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Showing posts with label Andrea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andrea. Show all posts

The levels of friendship are varied and complex, tread with caution.

4/05/2011 07:29:00 PM • • 2 comments

A wise man once said, "Friends are God's way of apologizing for our family" and when you really think about it the friends that really matter, they are the family that you make. Yes, some people are lucky enough to be friends with their family but sometimes the people that you share DNA with are the most dissimilar to you. I would like to dedicate this post to all the different kind of friends I have had over the years.


We all know that there are levels of friendship; I like to think of it as the friendship pyramid.
Kinda like this but less creepy

The base is made up of acquaintances, friends of friends and people you think look vaguely familiar. Usually the denizens of this level are people that you have met for a few hours and then see them later you don’t know whether to let it be known that you know who they are, in case they think you are crazy or they don’t remember you. These people I like to give them the subtle, ‘what’s up nod’ nothing too formal. It acknowledges that you know each other but you are not inviting them over for tea and crumpets.
technically this doesn't go but it's pretty great

The second level is, school friends, classmates and work friends. These people are their own group mostly because we act a certain way around them.
These people are cool to hang out with from 8-5 Monday through Friday, but inviting them out of this environment can cause problems. Especially if you are in a competitive company or class with them. Many people in this section seem to think that going out with you while not part of class or work is a hidden sign for them to become a covert ninja spy. Who only pretends to be cool until they can use the information that they have learned from you to their advantage. They are the ones that will use the fact that you had a glass of wine with dinner as proof positive that you are an alcoholic and will begin your destruction.
Yes, tell me your weakness...

Level three is the transition phase. I like to think of it as friend limbo. This can be a good friend zone or a bad friend zone. Say that a member of the bottom two tiers has proved their awesomeness and you have deemed them eligible to compete to be in another tier. Then this is a good place for them to be. Or it could be bad. Say someone from the top two tiers has shown how unawesome they are, they can be kicked down to level three while their status is being reevaluated. This is also the only time that the friend pyramid and the love pyramid completely mesh. Members of the love pyramid don’t like coming to this level, mostly because it kicks they out of the other pyramid. If you have every watched the Scrubs episode about the friend zone it greatly explains this transition.


Fourth level is the people that are not your best friends but are still pretty cool. These are the people that know you well enough that you feel you can be more of your self around. However you don’t go full on you around these people. Say you are a really big Pokémon fan, but it’s not something everyone knows. You don’t bust out with the whole Pokémon roster. You pretend you only know the original 150 since that was cool when we were young, and see if anyone else starts naming obscure Pokémon, or whips out their DS. Then you know it is safe. You might also recognize this zone from when you first start dating someone, it’s kind of similar to the beginning of a relationship. There is a great quote that says, “Love comes slowly. The running across a field into someone’s arms comes later in the relationship. Once you’re sure that they won’t laugh if you trip and fall on your face.” Ladies these are the women that you ask to go to the bathroom with you when you are at a party. The relationships you have with close friends greatly resemble love at times. People need to love you to want to hear about your strange neurosis and idiosyncrasies. Typically with this level you still need to have some set ‘plans’ about what you are going to do, rather than just be together.
This comes up when you google being awesome.

The fifth level is for your best friends, siblings and family members that you are really close to. These people have something in common; they love you, even when they hate you. These people know that you are actually vulnerable and cry more than you let on.
These people are there even when you think that there is no one else. They will come and get you when you run out of gas, and they won’t even tell you that you are stupid. They know all about your obsession with Pokémon and they are ok with that. These are the type of people that you feel comfortable lending money to in any situation. They are also the ones that know more about you than even you know.
Snowman revenge = <3

The very tip of the friend pyramid is your Best Friend. This person you can go long times with out talking to but the second you see them it’s like no time has gone past. Ladies if you don’t know whom your very best friend is, since we tend to have 5 best friends. Think about getting married. The guy or why is not really important. Who is the first person that you ask to be a bridesmaid. That is your very best friend. A best friend is someone you can do hang out with and have no plans and you still have fun because you are hanging out together. They can be polar opposites of you but you still get one another. My best friend is very conservative, from a tiny town in South Texas, and totally different from me, but we get along so well despite all of that. If the friendship pyramid corresponded with the food pyramid a best friend would definitely be the refined sugar at the very top.

Tell me about your friends, do you agree with my friendship assessment. Or am I just insane. Let me know in the comments.
-Andrea out.

A thank you to teachers

3/06/2011 08:29:00 PM • • 1 comments

I want to tell you all a story about how I became who I am.

I remember being 12 years old sitting in class reading a book. The teacher pointed me out and said, “why aren’t you doing your homework?” I answered him by saying it’s already done. He praised me in front of the class, saying she will go far, that was the first time I remember being embarrassed for being praised.
I remember being 13, a freshman in high school and the teacher I looked up to so much telling me I could do so much better. Why was I selling myself short? For the first time I was ashamed for doing just enough to get by.
I remember being 17 and having the only teacher that challenged me that semester praise my poem, when everything else I had worked so hard on had been merely ok.
I remember being 20 and having my advisor tell me I would never be a doctor, why was I even trying.
I remember my teacher’s only goal for class was not to challenge us to teach us something new or to expand our horizons, it was to make me cry. To make me feel so small and stupid so that I felt like I could never succeed. I remember giving up. I remember telling myself that they were right and I couldn’t do this anymore.
I remember being 22 and finally knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up. I remember being confident in the things I had been taught and the way I had been raised and knowing that I would succeed.
I remember late nights filled with anxious fidgeting and gallons of caffeine, blood shot eyes and fingers cramped from typing. I remember skipping one class to finish a project for another, and sleeping through a third. Draped over textbooks and manuals in a library.

Every teacher I have ever had has affected my life in some way shape or form. Some for the better and some for the worse. Regardless these people have shaped who I have become. I know that this is a small compensation for all that they have given me but I want to say thank you to everyone who has taught me anything during my life. I hope one day to inspire someone half as much as you all have inspired me.

Freedom of Speech doesn't give people the right to be A-holes

3/02/2011 10:50:00 AM • • 5 comments

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8-1 in favor of Westboro Baptist Church. Saying that the First Amendment gives this church the right to protest at soldiers’ funerals. The SCOTUS ruling also reversed a five million dollar judgment given to the father of Matthew Snyder, a marine whose death was protested by the church members.

I am all for the first amendment, it is a right that many other people in the world don’t have. In the United States no one is going to stop us if we say something bad about the president or the legislature or anything about the government. The press is allowed to report what ever the news is, the government does not control them. There are talk radio shows geared directly to either conservatives or liberals that tailor their coverage to what their audience wants to hear.

The first amendment should not extend to protesting a soldier’s funeral. I am very liberal in my political beliefs, I think that George W. Bush was an idiot and we had no right to invade Iraq or Afghanistan. However, it is a tragedy when ever any soldier dies and while our beliefs might not be similar I would never insult them or their families by holding up a sign saying that their loved one is in hell because the US is tolerant of homosexuals.

Which is precisely what the members of Westboro claim, that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 the casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are all due to the US’ tolerance of homosexuals. They claim that God is mad at this country for being tolerant of another person’s way of life. Black, White, Latino, Asian, Indian, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Wiccan, Straight or Gay regardless of classification we are all human.

The freedom of speech might protect their right to believe and say what ever they want, but their so-called beliefs should stop them from judging another and damning them to hell. I might not be a super religious person, but what I remember from the bible is “Love thy neighbor, as I have loved you”. I have already had this fight with the super religious and I know that you can find a quote in the bible saying how being gay is a sin. I also know if you look in the bible you can find quotes that defend racism that demean women and every subject in between.

The bible was never meant to be the only absolute truth in the world. It is a road map if you are Christian that is influenced and expanded upon by preachers. This is the 21st century. You would think that we would have stopped being scared of things we didn’t understand a long time ago. And yet it is groups like Westboro and others of that ilk that hold us back.
Whether are beliefs are similar or different can we at least agree to be decent to one another. I know it’s a new and terrifying idea to accept people as they are, but how about we give it a try. Let tolerance and reasonableness dictate our actions instead of crazy antiquated beliefs.

All my best ideas come undercover of darkness, on the feet of awesome ninjas

2/22/2011 11:18:00 PM • • 1 comments




What makes you feel most productive? I think it differs from person to person, but I know that everyone has something that pumps them up and gives them inspiration and the desire to do something else. I always seem to find mine in sleep depravation. Which sounds strange I know but it works for me. For some weird reason I seem to think that I get the best ideas at three am. Why three am and not say midnight or one, I don’t really know. I think once my brain knows that there is only a slim possibility for rest it starts cranking out half formed ideas and convincing me that they are in fact amazing.
I bet an editor thought this was a great idea at 3 am


Let me give you an example, the other night I was up late texting a friend, I said something sarcastic but sadly sarcasm just doesn’t come across the same in text as it does out loud. I then thought there should be a button on the phone keyboard that causes text to switch to a sarcasm font. There is predictive text and T9, just to help us type what we want to say. But there is no help button for tone, and there is only so far that the exclamation point can convey. Intense amounts of excitement, contempt, anger or confusion can’t be properly sent via text.
“OMG I will eat your soul!!!” Much more powerful with the picture, right.

So at three in the morning I started planning on how to patent this wonderful idea and become a gazillionaire, but unfortunately the master plans I thought I had drawn out where actually just some random letters on an old receipt I found in my purse.
Damn you bad penmanship, I could be doing this right now

I have noticed that at three am I seem to be confused about how talented I am. For some reason I keep convincing myself that I do in fact have an untapped vein of musical talent and the world is just dying to hear me sing. I don’t, and they don’t. I have never actually managed to remember how to read music, even after multiple lessons and different instructors. I have a horrible ear for pitch and I can’t stay in tune. But that doesn’t stop my sleep deprived mind from thinking it’s a good idea. I mean if Ke$ha, Miley Cyrus, and Macy Gray can get recording contracts why can’t I.



Although I have had some pretty great eureka moments at three in the morning. Like how to extend my research paper an extra page, or remembering where my sunglasses are. This idea actually came to me in the wee hours of the morning. Along with an idea how to make cotton candy sandwiches (they would be delicious), why pancakes really do taste best at any time that is not breakfast and how to create a analytical reasoning problem about my love of cheetos. What gets you motivated to do things? When do you have the best ideas?

Little things are important too

2/16/2011 11:47:00 AM • • 1 comments

Class, work, studying, class, work, studying, class, work, studying. A routine most of us know all too well. Now that the semester is in full swing and mid terms are fast approaching it seems as if we’ll be in school forever. That the only thing we have to look forward to is the end of the semester and, hopefully graduation. Graduation, for most of us means applying to get into another school so we can repeat the cycle all over again. And if you want to be a lawyer or a doctor or any other kind of professional it means that you are far from being done with school.

Here’s the thing though, even though you and I will be spending the next foreseeable future trying to do everything and succeed at it all, there are still good things that happen every day. It could be something big or it could be something so small. Regardless, good things in our lives tend to brighten our outlook and make each day more bearable.


Think about it, your significant other, surprise you at the end of a long stressful day with something considerate that they have done. It can be something big like a home cooked meal, or a foot massage. Or it could be something small, like remembering to throw their dirty clothes in the hamper, or emptying the dishwasher. Things like this don’t seem all that great compared to others but every little thing on a bad day can help.

Even if you are not in a relationship, small things that really shouldn’t change your outlook on life can end up being something that you remember your whole life. I remember last semester I was so busy, working on projects and going to class and working two jobs I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Then one of my teachers decided that we all looked too stressed and cancelled class. I then found out that I have confused the dates for one of my projects and it wasn’t due for another week. Separately these two events were pretty good. But together they totally made my day and it gave me that extra push to get things done.

We tend to take things for granted. Little kindnesses get ignore or forgotten all too quickly. If something as small as finding your favorite kind of juice at the store doesn’t help to brighten your day then monumental events like getting a diamond necklace won’t mean as much. If you can’t get excited about little things than it takes bigger and bigger things to excite you.

So take today as an opportunity, remember one little thing that made you happy and appreciate it for what it is. I found a Mario wallet today, what did you find?

Introduction

2/09/2011 12:49:00 AM • • 0 comments

Hello everyone, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself since everyone else has. My name is Andrea Godoy and I am the other, other AC Blogger. Y’all will get to know me a little bit more as the semester goes on but I thought I would let you know a few things that might not otherwise be known.
I was actually born in Houston TX and moved to Amarillo when I was five. Which, when you think about it is like living here all my life. On an interesting note I have lived here for almost twenty years, I still get Bell and Coulter confused. No idea why really I just do.
I just graduated from WT with a bachelor’s last December, I’m actually hoping to apply and be accepted to law school for this fall. This will be my fourth or fifth semester at AC, I might have lost count. For the last two years I have been part of the AC Ranger, and the AC Current. Even though I decided to study law I actually came to AC with no idea what I wanted to be when I ‘grew up’. I had been pre-med before coming here and I knew I didn’t want to do that anymore, so I picked two things that interested me. Law and journalism, and I took an intro class in each one. For me, making the decision to take a step back and look at the bigger picture instead of rushing to graduate with a degree in a field I would hate was the best decision I could have made.

Ultimately I chose law, or law chose me, but I came to love journalism even more.

Other than that I guess there are a few random things you all might enjoy knowing:

Out of all the bloggers for this semester I am the only one who has not worn the badger costume (something that saddens me immensely)

I want to write a book one day, what kind of book I don’t know. The reason I want to write a book is because of my name and the organizational system of most libraries. On the spine of fiction books the author’s name is shortened to the first letter of the author’s first name and the first three letters of their last name. My abbreviation would be A. God. How awesome would that be.

When I’m stressed I like to cook. Which means that during midterms and finals there is always something to eat.

I honestly believe that Dutton Hall is haunted (more on this later).

I love action movies more than any other genre of film.

And last but not least,

I have an intense fear and mistrust towards things that have more than two eyes or four legs.

Here’s to an interesting semester

-Andrea