A Penny For My Thoughts

If you hadn't noticed by know my mind works similarly to lists. I exhaust a subject than move on. I feel like it takes too long to explain how these thoughts interact as a whole or how one thought leaps to another. I once heard a wise comedian compare spaghetti to a girl's mind and a waffle to a boy's mind. One thought from a girl leads to a completely different thought much like the ends of spaghetti. If a boy thinks something it stays in that general square much like syrup cupped in a waffle. I thought it was genius personally...Anyway, my thoughts in no particular order.

1.) Is it true that life is wasted on the youth? I realize I have become in the habit of waiting for a particular event to be happy. I have the greatest ability to procrastinate. But when I do days pass by, then weeks, then months. If I did everything today that I'm going to do tomorrow I think I would be getting somewhere a lot quicker. Why not enjoy the moment and work towards something than spending all that time and effort worrying abt it? That might be common sense, but it didn't really sink in till recently.

2.) That thought led to this next one. I make decisions similarly to the scientific method. It seems as if I have to make my own mistakes and gather my own data in order to make a decision. This doesn't mean I try drugs or do stupid stunts by any stretch of the imagination. As long as it's proven to me that certain things don't work or are harmful, I won't try them.

3.) I quite literally copied and pasted the list of majors that my university offers onto a Word document and started deleting the ones that didn't interest me. I was talking to a friend and expressing my fear of not being smart enough for some possibilities. Her response was just what I needed to hear. I KNOW that I'm smart enough. All I need is passion and to work hard enough. Cliche, but true. My first priority while going through my freshman year was not to my studies, but to my fun-loving self. Upon making this realization, I then lost my fear of every major which has it's own pros and cons. I debated for a half an hour if I wanted to become a civil engineer. Previously, I would have deleted it in less than fifteen seconds. It's amazing how much information is at my finger tips! The problem is I love learning, I honestly do. What I need to decide is what I want to study in depth and what to take up as a hobby. Sure, I would be interested in studying anthropology, but would I want to study that my whole life? Maybe not. So, what that leads me to is Art History, English, Communications, Political Science (followed by Law School), Biz (Marketing/Advertising), or Bio (followed by Med School). Obviously, I have some narrowing down to do yet. I think I still have 83 choices on my list of majors. Not kidding.

4.) I want to do a study abroad in England, but financially it would be difficult to make a reality. I love traveling and understanding different cultures and how people live. It takes me out of my every day life and makes me realize I'm not the center of the universe. There is a whole world out there! The thought conveys pointlessness in every day occurrences. Have you ever noticed how independence is so stressed in this country? I think it speeds the way into adulthood for better or for worse.

5.) My grandpa is close to dying and I already lost one set of grandparents. This grandpa fought in WWII and was right there invading Germany. But now he sits in his chair unable to hear or stand or even walk to the bathroom without significant struggle. My mom has taken him to see the doctor five different times until they figured out why he was sick and in so much pain. Now they told my grandma to pick up the medicine he needs four days from now after using certain machinery for six weeks. My dad used it once for only five days after he had surgery and only could stand the pain for five days. He yanked it out himself.

How is it that a man that sacrificed his life for his country now has nobody to care for him except his wife of 65 years and his son and daughter-in-law/posterity? Why, may I ask, is it that it took so long to figure out what was wrong with him? Why is it that when upon realizing the situation the medicine can't be gotten sooner? Have doctors been neglecting their duty? Or is their duty to their patients changed? Have we been getting less assistance than the cost of the doctor's visit was worth? Or are their too many sick and not enough doctor's? Who is to defend the rights of the elderly? Who is there to assist the elderly with no family? Is it the state's responsibility? Or should the elderly be left to their own devices? What abt the handicapped? We have the freedom of speech, but what happens when individuals are unable to speak for themselves and call attention to their situation? Some questions I can answer, but other's I will have to keep on thinking abt. It is sad to think that when a person has spent years in service and been willing to sacrifice their lives in order to protect other's unalienable rights they are so treated and forgotten. I'm not saying by any stretch of the imagination that my grandpa should be given anything more than any other soldier or person that has dedicated their lives to helping others. I think more consideration should be available.

6.) Maybe I'll work at a Nursing Home.