"So What If I Like Pretty Things" or "The Ubiquitous List Of Gratitude"

I am thankful for...

...The Mountain Goats
...being able to be there for my friends
...my sister
...James McDaniel
...StumbleUpon
...potluck dinners
...my parents
...Rilo Kiley
...protein synthesis
...Lindsey Mullen
...The Mates of State
...handwritten letters to Darfuri refugees
...Apwonjo
...libraries
...Linn Groft
...movies
...space heaters
...Disney
...kissing
...soft blankets
...winter
...Christmas
...NPR
...Faulkner
...poetry
...Ryan Scruggs
...soup
...cumulus clouds
...Laura Bradburn
...Iggy& The Stooges
...Jimmy Stewart
...lolcats
...Ira Colvin and my wonderful job
...Ryan Spain
...The Kendricks
...Lydia Atkins
...calendars
...notebooks
...pencils
...pillows
...Alex Cornett
...cameras
...thrift stores
...polka-dots
...my dogs
...Gribbin House
...birds
...Andy Griffith
...Ella Fitzgerald
...Logan Yates
...Walt Whitman
...Kat Wood
...Liz Mitchell
...holding hands
...picnics
...grandparents
...Montgomery
...Forrest Gump
...Barack Obama
...evolution
...mitochondria
...children
...play-dough
...crayons
...candles
...lightbulbs
...rain
...Ryan Cooper

<3gen

"I'm Starting To Think That Everything I Do Annoys You" or "Sentimental Heart, by She&Him"

Cried all night 'til there was nothin' more
What use am I as a heap on the floor?
Heaving devotion but it's just no good
taking it hard just like you knew I would

O-o-old habits die hard when you got,
when you got a sentimental heart
Piece of the puzzle, you're my missing part
Oh what can you do with a sentimental heart?

Cried all night 'til there was nothin' more
What use am i as a heap on the floor
Heaving devotion but it's just no good
Taking it hard just like you knew I would

O-o-old habits die hard
When you got, when you got a sentimental heart
Piece of the puzzle, I'm your missing part
Oh what can you do with a sentimental heart?
Oh what can you do with a sentimental heart?
Oh what can you do with a sentimental heart?

"To Whom It May Concern" or "The Year Of Collapsed Lungs"

Dear Genevieve,

It has recently come to our attention that the event that you have worked so diligently on has come to fruition. We hear that you were successful in educating your campus about the genocide in Darfur, and for that, we applaud you. However, due to your dedication to your cause, you have taken part in behaviors that are detrimental to your health. We here, in your insides, request that you cease and desist these activities immediately.

Two lattes and a burrito at 3AM does not constitute 3 meals a day. Nor does 2 hotpockets at 11AM qualify you to not eat again for the rest of the day. Coffee is not a fruit, vegetable, or protein, and we ask that when you do partake of it, you do not equate it with a healthy lunch option. Also, let us bring to your attention that ingesting 52grams of caffeine a day to compensate for lack of sleep is not, let us say, the proper answer to poor sleep patterns. We suggest that instead, you sleep more.

This brings us to our next point, that 2-4 hours of sleep per night is unacceptable. This has gone on far too long and we can no longer support you if you insist upon staying awake for completely inappropriate lengths of time. You should FOR NO REASON be awake at 4AM, especially if you have not yet gone to sleep. This goes also for 3AM, 5AM, and 6AM. The hours of sleep that you have been getting are by no one's standard adequate, and we will be forced to make you lose consciousness at very inconvenient times if you continue to behave in this manner.

We have been informed that you have the following to finish before December 12: French Oral Exam, French Final, English Paper, English Final, 2 Full-Size self-portraits, Final Blount Presentation, Political Science Final, and a Political Science Group Project. We understand that this is overwhelming and can, at time, make you not eat or sleep. However, we would like to assure you that if you do not receive proper nourishment or rest, these projects will still not be done well or be finished.

If you do not comply with these requests, we will be forced to take immediate action. We do not want to use our powers to take over the well-being of this body, but if we have to, by god, we'll throw you on the floor in art class and get you into a hospital bed by the end of the week.

Have a nice day.

Sincerely Yours,
Your Insides

"Man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond the human being."

I am writing this so that I may save it. So that I may say that I was there, the night before Election Day of 2008, the night before everything changed.

I won't take the time to write about politics, because that is over. I won't take the time to write about the candidates, the issues, or anything else that this campaign season is about. You're tired of hearing it, I'm tired of talking about it.

What I will say is that I am so incredibly excited to be on the edge of history. I am right in the middle of my country making a change, taking a different path, and transforming into the nation that I know we are. Where we take care of the sick and the needy, we educate our children, we provide an example of greatness to the world, and we can hold our heads high and say that we are a home for freedom and humanity at its finest.

I am ready to be proud of my country. I am ready to listen to believe in our dreams. I am ready to stop being angry and disappointed by the state of my home and my people. I am ready to be proud of my country.

Please, with all of my heart and my soul, I beg each and every one of you to take this final night, look at the issues and vote. I won't tell you who to vote for, but I say that you need to have a hand in this. This is a huge event in our history, and to pass up the chance to have a part in it is sure to be a great regret in the years to come.

Vote, and be proud of it.

I am ready to be proud.

See you guys tomorrow, on the victory lap.

<3gen

"All The Matter In The World Is How Much That I Like You" or "The Truth About Genny The Brave"

These are the possible weaknesses of my personality profile, ENFP, from the Myers-Briggs Test. They are uncanny and unnerving in its accuracy. You learn something new every day- but didn't I already know all these things?

>May be what many would call a "sucker"; vulnerable to schemers and con artists.

>May get themselves into dangerous situations because they're too eager to push the envelope of their understanding, and not willing to apply judgment to anything.

>May feel intense anger towards people who criticize them of try to control them. But will be unable to express the anger. Left unexpressed, the anger may fester and become destructive.

>May blame their problems on other people, using logic and ration to defend themselves against the world.

>May develop strong negative judgments that are difficult to unseed against people who they perceive have been oppressive to them.

>May get involved with drugs, alcohol, pr promiscuity, and generally seek mindless experiences and sensations.

>May seem smothering in relationships due to their enthusiasm and intensity of feelings, and as they often ask how the other is doing and what they are feeling.

>May have extremely negative reactions to criticism and conflict.

>May have difficulty leaving a relationship long after it has turned bad.

>May need to be given affirmation and positive assurance in order to feel that they are doing things right and have not hurt others' feelings.

>May tend to feel emotions at a heightened sense compared to others, and can seem dramatic or easily affected. However, their feelings are genuine.

Oh goodness.

<3gen