wordswithvivian

As you should all know by now, President Obama was elected for his second term in the White House. As always, it was a very close race. This year, there were 8 swing states: Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. I was at my boyfriend’s apartment watching different news station to get the latest news on the polls and of course, Facebook and Twitter were blowing up. With the power of social media, it is easier than ever to get your ideas across a large audience whether they are you friends or your followers. What I noticed from my friends and followers was that many of them had nothing positive to say about either of the Presidential candidates, especially when the electoral votes and popular votes were being counted. Granted, there were a few people who said nice things about both candidates but only about a handful. Now you may remember my past blog post about many of my peers have negative as well positive things to say about the Presidential election…except this time the feedback was much more inappropriate! I know, it’s hard to believe. There is a FINE line between standing your ground/supporting your position and classlessly insulting the other party or parties. Honestly, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it! Again, I’d like to give props to my generation for being so outspoken and staying update on the election but some people just don’t know how to be nice.

Take a look at some of the posts I came across while I was watching the polls:

YIKES! This guy’s tweet is so drastic that I feel like he is mocking someone. At least I hope he is.

At lot of people that opposed President Obama’s second term decided they were moving to Canada or Australia. I highly doubt it will actually happen.

This is one of multiple status updates from this person. He just seemed to throw a lot of cuss words around, but seriously? Someone’s a drama queen.

THIS is more like it! Positive thoughts people!

This one was definitely one of my favorites.

This past Monday, I attended a screening of GASLAND, a documentary about hydraulic fracturing, popularly known as “fracking.” This industry has become the largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history. The film premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and won six major awards. Directed, narrated, and filmed by Josh Fox, the film was centered on the process of “fracking” and how it is negatively affecting various towns in the United States due to the large number, 596 to be exact, chemicals used during the process. To put it in to simpler terms, fracking creates fractures from a wellbore, which is any hole drilled for the purpose of exploration or extraction of natural resources, drilled into reservoir rock formations. Fox was inspired and prompted to develop this documentary when he was asked to lease his land for drilling. While traveling all over the country, Fox was set out to discover the trail of secrets, lies, and contamination involved with this process.

Although I have known that drilling for natural gas in the United States was a very controversial topic, I never knew exactly why and what effects it entailed. The main issue addressed in the documentary was how the drilling sites affected those who lived near them. When I say near, I mean within clear view of the drilling site. Due to the considerable amount of chemicals “needed” for this process, many of these residents’ water is becoming contaminated to the point that several cases of cancer and brain damage have been reported. Their water had such high levels of chemicals that many people were able to set their tap water on fire as it was coming out of the faucet. Clearly this water is dangerous and undrinkable. There were a couple of families that even went as far was buying 500-gallon tanks and filling them with water from the nearest city.

The documentary also focused on the corporate side of this issue. One of Fox’s main goals was to speak to a CEO or someone of high position in these industries but he was turned down almost 100% of the time. He even went to various corporate offices and asked the employees if they would drink the water samples and all of them said now. My question is how can these large corporations keep drilling for natural gas if they clearly know the consequences? Many people are left without clean water, a necessity for living. The least they could do was make an appearance in Fox’s documentary and act like they care.

So it’s almost halfway through my junior year of college and I’m starting to realize that time really does go by quickly. As cliché as it may sound, I remember coming to orientation at St. Ed’s like it was yesterday. Now, I’m only a few days away from turning 21 and a few months away from being a senior. I guess I’ve learned a few things here and there from all these classes…just kidding, I’ve learned a lot but I’d like to focus on the life lessons I’ve learned while being in college. Warning: this might be the cheesiest, most sentimental post ever so if you’re not in to that kind of stuff just stop here.

One thing I have to constantly tell myself is that I’m here to get an education. I’m not here to impress anyone. I’m just here better prepare myself for the future. Telling myself this shifts my focus from little annoyances to doing my school work. It’s also my motivation to get that 4.0 I have been trying so hard for.

I’ve also learned ways to make myself a better person in general. Whenever I find myself in a stressful situation, whether it’s with school, my family, or my friends, I just tell myself that everything is going to be okay. Saying those 6 words to yourself may sound a little crazy but it definitely helps. If you have a positive attitude, you’re going to get a positive outcome. ALWAYS focus on your strengths rather than your weaknesses. Although it is hard to find positivity in a pool of negativity, it is possible. Determination and motivation are key. I’m too blessed to be stressed and so are you. 

Another lesson I have learned is that other people’s opinions of you really should not matter. I wish I would have learned this a lot sooner like in high school…I would have saved myself from a lot of anxiety over things that don’t even matter any more. If people are going to judge you by your clothes or your material possessions, they are definitely not worth your time. They only see you as what you have, not who you are. If you go through life trying to impress others, you are never going to be satisfied and neither are they, so just save yourself the time and make yourself happy, that’s what truly matters. When you find people who truly like you for who you are, you’ll definitely know it. Keep those people around. They’re good for your soul.

I could honestly go on for a while but I’ll keep it short. Maybe I’ll do a part two. You can definitely count on me rereading this post in my times of need. With that said, I’d like to leave you with a quote. It’s one of my favorites and will stick in my heart forever.

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” -Dr. Seuss

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