Appreciate college cafeteria food

Over the past week my facebook and twitter pages have been filled with information about people moving back into their dorms and reuniting with their college friends. It's made me feel very nostalgic about things that I never realized I should have appreciated. One of those things is the Commons, which is the name of the cafeteria at Stetson. While I attended Stetson, I, along with all of my friends, consistently complained about the lack of quality of the Commons' food. Everything always seemed a little off - the meat was possibly imitation, the sides were super saturated with salt, and even the salad bar seemed a little less healthy than a salad you could make at home.

However now, as I sit in my apartment in DC, with hardly any food in the fridge, a rumbling stomach, and cash that already belongs to next months bills, I realize that I would absolutely love a cafeteria. I didn't even have a meal plan for two years that I was in school - but of course someone else did. Someone whose mother insisted that they keep their 17 meals a week plus extra declining balance money just in case they really needed to eat 300 lbs. of food each day. I loved these people! They were always more than happy to make use of the money their parents were spending on the mediocre food we were offered. If I was ever hungry at any time in the day, there was always someone I could call, ask if they wanted to go eat and then bum a meal off of them. No money required...well except for that $2,100 their parents paid along with their kid's tuition. How nice! And I never took the time to appreciate what a wonderful thing this was..."free" food!

Once you no longer have the option of the university cafeteria, you actually have to think about what you'll want to eat for the next week, plan out some meals, travel to the grocery store, walk around for 30-45 minutes deciding if you want junk food or real food, determine whether or not you'll actually eat the healthy items you decide to purchase, theeennn you have to pull together some money in order to actually bring all that food home with you. Now I know that this is all very simple stuff. People grocery shop everyday. However, when you're broke you don't want to spend money on food - something that you got for "free" for 4 years in college.

Another one of life's simple circumstances that is surprisingly annoying...there's so much I've learned since graduation. =)

Actively Caring 4 People

I have two bits of really great information.

1. I got a new job and so far it's been really great. I'm definitely looking forward to what's ahead. This also means that I've given my notice at PF Changs aaand..... sweet freeeeedooomm has officially begun to take over my life!!!

2. I met an awesome group of people tonight. They were one of my tables at work and they made having to work these two more weeks seem to be not so bad.

Five guys from Virginia Tech started a non-profit organization called Actively Caring 4 People. They want to promote intentional acts of kindness everyday that positively impact another person's life. They have green wristbands that are passed along from person to person as acts of kindness are witnessed. Basically, when you see a person doing something kind you pass along the wristband, tell them about this awesome movement, and encourage them to pass it along to the next kind person. Their hope is to inspire people to continuously commit acts of kindness.

Tonight, as I was taking their dinner orders, we got to talking about what I studied in college and what my goals are for the future. Once I told them about my desire to work in non-profits and the job I'm just starting this week (which deals with multiple charitable organizations around DC) they gave me a green bracelet, told me all about their efforts with their new organization and encouraged me to pass it along.

I'm hoping that I can somehow help them continue to achieve their goals. Check out their website and BE KIND!

http://activelycaring4people.org

Quite frequently my mom forwards inspirational and political e-mails to me. I always read them, think "well, that was...nice" and then move on with my day. Recently, however, I was sent one that really bothered me. It bothered me so much that I've been thinking about how much it bothers me for days now.

I decided to find it online again and read that the chain mail actually lies about the original source. It says it's from Bill Gates - the truth is that Bill Gates was quoting a book called "Dumbing Down our Kids"

Here's what it said:

RULE 1
Life is not fair - get used to it.

RULE 2

The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

RULE 3

You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice president with car phone, until you earn both.

RULE 4

If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.

RULE 5

Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping they called it Opportunity.
RULE 6

If you mess up,it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
RULE 7

Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

RULE 8

Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

RULE 9
Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

RULE 10
Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

RULE 11
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Now...with the exception of rules 3, 6, 7 and 10, which make sense and I have no problem with, the rest just make me plain mad.

There are definitely exceptions to these so called rules and there's no need to make everything so black and white. The gray area always exists in all life circumstances and if you come across someone who refuses to see that then, in my opinion, they're not worth spending too much time around.

Some random points that I'd like to make:

Society's lack of concern over others self esteem has led to countless numbers of people becoming pill fiends. Rather than actually doing anything to help people realize their self worth, they're handed prescriptions, or illegal substances, to just make that bad feeling go away. Telling high school students, who are all kinds of emotional/hormonal, that no one in the world cares whether or not they feel okay about life doesn't seem to be the right kind of message. (Maybe it's just me though...)

Some teachers are actually more difficult to deal with than bosses. Not everyone is meant to work for cut throat corporations. Bosses don't have to be these evil, feared monsters.

Isn't the reason we're taught in school that there are no winners and losers because educators hope that we'll carry those ideals with us throughout life, including the real world? I thought we were supposed to instill certain values into people at a young age in order to try to produce a better society.

Life can be divided into semesters and summers if you become a teacher.

Finding yourself is important - and again I'd like to stress that not everyone intends to work for the corporate world. Some people teach, others write novels, create music and art; there are people whose whole lives are dedicated to working around the world to bring love and care to others who aren't getting enough. Those who actually do spend some time "finding themselves" usually end up with some kind of really cool end product - good music, inspirational words or pictures, and people whose lives have been enriched by others' desire to have a colorful life.

Aaand last, but not least, the term nerd can be interpreted many ways. Some "nerds" are really smart, they know all the answers in class and spend their free time with their books. Some kids who are called "nerds", however, are just socially awkward - they may have their heads in their books in order to avoid potential conflict with others. In either of these cases, chances are not that you'll end up working for one. You may, but you're just as likely to work for the popular guy who always made an appearance at all the social gatherings each year. In the real world it's all about who you know and if you're well liked, then chances are you'll know someone who has an interesting opportunity for you.

My only life "rule":

love gray