a “hardcore mode”. This is a much more challenging way to play. Real life elements are added into game play like having to sleep, or you get sleep deprivation; eat, or you starve; drink, or you get dehydrated; and visit a doctor to heal, or you become crippled. The game is full of all the enemies from Fallout 3 and new ones like geckos, cazadors, nightstalkers, and bighorners. The gameplay is set in a New Vegas Strip where Mr. House of the Lucky 38 casino owns everything and controls every protectron that roams there. The platinum chip has been stolen from you from a man who shot you in the head and left you to die; you must find the chip and choose a side to fight for. A cool thing about New Vegas is that you can gamble at the casinos. I’ve already gotten kicked out of every single one on the strip for winning too much money.

I am completely addicted to Bethesda’s genius in making video games. Keep them coming. <3

+Falling Into Autumn

The past few days we've been falling into the season of autumn. It's getting colder outside, our cars have been a little frosty in the mornings, the leaves are changing, and that feeling in my stomach is back. Fall is upon us.

The smells and the sights are driving me crazy. When I open my window or go outside, I get an awkward gut feeling. The smell of outside reminds me of home. Home for me smells like the crisp, cold, fresh smell of trees and rain; it smells like warm cinnamon like the candles my mother always pulled out around the time of Halloween. The reefs being hung and the orange leaves falling from the trees makes me happy.

Fall has always been my favorite season. I always loved Halloween. My parents always had a Halloween party with the parents while the kids all went trick or treating. I loved coming home to a dimly lit house with people everywhere and great food placed all over the kitchen. Running upstairs to the game room with a pillowcase full of candy to see all my friends and my brothers on the floor separating and trading their candy. It was a delicate process for us, we must organize each piece, decide what we do not want, and offer to trade candies with each other. We'd all sit there with our costume make-up half smeared down our faces, our masks on the floor, and our shoes scattered around the room. After the sorting and everyone is back from trick-or-treating, we would all jump on the trampoline or play hide and go seek.

It's different here in Iowa than from my hometown in Florida though. It is much colder here, and it looks less colorful. Everything here is more black and white here. It might just be the snow, but in Florida everything was so bright and it’s still vivid in my mind. The bright orange and red leaves, the bright green frosted grass, it was all so beautiful. I just remember so much from my childhood in Ocala.

Fall and winter were the same in Ocala. My memories mix together, unlike here where it is clear when winter comes. I remember the smell of a new Christmas tree, the sweet pine and cinnamon aroma flowing through the atmosphere of my home.

Light up Ocala, such a beautiful sight:

The annual Christmas parade we always attended. The bright lights; colorful floats; and loud noises of sirens, horns, people laughing and people playing Christmas songs on their parade floats. Ocala has such an impact on my thoughts and memories, almost every sight, smell, and noise reminds me of home. I miss it so much; every fall brings back such great memories that make me grateful for growing up in such a great place, but also sad that I had to leave. I wish to return and live there again soon. <3

+From Germany With Love

I couldn't think of anything to blog for the past hour, the longer I sat here the harder it became to think of a topic. I started looking through old pictures and thought of an excellent topic to write about. Germasian and German. The German foreign exchange students.

During the last four months of school, Germasian became my family's "foreigner." We were excited to become a host family but also a little nervous; we had never done this before. We called him "Germasian" because he is a vietnamese desent but was born and raised in Germany. Germasian became part of the family quickly, and so did his best friend, the other foreign exchange student from Germany. German practically lived at our house as well. Germasian and German were inseparable. My ability to drive, and my awesomeness, drug me into the picture. I took Germasian and German everywhere, soccer, friends, Hy-vee, school, Walmart at 12:00 am on a school night, and everywhere else. They were a huge part of my life and caused some of the best memories of my high school experience. Including our trip to St. Louis, Missouri; our trip to Ocala, Florida; When we all put blankets in the bed of my truck and went to Seminole Valley Park at 11:00 pm on a school night; our trip to Jacksonville, Florida; one EPIC Mother's Day; the Airport Disaster Drill; and so many others.

One of my personal favorites was the night we spent in St. Louis. Me and the Italian Foreigner, decided to go to bed. German and Germasian decided to mess with us while we were sleeping, mostly me unfortunately. I was exhausted that night but I still thought they were hilarious.

I've had so many great memories with "my brothers." I'll never forget them and I hope to see them again soon. Germasian still needs to "make me some rice hoe!" anyway. 

+School Permits

Every morning I wake up and go to school, I hurry to the south lot to get a parking space. There are eight places to park at Kennedy High School. South lot, for Juniors and Seniors; North lot, for Seniors with a special pass; horseshoe, for visitors’; the back lot, for teachers; the lot by the North lot, I don't know who that’s for; Lovely Lane Church for people with passes; Gospel Tabernacle, for people with passes; Towne House St, for whoever gets there first; and then there is Oakland Church, for people who can’t find a spot anywhere else. You'd think there would be enough spaces for everyone who drives to school considering there is some many parking spaces right? Wrong. I believe the reason for the parking problem is because of school permits.

I grew up in a small town in Florida. My brothers went to Belleview high school, where there was only one parking lot for students that was smaller than the south lot at Kennedy. There were never any parking problems at Belleview, why do you think that is? In Florida you are allowed to get your Learners Permit when you turn 15 years old as long as you pass a test. You could only drive with your parents and you weren’t required to take drivers ed. Drivers ed was a free class you could attend at Belleview if you wanted to. When you turn 16 years old you are allowed to get your Intermediate License, but you had to drive with the DMV and pass. In Iowa, you are allowed to get your Learners Permit at 14. If you go through drivers ed and have had your Learners Permit for at least 6 months, you can get a School Permit. This allows you to drive to and from school and school based activities. Then when you turn 16 you are allowed to get your Intermediate license.

I had to wait till I was 16 to get my license, my brothers had to wait, my parents had to wait, and everyone else I knew had to wait. If we didn't have a way to school, our parents drove us, we caught the bus, we got a ride from a friend, or we just walked. No one under 16 drove to school, those who were 16, had a space to park. 14 and 15 year olds need the same rules as I had; it would cause an insane decrease in parking issues. Seriously, walking half a mile to get to school is ridiculous when there are so many parking spaces near the school already. Find a ride; you’re too young to drive. End of story, literally.