Welcome to America!

**Disclaimer: This entry was written to express my interest in learning more about the economic situation in America VS Europe. Any and all things I vent about are based on what I have observed first hand. I do not claim to be a professor in economics.**

On February 19th I posted a status to Facebook asking U.S. citizens what makes them proud to be American. I did this in hopes to start a discussion about the positive aspects of living here and to possibly discover a sense of pride for my country. My status is as followed:

"Yanno, I hear so many people complain about America that I almost feel as though I have no pride in being American. That is not to be confused with having no appreciation for the opportunities living in America has given me. There is not a day I am not thankful for the life I have. But tell me, what makes YOU proud to be an American? Only serious, positive replies please. I am not looking for a debate on what sucks or could be better. I want to hear something positive about America for once."

The people who did respond all made good points. However, I am still left wondering if the quality of life would be better elsewhere? I want to learn more about how other countries operate. I hear much praise about wages, holiday, and health care over in Europe which makes it is hard not to consider relocating. But, what exactly would the trade off be? 

At this very moment two things are bothering me about the "world" I am living in. By "world" I am referring to the reality of my existence here in America and what affects me directly. Such as, the reality of unequal wealth distribution, as well as the constant struggle to get ahead (student debt, never ending cycle of internships, no retirement fund or savings). Entry level psotitions and internships are not what they use to be. People are being overworked, underpaid (if they even get paid at all), and then disposed of for the next noobie who is willing to slave away for nothing. We spend so much time working hard, losing sleep, and cutting ourselves off from our friends and family in order to do this. We hope by overly committing that we will be recognized, promoted, and gain a career. Instead, we get jerked around.  By the time we finally had enough of being taken advantage of and decide to move on-- the next place bends us over too. Thus, making it look like we are unemployable because we often seek a better workplace. 

All I really want is to do what makes me happy for a living and to make enough money to support myself , as well as afford time with friends and family. Apparently that is too much to ask for in America. 

Whenever I see something going around the internet I take it with a grain of salt. However, here is some food for thought:

Here is a NY Times article written about the struggle of getting ahead: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/fashion/for-20-somethings-ambition-at-a-cost.html?smid=fb-share

An article with a little bit of personality on the matter: http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-ways-you-can-tell-economy-still-sucks_p2/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=fanpage&utm_campaign=new+article&wa_ibsrc=fanpage%2F
 Just look at the debate in the comments section! Whatever the answer may be, there is clearly a problem. 


Again, whenever I am feeling bothered by the state of my country, I am also aware of the fact that it could be much worse. 

For those who live abroad, what do you like and dislike about your country? What do you like and dislike about America? If you could live any place where would it be and why? 

When responding (if anyone responds) please think before you type and be respectful. All rude, disrespectful comments will be deleted.

Stuck In the Middle With You

I am feeling "stuck in the middle."

I am nearing the end of my long journey to Emerson which has taken three years of hard work, little to no sleep, and a lot of self-motivation. After working so hard for so long I have a rather laid back last semester. I am taking one class which only meets once a week. This has opened up more hours for me to work and much more time to myself. I even started to write a script!  I haven't written a proper script since eighth grade. Even though that is how I wanted to spend my last semester before starting up the hard work again I keep finding myself eager to get to the point where I can actually start making money working in TV.

I have built a great academic resume and have years of experience working with a large diverse population of people along with a ton of other useful skills... but none of which could get me in the door to TV Production yet. As far as I know, anyway. When I browse through friends Facebook pages, a lot of whom have finished their undergraduate degrees, they are either working in their field or in grad school while also working in their field. I get so envious of this! I know my time is coming but I am just so eager to be there.

It just seems like all these people get to just live there lives doing all these exciting things while I am stuck here, not doing anything special per say, as I go through my transition. I know I will do exciting things in my future but it's the waiting part that feels like it lasts forever. I only submitted my application to Emerson 10 days ago and it already feels like an eternity. I keep going in circles of checking the Emerson Portal (even though I know nothing has changed), going to the BBC work experience page and day dreaming about possible future internships, researching Emerson acceptance rates, reading and re-reading the different Transfer Student info pages at Emerson.edu, drafting my prospective Emerson class schedule if accepted, researching the clubs and organizations I want to join while a student at Emerson, and so many other internet searches on the things I want to get involved in.

I can't stop anxiously waiting for May. May 15th is Emerson's decision notification day... My future depends on that decision. I can't help but be consumed by thoughts, concerns, and anxiety. That, and I seriously cannot wait to go to Costa Rica. Which, just so happens to start on May 18th. May is going to be a big month for me. Unless, of course, Emerson informs me of a decision before May. In which case, I suppose May will still be huge because I'M GOING TO COSTA RICA!!

I just can't wait to be living my dream. I can't wait til I am traveling, making TV magic happen, and making enough money to finally fully support myself, my needs and wants, and Ryan. I can't wait to be meeting big names and making a big name for myself. I can't wait to experience more of life and continue to grow as a person. I can't wait to give back to my community and help good causes. I just can't wait to have a life beyond college.

30 Day No Facebook Challenge

I decided on January 31st at just around midnight that I wanted to do a "30 Day Challenge" of no Facebook. Yes, I know February only has 28 days...

It has been 9 days and I keep finding it hard to not want to sign in. I don't feel like I need to sign in or anything. Even when I was using Facebook I wasn't constantly on it. But what I am noticing is how much social media websites really do connect us. It may not be as superficial as I previously thought either. I do still think some interactions are superficial, but it depends on the person I suppose. Maybe those people would have superficial face to face interactions as well. I also still stand by the fact that we shouldn't be reliant on social media sites as our main source of human interaction. However, I kinda miss signing in and reading about the little things my friends and family have been up to. When I can't physically be in all areas of the world to spend time with those I care about, I can follow their updates and feel close to them. I also miss sharing parts of me.

 Of course there will still be those people who use Facebook to complain, protest, "advocate", get political,  and be ungrateful, lazy little shits... Buuuuut, that's what the "remove from news feed" option is for. I digress...

I just keep telling myself  "this is stupid". Why purposely avoid something that brings me closer to people? It isn't realistic to think that if they were "true" friends then we wouldn't need Facebook to keep in touch. As we grow older we all go on our separate paths. We start to focus on what we need to do with our lives (make a living, get an education, grow up) instead of what we want  to do (hang out with friends constantly, have sleep overs, stay at home all day in our PJs eating cheese doodles). Unless of course you are lucky enough to have what you want and need be one in the same. My point being, we aren't in grade school anymore. Life isn't one big summer vacation filled with endless amounts of leisure time, alcohol, and sex. We actually have to survive now... on our own. Some of us still have support from our parents, but either way, most of us still know when it is time to take care of ourselves. Some of us get to balance being an adult and having a social life, for others, depending on our personal situation, don't get to have that choice. Some of us have to give up that choice in order to survive. And while we are working very hard to get to a point where we won't have to work all the time, sites like Facebook help us still have some form of connection with those we care about.

Facebook is what you want it to be. If you use Facebook to only keep in touch with family and friends, awesome! If you use it as a means to blog, super! If you use it as a way to network, wonderful! If you don't want to use it, good for you! For me, Facebook allows me to continue working hard for a better, brighter, future, while also showing me I have a support system. And I support every single one of my friends as well. Even if it has to be from a distance at the moment, it doesn't make them or me any less real because we use Facebook.

Now, if only the stubborn part of me would allow myself to sign in before the 30 days are up...