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.

But obviously, you weren’t lying, and now I need to re-add you to my Facebook entourage, because it happened. I’ve been dreaming of going to the Blog World Expo for months and months. I entered contests. I tried to find sponsors. I even prayed for a pass sometimes. It wasn’t until the day before Blog World began (Wednesday) that my dreams came true. I got an email from my journalism professor announcing that the press pass I had applied for earlier that month had been approved!

Mind you, this was the day before Blog World. At 10 o’clock. My tentative ride was leaving at 11:30 am.

I canceled my plans for the weekend and packed my bags just in time to jump in the monster truck with two of my best mom blogger friends, Stephanie and Joanie.

As we drove, I tried to keep calm. I mean, I’m a dirt poor college student without an income, and it would not be appropriate for me to share a room with married woman (I might be poor, but I have class). I had no place to stay, and I had no money for a hotel room.

Turns out, luck found it prudent to shine down upon me once again.  I showed up at the Hilton that evening in the middle of a huge Tweetup. I was able to talk to some locals and explain my situation. Before long, I learned that the fellas at the Hilton were raffling off some free nights at the hotel.

You can only imagine my reaction when I won the last drawing at 10:30 pm with sweet jazz music playing in the background. To put it simply, I screamed like a little girl and nearly lost control of my bladder.

Not only did I get a free pass to the Blog World Expo, and a free room from the awesome guys at the Hilton in Las Vegas, but I even scored myself an income, got to see Cirque du Soleil for free, went clubbing with the raddest moms on the planet, met some of my heroes and became 100% addicted to Blog World.

I’ve never been much of a risk taker in my life, but I learned from this weekend that if you don’t go for it, you’ll never get it. Just start moving forward towards your goals, and the little bumps in the road will work themselves out.

And that, my friends, is the Blog World miracle.

A few weeks ago I did a photo shoot. Not so much because I’m vain, or because I like looking at myself (which may or may not be true), but for professional reasons.  I needed a good picture of myself that didn’t involve some sort of unbearable facial contortion or me shoving some foreign object up my nose.

For those of you who don’t get the continuous barrage of personal links from my daily internet trolling, here are a few of my favorite pics. I’m sure you’ll enjoy gazing at my physique as much as I do… or almost as much.

Yeah… this chick totally has some photog talent. You can check out more of her awesome portraits, family pictures, action shots and her Utah wedding photography as well as her pricing on her website.

I figured since so many people had said so many awesome things about the shots she did, it was only fair of me to give her a little shout-out.

Thanks again Whit for sharing your awesome skillz to make me look good! Maybe I’ll even score a date from these puppies…

Thank you Glee.

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!

• If this looks like your browser…

…you don’t belong in the internet.

Tip #2:

• If you break something, this is how you fix it… or rather, this is how I fix it. Just so you know.

That is all. Carry on.

I thought he sucked for a long time until I saw this video.  He just chills in the background for a good 3 minutes… but at the halfway mark, he unleashes his fury upon the helpless strings upon his guitar.  You’d think he had something to prove. (He was pretty upset when he didn’t make the Rolling Stone’s list of top 100 Guitar Players of All Time.)

Now, go over-eat and blow stuff up in celebration of our great country.

Oh yeah… this too: