Category: Uncategorized

We need to stop acting like we are better than others. This is a rampant issue on campus and off it. We are not better than another person who chose another major or someone who decided to join an organization that we don’t like. We all made it to this university and we all deserve to be here. We should not judge others based on these shallow labels, it takes a lot more than that to deem what someone else worth is. A pre-med major is no smarter than an English major and I really don’t see how we can make these comparisons so easily.

Let’s get back to the fact that all of us went through the application process and all of us were accepted. This wasn’t a mistake, we’re here because we deserve to be here, not because we chose a major that is easy to be accepted into. Sure, there are different applications for the different schools, but none of them are easy to pass through. We made it here and we deserve to be proud, but we should not be proud because we are better than other students on campus.

In addition, your hard classes do not make other classes easier. We all take hard classes and we all struggle with our majors. Even if you do happen to struggle harder than other students, that won’t make you a better or worse student. We all can succeed or fail here and our quality as people is not the reason for that. We are all worthy and we deserve to be treated with worth.

When I was in New York City this past Summer, I made sure to make it to my favorite spot in the city – The Strand. The Strand is the most amazing book store you can possibly imagine and I spent over an hour reaping the bounty of their shelves. One book that particularly stood out to me had an all mustard-yellow cover. Whoever said you can’t judge a book by its cover was far from right in this case. The off-yellow of the cover wound up perfectly matching the sort of off-beat humor and quirk of this book. The book actually turned out to be a collection of short stories called No one belongs here more than you. Stories by Miranda July. I’ve always loved short stories and the description on the back of the book really made me feel that this was the book for me. “July gives the most seemingly insignificant moments a sly potency,” it says. She does indeed. The power of these stories is the way in which they give voice to all the thoughts in one’s mind that are so often silenced for their out-of-placeness in common culture. Her stories reveal the depth of human complexity through seemingly insignificant experiences. I was able to see myself in so many of these characters and hear my own unspoken thoughts through all of their voices, no matter how extreme or unlikely the circumstance. I felt truly touched and inspired by this work. Miranda July has a presence in film, writing, and art and has just released her second book entitled The First Bad Man, a novel. I highly recommend No one belongs here more than you. It takes you on a journey of profound empathy that never fails to reveal something to the reader about his or herself.

Growing up, I hated the basement. My mother would often send me to the pantry and, unwilling to admit I was scared, I would creep slowly down the stairs, flick on the lights, and close the door on myself as I rummaged through the pantry. Once I had found the requested item I would peek my head out of the door and bolt as fast as I could back up the stairs, back to the kitchen, back to my mom and back to safety. This process was almost immediately repeated as my mother knowingly would ask “Did you turn off the light?”

As we grow older childhood fears fade away as logic and reason replace mystery and uncertainty. Yet as we outgrow childhood fears new ones take their place. The boggie man is not a dark shapeless creature hiding in your closet, but ISIS will behead or burn you alive if somehow you end up their hostage. The boy wearing a Halloween mask is not a monster like you thought, but he may be contagious with measles. And while the mere sight of a spider used to make you cry, the termites which could infect your house eat away the largest investment you will ever make.

These adult fears cannot be easily reasoned away. Speaking practically, there is very little that one 21 year old can do about ISIS or the measles outbreak. Here is where I think the appeal of reality Tv comes from.

Tv, in general, is a mindless indulgence which helps us relax after a busy day of work or classes. The news is a sharp reminder of reality, exploiting our fears by sensationalizing the news and prodding our sense of responsibility. Dramas often explore the subjects of our fears making the possibility of being kidnapped by supposed terrorists (Scandal) or murdered by a crazy neighbor for a coincidence beyond your control (choose any crime show, NCIS, Castle, Law and Order etc.) seem more and more likely. Yet, when we turn to comedies the humor is based upon coincidence and situations which seem beyond our acceptable threshold of possible within the context of an “average” day.

Here is where reality Tv steps in. Real enough to seem like an average day in their lives, the problems which the actors(?)/contestants/people face are trivial in comparison to the real world problems which affect our daily lives. From stolen boyfriends to wearing the same dress to a party, these conflicts provide the viewer with enough drama to entertain without being substantial enough provoke thought or self reflection.

While our fears may never be as simple as they were in our childhood, reality Tv provides us with a temporary respite from the world where the conflicts are sometimes irrational but always understandable and the consequences aren’t dire.