A Plugged-In World

So the curse of being in Newton four times a week is that means that I'm on the T for about four hours per week (about half an hour each way). At least. But this means that I'm left alone with my thoughts, and so here's a thought that I've had:

EVERYONE IS PLUGGED IN.

It's really ridiculous. I mean, yes, I am also guilty of putting in my own iPod headphones, whether it's to learn new Zamir repertoire, listen to tunes to calm my nerves after a long day, or to listen to Halakha Yomit on the way to class in the morning. And once in a while, that's fine. And for traveling, that's okay, too. But how are we supposed to encourage natural human interaction on a regular basis if we have something else speaking into our ears every second of every day?

To tell the truth, it's not even the people on the T who bug me the most. It's the people who come to buy something in CampCo with buds in their ears. Who knows how loud they're blasting that stuff, whatever it is? They give you a bottle of something to ring up, you give them the price, they clearly don't listen to you, and when you ask them, "Would you like a bag?" or "Would you like a copy of your receipt?" (which are questions that we ask every customer), they don't even acknowledge that you're talking to them. Chances are, they don't know that you are. At least people should have the common courtesy to unplug to interact with others.

The same goes for cell phones. Yeah, I talk on the phone a lot, as I know many others do. But if you're going to go up to a counter to purchase something, you shouldn't try to do that and talk at the same time. I can't say how many times I've had the urge to hug, or at leat thank, someone who said to the person on the other end of the line to "hold on," or, "I'm doing something, can I call you back in two minutes?".

But I digress. Going back to the fact that everyone's eardrums are vibrating every second of every day, we'll see where that takes us as a society. Most, if not all, of us in college grew up in the 80's and 90's, in which, yeah, there were CD players, but those are a bit hefty and weren't so convenient to carry around with us all the time (unless you knew you only wanted to listen to one CD for your entire outing). Now, you can upload days worth of music onto a device about the size of a box of cigarettes, sometimes even smaller.

Is this going to be detrimental to the social interaction of our children? Hopefully, parents will be wise enough to know not to allow their children to be plugged in all the time, but it will be more and more difficult to facilitate extroversion in children. On the other hand, children now have cell phones too. Is it a fashion statement or actually functional? I didn't have a cell phone until 11th grade: is there a reason that a third grader needs one? Where are parents leaving their seven and eight year old children that they think the children need cell phones?

Okay, so maybe I didn't accomplish what I really wanted to get at in this rant. But that's what it was -- a rant. Leave comments one way or the other, if you want.

Back in Beantown! YAY!

This is SO RIDICULOUS... I'm SO EXCITED to be back here.

I remember exactly one year ago today (Thursday... which is technically today because it's after midnight but really tomorrow) I was embarking on a journey that I was so nervous about it made me sick to my stomach: Was I going to make friends? Was I going to fit in? Was I going to have to hole myself up for the whole semester just studying because I couldn't keep up with the work?... oy.

I got back here today and it feels like coming home. To a family. Granted, I have my family at home... my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister. But I feel like I have family here now, too. I walked into Hillel and immediately found friendly faces. These are the people that keep me sane, that keep me in one piece. Last year, I had barely known these people for more than two months, and they accepted me for who I was, whether or not my mind was shattered into a million bits. A friend said once, "I love you for who you are -- the baggage is not what defines you, it comes with the package." The first time I have a family of friends to come home to.

I'm looking forward to what comes this year. Chazak V'Ametz -- it can only get better from here.

Back to School....

I'm going back to school!! YAY!

Really, I never thought I would love living anywhere but home as much as I LOVE living in Boston. It's really such a wonder, but so wonderful. I'm almost done packing up the car and my heart is fluttering with anticipation.

Back in Beantown very soon!

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Blog: A Revival

So, I figured I should start writing again. Not because I actually need people to read it, but because it's good to keep me sane. Writing is really personal. It's the only way we get true insight into the heart and mind of another human being. Coming from someone who paints, draws, sings, and speaks, I tell you that this is true.

* Speaking is always hampered by vocal blocks. A lot of the time, what I want to say, especially if it's serious or needs to be said, gets blocked when it tries to travel from my brain to my vocal chords. I think twice about what I want to say. Sometimes this is to my advantage, sometimes it is a grave disadvantage that I cannot stop.

* Painting and drawing, and even singing, are up to personal interpretation. They get interpreted based on what the viewer sees in them. The viewer projects his or her own exterience onto the piece, therefore gaining deeper understanding of himself or herself, not the insights into the mind of the artist.

Writing, however, is different. The work of a good writer, especially in a time of heating thinking and being, will show you the gateways into the depths of the writer herself (or himself). It's like looking into his or her eyes so deeply that you can read the soul's poetry off the back of the retina. Writing can be universal; it can pertain to each person. But read in the right mind, it also has the ability to really comprehend the graffiti in the mind of the writer.