LifeScript

Somehow I got signed up for these daily emails called "Lifescript." I've still yet to figure out if something I signed up for gave this website my email address, or if someone else signed me up, but all I know is one day back in probably October of last year I just started getting these emails. I haven't unsubscribed from it though because they usually have some interesting reads in them. Each time there is a "feature" article (which is typically a longer read) and then there is a recipe and then two more shorter articles (which are each usually geared toward recent research findings. The whole email is related to health. Either physical health, mental health, social health, etc. I enjoy the variety of reads it supplies, so as I'm going through a few of my "backed-up" issues today, I'm going to post a few articles here that I found to be interesting and you can click on any that seem to intrigue you:

Heavy Men May Be Less Apt to Commit Suicide

Obese Couples Have a Tougher Time Having Babies

Beach in a Bottle: We Test 5 Bronzers

The Skinny on Alcohol: Not All Drinks are Created Equal

Eating Disorders Experts Prescribes New Pursuits

Can You Be Single and Happy

Second-Hand Smoke Riskier for Black Children: Study

Whole-Fat Milk Products May Help Women Conceive

Period Pain? Ibuprofen (Advil) Better Than Acetaminophen (Tylenol)

Over-the-Counter Weight Loss Drug Wins Approval

Altruists Have Different Brains

Big Purses Put Strain on Women's Health

Being Blue Hurts the Heart

Inspirations for the Dieter's Soul

Cigarettes Packing More Nicotine

Low Education Raises Women's Stroke Risk

Nicotine Hand Gel Hits Stores

Pet Owners Tend to Be Fatter

Would You Rather...

This is a new blog series I'm going to start and plan to continue weekly on Wednesdays. I came up with the idea a few minutes ago while showering (yes, that's where I come up with all sorts of fun things...HA!) I was pondering some thoughts and I caught myself thinking the phrase, "would I rather _______ or ______" and then that immediately "took me back"....

My junior and senior years of undergraduate were spent living with 3 wonderful ladies. We often would play sporactic games such as "Truth or truth" (which is basically "Truth or Dare" where you substitute a second "truth" option for the "dare"...HA! I guess you can say we just got tired of running outside around our apartment complex in our underwear...HA!) or "Would you rather...."

Both games were common occurences when we would have "roommate dinner nights" all together. I can't remember many of the ones we used, but I think one time the "Would you rather..." consisted of "would you rather have terrible/uncontrolable gas or ______." I can't recall the "blank" but I'm sure it was a really tough one to choose between! HA!

Anyways, the first installment of this blog series will actually include two "would you rathers" because I would love to hear your opinion taken two different situations....so....

Would you rather...

[as a parent] have a child who is smart, yet rude and disrespectful...

or...

have a child who is not the brightest, yet is very polite and well-mannered?

For the first child, think about the kids you've met before that might be from a real rich family and they are getting great education, they have parents working with constantly, so they are actually very smart children, but at the same time, they are spoiled and never disciplined, so they can be rude and disrespectful. That's just an example of "child #1"

For the second child, think about that kid that he/she is just so cute because they are always so gentle and polite to everyone, but at the same time, they don't have the common sense of a rock and they typically just don't know the right answers in school/life. They are usually the kids you find yourself saying "Well bless his/her heart. He's so sweet, but he just doesn't understand." That's the example of "child #2."

Soo...you're the parent. Would you rather have Child #1 or Child #2?

Second part...

Would you rather...

[as a teacher] have a classroom of children who are smart, yet rude and disrespectful...

or...

have a classroom of children who are not the brightest, yet are very polite and well-mannered?

Whether you are an actual teacher in real life or not, feel free to answer this. Imagine if you were the teacher in front of a class. Which group of children do you feel you would rather lead? And if you are a teacher in real life, feel free to note that in your response, because you've most likely run into both types of students in your classes before, so you can speak from experience of which was more of a pleasure to teach.

Uhh....Yeah.

Do you ever just feel like people sometimes are just "humoring" you, or going along with what you say because they feel sorry for you? Or you feel they are thinking to theirselves what a loser you are?

Like in a situation where you seem so excited or happy about something and you're like, "doesn't that sound like fun!!!?!?" and because they are your friend they reply with "Uhh...yeah, that sounds like fun." But at the same time you could swear they are thinking to their self "You've GOT to be kidding me?!"

Sometimes I really just wonder how much my friends simply humor me to be nice.

"If Everyone Cared"

I love all types of music. I'll listen to just about anything. But typically my interest in musical lyrics comes from a more limited amount of music.

I can't say I have much interest in the lyrical make-up of many of the rap/R&B songs I listen too, as I don't find much interest in lyrics directly mostly toward the sexual nature that many songs are geared toward nowadays. Many times I'm not a huge fan of lyrics of what I like to think of as yelling-white-guy-rock-bands. Don't get me wrong, I usually still enjoy listening to those songs, but usually the yelling nature I feel they involve keeps me from truly "hearing" the lyrics and following them. So I still like Fallout Boy and Good Charlotte and The All American Rejects and so forth, and I'll listen to their songs that are played on the radio, and I'll even sing along to typically just the chorus part that I will end up learning, but that's about it.

But recently I've taken an interest in the lyrics of one of those "yelling-white-guy-rock-band" group's song lyrics.

The group is Nickelback and the song is their most recent radio hit--"If Everyone Cared."

I love the chorus of it which goes like this...

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

It had me thinking the other day as I was singing along: I wonder which of those would be the hardest to get to happen in our world today?

To get people to always "care"?

To never have to "cry" for the purpose of sad tears again?

To get people to always "love" everyone?

To get people to never "lie" again?

To get the world and all "share"?

To get people to always "swallow their pride"?

We all have struggles in most likely all of those areas. But which would be the toughest for you?

Maybe you struggle with lying. Maybe you find yourself sad a majority of the time and not crying is something can't see yourself going without. Of maybe selfishness has a hold on you and you struggle with sharing--giving of your time or sharing what you have with others or putting someone before yourself.

I'm pretty sure the toughest one for me would be to "swallow my pride." I've always been a prideful person; one that's confident in one's self and prides one's self in feeling she can usually rely on herself to get through things. To swallow my pride and ask for help or to admit I'm wrong--difficult tasks. But at the same time, I am learning to get better at these things. I think it comes with experiences we are faced with in life. As I'm getting older and learning more and more about REAL LIFE day after day, I'm working on "swallowing pride" and being content with that.

I think it would make for a more interesting world "If Everyone Cared" more...

Differences...

Sometimes I think I think myself into problems...HA! I laugh, because it sounds ridiculous, but I'm pretty sure it's true. I don't know if entertainment through extensive thought can be a "fault" but if so, I'm guilty.

Situation:
A friend of mine has brought to my attention that she believes she and I are opposites on many things. Having never really given it any thought, I gave it some, and then gave-up on what the opposites could be and asked for a list of what she thought were our "opposites." I was given a list. Now I agree, they are differences between us, but at the same time, I realized I had never really given them much thought, or considered that point that we are different on them. I mean I guess I've acknowledged them to a point, but was just kinda like "whatever."

Extensive thoughts:
So lately I've found myself entertaining my past-time of thinking-more-into-things-than-I-probably-should, and I found myself thinking, "it's people being different from you that makes people not like people--that makes people dislike groups of individuals." For instance...

Think about gays. Think about groups of a different race. Hate toward gays comes from non-gays. Hate toward blacks comes from non-blacks. You get the picture--it's from those that are opposite that the hate is developed.

So are people that are "opposite" more likely to love or to hate?

I mean I'm sure the importance of the subject for which the two are "opposite" plays a large role. So what if you're different in a subject area that makes up a big part of one of the people's life, such as religious beliefs? I mean it's one thing to have one person's favorite band be the Dixie Chicks and the other person can't stand to hear the name, but it's another thing when one person's life is guided by his/her belief in God while the other person questions His existence in the first place.

Do "opposites" really attract? Or are friendships stronger when they are based on similarities?

Death

I'm interested in thoughts concerning death. Just anything in relation to it...

My Big 5 Personaly Results

This is my "Big 5" results according to some little test I found on a friend's myspace. Yep, believe it or not, I occasionally check a few of my friend's myspace pages that I know aren't set to "private." But don't worry...I don't have an account myself...HA!

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have high extroversion. You are outgoing and engaging, with both strangers and friends. You truly enjoy being with people and bring energy into any situation. Enthusiastic and fun, you're the first to say "let's go!" Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test