the backroads of my mind map

in my introduction to creativity class, we were assigned our first creative project near the beginning of the semester.  the assignment was to create a mind map around the topic of our choice.  we had to choose a main topic, my was secrets, and then create at least three main branches from the main topic, mine were secret fears, secret handshakes, and secret stashes.  then from each of the main branches we were supposed to create smaller branches and then even smaller branches until we ran out of room on the paper.  we were instructed to look for connections all across the mind map, regardless of which main branch the sub branch, or idea, was rooted on.  at the time in class we were learning about brainstorming and divergent thinking and this assignment promoted the use both ideas.
the process not only made realize how many connections i could make, which amazed me,  but it also revealed something deeper about the way i think.  i didn't really notice it until i came across the project again the other day and i was looking at the grading rubric and seeing where i lost points.  one of the major areas that i lost points was because i sectioned off each of the main branches and that would have been fine but i didn't make any connection from section to section after that.  my professor even thought that i sectioned it off as to not permit connections from section to section.  at first, i didn't really notice anything weird about the way i sectioned the mind map off or find it weird that there were no cross section connections.  then it hit. i had most likely done it subconsciously.  in almost every aspect of my life, i like a little bit of structure but then within that structure i find it necessary to have freedom.  hence my double major in rigid, rule-based accounting and free-flowing, divergent advertising.  i need a little bit of both to stay sane.  thus it only makes sense that i would continue this on my mind map.  each section of main branches were organized neatly but within those sections ideas flowed any and everywhere.  i never thought a class assignment would teach me so much about myself.

me jane. you jack. give jane ball.

have you ever stopped and thought about sports.  i mean like really think about them.  what was the first sport? who started it? who made up the rules? why do we even need sports? what purpose do they serve? why are they even fun? how do we find so much joy in playing sports? why are they fun to watch? if you really think about the answers to these questions sports in general begin to not really make sense.  i am and have been an athlete for the a large majority of my life but i still don't think i could answer half of these questions and make any sense.
someone once said to me that volleyball looked like "organized hot potato," and when you think about it, it really does.  individually, you can't touch the ball too long or you will be called for a lift and the other team will get the point, but at the same time you want to control the ball and pass it to your teammates so you can hit it to the other side of the net only so the other team can do the same thing right back.  football is yet another childhood game altered to make it acceptable for adults to play.  that game is keep away and a much more violent version of tag rolled into one, where the endzones are home base.  i'm sure i could go on and on and oversimplify every sport out there and relate it back to some childhood, but for time's sake i'll just leave it at those two.  with that in mind though, if you think about the sports that involve a ball, we are all basically barbarians chasing something that is usually bright with a funny shape.  we might as well be screaming "me want ball," just to tie it back to the days of neanderthals.  but yet some people's whole lives and careers are based around these seemingly pointless activities and there is still so much joy involved.  like i said, i am one of these ball-chasing, children-wannabes and i still can't explain why.

till infidelity or boredom do us part..

this day in age it seems like every time i turn on the tv or radio i hear about another celebrity couple that is breaking up or getting a divorce.  whether it's courtney cox-arquette and david arquette or eva longoria parker and tony parker.  couples that seemed like they were going to last suddenly split.  it's almost like the thing to do in hollywood is get married to someone you co-starred with, i won't even go into the psychological background supporting this trend, and then a few years, or months even, down the road file for a divorce.  i've noticed with celebrities and people in the spotlight infidelity and boredom, aka irreconcilable differences, tend to be the two biggest reasons for divorce.  i understand growing apart, i mean it could happen to anyone and it is really no one's fault, but this recent string of celebrities cheating on each other has me thrown for a loop.  sandra bullock and jesse james. the aforementioned eva longoria-parker and tony parker. jennifer anniston and brad pitt.  i think i can speak for most people when i say that i absolutely never saw it coming.



i realize that divorce happens in normal people's lives everyday, for the same reasons it happens to celebrities, since they are also people afterall.  my concern lies with the image of marriage and love that is being created by celebrities since basically every aspect of their lives are under the spotlight.  how can we be expected not to imitate these same tendencies and even pass them on to our children.  i think brad paisley said best in his song celebrity (video featured above) when he said "i can fall in and out of love/ have marriages that barely last a month/ when they go down the drain/ i'll blame it on the fame/ and the pressures that go with/ and say it's just so tough/ being a celebrity."  it's almost like celebrities really do use their fame as an excuse, as if it affects their ability to stay faithful or actually look for true love.  i just wonder if these celebrities ever stop and think for one second about the big picture and how they are affecting how society views marriage and love.

one baby, two babies, red babies, blue babies?

i recently watched this documentary and, as cute as the babies were, i couldn't help but think about my introduction to psychology class when we were discussing the nature vs. nurture argument.  this argument is one of the top three most important debates or questions in human development.  this issue has been in existence since the very beginning of psychology, and dates back to the times of the ancient greeks, such as plato and aristotle.  in fact, these two very well-known philosophers disagreed when it came to this argument.  the issue has remained just that over the years but has been updated over time to fit the modern paradigms and beliefs.  according to the modern nature position, human behavior and development are governed by the automatic, genetically predetermined process known as maturation.  under this position, it is believed that there is a critical period within which we are particularly sensitive to certain experiences that shape the capacity for future development.  on the other side of the debate, is the nurturist position, which includes those who believe that development occurs by learning through personal experience and observation of others.

keeping that in mind, although i'm not sure the exact purpose for creating this documentary but it seems to me that one of the major reasons was to show how there are a lot of common characteristics among babies, even universally.  for a year, the documentary followed four different babies.  the babies were from all over the world. with one from mongolia, namibia, san franscisco, and tokyo.  regardless of their location in the world, the babies all acted the same.  to me, this only solidified the nature position.  i just don't see how it couldn't be true if there is more cross-cultural proof like this.,and i am positive there is.  i agree that you learn things when you are older and able to understand, but it can't be denied that in the beginning it is mostly genetics.

the lyrical stylings of run dmp (that's me, oh em gee)

i wish i may, i wish i might

write a poem to shed some light

on the life i live.

so please forgive

my horrible rhyming skills

tis' not what pays the bills.

like britney spears said,

before she shaved her head..

"i'm not a girl, not yet a woman."

you better believe i was a big fan.

trying to find my place in life,

not ready to be someone's wife.

wondering which road life will take me down,

willing to do anything to avoid a frown.

study, study, study

my books might be my buddy

but tv is my bff for L

it's like i'm under a spell

but that's beside the point,

it's time to rock this joint.

i've always been a nerd,

that's probably what you've heard.

i'd love to be the head of my class,

but life goes by so fast

that school can't be the only thing of matter,

i know it won't be when i'm older and fatter.

life has to be about having fun,

i want to have proved that by the time i'm dead and done.

who wants to wind up old and gray

and realize they forgot to play?

i wrote myself a memoranda,

to make sure to quote kung fu panda,

"yesterday is history,

tomorrow is a mystery,

but today is a gift,

that is why we call it the present."

i realize in my rhyme there is now a rift

but that line is just beyond pleasant.

i feel you get the gist,

it surely can't be missed.

live, laugh love,

and party when you get to that great place above.

who cares about cancer, as long as I don't get a pimple

do you ever stop and think about just how many things in our everyday lives cause cancer, or "the big c?" smoking.  artificial sweeteners.  hair dyes.  tanning beds.  water bottles.  chemicals in meat cooked at high temperatures.  asbestos.  cell phones.  even something as simple as air pollution, which most people wouldn't even think of, can cause serious damage.  everywhere we turn, there is something that could potentially give us cancer, a disease, or some other fatal illness.  you could almost say that we are trapped in a world full of disease and illness.
most people think, "oh, it won't happen to me," so they continue to participate in these known cancer causing activities and behaviors and not worry about it.  while, on the other hand, most of these same people stress out and take several preventative measures to assure they don't get a pimple on their face, something that happens to almost everyone and is often unpreventable.  this brings up the question of how we should live our lives.  should we live cautiously in order to live as long as we can, or should we be a little more laid-back and not worry so much about things but risk living a shorter life? take your pick.

the bucket list

every episode of the popular mtv show the buried life starts out the same way.  the narrator asks, "what do you want to do before you die?"  there are several shows, movies and songs out there today that deal with this topic.  noticing this has really made me start thinking about the things i want to do in my life, so i sat down and came up with my own "bucket list."  the list is in no particular order and no one thing is more important than the other.  after reviewing my list, i noticed that there isn't any one theme to the items on the list.  some of the items involve conquering fears, or helping others, and some of the items are simply about experiencing something that is known to be fun or a good experience, like going to the superbowl or going on a blind date. no matter how small or big the item, i still feel they are all important things that i need to accomplish before i die.  i don't want to look back on my life one day and realize that i didn't really live the way i want to.
i think it's a very good idea for everyone to make a bucket list at some point in your life.  not only is it fun to think about all of the things you want to do, but you really learn a lot about yourself in the process.  i learned that i have a lot of fears that i want to conquer so i don't end up feeling like i held back in any part of my life.  i just want to do it all, no matter what. no holds barred.