Talk to your Parents

Every year I get back to college, I feel homesick. It’s usually toughest during the first week back. When I feel down, I call my mother. When I’m done talking, I feel much better.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re calling me every name in the book from “mama’s boy” to “softie.”

Hey, call me whatever. I don’t care. And that’s the same attitude everyone should have regarding their parents.

Many people take parents for granted. We only get one mother and father; so appreciate them. Take time each day to call your parents.

I have an obligation to talk to my mother every day. It’s something about hearing my mother’s voice that changes my day. Talking to her boosts my spirits.

College kids, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call your parents. Who knows? They may need to hear your voice as much as you need to hear theirs.

One day, I asked a young man on campus when he last spoke to his parents. He said it had been a little over a week.

I thought to myself: How can anyone go that long without speaking to their parents? Not me.

I know everyone doesn’t have a strong relationship with their parents. I know some kids blame their parents for a lot of their issues. But, get over it. Don’t let those issues be the reason for lack of contact.

Not only talk to your parents, but tell them you love them. Believe me, they love you. If they didn’t love you, you wouldn’t be in college. If they didn’t love you, you wouldn’t have a place to stay when you go home. If they didn’t love you, how would you have that nice Lexus?

Exactly.

Parents want to see appreciation for everything they’ve done for you. And expressing your love will make them aware.

College students have a lot of issues, ranging from academic to social. They tend to keep their feelings bottled up. This trend has to stop. What better individuals to go to than your parents?

That’s what they’re here for.

Anyways, start treating you parents like you do your girlfriend or boyfriend. If you have a requirement to talk to him/her every day, why can’t you have the same obligation regarding your parents?

It’s not fair to only call your parents when you need something. That’s a use job. When you only call for special reasons, it sends a bad signal. Your mentality is: I really don’t want to talk to you, but I have to because I need you for something. Parents have feelings too. And they have every reason to be hurt when you only call for reasons like this.

Anyways, take heed to what I said. How about picking the phone up now? What do you have to lose?

Be Smart at Night

A few nights ago, stupid me decided to take a walk in the snow. Boredom caused me to say “hey, let’s go to the gym.”

As I get closer to the gym, the dumber I see myself. First, it’s snowing. And when I get to the gym, it’s closed due to inclement weather. I should have known it would close early.

Anyways, to make a long story short: Don’t make the same mistake I made. Be smart concerning your safety. There have been a lot of robberies on campus the past few years; and most of them happen at night.

This blog goes for males and females. Don’t go out unless you have to. And if you have to, hitch a ride or walk with a friend.

I know what you’re thinking: “Doesn’t this idiot realize we know this already?”

Yeah, I realize it; but for some reason people don’t get it. They still take chances thinking nothing will happen to them. I think the same way; which is the reason I went out the other night.

People walk at night like they’re untouchable. They say “nobody’s going to mess with me” or “I don’t have anything anyone wants.”

When they get robbed, they want to blame everyone but themselves. I hope people get smarter regarding this situation.

We live in a dangerous world where people don’t care. These days, a person won’t hesitate to pull a trigger or punch someone in the mouth. I know because I’ve seen most of it. I grew up in a tough neighborhood.

When people find out someone gets robbed, they either take it as a joke or brush it off. This is not a laughing matter. I’ve never been robbed, but I can imagine it’s a traumatic experience.

This is a problem that can be fixed. The smarter people get regarding their safety, the less it will take place.

And for the people who ignore this blog, keep a few things in mind. When you’re walking, stay alert. Don’t walk nonchalantly with headphones on or looking down at your phone. These things can wait until arrival at your destination. Look out for any suspicious activity. If you notice something ahead of time, do whatever you can to prevent it. And always look behind you.

People also make the mistake of walking on side streets at night. That’s a no-no. Stay on a street where there’s a lot of activity.

Like you, I must learn to do these things. You should keep what I said to you in mind. Care about your safety as much as you care about your family. In the end, family members will feel the pain of getting robbed as much as you.

Play Intramurals

This school year, I’ve had the pleasure of participating in intramurals for the first time. After two years of wondering what the experience is like, I finally got the opportunity.

If not for my roommate, I’d still be wondering. He signed us up for basketball. There was no way I would pass this opportunity up.

We’ve had our ups and downs as a team, but it doesn’t matter. We’re not getting paid and we’re not an official team. We do it for fun.

I wonder why other college kids don’t try intramural sports. As a matter of fact, I know why.

There’s the belief that intramural sports are inferior to intercollegiate athletics. Students are too prideful for intramural sports.

I must admit: Pride was one of the reasons I hesitated to play my first two years. When I first got to college, I was determined to join Lehigh’s football or basketball team. No one could tell me I wasn’t good enough. No one could stop me from trying out.

 Graciously, I came to my senses and didn’t try out.

Anyways, I encourage people to try intramurals. There is nothing to lose. I promise.

It doesn’t have to be basketball or football. Intramurals range from volleyball to frisbee. Intramurals are a league Of their own. They have the potential to make you feel as if you’re playing in front of 20,000 people with a national championship on the line. The competitive nature of intramurals makes me feel this way every time I step on the court.

Playing intramurals is the one time you feel like a pro athlete. When you get this feeling, it juices you up. You want to put it all on the line.

You can’t get these feelings sitting in your room wishing you had the potential of high-profile athletes.

I know how it feels to go to a basketball game and wish that was you on the court scoring at-will. I know how it feels to go to a football game wishing that was you running for a touchdown. And believe me, I still get these feelings. But intramurals have helped me ease the pain.

I know intercollegiate athletics are not in my future. I know the NFL or NBA will never happen for me.

But I won’t let it stop me from enjoying sports. That’s the same mentality everyone should have.

Folks, don’t feel embarrassed to play intramurals. No one is going to shun you. Just give it a shot. You never know what can happen.

Who knows? Maybe a coach will walk by one day and see your skills. Once he/she sees how good you are, maybe they’ll invite you for a tryout.

Now don’t get your hopes up too much. I was just throwing it out there.

Enjoy reading

One day, as I was passing time between classes, I headed to the bookstore. Of course, I went to the sports section and glanced over a few magazines.

Ok, I did more than glance. I actually read a few articles.

But anyways, those magazines did something positive for me. After I finished reading, I felt refreshed and my head was clear of clutter.

What these magazines did for me is what they can do for everyone else. I encourage everyone to take a break from their daily routines and pick up a newspaper or magazine.

Folks, don’t view my suggestion as a task; view it as a hobby.

I read a newspaper or magazine any time I can. When I need to clear my mind of school, I pick up one. It not only refreshes me, but I see things from a different perspective.

Before I pick up a newspaper, I’m either stress or tired.

However, something about the paper energizes me. I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t matter.

While I’m reading, a feeling of freedom overtakes me. It’s the one point during the day where I’m doing optional work.

When reading for a class assignment, you have to read every piece of information. You even scan over a few paragraphs multiple times due to fear of missing important information.

However, when you read a newspaper, you can read whatever you want. You won’t get penalized if you don’t know what happened in the city next to you. You won’t get penalized if you don’t know the day’s temperature. You won’t get penalized if you don’t know the score to a game.

You get the picture.

The newspaper experience is enhanced because you read whatever section you want. You have the choice of local news, lifestyle, sports, and much more.

The newspaper has something for everybody.

And for those with the bogus excuse of sitting behind a desk on a computer all day: Newspapers and magazines can be accessed online.

 I find myself reading online more than print news.

Whenever I’m doing school work online and need a break, I go to my hometown’s newspaper site to read none other than sports.

Keeping up with the Giants, Jets, and Nets (sigh) is a must. OK, let me get back to the point.

Reading something that reminds me of home gives me a sense of freedom. Being in college can seem like jail at times.

When reading my hometown newspaper online, the shackles come off for a moment. It’s one of the few times in school where I feel at home.

If newspapers and magazines do this for me, I know they can do the same for everyone else. They won’t make everybody feel the same things I feel, but they’ll help in some way.

Guaranteed.

Who wants to party?

Hello folks, it’s Friday and you know what that means. The weekend has started. And you know what that means. It’s party time. Not for me specifically. It’s too cold. If I go out, you better believe my jacket is coming with me.

And who parties with a jacket on?

I’ll wait. Exactly.

Partying for me has decreased of late. I don’t know why but I can’t get myself to go out. Couldn’t say that as a freshman. Partying was my life freshman year, which is probably why it has decreased.

You get tired of partying with the same people all the time. As a freshman, upperclassmen told the reasons they stopped going out. I looked at them like they were crazy.

When they told me the reasons I thought to myself: How could anyone stop partying at a school like Lehigh?

Now I understand why. The same reasons they stopped are the same reasons I cut back. It comes with age.

Anyways, the Lehigh Valley got more snow this week. Big surprise. Not.

Snow has hit the Northeast hard this winter. I can’t recall ever shoveling so much snow. Graciously, I didn’t have to shovel this week, which reminds me of something.

I want to thank all the workers who find time to clear the pathways on campus. They faithfully show up and work hard to make our travels safe. If it wasn’t for them, St. Luke’s Hospital would be full of Lehigh people.

Every member of the Lehigh community should take time and show the workers some appreciation. The workers don’t have to do what they do.

They not only show up when it snows. They’re on campus constantly doing whatever they can to make life better for us.

So what if they get paid. They do an excellent job.

The beginning-of-the-semester blues have hit me hard this week. At the start of every semester, I get bored. The professors don’t assign a lot of work, so there’s not a lot for me to do.

In past semesters, I forced myself to work to help relieve the boredom. Not this semester. I will appreciate the lack of work this time around.

Towards the middle of the semester, I’ll be begging for the relaxation I enjoyed this week.

This week, I got the chance to watch a few TV shows I haven’t seen in a while. It was good to have a few good laughs. I needed those laughs to ease the back-to-school adjustment. Winter break spoils me. I spend so much time around family and friends that I forget about school.

When I get back to school, it’s a smack-in-the-face.

In a gym state of mind

Hello world…. It’s Wednesday, which means no class for me. What am I going to do with my time today?

I’m pretty sure I’ll find something…. there’s always plenty for me to do.

I’m a little sore right now. I’ve been to the gym twice this week.

The gym has been packed all week. Of course it will be packed this week. It’s what everyone has come to expect. Students come back to school talking a bunch of bull about how big they’ll get this semester. They lift hard and remain dedicated for two weeks at the most. After the first two weeks of the semester, a person knows who the serious ones are.

You wanna knows what’s funny?

The serious ones are the same ones every semester.

This point about the gym goes back to a point I made the other day regarding New Year’s resolutions. Everybody talks a big game, but only few walk the walk.

When will more people talk the talk?

Hopefully, one of those people will be me. I admit my guilt because I talk a lot of smack about the gym too. Getting muscular has always been one of my dreams, but it’s hard for me to stay dedicated to the gym. That’s a bad habit of mines that I must break this semester.

My goal is to stay as dedicated to the gym as possible. Not just this semester, but every semester. Yesterday was a huge step considering how tired I was after class ended ( at 12 noon).

Yeah, I know what you’re saying.

12 Noon is kind of early. Why is he tired at 12 noon?

Well smarty, classes start at 7:55 for me on Tuesdays and Thursday.

How much more brutal can this university get?

The registrar’s office needs to start thinking from the students’ perspective. That same class could’ve been at 12:10 (or even later).

But anyway, I was able to make it to the gym and finish my day. Okay, so I cheated a little bit by taking a short nap. So what? If it wasn’t for that nap, I’d be walking backwards without knowing it. That nap allowed me to play basketball in the evening. Going to the gym twice yesterday was not in my plans. But hay, naps will do that for a person.

Oh yeah I forgot. I actually watched a TV show the other night. It’s been a while since I watched a TV show.

What did I watch?

Sanford and Son. Who cares the show is old. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ll take Sanford and Son over a lot of modern TV shows.

OK, my Wednesday blog is coming to an end. I still don’t know what I’m going to do.

Any suggestions?

Ah, never mind. I forgot how much homework I have to do.

Winter Break

Man, winter break is over. Could've used another week. But it's ok because it's time to get back to work.

My break was ok. Got a lot of rest but most importantly, I got to spend time with my family. You can never get enough of family.

But anyways, let's talk a little about my break. Boy, was it a break. A restful break at that. I never thought I would get tired of watching TV. I didn't have much to do, so TV was one of few options. Yeah, you may be saying this guy is crazy.

You may be asking: Who gets tired of watching TV? Only an idiot like me.

In a few weeks, I'll be begging for any chance to sit in front of the tube. So I need to be grateful.

Ok...let me stop horsing around. I did a lot more than watch TV over break. I wanted to feel sorry for myself for a moment. We all get moments like that, don’t we?

The mall was one of my frequent stops over the break. It's amazing how so many people go to the mall just to walk around. Numerous individuals walked around bag-less. Some didn't even bother to look in the stores' display windows. How crazy is that?

Ok, why did I spend so much time watching others?

Because I was one of those individuals. LOL

It got so bad for me that I went to the mall with no money. I just went for the ride. How stupid of me? I definitely need to make better use of my time.

I also got the chance to take in a New Jersey Nets basketball game.

My Nets are at an all-time low. It is embarrassing to be a Nets fan these days. I won't even talk about the game. SMH

I should slap myself. How could I devote an entire blog to Winter break and not talk about Christmas until now?

What a shame on my part.

My Christmas was pretty good. I should have let my mother get me a new TV. I don’t know what I was thinking when I turned that offer down.

My TV’s condition is grim. You know you need a new TV when you have to tape the extension cord in order for it to work. How embarrassing.

Anyway, it’s now 2011 folks. Yes, it’s another new year. It’s the time of the year when you hear a bunch of bull. The time when you hear about every one’s New Year’s resolutions.

People say they’ll do this, they’ll do that; but they never do it.

Well, I won’t renege on my resolution. Everyone who reads this blog is a witness to that.

My resolution is to open the year with a bang of a blog. And I must say, I think I’m doing a whale of a job. I must be because you’re still reading. LOL