Month: March 2017

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Adulting 101

A·dult·ing:
Verb 

1. Being a responsible adult. Used by immature 20-somethings who are proud of themselves for paying a bill.

 

Technically, I am not “adulting” yet. But May 13th is approaching fairly quickly, and that is when I am SUPPOSED to (apparently) embark on this next chapter of my life. In order to prepare myself for this whole “adulting” thing, I asked some of my “adulting” friends to offer some advice for all those in my shoes. Here are the most important (and some hilarious) responses that I got:

ONE: “Junk food and beer make you fat”

But how do you adult without those?? Especially the beer… AMIRIGHT?!

TWO: “We’re all just pretending to know what the eff we’re doing.. no one reallyyyy knows”

OOOOH, thank god.. But can everyone stop pretending because you’re making me feel like shit?! Thanks.

THREE: “You will have to work 10 x harder than everyone around you in order to prove that you’re not just another millennial with a degree & a dream”

FOUR: “Marrying someone rich isn’t a bad idea”

I’ll never admit who said this… let’s just say she didn’t marry rich 😉

FIVE: A little disagreement among some adulters:

Adulter 1: “Don’t settle down until you know yourself”

Adulter 2: “Sort of agree but I think people focus a lot on feeling ready and I don’t think you ever have that completely ready feeling.”

OK, go with whichever one you like better. Adulter 2 is my sister sooo, I’ll go with her 😉

SIX: “Bills are real”

Some of us learned this in college, but if you didn’t. WARNING: bills are real and due every month… bummer!

SEVEN: “Having good credit is everything in adulthood”

Not really sure what this means, how to do this, or why it’s “everything” …

But one of my more “mature” adulters gave this piece of advice… so let’s make sure we have good credit people.

EIGHT: “Start saving for your 75-year-old self.”

Ok, this is boring, seems kinda lame, but I guess we’ll thank ourselves later.

NINE: Adulter 1: “Your fridge gets disgusting if you don’t wipe it down 1-2 times a                  month.”

Adulter 2 added: “Pay special attention to the veggie drawer. A lone zucchini left at the bottom can ruin your Sunday”

TEN: “Little things happen all the time and they add the f up. You can pretend you have your adult budget figured out but until you are knee deep in adulting, you have no clue how much it costs to adult.”

ELEVEN: “The dentist isn’t an option….”

I mean…. Was it ever an option? But ok, yes.. go to the dentist adults.

TWELVE: “You are going to turn 30 wayyy sooner than you think and for some reason at age 30 if you don’t have your shit figured out, you WILL go into panic mode… Be ready”

THIRTEEN: “Don’t ask too many people for their opinions. It gets too fuzzy. Trust your gut. Have two really close friends that you trust.”

FOURTEEN: “You are actually busier post college. I was excited to not juggle work and school. In reality, I had way more time for friends and hobbies when I was a student. Can’t explain why or how, but it’s true. Life only gets fuller and busier as ‘adulting’ takes over!”

Yikes….. not really what I wanted to hear. This is reality though, people.

FIFTEEN: “You can’t decide if you admire someone until you have had a peak into their whole world. If someone seems successful at work, look at their non work life. If they are living in a way you admire there too, then they are the type of person to look up to. If you spend your time admiring: Person A) because they are bad ass at their job and loaded or Person B) because they are at all of the school events and soccer games you’re going to feel like a failure in your own life you can’t do all of those things. Find people who have a work/life balance to look up to. They are the people who are truly successful.”

WOAH. Shit just got real. But some really solid advice!

SIXTEEN: “Just because you’re done with school, doesn’t mean you’re adulting”

PHEW!!!! That’s what I like to hear…. I’ll hold off on the adulting then.

Thanks to all the ADULTERS who contributed. You all are kicking ass. To those of you about to start adulting, good luck & let’s be bad ass adulters together!

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Awareness of Anxiety and Depression is an Important Step

At a young age, I would come home from school and walk my mom through my day – I would tell her all of the things I had done wrong, all the events that could have gone wrong, and all the fears I had encountered throughout the day. This started when I was in kindergarten. Then, when I was 10 years old, my grandpa passed away suddenly. After weeks of being extremely sick with something we later discovered was “abdominal migraines,” I was diagnosed with severe anxiety. Who knew a fourth grader could have severe anxiety? I started taking anti-anxiety medication and saw my first counselor.

Medication and counseling helped, the irrational fears and doubts in myself lessoned, but as I grew up a new problem arose – depression. Those of you that suffer from any kind of mental illness know that anxiety often is accompanied by depression. Depression can make you feel numb, but experience every emotion at the same time. I know this sounds completely bizarre, but until you have experienced it firsthand, it is very difficult to understand.

I had other outlets throughout high school. I was very involved in sports, other extracurricular activities such as dance, and I had a wide social network. I have always been an outgoing, somewhat loud individual who loves meeting new people and making new friends. Sports and dance not only kept me in great shape, but they provided positive endorphins – chemicals in the body that act as natural painkillers and help lower stress levels (Exercise for Stress and Anxiety.).

It wasn’t until college that I had a terrible issue with my mental illnesses again. I lost the structure of my life, the everyday support from my family, school was more difficult, and even though many of my close friends also came to the U of M, I didn’t see them every day anymore. I wasn’t as active and I felt my world start to come crashing down around me and I felt I had nowhere to turn. I got through my freshman year with the help of a counselor and speaking out about my issues to my close, trusted friends and family.

Now, as a graduate student in my last semester at the University, I feel my anxiety and depression worsening once more. I do not know if it is the fear of everything changing again, friends moving on, having to live the life of an adult (ugh!), or that sometimes life is just hard. Grad school is not the easiest thing I have ever done, but I am very blessed to have the opportunities and support that I have in life.

I feel the constant need to control the outcome of situations in my life, which we all know is literally impossible to do. I know I am loved and cared for by so many people, but every once in a while, I feel completely alone. The number of irrational fears and thoughts I have on a day to day basis is ridiculous. I always feel tired. I have discussed this with my doctor and I’m trying a new medication. I must force myself to reconnect with my counselor – and I finally decided it was time I spoke out about my issues because I know I am not alone or the only one suffering.

I grew up in a family that openly discussed mental illness – I knew I had no reason to be embarrassed of it, as it is a disease. But society made me feel different. It took a long time for me to acknowledge to my close friends that I suffer from anxiety and depression. It took even longer for me to be able to discuss this with acquaintances – and deciding to put this out here in a blog was extremely difficult. I realize if I don’t talk about it, then society is winning. The attitude that mental illness is something we should be ashamed is so unbelievably WRONG! Total BS! We as individuals need to empower each other and realize that nearly 1 in 5 Americans suffer from some form of mental illness (Conley, M.). It doesn’t make us different, or weird, it makes us unique and badass.

I compiled some quotes that those with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety can relate to – and that will help those of you who do not suffer understand and be empathetic for those who do. It is important to know that getting help is essential – but that takes effort and time – which is not easy. Never feel ashamed to reach out and ask for help – and make the effort – it really does make a difference. Anxiety, depression, and other mental illness can be lifelong struggles – awareness, medication, and counseling are so important. This is my contribution toward awareness. I hope at least one of these quotes speaks to you.

 

 

 

Work Cited:

A. (2016, March 19). Quotes That Encourage You During Hard Times. Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://trend2wear.com/quotes-that-encourage-you-during-hard-times/

Anxiety Resources, Information and Support. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://www.healthyplace.com/anxiety-panic/

Broken? (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://www.wattpad.com/112940077-broken-chapter-two

Conley, M. (2012, January 19). 1 in 5 Americans Suffers From Mental Illness. Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/01/19/1-in-5-americans-suffer-from-mental-illness/

Daily Inspirational Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://dailyinspirationquotes.tumblr.com/image/145143819769

EDMR Side Effects. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://eyemovementdesensitizationandreprocessing.com/2011/02/03/emdr-side-effects/

Exercise for Stress and Anxiety. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety/exercise-stress-and-anxiety

Gluck, S. (n.d.). Depression Quotes and Sayings About Depression. Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://www.healthyplace.com/insight/quotes/depression-quotes-and-sayings-about-depression/?sf=xjnwokd

J. (2017, February 12). 37 Of The Best Inspirational Quotes Ever. Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://thefunnybeaver.com/37-best-inspirational-quotes-ever/

(n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/q87/p480x480/15727024_576733099188411_3474749518382707421_n.jpg?oh=cb988a1511f99b9dd2b0536608ba6a15&oe=58DBE9FB

Trying to explain mental illness to someone who’s never experienced it is like trying to explain color to a blind person. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://whisper.sh/whispers/052bebe0012077292cae5928d4f86b391e84b9/trying-to-explain-mental-illness-to-someone-who-s-never-experienced-it-is-like-trying-to-explain-color-to-a-blind-person

Unhappy on Tumblr. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/unhappy

100 Inspirational Quotes Every Woman Should Read. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://www.lifehack.org/378548/100-inspirational-quotes-for-girls-on-strength-and-confidence

 

By: Bailey Harper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Japanese are crazy about taking miniature pictures of themselves

I recently took a school field trip to Japan.  We are studying innovation and technology in the MSBA program at UM, so I was excited to see what was happening over there.  Throughout our journey we were shuttled to various tourist attractions:  Mount Aso (an active volcano), Kumamoto castle, Shibuya square in Tokyo, Senso-ji temple, and others.

mount aso volcano    kumamoto castle japan

shibuya crossing at night    sensoji temple

One day we were going to visit a place called the Yokosuka Research Park, just a short drive from Tokyo.  We were lucky enough to have a UM professor of Japanese language literature guiding us around Japan.  On the way he recounted a visit to Japan earlier in his life (maybe late 1990’s) when he noticed some ‘new technology’ the Japanese had just begun using at the time.  “It was a way for people to take a picture on a cellular phone and send it to another person….What an odd thing and it was hard to imagine what people would want this for.  I was sure this would be a fad and would never catch on.”

Image result for Yokosuka Research Park

BBC news reports in this article 9/18/2001 and asks readers “What would you do with a gadget like this, particularly as it costs nearly US $500?”

  • “Infinite uses for the teenager, not entirely sure what the rest of us would do with one though.”
  • “I would use the camera phone to take pictures of my best friend, my dog Benson.”
  • “Great for spying. The camera could be held against a keyhole, and the images immediately sent to any interested parties.”

Keep in mind myspace.com wasn’t launched until 2003, facebook.com in 2004.  In this case, the innovation created the need, instead of the need creating the innovation.  This is what we were thinking about as we visited the place where they basically invented the camera phone.

So what did we discover the Japanese are developing there today:  the simple answer is 5G.

Here are a few quick facts about 5G:

  • Data rates of tens of megabits per second for tens of thousands of users
  • Data rates of 100 megabits per second for metropolitan areas
  • 1 Gb per second simultaneously to many workers on the same office floor
  • Several hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections for wireless sensors

Again, it is hard to know exactly what people will do with this, but here is their vision of the year 2020 with 5G

Thanks for reading!
David Brewer

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Is Entrepreneurialism Art?

Pablo Picasso once said: “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” Picasso never graduated college. In fact, he only attended one semester before quitting. However, his works are regarded as some of the best and to this day his art has been reported stolen more than any other artist’s. By contrast, Elon Musk has a significant educational background and is considered to be one of the greatest entrepreneurs in the world after creating and building companies such as Paypal and Tesla. Both of these men spent many of their formative years schooling in one form or another; earning the rules like a pro. Both of these men then broke those rules.

There is an argument to be made that being an entrepreneur is not the same as being an artist, and vice versa. I implore you to ignore that and look the other way. Here’s why: Let’s delve into the life and success of Sam Kass, the White House chef during the Obama administration. Sam was hand picked by President Obama prior to his election, when Obama was still a Junior Senator. After Obama’s election, Sam became Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy and Executive Director for First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign, all the while maintaining a friendship with the Obama family and cooking for them on a daily basis. As a chef, you are both an artist and an entrepreneur; often crossing back and forth between the two. You must manage your image and restaurant sales, but also create art using food. So now you’re probably thinking, “Well Sam is neither an entrepreneur nor an artist, he is a cook…hence why his title is chef.” Allow me to introduce you to two other “chefs.” Jesse Pinkman and Walter White. Yep, thats right, two characters of Breaking Bad fame. Both were cooks. One was an artist, the other an entrepreneur; but both were cooks. For those of you who were in a coma for the last ten years, I’ll explain. Breaking Bad was a television show in which the main character, Walter White, is a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer. Walter teams up with a former student, Jesse Pinkman, to produce and sell meth in an effort to secure his family’s financial future before he succumbs to cancer. Being that Walter is an extremely intelligent chemistry teacher, the meth he produces is a far better product than any competitor and begins to take the New Mexico area by storm. Also, due to the ingredients used, the meth is blue instead of clear. This is Walter White’s art; and this is clearly translated to the audience throughout the show’s progression. Jesse Pinkman is the entrepreneur, creating a distribution chain and marketing Walter’s art. Cooks, sure, but after that would you still use the same word to categorize Sam Kass? I didn’t think so. What do Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and Sam Kass all have in common though? They learned the rules like a pro, then they broke them like an artist.

Neil Gaiman, when addressing the 2012 graduating class at University of the Arts commencement, ended his speech by stating: “And now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make good art.” Neil did not graduate from a university, yet this is a man who is telling the graduating class of an arts college the same thing entrepreneurs are told. Make mistakes. Break rules. Fail early and fail often.  So now it is my time to end this writing, and I leave you with one final thought; one final reminder:

It does not matter if you attended university, sold an app for millions, or lived in your parent’s basement until you were 28. What matters is that you learned the status quo, and then decided it wasn’t fucking good enough.  

That is entrepreneurialism, and that is art.

-Carter Andrues

 

 

About Carter:

I dodge, I duck, I dip, I dive, and I dodge. To cure boredom I reengineer commercial wind turbines, making them more aerodynamic. Bill Clinton once asked me boxers or briefs. I responded with commando. I woo women by cooking four course meals using only an easy bake oven. On the weekends, to blow off steam, I participate in full contact chess. Orange thought I was the new black. I don’t call 911, 911 calls me.  I’m banned from 14 Las Vegas casinos for cheating at 52 card pickup. Florida only considers itself the sunshine state when I am visiting. Using nothing but a squeaky dog toy and a spatula, I defeated ISIS. As a result, the FBI has placed me in a witness protection program in the marketing department at UM.