Procrastination is the Art of Perfection

I'm gonna be really honest here, I'm not sure what my title means. It sounded poetic. It has repeating "p" sounds, but they're not in a row, so I guess they're not considered alliteration. Can you tell that I have written 3 papers in the last week? My brain is a little fried and I'm running on caffeine right now since I went to bed this morning around 5:30am. Does it even count as going to bed if it's that late? Or is that early?

This is my last semester of college. I'm really excited about it, although I've been too busy working on projects and assignments to really contemplate what being done with school FOREVER means. Maybe next week I'll have more time to think about it.

Teachers are funny, you know that? This Saturday is the start of finals, but all my teachers made papers due this week, BEFORE finals. I suppose that's to help us not have to study for a test AND write a paper, but I think I would have preferred that they let me make that decision on my own.

Procrastination. A word that college students know well. Sometimes I do it because I'm unmotivated. Sometimes I do it because I'm stressed. More often than not, I do it simply because I don't want to complete the assignment.

Up until this point I cared a lot about my grades. Like a lot. I did not want anything below a B- on my transcript. But that changed this semester. This has been the busiest semester of my life. Like seriously, CRAZY busy. I've never had so much homework or so many assignments. I cut back my hours at work from 15 to 10 a week. I've never had to do that. I'm busy and overwhelmed, yet I continue to procrastinate.I care about my grades, just not an obsessive amount.

"I like to tell myself that I'm procrastinating 

because I work better under stress."

I suppose there might be some truth to that statement. I mean, stress can be motivating. After all, I didn't stay up until 5:30am this morning because I wanted to get a "D" on my paper. I want an "A." Probably should have tried to finish it a little sooner though ;)

But there are perks - that rush of adrenaline you get after your second wind, that's powerful. Last night I felt like I could conquer the world - and I honestly think my paper turned out great!

So perhaps this is what I mean when I say,

"Procrastination is the Art of Perfection."

Sometimes a little procrastination and a little extra stress are just the motivation you need to do well on something.....I'll let you know how my paper turns out ;)

Until next time, good luck and remember:

What Really Matters - Persecuted Christians

Excuse me while I vent about something that really matters - and I don't mean the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. I mean the persecution and horrible massacre of people in Iraq. Have you read any of the articles that have been posted on facebook? And I mean really read them....to the end...where there are incredibly graphic pictures of the horrible things happening.

I did. Just yesterday. Up until yesterday I had dismissed all the articles popping up on my news feed. Up until yesterday I had assumed that what was going on was nothing more than what normally happens in the middle east. Then I read an article that changed my mind.

When I clicked on the article, I actually read through it, learning the facts of what is really going on in the Middle East. Then I got to the warning. The warning that told me that there were graphic pictures following. I hesitated a second before scrolling down. What I saw made me sick.

There were several images of heads without bodies - real people's heads. People who only a few moments or hours or days ago had been alive. People who were living and breathing and living life like you and me.

There were images of people being beheaded. And I don't mean with a sword or an ax or something that ends your life relatively quickly and can be considered a more "humane" way of killing someone.

When I say "people being beheaded," what I mean is that there were terrorists sawing off people's heads with butter knives. Freaking butter knives. Excuse my language, but if that doesn't hurt like hell and dehumanize people, I don't know what would.

(See the Article I Read Here: http://www.catholic.org/news/international/middle_east/story.php?id=56339 )

I'm not making this stuff up. This is what is going on in the Middle East. This is a problem - a huge problem that is going on today, in our world, in our lives. What are we going to do about it?

I'm sick of just sitting around doing nothing. The problem with this situation is that there really is nothing I can do about it - on my own anyway. We need to raise awareness about this problem. We need to change it. We need to help these people.

Don't get me wrong, the ALS disease is a real problem. And if this Ice Bucket challenge raises both money and awareness, more power to them (just make sure you donate somewhere that isn't supporting embryonic stem cell research).

But while you're out raising awareness about ALS, consider raising awareness about the current persecution and problems happening in Iraq and join me in praying for an end to all of this.

Boredom Doesn't Exist

Boredom doesn't exist.

Let me elaborate. In my Philosophy of the Human Person class, we had a discussion about something we called the "boredom delusion." Bored/Boredom were words that did not exist until more recent times. From what I can tell from my research, Charles Dickens was possibly the first person to use it in writing, which would be around 1852.

What does this mean for us? Boredom is a fairly new development; it's a little over 160 years old. What is boredom? According to the Oxford Dictionaries, Bored means the following: "Feeling weary and impatient because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one’s current activity."

While I agree that people do experience boredom from time to time, I would like to propose that we cause ourselves to be bored. We live in a culture where we are constantly surrounded by technology, movies, sports, and a go-go-go attitude. Therefore when there is silence and time to actually think or be productive, we deem ourselves to be bored.

Boredom is often simply an excuse to avoid responsibility. My professor said the following statement in class: "It [boredom] exists for people who don't want to do what they have to do and want to do what they want." Think about it. When I was little I would go to my mom and tell her I was bored. She always assured me that she could give me something to do (usually a chore). I immediately left the room and found something to keep me busy. Suddenly I wasn't bored anymore.

Boredom is also a sign that you have a lack of meaning in your life. If you constantly sit around on your computer or cellphone and don't go out and do productive, meaningful things, you're likely to find yourself in a state of boredom. And whose fault is that?

When you give in to boredom and give up on searching for meaning in your life, you'll find yourself searching for something to fill up your life. This can lead to consumerism (shopping because you're bored....anyone, ladies?), improper use of technology (hours and hours on facebook or video games), and just generally missing out on the opportunities that life offers you.

As I was searching for quotes to share in this post, I came across this powerful one:

"Life is never boring but some people choose to be bored. The concept of boredom entails an inability to use up present moments in a personally fulfilling way. Boredom is a choice; something you visit upon yourself, and it is another of those self-defeating items that you can eliminate from your life." - Wayne W. Dyer

How do we solve this problem of boredom? I propose we get off of our computers, couches, beds, and search for meaning in our lives. Do a kind deed for someone else. Go out for coffee with a friend. Invest your time in something worthwhile that will last longer than a 5minute youtube video.

Remember, boredom doesn't exist unless we let it.