What we seek determines what we think and do.

What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become.”

-Uchtdorf

Sometimes becoming a good person isn’t about giving things up, or weeding the bad out of our lives. More often than not it’s about what we refuse to give up.

The world frequently tells us we need to give up things to be become better. Rarely do we realize that it’s the things we should never give up that sets us apart from everyone else. It’s the deep-seeded values, entrenched in our hearts that make us who we really are.

The things that you hold dear determine what you become.

I’ve heard you talking. You’re scared.

You hate my generation.

You look around at us, and all you see is a group of semi-literate, Ritalin addicts who can’t put down their phones long enough to participate in a face to face conversation consisting of anything more than 140 characters. We possess no work ethic, and we get all of our news from Comedy Central. Our overwhelming sense of entitlement drives you insane, and our credit scores make you shake your head in shame.

You’ve talked it over on the golf green with your overpaid, corporate executive friends. You’ve all decided that a future of Facebook addicted, text messaging hipsters whose video gaming has all but obliterated their social skills  is bleak and far from promising.

You laugh at our ideas.

You laugh at our lifestyle.

You hate our music.

You hate our clothes.

You refuse see our worth.

The future you see us creating is anything but ideal.

Now, let’s be honest. The future you’re so scared we’re going to ruin… it’s really not you’re future, is it? You won’t be around to live it, will you?

I will.

And I’m here to tell you that your hope-deprived and faithless views of the iPod generation is wrong. We are strong. We are open minded. We are creators, artists and geniuses.

We have the courage to look at the traditional 40 hour work week, the educational system, Social Security and fossil fuels and admit that we’re doing it wrong. We have the capacity to demand change and to make a difference. We aren’t afraid to negotiate and compromise to make a better world for each other.

We are adapters. We are fixers. We are inventors. We are risk takers.

I look at the old world you cling to so desperately and I see what it can become if you would just open your eyes and trust my vision of the future. Our youth does not equate to stupidity. Our inexperience does not imply a monopoly of good ideas – or right ideas for that matter – on your part.

We are the movers and shakers. We are the generation who is going to save the world you have left in ruins. Remember (if you can) your early twenties. For you to get where you are today, somebody had to give you a chance. Somebody had to see potential in this poor, disenchanted, wannabe-world-changer from the upcoming rebel generation. They saw something in you, and they gave you a shot. Without them, you wouldn’t be where you are today…

Now look at me.

I’m not going to sit around and wait for you to hand me my chance. If you don’t have the vision to see the incredible tapestry we’re weaving, then get out of the picture, or we’ll cut you out.

I am not weak. I am not stupid. And I’m going to take over your company, your industry and your world whether you like it or not. Pick a side… but pick wisely.

Sincerely yours,

Generation Next

As expected, his presentation was amazing. Details to come.

When I go shopping (even if I decide to make an organized list beforehand) I spend the majority of my time frantically running up and down rows and rows of products in a very less-than-intuitive manner searching for the list of products I desire.  I guess I still haven’t aclimated myself to the fact that most stores are laid out in a semi-logical manner. I’ll often walk down the same aisle multiple times in search for various objects on my list… and, not surprisingly, I almost always leave the store with more than what I came for.

How does this relate to my life, you ask? Well, sometimes I feel like I do a lot of running around, often in circles, trying to get everything done. I’ll make a list of important things with a determination to find them. I almost always end up getting what I’d hoped for, and often times I leave with even more.

Regardless of how well I plan a trip, however, it’s almost a guarantee that I return home exausted, determined not do make another trip till absolutely necessary. But somewhere, secretly, I’m satisfied with my accomplishment.

Does that make sense to anyone else but me? Meh, I guess it really doesn’t need to. This post was more for me than you anyway.

Whoever decided that the random plumber who confronted President Obama on the campaign trail would be an appropriate political speaker for students of higher education must have been brainwashed by the same dudes who got a hold of Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck.

Who’s next on the famous-by-association speaker list? K-Fed? The kid who got Sarah Palin’s daughter preggo? Hanson?

I’ve never been so disgraced to attend this so-called university.  Honestly,  I can get my share of b-list fame seekers at Sundance.

I mean, we’re advertising his arrival as if President Bush himself were coming (cause let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be the same if the Obamanator was making an appearance). It’s displayed on the marquee next to the freeway, just screaming “We’re an a tech school that doesn’t have any credibility,” as the cars pass by.

Joe, we’ll give you a call again when we need a toilet taken care of.

Excuse me while I pursue my ‘higher education.’

On top of all of that mess, 15-year-olds can now apparently obtain a drivers permit in the wonderful state of Utah. When you’re 15, you’re excited about news like that. When you’re out of high school, you realize how insanely stupid the idea is. I barely trust a 15-year-old with my iPod, let alone my car…

My naive little sister is smart though. She has been waiting to get her permit till she feels prepared. In fact, this weekend, she finally worked up the courage to get behind the wheel.

My dad took her to the driving range behind her school so she could practice familiarizing herself with the all of the levers and pedals required to successfully handle an automobile. As she ventured forth into the maze of squiggly practice lanes a police officer pulled up behind her and flashed his lights.

I can only imagine the scene that immediately transpired.

She panicked (I wouldn’t be surprised if she also peed a little bit in her pants). She locked and unlocked the doors, then rolled down every window in the car but hers, because she was so frazzled that she couldn’t find the right button. My father had to lean over and roll down her window for her.

The officer then proceeded to ask her for her license, registration and insurance. Fifteen-year-old Sarah just started at him as if he were speaking Yiddish. Of course she didn’t have a license, and what is this ‘rej-is-trashun’ of which you speak?

As my sister continued to panic, the officer winked at my dad, as if to include him in the joke. He asked her what she was doing in the parking lot, and she responded that she was practicing her driving. He then asked, “Do you know what the penalty for that is?”

“Uh… no sir.” She called him sir. If you ask me, he didn’t deserve to be called sir. He was picking on my little sister. He deserved to be kicked in the baby maker…

“The penalty is more driving lessons with your dad. Have a good day.”

Needless to say, I don’t think my sister will be driving till she’s 18. This officer not only scared her silly, but he created yet another cop-hater in the world… maybe two.

Hey South Jordan police! Why don’t you do your job and enforce the law instead of picking on little girls on the driving range, and making them cry?

Idiots.

**Disclaimer. This post was written while I was on high strength prescription drugs… take it for what it’s worth.**

The doctor says I have the disease that went viral on Twitter before it made its merry way into my asthma plagued lungs.

If there’s one thing I tend to take for granted more than my health, its probably my awesome parents.  I’m glad they live close enough that I can drive home and lay on my bed when I’m sick so my mom can bring me juice and good books to read while my dad works so I can have insurance.

I know it sounds kind of selfish of me to use them like I do, and it probably is, but I love them for allowing me to do so.  I love even more that I know that if I lived far far away, or if I had a friend without a mom, mine would travel to be there by my side, or take care of the child of another as if they were her own.

I know this, because I’ve seen it.

Sometimes I worry about my generation.  Are we fostering that same type of selflessness in our lives? Are we concerned for each other enough to drop things of importance to help the people who are even more important in our lives?

When do we take it upon ourselves to play the roll of good Samaritan? Is it when we have a break between classes, or work, or school, or friend, or  meetings? Or is it whenever we feel the tickle in the back of our mind to call that almost forgotten friend, or bring dinner to someone who had a rough week?

That thought worries me. I hope that there are others out there who understand that they need to be fostering the traits of the good Samaritan role in their lives, because I think it will become more rare as the years pass by. It’s so much easier, after all, to look out for number one.

“The road to perdition has ever been accompanied by lip service to an ideal.”
-Albert Einstein

Guiness is tracking the #BeatCancer term this weekend to set a record for most repeated social media message ever. So, while setting a record, you’re also creating awareness! Hope you all join in! Change that status, and help set a record!

If you want more info, check out the #BeatCancer website.

Yeah, I know. It’s a recession. And yeah, I know, I’m a little strapped for cash.  And yeah, I know I’m still in school. I know, it’s a risk, and it’s scary, and it might be a little foolish… but I did it.

It’s a surreal experience to cut oneself off from what is basically their only source of monetary lifeblood.

I don’t know how I’m going to be putting food on my plate, gas in my car or a roof over my head two weeks from now, and that kind of freaks me out.  I just know that whatever happens, it will be something awesome and fulfilling that allows me to stretch myself as a person.

Here’s to new adventures!

I love school… really I do. I enjoy expanding my talents, exploring new things, and especially meeting new people. However, the longer I’m there the more I realize how true this is:

see more Funny Graphs

Already this semester I’ve had professors approach me with questions about the cutting edge of their own industry.  Ironically, it’s those professors that will give me the B’s and C’s because I refuse to do their busy work.  I mean, I have better things to do… like network on Twitter.

I still haven’t bought my books, because I can’t justify dumping $300+ on outdated texts that will do me little to no good.

Maybe I need to change my attitude.  Or maybe it’s time for us to change our perception of what a university education is, and how it should work.

What do you think?