22 Things I Would Rather Do Than Take Another Final
Finals week is the worst week of your life.
Finals week does suck, but there are a few more things that suck more than finals week!
CRY
Wear socks and step in something wet
Eat something spicy
Move to a different country
Buy a new car
Sing in front of my professors
Attend a family reunion with people I don't remember
Wear jeans that are 4 sizes too small
Only wear my boyfriend's wardrobe for the week
Wear pants 6 sizes too big for me
Only wear sunglasses everywhere I go
Eat peanut butter without milk
Only sleep in uncomfortable positions
Be invisible
Drop out of college
Lose my favorite shirt
Never be able to shop online
Only be able to sing in flat notes
Only eat pizza for the rest of my life
Go to grad school
Have 23 chocolate sundae PopTarts
Write a listicle about avoiding finals week
Good luck on your finals! Just keep pushing, you are almost at the end.
I Push Myself Harder Than Most Students, Don't Judge Me Because I Care More Than You
I'm the girl who gets upset when she gets a 'B.'
Growing up, both of my parents put a lot of pressure on me to do well in school. If I had to be honest, they were strict on everything but especially school and grades. Both of my parents are Asian immigrants, which basically meant that they pushed me so hard to ensure that I had an easier and better life than they did. To them, school was the most important thing. When I was younger, I resented it. I hated it and I'm sure if you had asked me, I would have said I hated them too. It always felt that nothing I ever did was good enough. If I received a 'B' then I got a huge lecture about how I didn't try enough and how I only cared about my friends. If I received an 'A', it wasn't "good job, I'm proud of you" but rather "get more A's" or just a simple nod. I remember at one point, I was in fourth or fourth grade and I received straight 'Bs' on my report card and my dad got me a tutor. Emphasis on, I was in fourth grade.
As my childhood progressed, I was constantly compared to other kids. It became about how my cousin was so smart and I should be like him. Or how their friend's daughter was in all advanced classes but I wasn't. Trust me when I say that I felt like I was never good enough for my parents. From the time that I was very young, my parents constantly pushed me to be better and to be smarter.
By the time I entered high school, it was no longer them pushing me to do better but rather, myself. I would stay up late all night studying, much to my dad's disapproval and constant lectures when he'd catch me taking notes at 2 a.m. I elected to take several Advanced Placement classes throughout high school, pushing myself to do more and to do it well. I pushed myself to get better grades, attempting to receive only A's in order to graduate summa cum laude. Throughout my four years of high school, I didn't miss one homework assignment. I never skipped school, unless I was so sick that I felt like I was dying. In the end, I pushed myself harder than my parents ever would have pushed me. My hard work paid off and I managed to graduate summa cum laude and later attend Florida State University.
Crazily enough, I push myself harder now in college than I did in high school, or ever before. At most, I allow myself one 'B' per semester. I push myself so that my GPA won't drop. I'm that girl who gets upset, possibly cries, when she receives a 'B' on an exam. To me, an 'A-' isn't good enough. Anything that's not an A lowers my GPA, even if it's just by a little. At times, it can get uncomfortable when I talk to people about how I'm upset that I didn't get the grade I wanted. "So what, you got a 'B'? That's great?" Yes, it's great for you but it's not great for me.
I'm sorry that I try harder than you, if not most people. I'm sorry that I care more about my grades than you. I'm that one girl who spends the entire weekend studying rather than going out. I'm that one girl who tries her best on every single assignment because one wrong grade makes the difference between an 'A' and an 'A-'.
If it wasn't for both of my parents (and their strict ways), I would not be where I am today. My first two years of college are completely paid for through scholarships. I'm also proud to say that after years of hard work, I will be graduating a year early.
I am incredibly grateful to both of my parents for instilling such a strong work ethic in me and constantly pushing me to be the best I can be.
Being Alone Can Transition Into Something Beautiful, Give It Time
Maybe being alone is a good thing.
A trait that a lot of us tend to adapt from one another is that we hate to be alone. Even the word, alone, makes us cringe.
When we were little kids, the world taught us that we needed people and friends around us at all times. You stood out from everyone else if you were always alone. This trait stayed with us as we got older.
Once high school hit, basically everyone had their set group of friends that they would always be with. The weekends were always spent with the same people doing the same things. There was never a weekend that was spent alone at home.
The first time I experienced the feeling of being alone was when I got grounded one weekend and could not go out. It is a very strange feeling when you know you are the only person missing out on something. It makes your stomach drop.
Being alone does give you time to think and gather all your thoughts.
Though, being alone in your head can be a dangerous thing to experience. Your mind can start to run wild. I think this is the biggest reason why we hate being alone.
College arrives and we have spent our entire lives becoming used to the thought that we will never have to be alone. What we do not realize though is our main group of friends is now gone and at different colleges. This is when the loneliness hits.
People do not realize this, but college is very lonely. You spend a lot of your time by yourself.
It is not like high school where everyone has the same schedule, no, everyone is doing their own thing. You may be eating lunch alone since all your friends are still in class. It is a very hard transition to get used to, but it does get easier.
In college, we begin to become wiser. We notice things that we have never noticed before. We learn things we never knew about. College is a time for growth and a lot of that growth comes when we are alone.
Just like when we were taught to always surround our self with people, we learn to be OK with being alone. The thought of it does not scare us like it used to.
Maybe being alone is a good thing?
Get Yourself Into The Kitchen And Cook Up These 12 Personal Benefits
Cooking is often cited as hard, or taking too much time. However, I believe that cooking has many benefits.
Here is a list that includes all the benefits that come with cooking.
You learn how to follow directions.
Cooking is touted as extremely difficult or hard. But if you really think about it, cooking is merely following directions. And anyone can follow directions. The difficulty comes in how it turns out and experimenting with what ingredients you use. Due to this, as quoted from Ratatouille, "Anyone can cook."
It lets you be creative.
Cooking, among other things, is an art form. It allows the cook to use their ideas in a creative way, making neat foods and recipes. If you've ever watched shows like The Great British Bake Off or the Food Network even, professional cooking is a difficult skill that needs training and honing. Because of this, cooking also lets you add a personal touch and express yourself through culinary means.
You learn culinary skills.
Cooking is also hard work. It requires skills — from chopping vegetables to simmering. You learn many useful culinary techniques from cooking. Whenever I cook, I always learn something new — from chopping onions to peeling carrots. Cooking is a very hands-on experience where you learn many new skills.
It's calming.
When I cook, I enter a certain zone, where I focus on nothing but the food I'm chopping up or the ingredients I'm using. It's somewhat like entering the zen mode, where I'm in a special zone. For this reason, it's meditative and even relaxing. Having nothing to focus on except the cooking relaxes my mind.
It's cheaper.
As college students, money is usually scarce. Cooking — rather than ordering out or going out to eat — is almost always cheaper. Ingredients usually cost less than ordering off a menu and in the long run, you can save a lot of money by making homemade meals.
It's a bonding experience.
Cooking with friends is a bonding experience. Even if you're not the one cooking, sharing homemade food with friends is always a good experience.
It's rewarding.
Having made a few meals myself, I find that cooking is a highly rewarding experience. It's definitely more rewarding than merely popping a TV dinner in the oven. Cooking actually requires effort — and that effort is usually rewarded.
It's healthier.
It's no surprise that junk food or fast food is bad for you. Cooking is oftentimes much healthier, as you're using fresh ingredients and the food you cook isn't processed.
Your knowledge will increase.
Cooking forces one to learn how to cook, and ultimately, forces one to become more knowledgeable about food in the long run. When cooking, you are responsible for knowing ingredients and how to put them together.
Cooking requires active participation.
Cooking forces you to take an active role in your diet and lifestyle. As opposed to ordering takeout or going to a restaurant, cooking allows you the opportunity to explore your own tastes and what you want to eat.
You learn how to share and provide for others.
Cooking for people and sharing food with others is a wonderful experience. It feels good having other people eat your food and enjoy your cooking. Because of this, cooking can be both a rewarding and social activity.
Cooked food tastes better.
There's nothing quite like mom's homemade chicken noodle soup. Home cooked food has a special touch and taste that restaurant and fast food can't compete with.
Suffice it to say, I think cooking is a genuinely useful skill that many people can benefit from.
Genetically Modification Could Save Future Babies From Illnesses, But Also Pose New Issues
Now imagine if people can breed smarter, stronger, and (sociologically) more attractive kids? The problem is that the possibilities are truly endless, and this experience has insidious implications.
You read that right. He Jiankui, a renowned scientist from China, has created the first two human genetically modified babies. The technology is called CRISPR/Cas9, and it's the same tech that we use to modify plants like soy.
My first question was "are people just allowed to do that?" Well, depends on what country you live in. In the US for example, there are at the least minimal regulations based on ethics. However, this hasn't stalled us from innovating at a startling pace. America only lagged two years behind China for the first genetic modifications to a human embryo. Since it is seen as far more controversial in Western nations, we have seen the slight delay of creating genetically modified babies. But make no mistake, it is only a lag. Not a prevention.
Many critics of this innovation echo the sentiment of Eric Topol, a geneticist at the Scripps Research Institute, who said, "We're talking about changing every cell of the human body's 37 trillion cells. That's never been done before. And it was done in a rogue fashion.''
But the changing of our genetics begs a bigger question than the way it was accomplished.
Should we be able to alter our genes?
People inside and outside the scientific community are saying no, and for many different reasons. The first deals with whether or not we should diagnose embryos with genetic diseases and cure them before the infant is born, and then use genetic modification as a direct solution. For example, He was altering the embryos in order to prevent the HIV that they would have from their fathers. However, there are already scientific methods that do not involve genetic modification, such as "washing" the sperm of the HIV. The truth is, once this technology hits the market, we can't currently regulate which method people will choose. And CRISPR kits are already inexpensive online, rounding up to about $1,000. There's a lack of legal understanding, in the US and abroad, on whether or not these experimentations are legal. This compounds the problem when the effects of this innovation can be massive and devastating.
The next controversy deals with "designer babies." This is a concept developed from the imagination of what gene editing could bring, with a terrifyingly familiar tune of eugenics. Will people begin crafting a "superior race"? As one can imagine, this will only be accessible to the wealthy one-percenters who already have paramount advantages over the rest of the population. Now imagine if people can breed smarter, stronger, and (sociologically) more attractive kids? The problem is that the possibilities are truly endless, and this experience has insidious implications.