August 27, 2010
Recent Baking Adventures: Muffins & No Bake Cookies
Baking is a lot of fun guys. It is a great thing to do with your friends, siblings, or anyone you want to bond with because you can create something, and then eat it together later. If you have nothing to talk about while you’re baking, you can always talk about baking.
Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
These muffins are so delicious and they are so easy to make. I made them with the 12-year-old I watched this summer, on my last day of hanging out with her.
Ingredients
We didn’t have them at hand, but I’d recommend adding any of the following things too:
and any other yummy thing you can think of!
Pretty much,
you just mix
everything together.
Stir it and stuff
and then
put it in muffin tins
until it comes out like this.
I guess people would recommend mixing all the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, and then combining them.
No Bake Oat Rolled Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
There are so many ways to describe these cookies. Delicious, heavenly, in my freezer, in my belly, in my mouth, all over my shirt and fingers while I’m writing this, friggen awesome, really good, wow, cookies…
These are SO EASY AND FUN TO MAKE. Really you just take any cookie recipe and delete the eggs and baking powder/baking soda. You don’t need to bake these anywhere. That’s why they are no bake cookies.
Here’s the basic recipe:
We actually didn’t have enough butter, so we substituted some olive oil and soy milk. After you get the basic recipe mixed all together, then you get to add whatever you want! It just depends how you want your cookies to taste. Here’s what got added to this batch:
Stir it all together. If you’re adding unsweetened cocoa, you’re going to want to go back and add an equal amount of sugar or honey. You might also need more flour as you add the peanut butter. You want to get it to a consistency at which you can pretty easily mold the dough into balls. When you’ve got everything together, pour oats on a plate, and roll the dough over the oats to add the outer-coating. Oats add a great texture and crunch to these cookies! At the end, just put the cookies in the freezer, and they’ll be all ready and delicious for you to eat in a couple hours or less, depending on how good cold your freezer is.
These are the ingredients we used!
Here’s our batter. Yum.
Oats!
The first cookie!
Because these cookies were made No Parent Style, you can put the dough all over your fingers and eat it, you can be cool like Rachel is right here. Not pictured: me being cool too.
August 24, 2010
On Resenting Popularity
A few days ago, I came across this article at Spinner.com: I Hate My Hit! 10 Songs Disowned by the People Who Made Them Famous. The article touches upon a common occurrence in music that I’ve long thought is a big shame. It’s a little unnerving to me that people so easily attach a song’s reputation and reception to the song itself. Haven’t we all heard stuff like this?
“That song was really great until that car commercial ruined it.”
“I used to love that song but now it’s just overplayed.”
“It would have been a good song if the radio didn’t kill it.”
This kind of stuff makes me just want to shake everyone’s shoulders and say, “What guys!?” What do you mean.
The philosophy behind that kind of thinking really gets under my skin. I don’t feel that any music I enjoy could ever be ruined for me by any kind of external force. If the radio can ruin a song for you, how could you claim to have ever really enjoyed it, if liking it is so dependent and conditional on how many other people like it too? It’s a shame that it has become both common and socially acceptable (even expected, in some cases) to use reputation and popularity as factors in determining whether or not you claim to enjoy something, and, in too many cases, likely whether or not you actually do enjoy it.
I know I shouldn’t speak for others, but I will speak for myself. I catch myself subconsciously wanting to scorn stuff that is really popular. I catch myself wanting to go for the less obvious favorites when picking a song from an album, because there’s this small part of me that’s wired to believe that if I think an artist’s most popular song is actually their best, then I’m just appreciating their work on the surface and not diving in deeply. Why do these thoughts exist? I don’t want to blame some vague, distant object like a society or a culture, so I’m going with this reason: deep down, I have some insecurities, and feel that I need to validate myself somehow, and appreciating stuff that other people don’t get (being misunderstood) seems like a pretty good way to do that; seeing stuff that other people don’t see gets me thinking that I have some deeper, truer appreciation for art and it feeds my superiority complex. Or: I have doubts about my self-worth, and getting to believe that I get something more deeply than the masses gives me not just a sense of connection with the art I’m appreciating, but a sense of ownership, and then I get to walk away happy with a feeling of validation and worth. Getting around those misguided ways of thinking is totally my problem. But something tells me that I’m not the only person in the world to have experienced these kinds of thoughts. Something tells me that it’s common.
Like I said, I don’t want to speak for others here. I do want to speak for myself. Frequently, I have to consciously correct these ways of thinking. I have to stop my thoughts and go through a process to realize how ridiculous I’m being. Thankfully, I started realizing this a long time ago, so for the most part, those misguided thoughts don’t get in the way of my actual opinions. When they come up, I know that giving in to them doesn’t bring me any closer to music that I enjoy, but rather it pushes me further and further from the point of it all: connection, sharing, joy. Music should bring people together, and not be a means for a person to become separate.
It bothers me as well that artists sometimes get this way with their old material—that they too come to feel and believe that songs of theirs have been ruined by popularity. I can understand being an artist and not wanting to feel like you’re eternally defined by one song you wrote that you don’t even believe is a good representation of your music as a whole. But I think there’s a big difference between wanting people to look past the hits and between denouncing a song you wrote because you don’t like the rep it got.
Using an example from the list that I frequently think about, I believe it’s a shame that Thom Yorke is both so adverse to the idea of performing “Creep,” and so resentful of the song’s fame. I think it’s a shame that in general, in my experience, Radiohead fans have such a negative reaction to Pablo Honey. I’ve heard Radiohead fans brag that they’ve never even listened to the album the whole way through, and I still can’t figure out what about that would make anyone think it entitled them to bragging. Do I think Pablo Honey can be favorably compared to any other album in Radiohead’s catalog? Not so much. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a great album! It doesn’t mean that “Creep” isn’t a really good song. “Creep” captures the desire we all have to be and feel accepted, and it’s beautiful. It blows my mind that there are probably tons of people who’d scoff at me saying “Creep” is an awesome track because they believe feeling superior is a means to feeling accepted.
I’ve also taken notice that Brand New has adopted a similar attitude toward most of their first album, Your Favorite Weapon. I feel similarly about their debut as I do about Radiohead’s: it doesn’t even touch upon how profound and amazing their later releases are, but that in no way negates any artistic validity the record does have. I understand that, in some ways, Jesse Lacey is resentful of Brand New’s first album because of the false image it promotes of the band. He wants fans to see past the angst-filled boy wishing diseases and car crashes upon ex-girlfriends because he wants it to be realized that he’s got more than that youthful anger inside of him. I think what it gets down to, for me, is that I think it’s unnecessary to denounce your youth to prove that you’ve grown up. To quote Dumbledore, “Old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.”
The reason I think Your Favorite Weapon is a great record, and the reason I will always think it’s a great record, is because the stories it contains are timeless. That’s always the reason. Whether or not we mature and move past that point of angst, of wanting to stay young, we were there. It’s the same reason why I think children’s books make up some of the most important literature ever penned. There is something beautiful about being young, naive, quick to give into impulses and emotions, curious…that we too often grow up to forget. Ultimately, I think there’s more maturity to be found in embracing the parts of your past that have changed, than there is in resenting, or even just ignoring, them.
Some bands are pretty good about it. Wilco has progressed from the alt-country days of A.M., but every so often they throw in a song from their debut into their set. When I saw Jeff Tweedy do a solo show in March 2009, he played “Casino Queen” and it was really fun to watch. He also played “A Shot in the Arm” and “I’m Always in Love,” both of which are from Wilco’s third album Summerteeth, and two tracks from their double sophomore release Being There. He’s not saying, “Hey we have some ambient sounds now and ‘Less Than You Think’ is unnecessarily 15 minutes long so we don’t play old songs anymore.” Songs represent moments in time, and I think it’s so admirable when artists not only realize that, but embrace it. (Keep in mind, I don’t want to throw stones at any of my favorite bands, even if I do disagree with some of the attitudes some of them have adopted.)
I think it’d be cool if one day Radiohead opened an entire tour with “Creep,” or if Brand New started rotating all the songs from Your Favorite Weapon into their show. I already have great respect for both those bands, but that potential gesture would increase my respect far beyond what it already is. I hope we can all take time to remember that songs are songs, and most of them were probably born in someone’s basement or kitchen or shower or car ride home, a voice and a guitar, and the ones that get popular are no exception.
August 18, 2010
“You Wouldn’t Have to Ask” by Bad Books
I’m sitting in my room on an unexpected day off, enjoying a simple breakfast I just made (french vanilla coffee and homemade toast with cream cheese), reflecting on Kevin Devine’s current project, Bad Books.
Bad Books is the child of Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra, with KD and Andy Hull at the front, and backed up by the rest of the guys from MO. They’ve all been playing together for years, so what makes this different from Kevin playing along with a couple songs during Manchester Orchestra’s set, or from the guys in MO backing Kevin up as The Goddamn Band—or, excuse me, The Goddamn Orchestra? In some ways it can’t be all that different—it will be the same friends, the same energy, the same musicians. What’s different from the collaboration we’ve seen between these two artists on stage is that the Bad Books album is a collection of songs written by both Devine and Hull—each writer contributed five songs to the record, and they both worked together to mold and build the songs to the stuff we’re going to hear in October. This album will show us what happens when the two artists work together from the start, when they collaborate before they take the stage.
So the first single was released the other day! It’s called “You Wouldn’t Have to Ask” and you can listen to it on the Bad Books Facebook Page. For the sake of links, add their Twitter to your list, and their website too. Don’t forget MySpace, or the band’s label, Favorite Gentlemen.
I like it a lot. It’s a good pop song, so how couldn’t I be into it? From the Bad Books website, “Bad Books cradles a much more noticeable pop aesthetic and energy than either artist has probably ever showcased before.” This is so true. This track is very catchy and it’s more straightforward than anything I’ve heard from either artist. As a big KD fan, one of the things I take note of in a song is whether or not there’s a chorus. If you scan his catalog, lots of songs don’t have them. It’s this amazing thing I noticed in his writing, that both inspires me and scares me. That fact that this one does sport a chorus is a clear pointer that we’re getting something more obvious than usual.
The structure of this song is pretty standard as far as pop songs go. More complex verses that tell us the story, and a lyrically simple verse that’s giving us the big picture of the song. A bridge that builds up to a big instrumental section and then slows down for another verse. This structure is so popular because it’s so brilliant and effective all the time, and yep, add this song to the list of ones that pull it off.
I played this for a friend of mine who enjoys Kevin Devine, but isn’t a big fan like I am, and she heard the first verse and laughed a little, “Sounds like Kevin Devine…bundled bunches break brain branch….” And it’s true: he’s a master of alliteration, and it’s great writing. Right now I don’t know who came up with what, but based on what I know, I’m guessing Kevin’s got something to do with that language.
Something I am so glad to hear in this song is backup vocals. Vocals vocals vocals! A strong display of back-up vocals is something that I consider to be one of the most important things that builds a pop song. The other most important thing is acoustic rhythm guitar, which this song has also got. It’s golden. I often picture melodies as little threads or ribbons that float around the song, and too often the ribbons are too thin or flimsy to solidly stand on top of a full performance of drums, guitars, bass, and so on. I like that I can hear everyone singing along.
While a straightforward pop song, there’s a lot more going on here. One of my favorite things is that muffled building-up scream we first hear before the second chorus, reminding us, “Well if it wasn’t…you wouldn’t have to ask.” I hear Manchester Orchestra there. The scream reminds us that yeah, you can bop your head and sing along to this and grin and stuff, but when you see this performed live, this is something both the band and the audience are totally gonna rock out to.
Bad Books is a lot more than Kevin Devine + Manchester Orchestra. There’s something intangible that’s getting created in the combination. This track has this amazing charge to it that I’m really excited to hear in full-length, and see in person on their upcoming tour. Good art is more than the sum of its parts, and that’s something we have here. What makes it work? It’s impossible to pin down precisely where chemistry comes from, but I think friendship is one of the most important things. You can hear how happy these guys are to be working together, and you can hear that they’re doing what they love with people they love. Music is a medium for spreading joy. I want to see and hear a band with members who’re having a good time with each other, who are so inexplicably happy to be doing exactly what they are doing. That intangible gratitude is what I hear on this first single.
There’s something new that comes from these two songwriters working together. One of the most beautiful descriptions I’ve heard of songwriting styles comes from BNL’s Kevin Hearn. He was asked to describe the difference between Ed Robertson’s songwriting and Steven Page’s songwriting, and he said that they were both wonderful writers, and if he had to sum it up, he’d say that, “Ed writes with his fingers, and Steve writes with his hands.” With the pair at hand, I’d give Devine the fingers and Hull the hands. On the Bad Books website, Kevin admits, “ I think Andy trusts his instincts to lead him to the right place in a song, and sometimes I want to outthink my instincts because I’m scared of repeating myself, of resting on my laurels.”
When I first got wind of Bad Books, I had to suppress a few thoughts like this, “Man, screw this, I just want a Kevin Devine tour.” I’m a fan of Manchester Orchestra, and I’ve been listening to them since they became a band, but there was a part of me that wanted to cling to what I already knew I loved and avoid the work of getting used to something different. Thankfully, I’m over that, and I don’t seriously believe that the independent work of each artist is threatened by Bad Books (crazy!). All the energy and excitement surrounding this release is infectious, and I’m so happy that they are following their instincts and going forward with this project, as opposed to just brushing it under the carpet as something that ‘may happen later if we have time for it.’ It’s better to give songs a proper place when you have them, as opposed to letting them get dusty and feel homeless, hidden beneath your staircase or in your closet somewhere.
The full album drops October 19, and the guys are embarking on a short east-coast tour shortly after. For those of you who don’t live in New England, I’m sending good thoughts that they’ll come to your city soon, too.
Lyrics, as far as I could figure:
Crooked days come bundled up in bunches
They break your brain like a branch
And push you out here asking after for something
you should know I don’t have
If I had it you wouldn’t have to ask
If I had it you wouldn’t have to ask
Later on when you bargain with your mirror
and you ask is it really that bad
If it wasn’t you wouldn’t have to ask
If it wasn’t you wouldn’t have to ask
How could you know if you didn’t?
What’s left to say when your tongue’s turned to ash?
Well I tell you you’re finally forgiven*
So you wouldn’t have to ask
Shoot what’s left, slip inside your sinner smile
Another man in a mask
If you faced it you wouldn’t need a mask
If you meant it you wouldn’t need a mask
If I could fix you you wouldn’t have to ask
If I could help you you wouldn’t have to ask
*I’m still unsure about this line!
Preview more Bad Books songs:
The Easy Mark & The Old Maid
You’re a Mirror I Cannot Avoid
August 17, 2010
Creating Bread
Recently, I made bread. Making bread is really fun and not all that complicated, and in the end it’s delicious! Here is a guide using some photos and some words on HOW I CREATED BREAD WITH MY FRIEND, so maybe you too can enjoy a fun day creating bread with your friend.
You start by putting yeast in a bowl, and adding water and olive oil. We used two packets of yeast.
Then you add some honey and some salt! The salt is not pictured, but you know it’s in there.
Man if you’re me, you might wanna lick the honey that gets stuck on the bottom of the cap. We finished the bottle! We put in about half the bottle.
You let it sit for a little bit (20-30 minutes) and it starts to look like this.
Oh my gosh like this!
Then you beat it up while you add white flour and wheat flour (use both!) and beat it up the whole time.
It’s really fun to hold and squeeze in your hands.
THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID, AT LEAST.
It’s sort of like a baby. Rachel said to me, “Julie, if you drop that bread, I’m gonna freaking kill you or hurt your feelings.”
That really did the trick, so I put the bread back in the bowl.
Put a warm towel over the bowl, and let the bread rise for 20-30 minutes. It will look like this! I was a little scared/intimidated…yeast is alive? And now it’s rising up against us? Oh no.
Take it out of the bowl and put it in a pan you can put in the oven! I wanted to make bread with “dots” which I learned was actually corn meal. You can see the dots on top!
Put dots on the bottom too.
We wanted to put spices in one of the loaves. What you have to do in that situation is put the dough on a clean, floured surface.
Spread some butter and olive oil on the dough.
Then put whatever spices and stuff you want! We put minced onions, rosemary garlic, Italian herbs, and other tasty stuff too.
Roll the dough like this!!!
This is the spices loaf in a pan.
If you want you can put some honey on top of the dough before you bake it!
Aw they’re friends!
Friends inside the oven too!
Mmmm…
So you bake the bread until it’s golden-brown-ish-however-you-like. When it’s done, you might want to cut the bread with a knife!
BREAD UP CLOSE! REAL BREAD.
If you want to eat a sandwich on your fresh, homemade, delicious bread, you could maybe cook some onions!
Oh my god and maybe add some mushrooms.
Oh and maybe snack on some bread while the vegetables are cooking 
Pretty much done!!! We melted some cheese on top too.
Rachel and I were so nice that we offered sandwiches to everyone in my family, and my brother accepted. Wow we are so nice.
Ta da! To make your sandwich extra delicious, you could try adding some hummus and poppyseed dressing. This is what I did!
After your sandwich is done, you might want to go watch How I Met Your Mother with your friend. This is what I did anyway.
To make bread, all you need is:
It’s so simple! We pretty much eye-balled all the measurements, as Rachel had the recipe memorized. You can probably do that too if you want to make bread. Be creative. Rachel is the master behind bread pretty much, and I am the super helper. SUPER HELPER.
August 14, 2010
7 Reasons Why Styrofoam Is Bad, and 7 Ways to Hold a Dunkin’ Donuts Iced Coffee Without Being Awful
Since I live in Central Massachusetts, there are about five Dunkin’ Donuts locations on every street near me. According to http://dunkindonuts.com and their Store Locator, there are over 20 locations within 10 miles of my house. I like their coffee, but they’re not the most environmentally conscious company, nor do they have the most environmentally conscious customers. In fact, many of their customers enjoy Being Awful.
I first started noticing this trend when I was in high school. About halfway through my time there, a Dunkin’ Donuts opened up in town, and suddenly the best thing to do before high school was to go to Dunkin’ Donuts and get an iced coffee.
It started to really infuriate me when I would walk down the hall to my locker, and I’d pass about a dozen girls all holding iced coffees inside styrofoam cups, as if it was the coolest freaking thing ever. They looked sorta like this:
But don’t let that image trick you into thinking that Being Awful is limited to girls who got to go to high school with me–just the other day I saw three police officers banded together with styrofoam cups outside their iced coffees. See?
Why does spell-check keep on telling me to capitalize ‘styrofoam?’ It’s so Awful it doesn’t deserve a capital letter! I guess it’s a proper noun somehow, but who cares?!
Why is styrofoam bad?
Instead of boring you (and me) with science or whatever, I’ve composed my own list of why I think styrofoam is bad.
1. Every pore of styrofoam is equal to a thousand tears.
2. Styrofoam separates children from loving mothers.
3. Styrofoam kills butterflies.
Styrofoam would have killed the butterfly as a caterpillar, but gets greater joy from destroying more beauty.
4. At night, styrofoam burns your house down with fire and laughs.
5. Dementors eat styrofoam, and it makes them sick!
6. Styrofoam is mean to the earth.
7. Styrofoam doesn’t like muffins.
I think it’s bad enough that Dunkin’ Donuts sells actual drinks inside styrofoam cups, so seeing people get extra styrofoam because they want to avoid getting a few drops of water on their hand or because they want to look stupid is almost too much for me to wrap my head around. I’m actually operating under the assumption that anyone who gets a styrofoam cup with their iced coffee is trying to look like an idiot, because I’d like to believe that no human is so awful that they think avoiding getting their hand wet should be a higher priority than not trying to kill the environment. I guess another reason someone might get a styrofoam cup is to not get their hands cold, and all I have to say to that is get a freaking pair of gloves.
Because I have a lot of faith in humanity, and really just believe there are awful things but no awful people, I thought it would be beneficial if I explained some Awesome And Acceptable ways to hold an iced coffee. I came up with 7 ways, but I’m sure there are more. Here they are conveniently explained for you with words and pictures:
How to Hold An Iced Coffee Without Looking Stupid Or Being Awful
1. With your head.
2. With your hands.
3. With your hands and your body.
4. Cradled in a hat like a cute little iced iced baby.
5. With your knees.
6. With your hands like this.
7. With your hands like this.
I’m saying ‘You’re Welcome’ in advance to anyone who was previously unsure what the best way to hold an iced coffee was. Here are 7 best ways. You are totally welcome. I hope this was informative for everyone reading, and remember, styrofoam is bad guys!
Thought of other ways to hold iced coffees? Discuss them here or email me!
August 13, 2010
Randall Munroe Original Drawing (xkcd.com)
The other night I was going through some old papers of mine. I found a bunch of my old comics, and I found a little drawing Randall Munroe of xkcd did for me back at Webcomics Weekend in 2009. I thought it’d be a neat thing to share with you guys!
I had a nice interaction with Randall, and besides getting this drawing done, we had a short discussion. Mostly I remember he advised me to switch my major from math to physics.
August 11, 2010
Every Purchase Should Be A Celebration
As someone who’s twenty and in college, I’m familiar with the ‘being cheap’ mentality. I totally understand it. I think I’m very fortunate, and at the end of the day I consider myself to be well-off, but I also don’t have a lot of money to throw around. This time around my summer job is being a babysitter to two children. I think I get paid pretty well as far as summer jobs go, but still I spent some time and effort looking for supplemental work. I picked up a second part-time babysitting job, and I started helping out at the indoor climbing gym I regularly go to.
I’m worried about how I’ll pay off my college loans, and I’m worried because every time I go to the grocery store to get something for my parents I think about how much I love grocery shopping, and how there are so many delicious foods that I want to eat and buy for myself when I’m older, and man, what if I can’t afford that? I’m worried because I never want to have to pass up a concert I really want to go to because of money, and I’m worried because I’d like to travel after I graduate. I’m worried because I’d really like to be able to afford an electronic drum set. I’m worried because I guess one day I might want a car, and I might have to pay my own cell phone bill, and man, what if I become too tied down with bills to fully realize all of my passions?
And so I want to be careful with my money, and at the same time, I don’t want to constantly operate under principles of fear and hoarding. You know? Are there purchases I should make now that I’m scared to, but that will ultimately provide me with more value than having that extra money in my bank account? For example, I’m just realizing now that I want to invest in my own pair of climbing shoes immediately, and I even wish I had done it sooner.
I’ve wanted to get my own climbing gear for a year now, but I’ve yet to make the jump (hehe). It’s been mostly for financial reasons. When I climb at home, I get rentals for free because I have a membership, and at school they’re free anyway. I’ve always explained to myself (and others), “It’s difficult for me to justify spending money on climbing shoes, because I can rent them for free at school, and because I’ve already spent a lot of money on my gym membership.” But really, I think I’m justifying the decision to hold out on buying them more than I am anything else.
Sometimes I feel like a hypocrite. At my core, I’m very idealistic and I believe there’s more value to be found in doing what you truly love than in having financial security. But then, when I imagine the security I have disintegrating, it’s like I go into survivor-mode, and everything I really believe is total crap as long as I’ll be able to eat this week. I login to my bank account and open up a calculator, and crunch how much money I’ll have in six months if I buy absolutely nothing. Sometimes I figure how much money I would have if I didn’t buy this and that, and I wonder if I’ve made mistakes and been too careless with my money. And then I feel so bad, because if I only wanna fight when it’s easy, then I can’t really care that much, can I? Ultimately I’m okay with having conflicting moods and thoughts, because I think that there’s more hypocrisy to be found in dismissing these conflicts as unacceptable than there is in admitting I have doubt sometimes, too. Without doubt, there is no choice.
The other night I stumbled upon David Cain’s blog, Raptitude, and was especially taken by the recent post “Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed.” I’ve been intending to write some of my thoughts about spending money, and this post spoke about reasons why we often make purchases we don’t really believe in: “to cheer ourselves up, to keep up with the Joneses, to fulfill our childhood vision of what our adulthood would be like, to broadcast our status to the world, and for a lot of other psychological reasons that have very little to do with how useful the product really is.” I boil all these reasons down to because we feel we should and not because at our cores, it’s something we want. Imagine how much happier so many people would be if they ceased living the life they feel they should want, and started living the life they actually desire.
Want vs. Need
“Only the man who does not need it, is fit to inherit wealth.” -Francisco D’Anconia from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged
There are things we actually need to physically survive: food, shelter, and so on. And then there are things we’ve convinced ourselves we need to mentally survive. The difference between a purchase that helps you and one that hurts you is whether you’re honest with yourself about whether it’s something you need or something you want. If you can’t get through the morning without a mocha latte, you’re not helping yourself by continuing to make that purchase. But I think if you actively acknowledge that you’d have a happy, productive morning even without the latte, it can be a good thing to make that purchase—as long as you’re sure it will bring you joy. My next example is silly and laughable, but the application is sound. When I traveled to New York City to see Kevin Devine in June, I bought a Red Bull inside the venue. This cost me five dollars! It was totally overpriced, but I was happy to spend the money because it was something I wanted to do. Over-spending on an energy drink at a concert is about the most ridiculous I ever get. I don’t need to throw down five dollars for a drink every time I see a show to enjoy myself, and knowing that is what made the purchase worthwhile for me.
Every Purchase Should Be A Celebration
If you’re saving your money and hating it, then stop. And if you’re spending your money and hating it, then also stop. I believe that every purchase should be a celebration, and if it doesn’t feel like one, then you should hold off. This is something I’ve been working on and have yet to fully master. But when I am living this ideology, I can really feel it. For example, when I bought tickets for the Barenaked Ladies concert I recently attended, I was happy for that money to leave my account. When I went to see Kevin Devine this past June in Boston, I bought one of his t-shirts, and I was extremely happy to pay for it (it made it more fun that I bought the shirt directly from the man himself). The purchase felt good. I’ve fallen out of the trap of going out to eat too much, and of buying coffee every day, but when I do go out for these things, I feel really good about it. And I’m glad to hand over $3 for a coffee that’s made for me exactly to my specifications. I think it’s awesome that for $5-10, I can go out and get a cheap meal, and not worry much about preparation or clean-up. It doesn’t feel good to sleepily go to Dunkin’ Donuts every day and always be scrounging the car for another quarter, or to get pizza every weekend just because it feels socially acceptable. What does feel really good is conscious spending.
Spending should always feel really good. If you have money, you should feel good that you’ve done something that another person believed was worth whatever it was they paid you. You should feel good that you’ve earned something you can exchange for pretty much anything in this world. If you don’t feel good when you spend your money, you’re better off just hanging onto it. You’re losing value because whatever you’re buying obviously isn’t worth as much to you as having that extra money is. Every time you buy something, you should consider it a celebration of the work you have done to get there. Every purchase should be a celebration of gratitude toward the forces that make it so easy to exchange money for something else.
Beyond Breaking Even
When you make a purchase, at worst you should feel as if you are breaking even. What you’re getting is worth just as much to you as what you’re paying for it. Beyond that, I believe in a deeper kind of exchange. This goes beyond breaking even and getting what you believe your money is worth, and breaks into the realm of creating more value. There isn’t a constant amount of value in the world, and we must always be aware to ways we can create more value. We must always be living and telling stories (remember The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman); we must always be making conscious choices and adding value to the world.
When you make a purchase you really believe in, that really empowers you, not only are you breaking even and getting what you paid for, but you’re adding something good to the world that just wasn’t there before. And, if it’s a sound deal, so is the party you’re buying from. In the most moral kind of exchange, both parties feel that not only did they break even, but they each got the better deal. By using the term ‘the better deal,’ I’m not talking about getting something for yourself at the expense of another person. I’m talking about getting what is the better deal for you, about walking away happier with what you have than what you had. A sound, moral purchase happens when two parties come together because they each have something that the other will appreciate more deeply. Each consciously acknowledges what the other has, and they make that exchange happily.
I’ve heard people say, “I always feel bad spending money,” and I feel really sorry for them. Sometimes it’s difficult to control your impulses when it comes to money, but I think it’s easy to distinguish worthwhile purchases from shoddy ones, as long as you’re capable of being honest with yourself. When you’re about to buy something, think of how you’ll feel after the transaction is complete. Will you feel empowered, proud, and happy, or will you feel guilty and as if you’ve made a mistake that you wish you could hide? Ask yourself that question, and it will become easy to distinguish which purchases you should gravitate toward and which you should walk away from.
August 8, 2010
8/7/10 Barenaked Ladies, Ben Kweller, Angel Taylor in Boston, MA
On Saturday August 7, 2010, I had the privilege of seeing my favorite band in concert. This was my 31st Barenaked Ladies concert, my 2nd Ben Kweller concert, and my first time seeing Angel Taylor. I went with my two younger siblings Seth and Carissa. I made Seth drive!
Before the show
The three of us left Central Massachusetts around 4:30 pm. I bought myself an iced coffee, and we ate lunch at b.good on Newbury St. I like their fast food better than at Five Guys. I guess I’ve eaten a lot of burgers and fries in the past three days.
Here’s proof that I bought an iced coffee. I’m also wearing some of my favorite clothes! I don’t really wear glasses, and those don’t carry a prescription and I also don’t think they’re mine. Someone gave them to me at some party some night and I figured it would be some fun to wear them sometime.
My brother Seth LOVES! to eat. That’s my orange soda you see though.
Angel Taylor
I sat down and listened to her set. Mostly I remember that she covered “Creep” by Radiohead. I had mixed feelings about it, and then mixed feelings about said mixed feelings. I’m a big Radiohead fan, and I’m frequently parading how great Pablo Honey is, and, specifically, “Creep.” But for some reason, when she announced that she was going to play a Radiohead song and then it turned out to be “Creep,” the snob in me just felt annoyed and pretentious, like, Of course it’d be “Creep.” For some reason the song that keeps coming to my head that I wanted her to cover instead is “Electioneering.” I’m not really sure why!
She’s a very strong singer, and she had really solid musicians backing her up. I’d never heard of her before seeing her tonight. At one point Carissa said, “I think she’s from American Idol,” but I looked that up and I’m not sure if that’s true. I also had to look up what order her name went in, since “Taylor Angel” felt equally possible to me.
Ben Kweller
Ben Kweller’s set really rocked. I think it’s unfortunate that I was like, the only person dancing around during his set. Sometimes I like to dance and rock out at concerts, and sometimes I like to just stand back and watch everything. Last night I felt like rocking out. I’m sure I look really ridiculous jumping up and down and oh man what do I do with my arms? But I don’t really care because I’m happy to just have a good time. I think some people got a kick out of my enthusiasm 
Sometimes I feel a little bad dancing when everyone is sitting, but I don’t think I should. I think if I felt like sitting down chilling and someone in front of me was bopping around and maybe obstructing my view, I’d take more joy from their happiness than I would from having the better view.
I was glad to hear “On My Way” and also “The Rules.” I’ve been listening to Ben Kweller for a long time, but most heavily before his third album came out, so I know Sha Sha and On My Way the best. Still, I made sure to go through Charging Horses before the show, and so I was pretty familiar with everything he played. The new track that stands out to me the most is “Wantin’ Her Again.”
I think we should all take some time to listen to BK, and then thank him for filling that hole where I want to put a blend of rock, blues, and country, with sliding guitars, walking bass lines, howls and growls, and someone who has done an acoustic cover of “Ice Ice Baby” (actually rendered “BK Baby”).
Ben Kweller Meet & Greet
The Ben Kweller meet was poorly organized and operated in my opinion. At the end of his set, he announced that he’d be heading to the merch table if anyone wanted to say hi. Since the concert had assigned seating, I figured why not, I’ll go stand in line until BNL starts up and maybe I’ll get to talk to him. So we all went to wait in line. It wasn’t too long, and we were getting to the front. Then some woman (who I’m guessing works for the venue) came down the line and asked everyone if they had merchandise for Ben Kweller to sign. She brought every person with a CD or T-shirt ahead of anyone not seeking an autograph. To me, it was a really crappy move. I’ve been listening to Ben Kweller since before I went to high school, and I’ve bought a bunch of his CDs, and this was my second live BK experience. I’m not going to buy music I already own or spend $30 on a t-shirt I don’t really want just so I can keep my place in line.
I just really resent being treated like a “second-class fan” because I didn’t want him to sign anything. In general I don’t really care a lot about autographs. And frequently I pass up opportunities to meet artists because I get really shy. But I’m trying to get over that, and I had a lot of energy from enjoying his set, and he seemed happy about inviting people to come talk to him, and plus my recent experiences with Kevin Devine have me used to artists being really accessible at their merchandise tables. And this wasn’t an official signing, nor was it introduced as such, and so I don’t think I should have been made to feel out of place by not having a CD in my hand.
Me, Ben Kweller, Carissa. I think this is a bad photo but whatever.
Eventually I got to the front of the line (I was going to just leave but my sister really wanted a picture) but I still felt pretty down from being treated so poorly and abruptly by the venue workers. And Kweller himself seemed to be in a rush, which plain just made me feel insecure. He was really nice, and even came by after to take a second picture in case the first one didn’t come out right, but still there was an air of…hey man this is cool but really I just want to get out of here.
I think Ben Kweller’s a great musician, performer, and I’m sure he’s also a really nice guy. Maybe he had something to do or stuff on his mind, but I’d rather have an artist who’s unavailable to fans than one who you can tell is in a rush. He was really nice to take a picture with me and Carissa, but for me that was just a plus, and I really just wanted to say, Hi Ben. I think you’re awesome. Thank you so much. I think I got some of that across, but I wish I hadn’t felt like I had to blurt it out stupidly or lose my chance completely.
Barenaked Ladies
I’m going to copy the setlist from the night, and try to address key moments sequentially. I’m embedding some videos from YouTube, which were taken by other awesome fans.
Who Needs Sleep?
I LOVE this song, and lately I’ve been on a 2nd-half-of-Stunt kick. I have one really happy memory of seeing them do this song in Portland, ME a few years back, and I frequently listen to a live recording of it. Ed’s live vocal performance on this song really blows me away, it’s got this buzz and power that makes the studio recording sound dull, even though the studio recording of this song is totally awesome. I missed the flute part, but let’s talk about that later.
The Old Apartment
Alright, I’m not a huge fan of this song. This was the first instance in the evening of experiencing delayed audience reaction: it’s clear to me by Tyler’s drumbeat that they’re doing OA next, but most people don’t realize that until they hear the first two big hits on guitar. Of course, I could have very well known it was coming by memorizing their current set-list formula, but I tried not to do that for this tour. Besides that, I used to be able to guess exactly what they were going to play based on the guitar (and sometimes keys, banjo, mandolin) set-up. I’m a little rusty nowadays, and obviously many things have changed now that Steve’s not in the band. Even so, I can remember that Ed rarely uses his Strat, and “Old Apartment” is one of those rare occasions.
The reason this might be my least favorite BNL song is it just sounds a little cloudy to me, whatever that means. I think it’s just hearing it so many times, and also my opinion that “Shoe Box” would’ve been a better choice for Rock Spectacle over this song. This did rock though, and Ed really comes through the lead vocal part with a lot of power. Tyler’s another member who really comes through in this song. Since Ed’s on lead, he can no longer do that really low harmony he likes to do in this song. But Tyler came through, and nailed them perfectly.
I love an acoustic version I have of this song best, and I hope that one tour they’ll do this song as an acoustic number.
Falling for the First Time
What’s one of the best things about this song in my opinion? Acoustic rhythm guitar. I think acoustic rhythm guitar and good harmony are the two biggest things missing from a lot of music. Sometimes it sounds okay, but a single thread of melody over a flood of electric guitar just gives me a headache. BNL is the only band I’ve heard that nails everything. There aren’t any empty corners or pockets in their songs that shouldn’t be there.
Every Subway Car
Hey this is the single right now I guess.
Light Up My Room
This song is a long-time favorite that everyone knows is beautiful, I think.
Easy
How Long
I feel like the set this summer doesn’t focus as much on the new album as much as it tries to sweep the catalog. I was hoping to hear more tracks off of AIGT, but I’m glad we got at least one of the really rockin’ ones. This song makes me want to get a megaphone and go to a really crowded place and scream, “SO GIVE IT UP FOR ANGER.”
Another Heartbreak
I was really happy to hear this song. I really think this track is gorgeous. This song reminds me that you can’t really quantify how good something is—as in, it’d be very easy for me to pick apart tiny things and say, “Man, heartbreak/heartache is a pretty cheap rhyme.” But just because something is easy to criticize doesn’t mean it’s worth criticizing, because I think the simplicity of the chorus is a perfect representation of the song. Good songs are like fractals. This track is a sweet, beautiful gesture from a guy who’s just trying to do his best, to not hide anything, to just be himself, and the simple chorus achieves that spirit with ease.
Pollywog In A Bog
Oh! my! god! During “Another Heartbreak” I think I sort of mellowed out my dancing, and this song brought all the energy back for me. At first, I was expecting “I Saw It” and then bam, that bass line. The bass line to this song is so great and distinctive that I’m sure most people can tell you what the starting pitch is if you just ran down the low notes on a piano. During the bridge I calmed down, stopped jumping and stuff, because I remembered Steve’s harmonies. I think the singing in “Pollywog” is some of the best the band has done, and the harmony on the bridge is some of my favorite harmony in music. The other guys were able to fill in all the notes
Sound Of Your Voice
So this is the spot in the show where we get a special acoustic rendition of a song. Kevin reclaims the lead vocals on this track, and instead of playing piano last night, he accompanied the band with a beautiful showing of arpeggios on acoustic guitar. The other three guys stood side by side around one microphone, snapping their fingers and adding backup harmonies, doo-wap style. My favorite part was when they sang what is usually a piano solo. I think right before this song they discussed Kevin’s experience at a barber shop, and this is the kind of thing that would fit in nicely outside of a barber shop, sometime in the 1950s or so. Here’s yet another performance that separates Barenaked Ladies from many musicians…quality entertainment, clear talent, and vivid reinvention.
It’s All Been Done
Too Little Too Late
Two big Steve tracks back-to-back. Ed does a really good job singing these, like he does with every song, and like you would expect him to. Still, I can’t help but miss Steven Page. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I took a lot of silent moments last night to remember previous BNL shows, to imagine a ghost of Steve jumping around on the stage and clapping, especially during TLTL. I feel this is better than straight-out ignoring his absence and telling myself that it’s just a different band, a different thing. I miss Steve, but the guys don’t sound empty without him. Or rather: I miss Steve, and the guys sound like a full band without him. You know? If I lost touch with a person I really loved and cared about, I would miss them terribly, and I would still love my other friends and family members. No contradiction there, and that’s a really important thing for me to realize.
Let There Be Light
This was a fan request, and I’m really glad it was filled. This is one of my favorite Kevin songs, and I think it’s a great bonus track on All In Good Time. This song is catchy, and tells a story. And if you’ve been having a bad decade, this could be the story for you.
They shared banter and stories with us throughout the night.
You Run Away
Simply put, I think “You Run Away” is beautiful. What can I say? I’ve loved this song since the day I first heard it. To me, this song is flawless. This song makes me fall in love with music all over again, and reminds me why I love BNL so much: beautiful melodies; heartfelt lyrics; thoughtful and precise harmony, instrumentation, and layering; and spot-on story-telling. I’m reminded that being a BNL fan is something I am every day, and not something I became once and just kept at because it’s all I know. This song gives me faith. This song tells a story I’m not part of, but a story which describes a little pocket of my life perfectly.
The most common negative thought I’ve heard of this song is many fans think it’s inappropriate and too obviously bashing Steven Page. I don’t see any bashing here, and nothing is too obvious. Whatever happened between Steven Page and the other guys will fade, seem less important and less tense in time. People will fight with fire in their eyes, but before long they’ll look at each other again and not be sure what the big deal was. I don’t hear anything in this song about one person being right and another being wrong. I hear a story of friendship, from one soul to another, and I simply hear a speaker wishing he could be there for his friend, and not knowing how. The harsh realization that it’s not you, it’s nothing you can do or change, and you’re just not what your friend needs at this point in time.
Musically, this song tugs me in and doesn’t let go. The layered vocal parts at the end bring me back to BLAM‘s “Maybe You’re Right” and I think it’s just as brilliant an idea here as it was there.
I approve of this song as a single more than any other track they’ve chosen for that role. Last night’s performance of this song delivered everything and left nothing to be desired, and I look forward to hearing this song at many shows in the future.
Four Seconds
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this song. The consensus I’ve gathered is that people think this song totally mother-fuckin’ rocks. I can see where they’re coming from, but at the same time I feel like I’d rather have heard this kind of thing on Snacktime! and not on a proper record. It makes me laugh, it does rock, it’s clever and great. It highlights a part of BNL that I both love and resent: I love it for what it is, and resent it for what too many people perceive it to be. I’ve spent a lot of time defending them as a “real” band or a “serious” band, because a lot of people who don’t really know their music get caught up in their silly image and write them off as a novelty act. THIS ANGERS ME MORE THAN ANYTHING ALMOST.
Big Bang Theory
“This song is from…television.”
Frequently when I listen to music, songs come on and I am like, “MAN, I really need to cover this.” Tonight this was the #1 song I wanted to cover. This song is reminiscent of “Ballad of Gordon,” which I’ve always thought was the catchiest song I’ve ever heard.
One Week
I think last night I enjoyed this song more than I usually do. I was able to give up on the image of it and just enjoy that it’s a great song that’s really fun to dance to.
Pinch Me
What’s most memorable about this song was someone threw Superman briefs to the stage, and Kevin sported them for the rest of the night. Kevin’s a little nicer here than Steve has been in the past, and kindly says, “Ed exists,” after the line, “It’s hard to tell if I exist.”
True story.
Million Dollars
At this moment in the set, I usually zone out a bit. For a long time I’ve wished that the band would retire IIHAMD but I’m sure that won’t happen anytime soon. I think they like stuffed monkeys getting thrown on stage far too much to ever do that. This is a fun live song, but having heard it at almost every one of their concerts, I’d usually just rather hear something else, especially since this takes so long to play, what with all the banter and so on.
After this, Kevin went into “Magic” by Pilot, and Ed started rapping. He rapped, Thank you for coming to see us tonight / we’re Barenaked Ladies, did we do alright? Then the crowd exploded, and Ed started beat-boxing. I’m glad they’ve revived the rapping at the end of the show. The only thing is, I’ll have to start listening to more radio music so I actually recognize most of the songs. I think we heard some Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry, at least.
Alcohol
Tyler sang this! I’m sure this was a mutually beneficial exchange between Ty and Ed, as Tyler got to sing and dance around, and Ed got to rock out on the drums. Once, on a Ships & Dip cruise, my younger sister was interviewed and she was asked, “Who is your favorite band member?” And she said, “I don’t know, but I don’t like Tyler.” I think what she really meant was, “Tyler is my favorite and I think he’s goddamn hilarious,” because that seems to more accurately reflect Carissa’s views on Tyler. This song was a lot of fun, and everything Tyler lacks as a lead-singer, he makes up for in energy in charisma, easily. Since Ed was on drums, Kevin had to cover the guitar part, and so the piano in this track was greatly missed (‘specially the solo) but I think that’s the only thing I regret about this performance.
Tyler Stewart calls alcohol the “next substance.”
Brian Wilson
Ed does a good job singing lead here and I really appreciate it.
After this song, walking out of the venue, someone came up to me and said, “You’re a really good dancer,” and that made me feel good about myself.
Overall, I am filled mostly with gratitude. Last night I was trying to think about what music really does for me. And a sentiment I’ve heard from many people is that music offers an escape: a tunnel through which you can forget all that tedious stuff in your life and just enjoy something. But I realized that, for me, music—and books, movies, comics, art in general—isn’t about forgetting. I don’t want to think of my life as something that needs to be escaped or forgotten. I’m happier to think that truly enjoying something is about remembering. That high, that happy concert buzz I feel, that’s not a feeling I want to have to escape my life to experience. When I feel that charged and energetic, I’m remembering how I would like to always feel, and the music is just a reminder, a little push in the right direction.
Every day is another step in a journey to hang onto all those feelings, to do a better job at it, to let the joy I feel move through me and leak—no, flood—into every part of my life. To be happy and friendly, and slow to anger. So, mostly, I would like to express thanks toward every musician last night, who pushed me to remember something that I too frequently forget, and who have renewed me with the hope that, one day, I may be able to do a better job of remembering it every day, without so much prompting.
I truly loved the concert last night, and like always, the experience makes me want to go to more shows. I’d really like to attend S&D 4 next February, but I’m currently not booked because I’m not sure how possible that will be for me, both financially and academically. I am happy with the experience I’ve had, though.
What did I buy?
After the show, I bought an awesome baby blue wife-beater tank.
I figured I needed this shirt, because wearing it will provide a great opportunity for me to display my jacked rock-climbing arms.
To hear a recording of this show, check out this thread on barenaked.net (the best fan forum to exist ever).
August 6, 2010
Someone fainted on me at Five Guys
Today I went rock-climbing with my younger brother. We climbed for about an hour and a half, and then decided to go get food. Usually we’ll climb for longer, but I think for some reason we both weren’t really feeling it. For me, I was pretty tired because I just couldn’t fall asleep last night, and I did a lot of climbing a couple days ago (top-roped two 5.11′s!). And for my brother, he’s not been climbing very much recently, and felt tired. We both did a handful of good climbs before taking off though.
Anyway, in Worcester, there recently opened up a new Five Guys Burgers and Fries place. I’m a vegetarian, and they have a good veggie sandwich (just get a lot of mushrooms) and so being able to eat at a fast-food location is pretty exciting for me. And I love mushrooms and sandwiches. I actually went there yesterday by myself, so this was my second trip in two days. Eating at Five Guys for me is worth about 4 meals (assuming I get french fries) so it’s pretty cool if I’m busy because I can just go there, forget to eat for about a day, and not really worry about it. Awesome!
So me and Seth (Seth is my younger brother!) were sitting down eating, and I had an obstructed view of the counter where people order. There was a crowd of people at the counter, and suddenly I heard a thud, and saw that someone was on the ground. It was a guy surrounded by some friends. People seemed really shocked, but I saw him getting up, so I assumed he was just very outgoing and had been demonstrating some story or joke a bit too openly.
So I went back to eating, when, BAM, a couple minutes later, I felt this body crash into me. It was really quick, messy, and shocking. Bodies are so heavy! This was just a normal guy, and his whole body was just like dead weight in my lap. I was taken completely by surprised, and just remember shouting, “Oh my god oh my god!” I thought I was being attacked at first. I like to think that I like to give people the “benefit of the doubt” but I guess in fact I’m pretty mistrusting.
I’m okay. My head got hit, and I think my elbows too, or at least somewhere else on my upper body. I might have a bruise, as my head thronged for a good 20 minutes after. But more than anything it was just plain scary. I really had a hole in my stomach for the next hour!
The guy was okay I think. He cut his arm falling on either a chair or a table, and hopefully he was able to get to a hospital to figure out what the problem was. I guess I’ve led a pretty boring life so far, because this is probably the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me. I would have stayed to get interviewed (SHOCKING! MAN FALLS NEAR GIRL EATING VEGETABLES!), but I had to get going to help some kids in need of belaying.
Update
This afternoon I was speaking with Carissa and we had a conversation that went something like this:
Carissa: I got a bloody nose today!
Me: I got fainted on today!
Carissa: I know. I WISH someone fainted on me.
Me: What?
Carissa: When I went to Five Guys later with mom I walked in and I was thinking wow I really hope someone faints on me but no one did.
August 5, 2010
Advice for Incoming College Freshmen: Do Whatever You Want!
As a college student, and as a person who is genuinely interested in the college experience, and in anything to do with popular educational systems in America and other parts of the world, I have…many opinions about learning. In high school I was given an assignment to write a speech about what I thought the world most importantly needed to change (or something equally broad, vague, and ridiculous) and I wrote and spoke passionately about what changes our educational systems needed.
Right now I’m following along a bit with the Facebook group for students entering the Smith College Class of 2014, and a lot of people are concerned about what they should take. I’m sure this is true of incoming freshmen (or first years) across the country, and even for many older students.
Pretty frequently, I see incoming students being advised to explore their interests, not jump into their major, not overload too much, and stuff like that, to strive for the perfect balance of breadth and depth. That pretty much sums up a lot of the advice I received when I was starting my first year. I had a really successful first year of college, and I didn’t really follow any of that token advice. I’m not writing to say that you *shouldn’t* follow that advice. I’m writing to say that you should take it into consideration, but at the end, follow the advice you give yourself, because only you know what you’re really capable of.
My first semester, I took five 4-credit classes, one more than the norm. Three of them were math classes, another was Hebrew, and another was a poetry class. I remember attending a Meet-the-Faculty event the week before classes started, during which I introduced myself to a few teachers. I told a member of the math department that I was planning to take a course she was teaching, and then I went on to explain how there were two other math courses being offered that semester that really interested me as well. She shook her head a bit and went on to tell me that this is a liberal arts college! I have to admit that I was a bit shook up by her disapproval. A couple days later, when I had a meeting with my adviser to discuss my schedule, he also expressed a lot of hesitation about me taking three math classes at the same time, and told me that he felt even two maths during the same semester was a lot to take on. My adviser was very nice, of course, and told me that ultimately I could do whatever I wanted to. I felt pretty good about that, but still his doubt and hesitation crept into my mind and made me doubt myself a tiny bit. I left the meeting with the idea that I’d sign up for 5 classes, and then drop one of them. So what happened is pretty simple: I signed up for 5 classes, and just kept them all.
I’m writing this because if you’re out there in a similar position, and that little bit of doubt is maybe gonna stop you from doing what you really want, well, don’t let it!
Here’s why “branching out” was a bad idea for me: Part of me is not even sure if I believe in branching out! I definitely don’t believe so many colleges should have “general ed” requirements, and I’m very happy that Smith College doesn’t have any. Everyone does so much forced branching out in high school that it seems totally absurd to me that most colleges require you to waste your time all over again with their silly requirements. I’m not saying that there’s a kind of learning that’s a waste of time—as in, I believe there is value in *all* learning—but forced learning most definitely is pointless. If what you’re learning about doesn’t excite you, then it’s a waste of time. If it’s not keeping you up nights, then what’s the point?
In high school I spent four years “learning” about stuff that I didn’t really care about, and the very last thing I wanted to do when I got to college was take classes just for the heck of feeling like I’m getting a “diverse experience.” I knew that I wanted to learn a lot of math, and I was more sure of that than I was of any other academic goal. So that’s exactly what I did. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being sure.
My choices last fall are really paying off. The three math classes I took first semester are the very three that are required for all math majors at Smith, and combined they’re the prerequisites for all the advanced courses (at least until a point; together, the three get you to a new tier). If I’d only done two of those my first semester, I would have had to take the third in the spring, and it would have been difficult to fit in another math class I had the background to take. I would have really stalled myself and likely I would have had to fill my schedule with classes that I would have taken just to get enough credits, and not because learning those subjects was something I truly wanted to do at the time.
Now I’m on the verge of entering my sophomore year, and not only am I 50% complete with my major’s requirements, but I’ve got 9 extra credits to play around with since I took extra classes throughout the year. And because of this, I have a lot of freedom in my class choices. I’ll never have to face a semester with a bunch of classes I’m not really interested in, or with too many difficult classes packed together, or with any constraint that I’m not enthusiastic about.
If you can, I think the #1 thing you should look to avoid as a college student is getting into a situation where your major or graduation is at the stake of having to take a certain class at a certain time, and missing out on something else you wish you could do to take that class. I’m hoping that this will never happen to me, because the idea of missing an interesting and exciting learning experience because of poor timing or because of a requirement just makes me feel sad, like I’m in a frosting store and my parents won’t let me have any sugar, or like I dropped 400 blueberries on the floor, or someone hurt my feelings.
And now that I’m secure in both my major’s requirements and credit requirements, I have the freedom to take pretty much whatever I want. I could take an entire semester off from math and still be on track with, if not ahead of, most of my peers. This isn’t something I plan to do immediately, because currently there are several math offerings that I’m very interested in. But in the future it’s something that might very well happen. Math is an academic priority of mine, but I’m really interested in learning many other disciplines. But I’d rather save that until I feel that I’ve got that math priority under control, so that when I do “branch out” further, I can do so with full focus, enthusiasm, and discipline, and not as a half-hearted gesture of doing something just because I feel like I should want to.
I know a bunch of people who were encouraged to “explore their interests” at the beginning of their time in college, and because they did that, they’re now in crams trying to fit in all their major requirements, and they can no longer take classes in other departments. So their initial branching out is what’s preventing them from actually branching out. The idea that the beginning of your college experience should be exploring stuff until about halfway through when you should lock into a major and stick to it is pretty counter-intuitive to me, as far as my Learning Intuition goes.
What I’m really getting at is I think conscious exploration is great. If you go to a great college, you must know that there are so many more meaningful and enriching things you will want to do than you will have time to. So it should make sense to make the stuff you choose to spend your time on the most important stuff. And that should be the most important stuff to you, not to anyone else, even faculty, advisers, and other authority figures.
I’ve felt the weight of going against advice and know that it can be tough to do, because probably the most sucky thing in the world would be to fail at something and be surrounded by a bunch of I told you so‘s. One of the most helpful strands of thought I frequently keep in my head—you know, whenever things do seem a little tricky, complicated, or difficult—is just, “You can do this. People don’t know what they’re talking about.” Or, as I was telling a friend last night, whenever I am looking for inspiration, I recall the Pokémon episode where Pikachu has to battle Raichu, and eventually wins despite being Raichu’s evolutionary lesser. He wins because of agility. That always stood out to me. But I think that’s a different story.
In the spirit of this post, and in the vein of different stories, stay tuned for “Why Rooming With Your Best Friend From High School Is AWESOME” in a month or so.