Public Speaking Class

We had to play Two Truths and a Lie in class today, so one of my truths was that I had attempted to commit suicide when I was 13... and that it wasn't my first. I didn't, however, explain that it was my last attempt and that I've been in counseling for it, ect. It was breif, I more or less just wanted to go back to my seat as soon as possible.My boyfriend is making me feel super self conscious about it. At first I felt fine, because I learned a lot from that experience. But Stephen says that it was probably really shocking to people. But everyone else was pretty open about personal stuff, was I too open? I want to be more open with people, I want to make friends, and be more personable... Damn now I'm really regretting it.... I hate self-doubt!!! Whatever... what ever happens, happens.

English Class...

I have a person who harassed me as a child for a classmate... I don't care though, she's just as miserable as I was, perhaps more. Since I wasn't the one who took my frustration out of others... at least not until pushed. I can see her suffering, even now, and wonder what tragic events lead her to become this way. I wonder if she recognizes me... Though I doubt it, she hasn't seen me for about six years, and has probably moved on with her bitter little life. When I say this, I don't feel contempt, only pity. It makes me feel terrible, that she will never have the laugh lines that I have. Now, more than ever, I believe that grade school is terrible for everyone.

I am worried that she might start something, but its college, so I don't think she will. I really do appreciate the experiences she, and others, gave me. Without struggling, I would be the person I am now. And I'm pretty happy with who I am. I can handle people better, I can handle anger better, I can handle criticism better than I used to, and without these experiences I would have never heard of Sophie Lancaster, I would never have wanted equality for everyone. I have felt a whole range of emotions in my lifetime; I believe this has deeply expanded my world. This has deeply enriched my human experience. In this knowledge, of my strengths and weaknesses, I feel secure.

Moving on. In class we had to do a 20 min free write on why we were there. Too short for me, but at least I mostly finished. That was all we had, since our teacher is stuck on Vale Pass. Its unfortunate, as I really wanted to get a feel for her teaching style, before its not too late to change classes.

Narcolepsy...

I just posted a video I made for my Psychology Class... so I figured I'd write about what I learned. I originally wanted to do a video on SUNDS, or Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome. There just simply wasn't enough information on it... like whether or not it occurred in REM or Non-REM; basically like Nightmares, or Night Terrors.... So instead I interviewed my Roommate Nicolas Craft, who is a Narcoleptic. The Interview was conducted by Ashley King. HUGE thanks to both of them!!!! I actually got all of the footage I needed in about 4 takes, so that was amazing... they were AMAZING on camera. Ashley brought A LOT of much needed humor to the film. So I'm pretty happy with the film overall... The film was shot with a crew of four people, including myself!!! And this film was accomplished in EXACTLY 24 hours!!! Haha maybe I should do Insomnia Film Fest!!!

Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder affecting 1 in every 2000 Americans... and nearly 3 million people around the world. (That was taken directly from Wikipedia, btw...)

Automatic Behavior is very similar to Sleepwalking...

Hypnagogia: A state of transition to wakefulness. Symptoms include sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and lucid dreaming, to name a few.

Cataplexy is a sudden weakening of the muscles, sometimes brought on by strong emotions.

Narcolepsy

Aikido

I've been studying Aikido for about two semesters, and I really love it. Its very challenging and makes me really work on my posture and my balance. The class is at the local college, where I regularly attend. Its a one credit coarse, which means its about 49 dollars per quarter. I don't know if I'll do it next quarter... it will be winter and I'll have to ride the bus at 9 o'clock at night. We'll see though.

First day of Classes...

Microbio went really well; I have homework. Its weird, last night and this morning I was really scared, but as soon as I sat down in the classroom, all my fears went away! I was glad.

General Psych... I was nervous, but the class went well. The teacher has a dress code... which sucks cause it limits my wardrobe.... No cleavage, no ass... not in those words, but you get the picture.
So the teacher asked who would be on Fear Factor for like 50,000. Most people raised their hand. Then she asked who would only do the eating part for some amount of money. About ten people, including myself, raised their hand. Then she asked us to keep our hands raised, and pulled out a bag containing two crickets and two worms. One of each were covered in white chocolate, and the other two were covered in dark chocolate. Cutting to the chase, most of the people who said that they would eat something "abnormal" for an amount of money, put their hands down once the real thing was in front of them. She then asked if there was anyone who would eat one of these for a dollar... I raised my hand... and won!!! Yay... I picked the cricket covered in dark chocolate. It was okay... it tasted like a Nestle Crunch Bar; I'm not a big fan, but I'm glad I tried it... It was my first insect. I've had arachnids, and I've had reptiles, but never an insect....

Watch out Andrew Zimmern.... I'm after your job!!!