Author: davidsnow

Life After Graduation

“Congratulations class of…”… and there it is. That moment you’ve been waiting for. You and your graduating class celebrating together one last time. Not knowing if you’re actually going to see each other again. When you think about it, it’s pretty wild… but unfortunately sad. The next question to ask yourself is… what now?

Reflecting

Looking back in my past was something I did often. Maybe one too many reminiscing moments. But it wasn’t always a bad thing. I got to appreciate the good times I had when just about everything was so much simpler. Smart phones weren’t around then. Plus, I had almost no responsibilities compared to what I’m dealing with now. I don’t pick my nose as often. Boy, that was something! I constantly picked my nose when I was younger. Never ate the boogers though. Anyway, I kind of grossed myself out a bit.

There were many great things about my time growing up. For instance; most household had one telephone, which was a landline. So, if you were trying to get a hold of someone, you had to actually wait and see who would pick up the phone before having a conversation. It was that or we would go over to the person’s home to see if they wanted to hangout. You could have an interaction with almost every family member of the person you’re trying to see. And thinking back at it now, that is pretty cool. Especially if you’re the type that likes to make conversation.

Speaking for myself, but who knows, maybe many of you would agree, that what I miss the most when I was going to school was… pretty much all of it. Even though my mindset seemed to be elsewhere, because I’ll be honest, I did not care for half of my classes. For the most part, I really wanted to build relationships, have friends, and never ask out most of the girls I was crushing on. Best way to put it, I was easily distracted, which explains why my schoolwork was subpar. Thinking back at it, I’m pretty sure I had A.D.D.

What Now?

However your time was spent during your school years, let’s just hope you made some fond memories. Of course, that will always come with some bad ones. Which is just a part of life. But school isn’t just for education. It’s an experience. Making friends, falling in love, and in those unfortunate times, getting bullied or doing the bullying. Let’s just hope lessons were learned and to those that did the bullying, it stopped. Otherwise, that’s on karma.

Even though I was nowhere near the best student in my class, or the most popular, I did enjoy my time when I was in school. Apart from a lot of mistakes I would change, but who wouldn’t make changes? What happened happened and we have to accept it. Learn and grow from it. But I do appreciate the school I went to for even providing me with an education. And not just an education, but for the classmates and teachers that have come in and out of my life and most importantly, the memories. It’s the memories that define us. How we use it in our everyday lives from what we learned from it.

So, whether you have chosen to continue your education further into college, or to do something else, consider that a new chapter in your journey. There’s so much world out there. Make the most of it!

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What If… You’re Not from This World?

Close your eyes… or not. But at least imagine yourself on this incredible planet with what it has to offer. The landscape: like the mountains, rivers, oceans, and all the scenic views to you. It’s just everything that this world has to offer, and all you can do is just soak it in. But it is breathtaking, nonetheless.

The people, the music that they create, and all the things that we know that entertains us. The best way to sum up this world is that Earth is the entertainment capital of, at least the galaxy. So… if you’re wondering if “aliens” have not visited us, it might be because they are in disguised. Think Captain Marvel and the skrulls (shapeshifters). They don’t want to destroy us. They are entertained by us. Which is why they would rather choose to be a part of this world. See what we have to offer. And from my point of view, we have a lot to offer!

You could be a part of this world while not being a part of this world. Video games do that to you. Especially if you’re playing The Sims. It’s just a better version of your life. The only problem is your motivation has been taken away from you (probably blame ‘Story Lord’ on that). Other than that, there’s not much more to say. This world pretty much has a little bit of everything.

My only question is: what do people not from this world have to offer? And when I say this, I am hoping that there are solutions to a lot of unanswered problems that is constantly going on with our planet. But anyway, just something to bring to your attention for no reason. That’s why it’s a ‘what if…’

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The Problem with Inflation & Cost of Living

Just about everything comes at a price. No matter what it tends to be. It could be buying a coffee, food at a restaurant, or even playing your favorite sport. The cost of all of these and so much more continue to rise. So, what’s the reason behind it? Will it ever stop, let alone slow down? Come with me (as Neil deGrasse Tyson would say) and we’ll go on this exploration with my theory.

As the population around the world continues to increase, that means more mouths to feed (no, I’m not trying to sound like Thanos and wipe out half of civilization to fix this). But it’s not just that, it’s everything that goes with it; clothes, housing and all of its’ components, and pretty much everything to keep everyone entertained. And what do all of these elements create…? Supply and demand.

Because of the rise in population, the demand for products is growing exponentially. Businesses have to comply to these in order to stay running. If you can’t meet expectations to where the world has evolved to, there’s a good chance you may go out of business. Hence the term, “survival of the fittest.”

I hate to say this, but demand has felt higher than ever. Since covid, it appears that people are making up for the loss of loved ones. Prices of eggs are insanely high. It made me have to stop buying them for a long while. Either I have to have a little farm for myself or switch over to being a vegan. Since I’m somewhat broke and don’t have my own land, I chose the latter.

Anyway, I’ve lost my point (as always), but I digress. Leading me to my next point. Can we do something about it? I believe we can. It’s going to take some work, but if we all do even a small part, it will make all the difference. At my school growing up, they taught us a valuable lesson in the 3 R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Something tells me that as an entire civilization that we consume way too much. For example, if something is used up a little bit, it gets thrown out instead of looking to see if it can be refurbished. I know this isn’t one of the 3 R’s, but it still has the “reee” in it. But what I mean is can this item, this product still be used just fine if we put a little TLC to it? And by that of course; tender, love & care. If you don’t treat your personal items like this, then I don’t want no scrubs. (I… am an idiot, I know)

Again, as I was saying, the biggest thing about recycling is that if we don’t do it, we are literally destroying the planet. There’s an actual garbage island from what I saw on Family Guy. I know, it’s a cartoon show but that doesn’t mean they don’t have valid points in them. I believe we keep forgetting that every resource on this beautiful planet is limited. But we have to do better. Otherwise, it’s like we failed, and I would hate to see that. In a way, I see myself to be like Captain Planet.

Let’s do our part and make these changes now. Even if you’re just one person, anything helps. But deep down, we’re all one (whatever that means… use your imagination).

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Writer’s Block

It’s happened before and more than likely will happen again. As writing can be very therapeutic for you, you just can’t help but have those days where nothing comes to you. Whether it’s an article, book, or anything else, the canvas is going to be blank. So, how can you change that? What’s causing you to have writer’s block?

In the last couple of months, writing for me has been incredibly difficult. Not just from lacking the creative mindset to put in the work, but with how I’m living my life as well. During this time, I’ve been completely unmotivated to work on any of the handful of projects I have going on. My free time consisted mostly of laying on the couch and watching TV or playing video games. Which I understand that the mind needs some time off from the real world. But where does it come from? Does it ever end? Or is it normal because life just is?

A short time ago I actually did something I only imagined doing but was not sure if I would need to. A went to seek help from a therapist. After my doctor’s visit, I was missing something in my life that kept me from being truly happy. That’s when he recommended I see a therapist. What came from this after just one session was that I felt like I might have been juggling one too many things that I wanted to do with my life almost all at once.

The other big thing I learned was not holding myself accountable. When it comes to some of my jobs, I’m great! I do the best of my abilities during my time at work. I show up when I have to, perform the task given to me and crush it. If only I could say the same to the many projects I’m currently or been working on for some time now. It’s the aspect of other people that I don’t want to let down. When it’s just me, I am responsible for myself. Am I just used to letting myself down knowing there’s no repercussions?

The seriousness of letting yourself down might be more punishing than what’s shown on the surface. Coming from someone who almost constantly looks ahead into the future. The days that turns into weeks and even months that goes by without accomplishing anything wears me down mentally. That disappointment of no real achievements and the constant let downs. It’s heartbreaking.

Anyway, by seeing a therapist, I want to better myself. I know something is off and know that change needs to happen. What it comes down to, at least for me, is that by having someone that I go to for help, I see them as a mentor. Someone I don’t want to let down. After just one session, I’m confident that every day will be better as long as I continue to work on myself.

So far, I’m already seeing progress. Up until this very post, I had been writing from home. Something I am implementing is changing location. It could be that the atmosphere or my surroundings was causing me my lack of motivation to write or work on anything I have going on. For anyone else out there that’s dealing with something similar, give it a shot. A change of scenery could do you wonders!

And if you’re like me, single yet ready to mingle, it could be a great way to meet people and potentially build a friendship, colleague, or even a mate… but only time will tell.

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A Long Time Ago, I Farted

Going back to my childhood, not long after moving into our first house with my family, I was with my brother and sister in the downstairs living room. For the most part, we were watching TV, then suddenly, my brother let’s off a fart. Like the kids that we were, everyone laughed. Shortly after, my sister would do the same. And again, more laughing. But not realizing then, I was put on the spot. I felt like it was my turn to take a fart. The only problem was I didn’t have one loaded up. But I didn’t want to disappoint everyone (which was just the 3 of us), so I did my best to release what I could. Pushing a little too hard, it was at that moment, I had to throw out my underwear. I completely shat myself!

I don’t know if there was a moral to this story. But who doesn’t like a good fart?! And just for the record, I was able to fart… it just came with bonus material.

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The Time I Failed to Be a Good Samaritan

Not that long ago, in my neck of the woods, there was a snowstorm. Well, actually, more of an ice storm. It was freezing rain. While I was at work, it started accumulating only for a couple hours. Shortly after I would get off work, I headed home. As I came to a stop at a light, I noticed a couple vehicles stuck in the middle of the road. They were slipping on the road that had built up to be icy enough to make driving difficult.

For a moment, I hesitated. Not exactly sure what I should do. But after a brief moment, I took action. Pulled my e-brake and decided to at least try to help one car out. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wearing the best shoes, so I was constantly slipping on the icy road. Trying my best to help rock their car enough to get momentum to power through… yet nothing happened.

At this point, I was now holding up traffic, so I felt the need to get back to my car and apologizing to those that weren’t able to clear their car from that slippery slope. Not only did I not help, but I caused a bit of traffic. So, it was really a lose-lose situation. The only positive note was that I did not get stuck myself.

Moral of the story, when you try to be helpful to those in distress… it’s not as easy as everyone plays it out to be. Otherwise, it really is just me. Because here’s the thing: only a couple days afterwards, I was doordashing and was picking up an order at a restaurant. When I got inside, the assistant manager was on the phone trying to get a sheriff over for something that had happen not too long ago. This other gentleman that shortly arrived after I did heard that as well.

Then, not a minute later, this individual showed up causing a scene and the guy next to me just ended up leaving. The person that was making a scene started walking back into the ’employees only’ location of the restaurant and continued to get louder. It was at that moment I noticed an employee breathing heavily. At first, I wasn’t aware of what was going on with him. But shortly after, I just decided not to waste my time and ended up leaving myself.

After getting in my car and driving off, I started doing what I do best… using hindsight. The employee that was breathing heavily to me appeared to be having possibly a panic attack. All I could think of was what I could have done differently if I was back there. Which was trying to get his attention to me and to breathe slowly and take deep breaths. Motivate him and tell him he’s doing such a good job in calming down. To let him know that there is so much greatness out there in the world and not to focus on this one bad situation.

Sadly though… I did nothing… as normal. As much as I want to help people out, especially in situations like these… I crack under pressure. It may be one of my biggest weaknesses. I want to do better. I want to help those in need… maybe I’m just afraid. Or maybe I’m just too slow. My mind doesn’t always process things as fast as I would like. Some things, yes! But others, not so much.

Maybe that’s why I fail so much in life…

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Why Having Your Driver’s License Should Be a Privilege

Depending on what part of the world you’re from, there’s an age requirement you have to meet before you are allowed to drive. I’m sure for most people, getting your license may be fairly easy. Once you get it, you almost go by your own rules and not the one’s we have to comply to.

The problem is that there are driving etiquettes we’re not aware of and in ways, are not taught to us when obtaining our license. The question is, should it be? Almost every day I’m on the road I see drivers that are one mistake away from an accident or would be getting pulled over if in the right time and place.

Multitasking is another big problem. If you can’t do it well, then don’t. Some stoplights don’t stay green for long, which is why we have to be ready to go when it changes. It only takes one person staring at their phones without realizing how long they have held up traffic.

I now steer clear of aggressive drivers. If they want to weave in-and-out of lanes just to get to their destination faster, I’m not going to get in their way. Just as long as they don’t put anyone in harm’s way. And according to studies, you may only be shaving just minutes off if you were to drive normally.

But I get it, I get anxious at times myself. If people accelerate too slow and take forever just to get to the speed limit, I will drive past them. The thing is, there is so much to be grateful for when driving. Just knowing how quickly you could get to your destination if you had to compare it to walking, riding a bike, or taking a carriage and a horse (which actually sounds really cool and maybe romantic on some occasions).

As an entire civilization, we have come incredibly far. I just don’t feel like getting your driver’s license should be as easy it they make it. At least not without knowing what to expect with other drivers. I’ve had one too many times avoid getting into an accident from other drivers lack of road awareness. Not everyone is going to be as sharp, so please, stay focused. Be responsible. And of course, be safe.

(Honestly, this feels like a public service announcement… not what I intended but okay!)

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Why My Neighbors Might Think I’m Crazy

“He’s talking to himself again.” says the neighbor. “Just ignore him, honey.” their significant other responding. “It’s not like he’s really bothering anybody, I hope…”

The conversation I sometimes think that my neighbors might be having about me. The thing is my home of which is also my office (and the unfortunate part of living in an apartment), is also my sanctum. But I don’t always like to be in my own head, which is why I like to say things out loud. And the beauty of that is it helps with your speech. Especially when you’re out in public or have a job where you almost constantly are talking to people. Someday I would love to talk or perform in front of a crowd. I know it would be incredibly nerve wracking but it’s a goal of mine. Possibly something of a Ted Talk.

Now, getting back to my neighbors, the reason I mention this is that I hear a lot of noise and activities from my surroundings. Half the time it sounds like one of my neighbors is banging on the wall… or ceiling, maybe floor. I really don’t know. When the place is made up of concrete, the noise almost echoes, which makes it all the more difficult to know where it’s coming from. Maybe, as far as I know, I’m not being loud at all. I try to keep my TV volume to what I believe is a reasonable level. I don’t want to consider myself as “that” neighbor.

If the walls just happen to bounce sound that easily where you can be heard, I’m sorry. But there really isn’t anything I can do about that. If not and they are plenty soundproof and it’s just that some people are really that loud themselves, I’m in the clear. Otherwise, hopefully I’m putting on a good show for you. I do try to be as entertaining as I can.

The other thing about talking to yourself out loud isn’t just to practice your speech to see if you’re saying things correctly, but maybe it keeps you from being inside your own head too much. For me, it’s how I like to work. Crafting my passion together but also when I talk to myself, I’m not actually talking to myself. I pretend that I have an audience. Or just another person here with me. What that does is it makes conversating that much easier. But definitely doesn’t make it so difficult which many people do have trouble with. Considering I’m a procrastinating filmmaker, but also my own actor, I’m constantly practicing my speech as well.

With that, as I mentioned before, whether or not I can be heard from my neighbors, I do hope you see what I’m doing as a form of art. Because it is! It’s just taking me a little bit longer to put together a story, a script, the idea to what I want to do. When you do all this by yourself, it is a slow progress. I like to say that my job in this life is to impress the world… and plenty more.

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LIFE is One Misunderstanding

So, here we are again. You’re out on a Friday night, whether on a date, with friends, or family. For the most part, everything seems to be going really well. Everyone is having a good time until you make a response to something someone said. From that point on, the mood changes a bit. Now you start to overthink what you may have said at the point you felt the vibe changing. It can be subtle, so you just have to use instinct on this one. As you’re thinking to yourself while you analyze step-by-step all that happened. Is it too late? Why not say something? Or is it that you waited too long where the moment has passed?

For most people, a lot of our conversations with each other are harmless and friendly. Of course, we don’t mean to have bad intentions. Unless deep down you genuinely don’t like this particular individual. But chances are, they might feel the same way about you. You both might have a mutual friend that you don’t want to displease so in a way, you are almost just putting up with each other. That sounds incredibly unhealthy. And you both don’t want to confront one another about it either.

Anyway, the point of this is that we’re not being as honest as we should. Whether or not you are friends, family, or even with your significant other. When something is said that puts you out of your comfort zone or at ease, instead of saying something, you wind up keeping it inside. Or you wait to tell someone else about it later. For all we know, the person that said this specific thing you did not enjoy could very well be unaware of it. So, this whole time they may have no idea you resent them, or are holding a grudge against them, and they’ll never know why.

I may have mentioned this before, but I’m not big on confrontation. So, I try to avoid saying things that would hit a nerve with others. I also believe that I’m good at reading body languages so I have to use that to see for myself if what I might have said rubbed off the wrong way on people. It is so stressful sometimes trying to please people, especially if you’re out of your comfort zone. To those out there that are uncomfortable saying something in person to someone, I’m sure a simple text would do just fine. It at least gets your point across, so people know how you feel. And if they don’t care, then there’s no point to keep them around in your life.

To reiterate, whatever is being said isn’t necessarily that exact meaning. If you’re ever uncertain, just ask. It’s always good to get a better understanding of what someone said than to take things out of proportion that might not even be true. Who knows, that alone could help build a stronger relationship. I hope this helps.

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Naps: The Good, The Bad, and The Drowsy

As the weekend is coming to an end, you go through your routine to prepare for the work week. Whether you’re doing some grocery shopping or your laundry, by bedtime, you’re not tired. Could it be that you slept in the morning of? Thus, leading to you having more energy than you were hoping. Maybe you just stay up then. But by the time you’re at work, you tell yourself that a nap just sounds so good. So, after work that’s what you end up doing. Problem is, you took too long of a nap and then you’re right back to square one. The vicious cycle that never ends. So, how do you break out of this cycle? Assuming you don’t enjoy it at all.

The Problem

As an unlicensed and self-proclaimed Professor, the reoccurrence of napping is a sign of a health issue. “What is that?” you didn’t ask. Speaking from someone who is currently going through this problem, it means you lack the energy to go about your day. And your tolerance to caffeine has taken on a new level where you may find yourself needing too much of it to make it to the end of the day. What you might be asking though is, “Where is this issue coming from?” For those who don’t already know (or assume), we have to go back to the origin. As you lay there unaware of life, you’re probably sucking on that breast to attain the nutrients needed to survive… okay, that maybe too far back! Fast forward a little bit, from our childhood to adulthood, it’s what we put into our body, food and drink-wise. If it ain’t healthy for you, it’s more than likely going to slow you down in life.

The Solution?

Naps are intended to re-energize us. That’s the simplicity of it. If you had little to no sleep, then it makes sense why a nap was needed. But if this is on-going, then pay attention to what you’re eating and drinking. Consume foods that are good for you with plenty of nutrients and vitamins. You may not know it, but some of them give off natural energy so you don’t have to have one or more energy drinks daily, or an entire pot of coffee to yourself. Exercise is another plus. Whether you’re lifting weights, going for a jog, or taking up a dance class, you’re moving your body and getting that blood flowing through your system. And no excuses! That means me as well. When something like not having the time to exercise or cook a healthier meal is involved, just remember that we all have the same amount of time in the day. That’s not changing in our lifetime.

For those of you who have kids, and even if you don’t, just think back to when you were. Like how you started out having all this energy. There were naps involved, but also probably a lot of sugary foods and drinks as well. Those naps that were taken were probably from the sugar crash after using up the energy received from it momentarily. For you car enthusiast, think of it like NOS, it’s brief, but quite the adrenaline high. The big takeaway from this is that these kids were being incredibly active. Using up their energy each day, tiring themselves out, and more than likely having some of the best sleep ever. Of course, with that they didn’t have responsibilities or many, many adult issues that has to be dealt with.

So just remember, we all have this energy we need to use up each and every day. It’s like the energy bar from The Sims if any of you are familiar with. Other than being able to force your Sim to just sleep, I suppose there are medication for that. But as long as you’re doing it right, naps can be extremely beneficial. Just depends on if it’s better for you or not (or maybe your neighbor got a new dog that they don’t know how to raise correctly, so the barking wakes you up much earlier than you would like when the owners aren’t home).

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