The Art of Living

       Responsibility. It is a really big word, and sometimes what a person has to do is not nearly as easy as saying the word. I have so many responsibilities that sometimes I get frustrated when I see my people that I care about slacking on theirs. Recently my family has been getting on my case as to “What I am going to do with my life.” “Where is my husband or boyfriend?” “You know your life is not just about work.” I always respond with, “I am doing what I think is best.” But sometimes they really do not like that answer. I wish that people I cared about would take responsibilities seriously, where my friends fully understand (for the most part) that I am doing what I think I need to. It seems as though my family has no idea what my goals are. Where my mom is the most supportive person in earth, everyone else on her side of the family seems to think I am crazy for not getting a “real job.” I wish sometimes that they would understand that I care about everything I do and that I am driven to get out and be better than I could have dreamed about. Maybe I am focusing on my work and education more than anything else, and that could be wrong. But it is not wrong for me right now. I just wish everyone could realize this. Where some might be focusing on making money now, I am driven to make money in my future and not just make money for myself, but improve the world around me. My major is community and nonprofit development for a reason. I do not just want to sit idly by and watch as the world gets better or worse on its own. I want to make a difference, maybe it will only be for one or two people. But what does it matter the amount so long as their experience improves their lives? So yes, I am focused on my work and education. But that is because it is best for me. In the end, that is the best I can do.

Voice Your Point 2012

                This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to go to a United Council conference. It took a lot of work to be able to attend this conference, and at the end I was not disappointed in all the steps I took to get there. I have never felt as empowered as a student in my life before. United council is a bipartisan nonprofit that I am fortunate enough to have an internship with this year. So far I have worked on a VOTE campaign to help students register and be informed on what their rights as students are when they vote on issues.

                This conference was really pushing their campaigns; I was VERY fortunate and got to actually present a workshop on how to have tough conversations with administration. Specifically bringing up the need for gender neutral facilities. I gave the group that came in for my two workshops specific steps to take when you are planning out a campaign and how to bring it to the administration's attention.

                Through my workshop, I talked about how important it is to keep a clear head in difficult situations where maybe administration is afraid of a certain aspect of your position. I came up with four general steps to take, and then went into detail on how to achieve effectively achieve those steps. While doing my workshop, I learned that there are a lot of struggles that campuses face in trying to make gender neutral spaces. Where in one case the money for a gender neutral bathroom can be hard to get with a two-year campus. At a four year campus, they are specifically looking at getting gender neutral housing spaces. I am excited for these things that are coming up in the future of our colleges in the University of Wisconsin system- even if I know that the time frame will be exceedingly large.

                Though the workshops presented at this conference, it gave the students a way to feel empowered about their positions in the UW-System. Not just that they are students, but that they have shared governance on the decisions that are being made. I feel very proud, that I am in the University of Wisconsin system. Especially after learning so much as this conference.

Grey Area Thursday

               This holiday season, Black Fridays has changed drastically for the majority of franchised stores across America. I have a very big problem with this though.  Black Friday, a time when buying all you can for what you believe is “Lower Pricing,” who wouldn’t love that? Unfortunately this holiday season has changed drastically. There are two BIG things that have changed for this black Friday. First, is that it now starts anywhere from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. The second big change that has occurred is at the super-center store Wal-Mart, and maybe other stores I just didn’t see it advertised, but at Wal-Mart they have now created the number system.

                The first change is the timing of the new what I like to call “grey Thursday.” This basically means that on Thanksgiving, there is a grey area in which stores can now start “Black Friday.” I personally feel like this is insane! They have officially cut a holiday and replaced it with a fully fake made up holiday. Now I understand that some people don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, and that is totally fantastic, but for those that do, having dinner cut in half because you want to participate in the deals that are going on is ridiculous. This past black Friday, I was watching the news and found out that 40% of the annual profits big stores like Wal-Mart and Target happen on Black Fridays. How crazy is that! That fact of the matter is that, even sticking to regular Fridays, these stores were making a huge profit, what’s the new reason for starting so darn early?

                The second change that has happened is that now, you have to take a number on their “big ticket items” and wait for it in line. Now, that’s great for not having any injuries… but is truly unfair. Basically how this new system works is, at anytime you can pick a number. But once you have that number, you cannot leave that item’s line (unless you need to use the restroom then you have a 10 minutes bathroom break. But you are not allowed to shop, or get in any other “Big Ticket Items” line. This I find truly insane, because there were a good 14 items on that list. That means that there are 15 items you can’t have because you have to stay in your line and not leave until you got that item. For me, I really wanted to get a TV and a laptop for my mom, I went to the TV line and without realizing it I took a number, the person then escorted me into the line and I said, oh wait, I want to continue shopping I just wanted to grab a number, but that was against the rules.

                Now, while some of these new changes have really cut back on injury or harm.  In the end I feel like these new regulations and changes are only going to hurt in the long run. With big savings you will always get people to shop, but in the end, is forcing them to go earlier and leave their holiday and family alone a great idea? I personally think that the time should stay to 12:00A.M.  But I do like the number system, so long as I’m still allowed to shop and get other numbers.

To Abstain From Listening?

I was chastised today for not listening to my friend as she ranted about her usual love life. Now, this is a newer friend to me, so maybe I should have actually been attempting to pay attention, but I had a lot of grants to apply for and very limited time to do it. As I sat there on my laptop typing yet again what the mission of the program I’m requesting funds for, she scolds me “Amanda! You’re not even paying attention to me!” I look up, dazed and confused as to what she was referring to, I then realize that she had been talking to me and wanted me to give her advice. Now, I really don’t like to give advice, and I’m not sure that I’m even good at it. So I asked her why she wanted advice from me?  She looked at me and said something along the lines of I was the only one around to help her. At this my mind went spinning.

                Do people generally ask advice of those near them? Or is there a certain comfort level that a person has to have with another person in order to tell them their problems. I guess in my case I tend to be a good listener, although today was not the optimal example of this, I usually put all my effort into what someone else is saying. The thing I often wonder about though is whether I should. Should I really give advice that may or may not work out for this person? I can’t predict the future, and if I could I’d definitely not be giving advice because I wouldn’t want people to find out. Why do I seem to get asked advice a lot. To be quite honest I’d prefer if people would rant to me, that way they could lay out all their feelings and problems, but wouldn’t honestly expect me to help solve them.

                I often struggle when other asks me for my advice, I’m not particularly worldly, and what type of decent advice could I truly offer? I guess though, that at the end of the day I tend to let others know and tell them what I would do in a situation. Maybe help them reword a text or email, but in the end, I tend to abstain from truly giving a direct this is what you should do. I say more, well I would do this, but that’s only if the situation were like this. So far, that’s worked out moderately well for me. Although, I’d love to abstain from listening when I have a lot of things to do if I were to be completely honest.