Hold. Breathe. Go.

Things To Do: Find my corner of the sky, find my way, be someone's star, measure life in love, never stop believing.

[lands-uncharted]

No, I Don't Want To Go Get Shitfaced With You

Being 21, it means that I can legally purchase and consume alcohol in public settings. What it does not mean however, is that that is all I ever want to do. My idea of fun does not include going out to a bar or a club and drinking until I can't feel my face. Anyone who knows me knows that that's just straight up not who I am.

The reason why I don't go to parties is because I know what happens when people have too much to drink and I don't want to be someone's drunken makeout buddy. I will gladly listen to all the shit that happened at your party and then judge you for it, but don't expect me to grace it with my presence because I'll just sit there and be pissed off at everyone around me because they're shitfaced and won't remember my bad attitude the next day anyway.

That also means that I don't want to drink with just anybody. I want to drink with the people I'm the closest with. My friends. I mean like my real friends. Not the people I pretend to be friends with because I have to put up with them on a daily basis or the people that you're really good friends with and they are just kinda forced into my life because I'm related to you.

And I don't wanna go out and just do shots. I'd rather have a pleasant evening with an appetizer and maybe one or two drinks. I want to be able to remember the drinks that I order so I can remember to either get them again or never go anywhere near them. It is so easy to make poor mistakes and if you think that I'm at the level where I will mindlessly ingest a substance that in large doses can cause serious damage to my body, then you really don't know who I am at all.

[lands-uncharted]

"No Glory in the Process"

So yesterday, I was watching Tyler Oakley's newest video and he mentioned a quote that he saw and that really spoke to him. I hadn't heard it myself until this video and it made me start thinking. "No glory in the process" at face value is the idea that nobody cares about how you achieved something, but the fact that you achieved it. So this got me thinking about how this relates to society. Humor me for a moment.

Think about the people that are incredibly successful today. Think about those household names. Particularly those ones that are famous for what seems to be no apparent reason (coughKARDASHIANScough). Why are they famous? What did they do to deserve more attention than people who save lives every day, whether its working in the medical field, police force, military, etc. Why are these people worshiped? Because there is no glory in the process. 

It kinda ties in with the whole idea that "almost doesn't count." Nobody cares if you almost saved a life. You either did or didn't. Nobody cares if you almost caught the bad guy. You either did or didn't. Nobody cares if you almost fixed the economy. You either did or didn't. And that's awful.

People want results and nothing else. Part of that is taught in some school systems where the only thing that matters is your final answer. When it comes to something like mathematics, yes, there is a definitive answer, but its always been drilled into my head that you need to show your work. Part of the joy of the electronic age is that we can figure out the answer by simply punching an equation into a computer. We see the answer on the screen, write it down, and move on. There's no glory in the process. 

This applies to so many other fields. Broadway shows can be made or broken by one review. And those reviews look at the product. Not the process. Some shows take months, even years, until they are finally performed in front of an audience, but none of that matters if the product isn't up to snuff. Process means nothing. Results are everything.

A restaurant can serve you a plate of food that you don't enjoy, and suddenly you never go back there again. It doesn't matter that whoever cooked it could have been going through some family troubles and was just having an off day. Results are everything. 

So how do we fix this? Simply put, we probably can't. What we can do whoever, is begin to appreciate the amount of work that has gone into making our lives easier. Someone had to code this website that you're looking at right now. Someone had to create the technology in order to allow me to type this and listen to music at the same time. Someone had to put in hours upon hours to write, record, and edit this music that I'm listening to. So much time goes into things that we take for granted.

There's no glory in the process, but a little recognition wouldn't hurt.

[lands-uncharted]

Why Theatre Is Actually Really Difficult

As a theatre major, I hear all the time that I have it pretty easy when it comes to classes and stuff. This is actually far from the truth. Here's why.

Endless Reading - There are so many plays out there from centuries and centuries of authors. Greek plays, Shakespeare, Modern drama, and every single time in between contains a plethora of plays that are significant and its impossible to read all of them in your lifetime.

Creating A Show - Part of being a theatre major typically includes being involved in productions at your university. In order to put into perspective how much effort goes into a production, think of it this way: Science classes usually come with some kind of lab. Think of rehearsals like a lab. Except that its usually five times a week, for roughly 4+ hours a night. And that's not counting the time that goes into design work, dramaturgical research, and any other work done outside of rehearsal like working on memorization.

Ephemeral - All of that work that goes into a production? Yeah, it only lasts for a couple of performances in the college world. You can work your butt off for a month and end up with 4 performances. Countless hours of work, all compacted into a series of ~2 hour performances. 

Critique - The theatrical world is constantly criticized. "Oh, I would have done this." "This confused me." "I fell asleep." "I didn't get it." These are all things that I hear every day as a theatre major, and it takes its toll on you. They say that everything in the theatre is a choice, but that does not mean that it is always the right choice, and that's something that sticks in the back of your mind constantly.

[lands-uncharted]

Welcome to the New Year

This new year brought with it the same things that new years always do: promises to be a better person, the agonizing fear one being one step closer to whatever year it is you're graduating, and the chance to look back at an entire 525,600 minutes (sorry, had to). That stroke of midnight means so much more to us as humans than just a new day, month, year, whatever. Its a new start in some eyes. The thing is though, there is no such thing as a "new start." You are the product of your past, and no matter what you try and do, you can't change the fact that every single movement you've made has affected you in some way. 

Now, I'm not going to try and say that every move you make needs to be consciously determined and planned out because there are too many of them to be worrying about, and you'll end up wasting your time. What I'm talking about here is actual decisions. Should I read over my notes one last time, or watch just one more episode? Should I go out with my friends or have some "me" time? Should I ask for help or try and figure it out on my own? Every day we make decisions, and sometimes they are wrong. Learn from it and don't make the same mistake twice.

People say every year "New year, new me!" And often times, those people end up making the same decisions that they made the year before, essentially wasting an entire year. People are calling for change, but one person cannot be solely responsible for that change. Change is a group effort. Whether it is the inspiration to make a change, motivation to continue that change, or providing feedback on any changes made, one person cannot do it alone.

So when you're sitting here in 2015 wanting to make changes, remember that one of the easiest ways to make changes is to help somebody else make a change. 

[lands-uncharted]

New Age, New Blog

Howdy folks!

In honor of my 21st birthday tomorrow, I've decided to do something a little different with my Tumblr over the next year. Twice a week (Every Sunday and Thursday), I'm going to try and make some kind of post here on lands-uncharted. These will usually just be little rambles spurred by something going on in life.

The point of this is to not only let out the frustrations that come into my head, but open them up for discussion. Think of it as a public journal if you will that you can fuel with your own thoughts, and maybe inspire future rambles. 

I'm going to tag each one with "21 Rambles" and add a link to my page that will allow anyone who wishes to quickly and easily access them. Here's to a new year!

[lands-uncharted]

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

Being a college student, I hear my fair share of party stories. Usually its just whatever, but recently I've encountered a tale that just absolutely takes the cake.

So, although I'm friends with pretty much everyone that goes to parties at T-house, I don't go myself because things are known to get a little crazy. And its not really a secret at this point. Everyone knows what happens because well, at a small college, word travels quickly.

Keeping in mind its only been two weeks since the semester started, the word of this party had already traveled around T-House frequenters, Facebook events were created, and all that jazz. So as word travels, invites for the freshmen begin to open up. People had been asking since the party was originally conceived whether or not to invite freshmen, and when I was asked, I had said "Make it more about getting to know people than about getting absolutely trashed." 

Smart idea, right? Thanks, I thought so too.

So I was talking to a few of my friends on Friday, the day before the party, when a freshman girl walked by and started talking to us. The party was brought up, information was exchanged, and something happened. I had met this girl the previous semester because she had been one of my friend's overnights. Apparently I had mentioned something all those months ago along the lines of how T-House parties always end up getting crazy and everyone just makes out with everyone.

Upon her leaving, my friend, who we'll call W, turns to me and goes "Did you really say that? Because we don't want the freshmen thinking that's what happens, because its not." Looking back, I don't remember saying that to her, but I knew in the back of my head it was totally true. So I deny it, whatever. How could I know anyway, I only hear the stories.

Anywho, flash forward to today. I wake up to a text from one of my closest friends, who like me, does not frequent T-House parties, telling me that once again, it turned into a shit show with everyone making out with everyone. Didn't see that one coming did you?

Anyway, the moral of the story is this: Don't be fucking stupid. In the case of the T-House, everyone's slowly but surely finding out about what went down and now all those involved are going to be looked at differently. I'm already looking at people that I've gotten very close to over the past year in a completely new light. And its sad because they aren't the same people that I first met and wanted to become friends with. 

I could keep going on but I'm too tired. I'll probably come up with more to say about this. Whatever. Bye.

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

I am a strong person. But every once in a while I would like someone to hold my hand and tell me things are going to be OK.

Unknown (via rlyrlyugly)

[lands-uncharted]

People are always like "I want to fuck Ansel Elgort so badly" and I'm just sitting here like, "I'd honestly rather just cuddle with him....he seems like a boss cuddler..."

[skressed-deactivated20160306]

[lands-uncharted]

THIS.

[guidebooktogrowingup]

Finding Your Voice...And Knowing When To Use It

If there’s one thing that I notice every day, its when people start talking. Being the introvert that I am, I spend a lot of time listening to people and overhearing conversations. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a bit of an eavesdropper, but aren’t we all? And through all of this listening, I’ve learned one thing: Just because you have the right to speak, doesn’t mean you should.

Read More

[lands-uncharted]

To anyone that's ever said anything ever, or ever plans to say anything, take a look at this!

[summyg]

[misschrisdaae]

YOU GET A BARRICADE! AND YOU GET A BARRICADE! EVERYBODY GETS A BARRICADE!

[geekinthegreendress]

IT’S BACK

[guidebooktogrowingup]

Breaking Through Your Quarter Life Crisis

My first year of college I was a business major. It was what I was good at, so I figured I would be able to get through college no problem. And I did. Until the start of my sophomore year. I became bored, unhappy, and terrified at the idea of growing up.

That spurred what I refer to as my “Quarter Life Crisis.” I was turning 20 years old and the prospect of no longer becoming a teenager was terrifying. I needed to do something to ease my tensions.

So I made some changes.

Read More

[lands-uncharted]

Oh look. I made a blog post on my other blog that's kind of a legit blog. Its all about getting through that awkward phase when you start to realize that you're growing up and it scares the hell out of you!

[fishingboatproceeds]

Hanging out with tumblr founder and out-of-focus individual David Karp.

[david]

!!!

[fishingboatproceeds]

Reblogging tumblr founder David Karp because he is so excited about being out of focus.

[staff]

Reblogging John Green because he looks so proud to be in focus. 

[lands-uncharted]

For When Life Isn't Making Sense

Oh gosh. I've started what I call a "legitimate" blog. Go check it out maybe? I dunno. Mer.

[compoundchem]

Today, a look at the contributing compounds to ‘old book smell’, and the origins of the less well researched ‘new book smell’: http://wp.me/p4aPLT-hV

[itsokaytobesmart]

Books don’t get old. They get better.

[lands-uncharted]

[lejazzhot]

#SASS