Welcome back
Sign in to comment to your favorite stories, participate in your community and interact with your friends
or
LOG IN WITH FACEBOOKNo account? Create one
Arts Entertainment
12 Things I'd Rather Do Than Write About Politics
All these options are much more desirable.
14 November 2018
143
I've said this before, and I've said it again. I. HATE. POLITICS. Whether it's being demonized for being a moderate in a radical time, or simply the headaches from reading the news, I hate politics so much, and no, pestering me about voting isn't going to lessen that hatred (even though I did), or make me rant about whatever unpopular opinions I have like so many people on here are doing now. You can't make me! All these options are much more desirable:
1. Have the Fire Alarm in my Dorm go off for the Nth Time
Please, while I'm in the shower or working on something important.
2. Fill a Martini Glass with Nando's Extra-Extra Hot Sauce and Chug
I write better than I talk anyway, I could stand to lose the use of my mouth for a few days.
3. Have to Memorize and Recite a Long Poem
I'll just have a "Vietnam Flashback" to Poetry Out Loud in high school real quick where I burst into tears at the end...
4. Take Another 8 A.M. Class
Nothing some coffee won't fix.
5. Be Forced to Listen to "Closer" on Repeat
I've made it known to people I know how much I HATE that song...
6. Not Sleep for 3 Days
It's happened before, and it's unpleasant
7. Attempt to Eat Fruit
Politics make me heave anyway. Maybe it's better to actually cough something up.
8. Get Around to Getting my Wisdom Teeth Pulled
I've gotten a tooth pulled before, and it sucks…
9. Publish the Experimental Writing story that I Hate
It was one of the dumbest ideas I've ever had, and it apparently turned out beautifully. And maybe... If Odyssey was nicer about fonts.
10. Have The FBI Look Through my Search History
I'm not a psycho, it's research for writing, I swear.
11. Have to Write an Article Every Day
And I'd run dry within about a month.
12. Step on Several Legos
This one seems obligatory on any article where one lists things they'd rather do than something else, but it's accurate. I'd bear that pain than write a political article.
There you have it. If you've made it this far, you know you're not getting any of that nonsense out of me.
Keep Reading...Show less
Childhood
There Are Diamonds In The Rough, From The Person Who Is Living Proof
Growing up in the bad times has made me appreciate the good times
11 July 2018
171
Austin Goodwin
Heat, pressure, and time. That's all it takes to make a diamond. Heat, pressure, and time. That's all it takes to make or break a person. Diamonds and people are incredibly similar in the fact that both of them start out as flawed, but are crafted into beautiful things.
Growing up in a household of scarcity can do a lot of things to a young person. It can harden their soul to the outside world, building within them resentment and hatred of those who were dealt a better hand. That's because they go day to day wondering "God, why did you choose me for this kind of life?" They feel targeted, second-guessing every move they make because they know that things are too good to be true.
Money, food, happiness... all of these things that people around you seem to have in surplus, you have none of. Rock bottom is feeling like you are the only one going through it. There is no other loneliness like when you're standing in a house, an empty shell of what used to be a home. Remembering the times where "we didn't have much but we had each other" that are simply non-existent now chisels away at the mind and motivation to go on.
Sadly, this is where many people get stuck. They don't realize that everything that happens to you in life can be used as fuel. Eventually, as an adult, you have to stop playing the victim card and start rolling with the punches. You have to realize that the environment you come up in is the single most important thing in your development as a human. People have to start taking the things that tear ordinary people down and using it as a reason to hustle your way out of the bad situation you are in.
Yeah, there were times where I missed my mother and father and didn't have someone there. There were definitely nights where I went to bed for dinner. Nights in the winter where I shivered, and days where I didn't know where my next meal was coming from. But no matter what, I kept those memories locked in to add fuel to my fire knowing that one day, things wouldn't be like this again. I had to remember to be thankful I even knew my parents. To be thankful I had a school to go to where I could escape each day and work myself to the grindstone until I knew my future was taken care of.
People like an underdog. It gives them something to believe in, attaching them to a lost piece of themselves. This is how I got my family back. How I motivated them to do what was best for their health and me as their child. How my mother escaped from the cold grip of addiction. She put in the long nights because she saw me do the same with much less. Telling my story is how I got the opportunity I was never supposed to have. Showing people that they should never be ashamed of where they come from is how I plan to continue succeeding.
College wasn't supposed to be an option for me, but by telling my story and showing my development as a person through my hardships, I got that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Now, three years later going into the final leg of my college career, it's incredibly humbling to see how far I've come. There's no better feeling than not taking things for granted. To remember how each day used to be compared to how each day is now. The everyday privileges everyone has always enjoyed feel that much more special to you as a person.
I laugh at people who complain about the smallest inconveniences — these are the people who will never have satisfaction with themselves or their lives. When people who have scrapped their way out of nothing are minorly inconvenienced, they are thankful instead of complaining.
To anyone out there who is still going through it, if you remember nothing else remember this: take every single thing that is thrown against you in life and don't let it tear you down. Convert it into gunpowder and put a match to it, and explode in a beautiful blaze of ambition and originality. Remember everything that happens to you, but don't use it as an excuse to be anything less than your best self.
The world equally disperses talent, but not opportunity. Most people are afforded opportunities, but some of us have to seize them. Seize every moment, and you too can be the diamond that came from the rough.
Keep Reading...Show less
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
I think it's safe to assume that we've all been through a time in our lives that was a bit uncomfortable. No matter what the cause of it is, this season seems to last forever. Each day you get up and try to make the best of the situation, but the anxiety is consuming. Your head spins, breath catches, and you want nothing more than to stay in your safe, comfy bed forever.
The good news is that this season of discomfort is the most crucial to growth. Going through weird and awkward times seems unbearable when they are happening. But when you look back later, you can see how much they shaped you and helped you on. Remember that you will get through it on the other side.
The growth that comes after the hardship is very visible as you continue toward your future. You are more mindful, knowing that this, too, shall pass. You are grateful, even, for new opportunities and a chance to learn. You are stronger, because you have survived this before and can absolutely do so again.
Discomfort is necessary and will continue to pop up throughout the course of your life. Embrace these feelings knowing that no matter how much you want to hide, you can get through the storm. Get out of your comfort zone and accept the challenge.
"Comfort zones are most often expanded through discomfort." -Peter McWilliams
Keep Reading...Show less