Youthful Life: X

Truth - People behave differently when they perceive themselves to be under observation. This phenomenon is called the Hawthorne effect. If our lives are all based on our interactions with others and the world around us, then who are we? If who we are changes based on the context of where we are or who we find ourselves, the question becomes, are we ever actually being ourselves? Maybe the question is rhetorical, in that we can only ever be ourselves? Regardless, there's a lot to unpack here. This is the big interview. "I sometimes find that in interviews you learn more about yourself than the person learned about you." William Shatner It's been funny for me the amount of advice, the vast majority of it unsolicited, that I've received ever since I started my job search process. People have truly come out of the wood work to give me their opinions on how I should approach every aspect of the process. Most, if not all, of it has had benign intentions but ...

Truth - There's a big difference between who we are in public versus who we are private. The complicated part of that dichotomy is that we're always told be ourselves no matter where we are and we're with. The problem though with being yourself is that others may not care for who you are. The simple response would be to say who cares but in actuality we do care on some level. It's why we change who we are or at least how we show up in certain spaces. Why are sometimes understated and at others over the top? Why do we pretend we're okay when we're not and continue to smile when we're sad? Are we really different people when we're out in the open or just another version of ourselves behind closed doors? "People behave differently now matter what period we're looking out. People stand up straight in public, but can slouch behind closed doors." Brenda Blethyn To be quite honest , I really don't think we become other people when our se...

The 20s are all about coming into your own. As college students, and young adults the big point of this whole experience is (other than to get your education aka diploma and gain to access to higher levels of social capital) to grow up. There's a reason the age group is 18-25 for young adults, because we won't be fully developed and truly independent (in general) until then. Even more so, who will we become, especially if mom and dad have any say in it? Under parental control. The other day I heard this not-so far fetched theory that children either become two things, exactly like their parents, or completely opposite of who their parents are. You can probably easily guess which one I am. Then this theory mentioned siblings and how they're all just different combinations of your parents (genetically that's definitely true), but the personality, mannerisms, looks, etc. that make us who we are though. I sat and thought about my mom and dad (judge me or not but I have,...

Being a teenager is all about getting your priorities straight. A wise man once said, you make time what you feel is important. If you say you're busy that could mean that you're swamped like a bog in the bayou or that you honestly don't care enough to make time for what's being asked of you. A lot of times we say that other things are more important and that we cannot give our precious time to anything else. If it matters to you, you'll find the time and motivation to do something about it - just don't patronize others for feeling the same thing for a differ. I'm lacking in the sleep department, and need to make it my top item on my list of things to do - no more deprivation state).   You all know that I do the absolute utmost on a daily basis. I really should probably dial it down and get my life together before I just keel over and pass out ... permanently, but like Caesar (the great leader, not the salad) I'm way too ambitious to ever slow down....

Being a teenager is all about running a clean race. It's about stick to your laurels and never compromising them, whether you're in office, or all alone. Being in the public eye can get super weird, really fast. It's easy to get caught up in the moment and in a few seconds, you've lost yourself and done or said something you promised you never would. Here's to staying true to yourself, no matter what and never changing for anyone or anything. The best candidates are the ones who show you who they are and keep it that way. This is the popular vote. First and foremost. I'm running for IRA (Inter-Residence Association) or as most other schools call it, RHA (Residence Hall Association) president at the University of Vermont. My campaign slogan is "the right kind of famous" and I'm keeping the whole thing viral on twitter, facebook, and YouTube. Vote for me Monday-Wednesday, April 1-3 at  http://uvm.edu/clubs . Click the video above to hear about ...

Being a teenager is all about getting back up after you've knocked down. Diggy Simmons (uhm Rev. Run from Run DMC) has some quoteworthy lyrics (according to my younger sister). One of her favorite is "when you feel trapped, you got two choices ... you can either break down, or you can break through." Ain't that the truth though? When you've reached the bottom of the endless pit (is that an oxymoron?) you have nowhere to go but up. This downward spiral, it ends here. Life has this funny way of pushing you over the edge and letting you free fall. The thing about falling down is that there's a bottom to hit and bounce back from. You can't go any lower than your lowest low. Instead of moping about, complaining and blaming everything wrong in your life on other people and the world in general, take charge and make the changes you want ... happen. Control your own happiness, don't give other people that power - when you do, you've lost your self dete...