Leaderboard

I was never a kid who liked school when I was younger (In fact I dropped out of high school, got my GED, and went straight to college). It was not because I didn't enjoy going to class or learning new things, but rather was because I could only do those things if I had a healthy social life in school. For example, a science teacher I had in the 7th grade wanted to teach us how to use the microscope and I was very excited to learn. However, the second he said we needed to get in groups for this activity I froze in fear. Instead of worrying about learning and having fun, I was stuck in a situation where my brain couldn't do anything but constantly analyze the kids in my group. I'm a quiet person, will they think I am weird? My mom had a cigarette in the car, will they think I smell? Now there is no doubt I was a shy and anti-social child, and I am not suggesting the educational system should be designed around my particular personality. My issue is that this wasn't just an occasional circumstance I had to endure, but virtually a constant one. Yeah, I know, kids need to learn how to socialize and work in groups. Every teacher uses this argument. The problem is every teacher and every class is trying to do this. Whether it is getting in teams for kickball in gym, lab partners in science, and reading groups for English. The only class I ever enjoyed and did good in was math because we hardly ever needed to be in groups! Not to mention the kids who usually did enjoy the groups only did so because they got to discretely goof off. I was a kid who failed throughout high school (I literally had all F's in 9th grade), and now I am soon going to graduate college with a 3.6 GPA. College allows much more room for independence while also not allowing you to be a total recluse -- a perfect balance. Do you think the American educational system is too social?

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld once said, "Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life, so you bought some sweatpants." At first, Lagerfeld sounds like a jerk. It seems like he's looking down on people who could never buy the high-end clothes he can afford. On the other hand, he's talking about the attitude of not trying to "look the part" when it comes to reaching for success. I thought it was a weirdly funny quote, too; I laughed out loud when I first read it because I imagined him saying this with a cartoony French accent.

I really do not understand why some people even bother having pets. Countless times I have watched people get pets for some spontaneous reason in which it is clear that they just wanted something temporarily cute. Recently I have been looking at a new house to rent where the current owner has missed his payments and the landlord is in the process of evicting him. When we went to look at the house the poor dog was locked up in a cage covered in its own... well let's just keep this conversation clean. The landlord contacted the guy and asked what was going on. He said that his girlfriend was out of state and he couldn't take care of the dog. I had the landlord call the girlfriend and ask if I could watch her while she was gone and she thankfully said yes. The poor dog was terrified when I picked her up and brought her in my car and she was very skittish towards any movement. I took her to the pet store and got her a nice little bed and some puppy pads because she clearly was not well trained. The guy complained that she barked all the time and went to the bathroom on the floor, but after only a couple days you would be surprised what a little love an attention would do. She loves running around with my other dogs, she has been getting better at using the pads, and has cut her barking down at least 70%. Every bone in my body didn't want to give her back, and luckily the lady recently called and actually asked if I would keep the dog. I gave a resounding YES. I of course cannot keep her long term, as I already have 2 dogs, but rest assured she will be finding an awesome loving home. Heck, we have been doing training for just about a week and let me tell you she is one smart cookie!