A Degree of Introspection

Our first semester, what a journey it has been. I remember just a few weeks ago the stress I endured while trying to locate 309 Sparks. Since then, a lot has changed. I've learned to use the busses, saving my legs from an grueling 18 minute walk from East to our classroom, and I've discovered the most efficient route to the room, allowing me to arrive a tad less sweaty. The point I'm trying to make is that us little freshies have grown into something less, uh, fresh. 

In the interest of being a but philosophical and somewhat unpredictable, I decided to make the subject of this final people-watching blog of the first semester about us. No, I haven't been secretly watching you all throughout the year, but what I noticed, both in myself and in all of us, is that we have all grown. 

For instance, many of us have ever blogged before. It wasn't until fate brought us CAS 137H and began our evolution into the master bloggers we are today. It seemed in the beginning of the year everyone was bit rusty with their blogs (Lord knows I had a sharp learning curve, sheesh). Fast forward to the present, and Holy Great Barrier Reef (Spongebob reference, for those of you who didn't know) you people are amazing. I always look forward to reading as many blogs as possible and really feeling the passion in these aptly named passion blogs. I'm also glad that some of you enjoy my blogs and accept the mild creepiness that is inherent with my topic. Over the course of the semester, I hope that I've done a good job of proving that I am not anymore creepy than the average person. 

The excellence doesn't end at blog writing. I love seeing how everyone has faced the dreaded public speaking aspect of our class. I've watched as we all tackled the fear of speeches and how we came out on top. I can say I've seen everyone get better and that I've never been in a class with better speakers!

Our class, CAS 137H, is no joke. We are elite warriors in the war of words. We have been tested by papers and speeches and some casualties along the way, but we've almost made it to the end of the semester. Even though this is possibly one of the most difficult classes I've taken, I am thankful. It's been stressful at times, but, in the end, I think we all are better because of it. 

As one president-elect might say, we're gonna be YUGE!

Selfies Aplenty

Like it or not, technology has embedded itself in our culture. Many of us are certifiably addicted to our phones in our generation especially. Studies have shown that we can spend up to 23 days a year staring at our little rectangular screens!

It's sort of amazing to think of how much power is endowed to us by our cellphones. With the touch of a finger, you're able to access almost any bit of information you desire, provided you have good reception. But there are also more frivolous things our devices allow us to do, like take selfies. A lot of selfies. Enough selfies to make the word "selfie" the Oxford word of the year in 2013.

I am ever thankful for the ease of people-watching in my classes containing hundreds of people. There's always opportunity aplenty. And what better way is there to spend my economics lecture than to watch someone try to take the perfect selfie for like 5 minutes in class. You think I'm exaggerating? No my friends, I do not embellish, I only recite what are our beautiful human race has done.

Alright. So, this girl is sitting in front of me and she opens up Snapchat and checks herself out. She then proceeds to try every single filter in the entire app, trying different poses and angles the entire time. She spent a particularly long time on the dog filter, arguably the most basic and overused of all filters. Listen, I have nothing wrong with selfie taking. I understand. I take selfies too (my favorite filter was the one that made your face small), but this girl was taking it too far. There is a time and place for selfies, and economics is not the place. Perhaps a lot was riding on this Snap. Was this Snap was make or break for something? I guess not because after literally 5 minutes she gave up.

One of my favorite filters. This took me roughly 5 tries to get the lighting just how I liked. 

To all my Snapchatters out there, be confident in your selfies. You may think it takes 50 tries to get the perfect Snap, but with a little practice you can get that number down to the single digits.

Also, as a side note, I caught someone taking a picture of me again. He was sitting one row in front of me in my chemistry class and he turned on his front facing camera and quickly snapped  pic. I am really confused as to why people keep taking pictures of me. Can someone offer a hypothesis?

Pumpkin Spice Season

Ah, 'tis the season of warm hues, cool weather, and pumpkin spice flavoring. Most people love the season of autumn and the tremendous beauty that comes along with it. Being at Penn State, we are lucky enough to be immersed in the colors of fall, unlike the city schools (I'm looking at you, Pitt!). If you're anything like me, you enjoy sweater-weather and good pumpkin. I was pleased and, quite frankly, a little confused when my roommate received a package containing a  real pumpkin. Hey, I'm not complaining, though.

Anyway, if you're wondering why I am introducing the top of autumn and its fruits, it's because I have a fall-themed commentary in store. Also, I will be throwing in a positive story at the end of this blog to make up for the sad tale I told about the chipmunk last week.

Photo: neiljs

As I'm sure we've all seen on Snapchat, Penn Staters have taken an affinity to leaf piles. It seemed as though every day this week I was wasting my time watching someone jump into a leaf pile. I also managed to observe someone jumping into a pile of leaves in person. I was inspired by this person's brazenness and I decided to try it for myself. I leaped into the assemblage of yard debris, arms by my side, in a manner similar to how a fish jumps out of water. When I landed, I consumed the essence of fall aroma and entered a brief state of ambrosia. I had entered leaf Shangri-La. Soon, though, the thought of spiders lurking in the leaves had me getting up as fast as I came down. Overall, it was fun experience, although overhyped by the media.

Leaf-lovers weren't the only noteworthy thing I saw this week, as I witnessed an act of selfless chivalry. In a day where most males prefer texting to face-to-face conversations and have abandoned even the most common chivalrous acts, such as holding a door for a woman, the act the I observed was exceptionally laudable. During my standard commute back to my dorm on the Blue Loop, I squeezed my way into a particularly cramped bus. I managed to find a spot to stand, but all the seats were taken. A male sitting in one of the seats stood up and offered his seat to a young lady standing next to him. In my professional people-watching opinion, they did not know each other; however the girl seemed flattered. In fact, later on in the bus ride, I overheard how that simple act made her day. After seeing this, I was humbled and inspired to be a more courteous person. So, to my males out there: take notes.

Photo: fsse8info

I would like to conclude this weeks blog post by saying this was a great week. It was a week of inspiration: by watching other people, I was motivated to jump into a leaf pile and to be more mannerly. All in all, this week reminded me why people are so awesome—you never know what they're going to do! I hope you all enjoyed this post and hopefully you are inspired to go out there an jump in a piles of leaves!

Animal Lovers Beware!

As you may have noticed, this week saw a dramatic increase in temperature. I hope you guys enjoyed what will probably be the last warm weather for a while. Like most other people, I like the warm weather too, so I spent a lot of time outdoors this week. I ran, sat, ate, and did many of my daily activities outdoors, giving me more exposure to the wonderful people that surround us. I have some positive things to talk about today and then a not-so-positive, cautionary tale I would like to share with you all.

This week, I felt as though everyone was in a better mood from the weather. I saw the swim team practicing outdoors, tons of runners, and people just enjoying the warm air. I observed a few unusual things as well. Such as the croquet club. Did you know we even had a croquet club? Well, we do, and I watched as they practiced on the HUB lawn. Overall, I was mildly intrigued and would rate croquet-watching a 6/10 on a scale of enjoyment. But, still, the good "vibes" in the air felt meditative during a very stressful week. 

Alright. I'll be honest, I tired to lighten the mood until now, but I must share this story which shook me to the core. Having lost interest in croquet (sorry if I offend any croquet fans out there), I began searching for other interesting happenings. Strangely, my friend, Tony, ran into me. We had a little chat before he headed off to his next class. As he rode his bike away, I happened to look at him. He was maybe 50-100ft away from me when I saw a tiny object run across the sidewalk right in front of him. It was a chipmunk. The poor guy didn't know what hit him. One moment he was burrowing in the ground, the next a madman was bearing down on him like a steamroller. Now, let it be known I am an animal-lover in every sense of the word (pugs are my favorite, but that's beside the point). 

After witnessing the accident, I ran over to my friend, effectively making the switch from a people-watcher to a people-interactor. But, to quell my fears and in keeping the emotions of my readers in mind, I had to ask my friend if he had ended the existence of the poor, little creature. Thankfully, my friend assured me the chipmunk ran away, although possibly injured. 

So, my friends, let this be a lesson to you to be cognizant of the little creatures around you. Don't let haste or other distractions allow you to become complacent. If I find out that anyone runs over a little creature again, I'm going to be so sad I might cry. 

In the interest of not ending on a bad note, I hope you all had a great week and enjoyed the warm weather as much as the club croquet team and the swimmers and runners. Enjoy it while it lasts, though, because soon it's hibernation season. Break out the comfort food and hot chocolate! 

The Tables Have Turned...

Life is hard. We don't always get what we want. This year, I've found that many times I don't get as much sleep as I want. I do my best, but there are always those nights where work takes precedence over sleep.You might ask, why am I talking about sleep in a people-watching blog? Well, my friends, keep reading and you'll find out.

It was Wednesday, and I had woken up at the crack of dawn, affording me only a few hours of sleep. As usual, I found myself running to my chemistry class, which is a grueling 15 minute walk from my dorm. Still, being the scholar that I am, I made it on time.

My chemistry class is actually not boring, but, although I find it interesting, for some reason I always doze off. Perhaps my body has gotten into the habit of sleeping at 12:45 PM? Whatever the case my be, I discovered that my sleeping habits were eliciting some unwanted attention. I am used to being a people-watcher, but this week I observed that I was, indeed, the people-watchee. 

Sleeper
Photo via: Kristina Kuncevich

As I was emerging from my state of unconsciousness, I noticed a group of classmates staring at me. I snapped to attention and realized I had fallen asleep with my face smushed against my hand. They were pointing and laughing, and I saw one of them giggling at her phone, presumably at a Snapchat she just took of me. I felt betrayed by the people-watching gods—how could the tables be turned in such a cruel manner? We exchanged looks for a while; I watched as they got their laughs and they gaped at my still-disoriented self.

I believe one thing we can all learn from my experiences this week is that we should always get enough sleep. Without rest, it's difficult to pay attention and get work done. Everyone wants to succeed, but it's important that we set ourselves up for success. Not getting enough sleep is recipe for disaster, as previously illustrated. Insufficient sleep not only impacts your academics, but also your dignity. Being caught "slipping," as some might say, is simply detestable, as a principled intellectual should always sit upright and focus his or her attention to the mission at hand.

I can't stress enough the importance of sleep—just get some sleep, people! It'll make you more productive, more focused, and better prepared for every class. It's always wise to keep composure and to look professional at all times. Getting a sufficient amount of sleep will also prevent you from become a Snapchat story. Trust me, whether you notice it or not, you're most likely always being watched.

Look Out!

This week had been fairly slow until Tuesday. My people-watching was going smoothly as I walked to class. Still, nothing particularly caught my attention. But, as a wise man once said, "expect the unexpected." My eyes, which were darting around the street, suddenly fixated themselves on a rapidly approaching object. This object was a man. A man on a bike.

Let me ask you, my fellow Penn Staters, have you almost been run over by a bike on campus? Well, if so, you might understand the fear I felt as I watched a man barrel toward me at seemingly triple-digit speed. Don't worry, though, I luckily was able to avoid his murderous roll and I am here now, writing this blog, not only for your entertainment, but as a cautionary tale.

A speed demon on a bike.
Photo Credit: Miguel Pinheiro 6x6

So, after nearly being run down, I decided I would focus my attention on bikers. Over the next few days, I noticed how utterly careless some of the riders were. I observed one student as he rode his bike with no hands. Really, man? You knew this probably wasn't a good idea. I watched as he narrowly missed crushing a female student. He came so close to hitting her that the female student dropped a book she was holding. In another instance, a gang of bikers came whizzing down Pollock Road and almost took out a group of students crossing the street. Thankfully, the bike riders were able to stop in time. Please don't let my somewhat (hopefully) humorous tone detract from the severity of the bike threat.

So, what is it with these bikers? They seem to be indifferent to walkers, uncaring if they side-swipe a person or two. I urge everyone to exercise caution when crossing streets or when walking on busy sidewalks, such as those in front of the HUB. If I were to offer an hypothesis as to why these bikers are so aggressive, I would blame it on the stress of school. Even though I may only get brief glimpses at bikers before they speed by, they are still people. In all honesty, I would bet they are just trying to get to class. If you find yourself stressed out about school or getting to class on time, I recommend meditative exercise or cup of hot green tea; I can attest to their effectiveness. 

Don't get me wrong, I think bikes are great, but I think bike riders should be more cognizant of their less-mobile brethren who don't have a bike.

As always, I can't make this stuff up. I hope you enjoyed this post and come back next week for more exciting, unpredictable people-watching adventures!

A Unicycle a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

For every Penn Stater, especially us freshman, these first few weeks have undoubtedly been stressful. We've been given assignments on top of assignments and many of us have gotten insufficient sleep. Let me ask you this: have you remembered to be happy? Have you remembered to enjoy the little things in this haze of stress? For me at least, it's been hard to focus on anything but school and ROTC. For this reason, I want to talk about a situation which made me happy and reminded to enjoy the little things.

I observed this occurrence this past Monday when I was walking (actually frantically fast-walking) to my chemistry lecture. I had lazor-like focus on the Osmond Laboratory and nothing was going to stop me from being on time. This focus was broken, however, when I noticed something you don't see every day: a man on a unicycle. Immediately, I slowed my pace and watched this man. He was happily peddling around in the street and most people around him stopped to look or take a picture. The smile on his face made it obvious how much fun he was having. I watched him for a few minutes  and, truthfully, I was entertained. Like all good things, though, the fun had to come to an end as I watched him ride his unicycle away.

Photo Credit: C-Smitty

This might not have been a dramatic occurrence, but it shifted my focus from work for a brief moment. It was also nice to see everyone else smiling on a Monday (we all know how people feel on a Monday). In fact, something as small as a smile can change your whole mood. Any smile, genuine or not, can actually relieve stress! The man on the unicycle may never know how his simple action had a positive impact on everyone around him.

So, what can we learn from the man on the unicycle? Well, for one, I think we should learn how too ride a unicycle! On a more serious note, I think we can learn that we should take time each day to do something we love. We don't have to do something drastic to improve our mood; it can be as uncomplicated as riding a unicycle. What's more, the actions that make us happy can make others happy, too. It's science, people!

As a final point, I urge everyone to smile more. It's my belief that life should not be take too seriously. I feel that the cycler exemplified not taking life too seriously. He consciously made a decision to break up the monotony of his daily routine by riding his single-wheeled contraption. So, find the little things in life that make you happy and practice them daily and you'll probably be a happier and more productive person!

Hey, Look at Me!

Vroom, vroom. As I walk, I look up from my phone to look where the noise is coming from. Vrooooom. Looking up, I see a sports car fly by me and come to abrupt halt at the intersection of Curtin and Bigler by East Halls. As the vehicle sits at the stop sign, the driver continues to rev his car's engine. The noise was so ear-splitting that I bet everyone within a half-mile of the car could hear it.

I was curious who would dare cause such a disturbance, so I looked into the window of the vehicle and saw the driver appeared to be a male student with glasses. He was also puffing on a vaporizer. But what I found to be especially interesting about this situation was the different reactions it elicited from people. Of the many people in my vicinity, I observed three distinct responses among them: aggression, intrigue and indifference. 

Photo Credit: Damian Morys

The first and most apparent reaction I observed was from a male student who looked to be a freshman. When the noisy sports car halted at the stop sign, the male student (we'll call him Mr. Yeller), yelled something at the driver of the vehicle. To me, this engagement did not look friendly and  it appeared that Mr. Yeller was heckling the driver in some way. He might have said something to the effect of "You think you're so cool," but I can not be sure of this. In this hectic moment, I quickly deduced what appeared to be happening. I interpreted Mr. Yeller's reaction as a sign of his alpha male tendencies to always strive to be the biggest and loudest. This hypothesis was reinforced by the fact that he was walking with two females. 

While Mr. Yeller's reaction was quite unique, most other people did not care at all. Upon hearing the first revs, people immediately snapped to attention and seemed to communally lift their heads from their phones. For some, however, the obnoxious rumble was not enough to keep their attention and they proceeded on with their day. Others, perhaps intrigued by the car, stared until they walked by the car. 

In review, I believe my observations from this week are an accurate representation of the uniqueness of humans. People will always react differently to a given situation. I think it's interesting how something provoking for one person may be completely overlooked by another person. So, what can we learn from this? Perhaps we can learn that our actions, whether we realize it or not, can effect the people around us. And also we can learn that being loud isn't always the best way of getting attention.

Hope you enjoyed reading, and remember- I can't make this stuff up!

Focus On the Fry

Before I start, allow me to explain that I am not a not a creep, but rather a fine artist. I assure you that people-watching is contemporary fine art. Understand that I realize this topic may be controversial for some, but my aim is simply to observe how weird humans are and to have a little fun imagining scenarios. OK, now that that's out of the way, let's look a some people of the week.

As I stopped to sit down by the HUB to take care of some administrative tasks, I couldn't help but to watch as student sitting outside the HUB mindlessly shoved french fry after french fry in his mouth (and I'll admit they looked delicious). I watched his expressionless face and his rhythmic process of digging his hand into a greasy paper bag, pulling out an endless stream of fries. He had the thousand-yard stare, looking off into nothing.

 Right as I started to get bored with this Mr. French Fry, another guy, I assume it was his friend, plops down next to him smiling and talking about about something. Mr. French Fry was too engrossed in his meal too utter anything more than a slight smile and chuckles to whatever this other guy said. Now I'm genuinely worried about Mr. French Fry; I can't help but to think what he might be going through. And then there's the other guy who, having just gotten rejected, whips out his phone and starts typing something. Let's call the second guy, "Phone Guy."

Phone Guy is what I like to call a "classic millennial." When faced with rejection, he just takes out his phone. In our society, I feel like people's phones have become a safe place when they're embarrassed or bored. Even I am guilty of it. 

Photo Credit: gifemotions.tumblr.com

Moments later, a female strolls up to the duo and takes a seat, smiling and saying some words. Poor girl doesn't know what's about to hit her. Boom! Both parties, Mr. French Fry and Phone Guy, seem briefly interested but continue with their respective tasks. What's left for her to do? That's right, whip out the old phone. What is it with these people? Is there no kindness left in the world? Or has the stress of college made them incapable of human interaction. 

Such questions got me thinking. I realized, as weird as it may have looked at the time, we probably have all gotten to the point where all we want to do is clear our minds and eat some good comfort food. School is stressful, but french fries are not. With all the hubbub and noise we deal with as Penn State students, we sometimes just need a little escape, no matter how small. Perhaps this was the case with Mr. French Fry, or perhaps he was just staring for no reason. No one except him will ever know what he was thinking, and that's the fun of people-watching