Woot!!

I apologize for the spamming of posts, but...I GOT ACCEPTED INTO EMERSON!!!!!

If you know about it, chances are you know more than I do. But from what I know, Emerson has a kick ass writing program, which is beneficial for me as I plan on becoming an author.

I just wanted to share that good news.

Woot!!!!

Simplicity

About twenty minutes ago I was rejected from Wheaton College. The funny thing is that instead of being down about this news, I was actually quite relieved. Yesterday I was wait listed at another college that I applied to and I wasn't even sure what to do with that news. In fact, I still don't know if I should be sad or not; I don't know what to make of it. But rejection is simple, it's a decision that I can live with. At first I thought that it was in its finality that I liked rejection, but then I thought that if I had been accepted, I would have one more option to to confuse me as I chose my college. So really, I think I like this rejection because of its simplicity; this wasn't a college that I wanted to go to intensely, it was just a "why not?' type of application. So not being accepted here simplifies my decision immensely for me.

I guess the entire point of this post is this statement.

Yay for simplicity!

For the price of two cups of tea

Tonight I went to J. Gilligan's to see The Friday Crew and raise money for MGM. Needless to say, the tiny little bar&grill was packed, standing room only. The dozen or so waitresses were slammed by high school kids downing soda after soda or people not ordering anything at all. A few got very snippy, but one, the one who just happened to be our waitress, didn't let the crowd faze her. Without questions she checked to see if the cheesecake was strawberry-free (I'm horribly allergic), which it wasn't, and she felt truly sorry. So sorry that she found a cheesecake Hershey's Kiss in the back and brought it out to me. The fact that she remembered that and thought of me (one of many teenager, who supposedly tip horribly) even though she had so many other customers with better tipping reputations, really made me smile. That little Kiss was the highlight of an already amazing night. She also didn't charge us for two of our drinks! I could have hugged her if she didn't have a tray full of beer and several annoyed customers. We don't even know each others' names, but that tiny, seemingly insignificant deed will stay with me for a long time to come.

Thank you very much, Gilligan's waitress.
Thank you.

i used to love these "love is..."comics when i was little. i remember them coming in candy wrappers and i collected them for a while. they are so cute and sweet and true and always bring a smile to my face. this one up here ^^ should update daily if i put the html in correctly. enjoy!

A new perspective.

This is good news I guess. We're all fairly intellectual 'round here. Tomas Kalnoky and his wicked gang have shelled out yet another masterpiece. Seriously. I know it's ska, but, have a listen, give the lyrics a read-through, and your life will be seriously altered. You'll see things from a different vantage point. Yes, the album is pessimistic, however, you will encounter your optimism. This album has seriously made me take a minute and look at life. They band is not against downloading music, so go ahead and limewire it, or I can give it to you. This is good news I hope.

-Nick

hardwired for happiness

"Scientists Spot 'Optimism' in Brain"

By Associated Press
SETH BORENSTEIN
Updated: 10/25/2007
WASHINGTON

A person's optimism in the future seems to be controlled by a small front part of the mid-brain, according to a study that used brain imaging.

That area deep behind the eyes activates when people think good thoughts about what might happen in the future. The more optimistic a person is, the brighter the area showed up in brain scans, the scientists reported in a small study published online Thursday in the journal Nature.

That same part of the brain, called the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), seems to malfunction in people suffering depression, said the study co-authors, Elizabeth Phelps of New York University and Tali Sharot of University College London.

Researchers gave 15 people functional magnetic resonance imaging scans while they thought about future possibilities. When the participants thought about good events both the rACC and amygdala, which is involved in emotional responses including fear, were activated. But the correlation with optimism was biggest with the cingulate cortex.

The same study also found that people tended to think that happier events were closer in time and more vivid than the bad ones, even if they had no reason to believe it, Phelps said.

Psychologists have long known people have an ''optimism bias,'' but the new study offers new details.

When researchers asked the subjects to think about 80 different future events that could be good, bad or neutral, they had a hard time getting people to think negatively, or even neutrally, about the future. For example, when people were asked to ponder a future haircut, they imagined getting the best haircut of their lives, instead of just an ordinary trim, Phelps said.

The study makes sense and pulls together new and different parts of research on optimism and the brain, said Dan Schacter, a professor of psychology at Harvard University who wasn't part of the research.

Having our brains wired to optimism is generally a good thing because ''if you were pessimistic about the future you would not be motivated to take a lot of action,'' Phelps said.

Even on the most stressful days, it always seems easier to slip into happiness than to stay upset.
Be happy!

Talking to People is Really Depressing

So life has been going pretty well lately. My stress week has finally past, and my car wash made $150 (!!) and I finally lost some weight!! Woot for life. And the other day, I got my ACT scores back (finally), I got a 32!!, which doesn’t sound impressive, but since I am in the top one percentile and the top score is 36, I’d say I did pretty good. I was feeling pretty good about myself, until I talked to a couple of my friends. One friend told me that he got a 35 on his ACT, and that his lowest subject score was the same as my top subject score. (The ACT has four separate scores that are then used to find the composite score. The highest score for all of them is 36.) My other friend said that she had lost ten pounds and still wanted to lose more (and she is skinny!). Another one tells me that $150 dollars is only a fourth of what we need and another reminds me that I still have my Extended Essay (an IB thing), IB winter commentaries, SAT subject tests, and All Region to prepare for. So that elation I had been feeling was destroyed in like a day. But I guess that’s a good thing, otherwise I wouldn’t be worrying about practicing, studying, reading, researching, or even working out right now. So even though talking to people can really deflate one’s mood, I guess it’s necessary for us to function properly.

If knowledge is power and ignorance is bliss…

Then are the weak happy?