Life 101: Video Games

Okay, first thing's first. Video games are a two-edged sword for everybody. They may improve your reaction time, be fun as hell, and a bunch of other pluses, but they have their detractors, as well. For example, playing TOO MUCH will result in effectively no personal life. That's not a good thing.

Humans are social creatures. That means we need to interact with eachother. So, try not to play too much, even if you want to get that new high-score on that killer game. There's a couple of great reasons.

1) I'll laugh in your face
2) People'll call you nerds
3) You'll want to shove McDonalds down your gullet until you puke.

So, do us all a favor and have some moderation with your video-game playing.

Life 101: Music

Music is basically a teenager's life nowadays. I'm not complaining; far from it. Instead, what really grinds my gears is teachers refusing to accept that Music is a part of us and that we'll constantly want to whip it out to listen. Just because we're beyond the era of the gigantic wooden-spinning disk (What the hell is that called? Record Player?) doesn't mean that all of our music is bad, or it distracts us from work.

Let me say that again. "Distracts us from work." WHAT. THE. HELL. It's been proven that music or, more specifically, any sort of rhythm gives a person increased brain activity, creativity, and general Mental Capacity. It perks up the soul, bolsters the resolve, and a ton of little things I don't even have the words for describing.

So bug your teachers, children. Tell them that music is the heart and soul of America. Because you know it is.

-- SFTD.

Life 101: Dealing With The Unknown

Okay, so a lot of people get stressed out when they encounter something they don't recognize or understand. That's acceptable, it is a standard human response to hate and shun the unknown. Learning to overcome this is but another one of life's struggles.

People say you're afraid to try new things. What should you do? Obviously, prove them wrong. Do something you've never done before, live life to the fullest. Make a Blog, tell your friends about this one, do SOMETHING out of the ordinary and improve somebody else's life if you can.

Variety is the Spice of Life, or so they say. I tend to agree with that.

LIfe 101: Family

This post applies to all who read it, even if you are an only child. I assume you have some sort of parental figure in your life who watches over you.

Family is a sacred concept borne from necessity during the rise of Humanity from dwelling in caves. It entails a unit of optionally (blood) related people working together to make each other's lives easier. This is the original concept.

While its' finer points may have changed and blurred over the years, the core purposes and applications of a family still exist. For example, even if your Brother absolutely drives you nuts, he's still there covering your back when you get in a fight. Like friends, but permanent.

I'm sure some of you out there will not agree with that. You will continue to maintain, in your ignorance, that specific members of your family have nothing but black hatred in their hearts for you. As much as it may seem at times, that is not true. A spark of affection still remains.

Perhaps it is because of the huge amounts of time spent bonding? Either way, family is your first and last line of defense in a cruel world. Keep them even closer than your friends and never, never, NEVER neglect to maintain your positive relationship with them.

Even if it's just hanging out for an hour or so, they need to know you're still a part of the family.

Life 101: Friendship

They say that in life, two things are constant. One, you have to really WORK to make thing right. And two, friends will get you through the day. Both are correct, but number one will be covered elsewhere. This is all about friends and how they keep you afloat through all the hard times.

Family might stick through with you for the long haul, but some things you just don't WANT people related to you to know. Nothing wrong with that, at all. Friends are your life-line for everything.

The good friends will attempt to bail you out of jail when you land there. Your best friend will be sitting right next to you admitting it was bad, but would totally do it again with you, given the chance.

There is several steps on the scale of friends; Acquaintances, Friendly, Actively Friends, Close, Confiders in Each-Other, and Best Friends. The more on the latter part of the scale you have, the better. One of the best things you can do is cultivate them for advice on what direction your life is taking.

Sometimes, it just needs Someone From The Dark to get a brand new perspective.

Life 101: School

So, this blog is basically going to change into my advice on everything, from Relationships, to Dealing with Death, to even How to Motivate yourself to get up in the morning. God knows I have problems with that.

*Ahem*
School. The gateway to a future of your own making. The mechanism by which you choose whether or not you live in your Mom's basement until you're 40 years old. Yes, gentlemen, it actually IS that important. Nowadays, you need education just to get a job sweeping asphalt in a used-car dealership. (They never have that job anymore, just go with it.)

So, I'm sure you're wondering: What can I do to guarantee my future is a good one NOT in a basement?
There's a couple tips and tricks to do and manage your life.

First and foremost, STAY ORGANIZED. Make a binder for every class, file everything away unless it needs to be done instantly. This is a life-saving strategy; I can't tell you how important it is to know where everything of yours is at any time. Makes finding your homework a piece of cake.

Second, put up some sort of log or calendar marked with what you need to do in a place you frequent. If you sit your ass on the computer and read this blog a lot, place it right next to the screen. Hell, you could sit it up by your shower for all I care. As SOON as you get home every day, write down the due-dates for every assignment you've gotten new, check what you need to do and then get started.

Finally, remember to NEVER, NEVER, NEVER (to infinity) cram for tests. Oh, My, GOD that is a bad Idea. To put it shortly, it'll just go into your left ear and come spilling out the right when you actually NEED it. Pace yourself with retaining the material; around 15 minutes of studying every two-to-three days is good. That's a total of AROUND 45 minutes a week. Not much.

Unreal Idiocy

So, have you ever had a teacher assign some insanely long project due within an impossibly short time-frame? Yeah, I hate that. Do these teachers ever take a look at the perfectly ridiculous rubrics they print out for assignments? I can't quite believe what I look at when I see "Project must last 10 minutes" when we only received 30 to work on it! And it's supposed to be a well thought out play.

Bollocks on you.

I know, I know, a lot of people think that the time period and place, Mideval Europe, would be an interesting topic to do a play on. I've got news for you: IT'S NOT. Here, let me summarize the entire segment of history for you in about two sentences. First, some people banded together and made castles. They either got sick or killed each other, but all ended up dying.

Gee, look at that! I just accurately portrayed the history of Europe within three seconds! *Sigh* This assignment is going to be the death of me.

...And I'll walk outside the lines...

I know a lot of people who like to think they have it rough, who like to think that the whole world is against them. People who sit in class and complain about their lives and how they'd like it if it ended. I know there's at least one person who really means it, and I'm not talking about them.

The Rest of You? Piss on you.

Life is one of the most precious gifts one can have, something that can only be received once. Ever. You can give it, but only by learning the lessons of life and finding that special somebody. Sitting in the chair and complaining to people that REALLY don't care about something you REALLY don't mean is NOT the way to go.

This is also known as Common Sense.

Somebody once said that A Life Is A Terrible Thing To Waste. They were right. I'm calling all of your bluffs right now; learn to take the good with the bad. If a tough situation comes up, get yourself over it and then get over yourself.

(Note: Advice to be taken with grain of salt. Not liable for suicide. Warranty void if Seal is broken.)