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April 22, 2013 • A POSITIVE PRESS PUBLICATION • VOL. 3, ISSUE 12
Light Bulb
written by first-year, Jessie Blaeser
I always knew I should have gotten a copyright on my brain. I remember the moment I realized it—my first defining light bulb moment. I was in elementary school, and still in the stage where I hated showers because they interrupted my playtime. As a result, I told my mom that showers should be shorter. Then, suddenly, the solution hit me: shampoo and conditioner in one. It was perfect. Virtually half of my shower time would be cut down if only I had to massage one slimy substance into my hair instead of two. I was so excited while telling my mom the idea that I didn’t realize that her smile was not out of appreciation for my ingenious thought, but rather a smirk of amusement at my proposal. “Jessie,” she smiled, “shampoo and conditioner-in-one has already been invented.” Crestfallen, the excitement dropped from my face. I was a seven-year-old cheated out of her big break.
Years later, a similar experience occurred. Again talking to my mom about how to make life easier, I told her that there should be electronic picture frames that you plug flash drives into that will then play your pictures on a slideshow. It made sense, because families seem to take so many pictures; it's a shame |
shame to not have them all displayed. A little over a year later, I saw digital picture frames gracing the shelves of Target and Wolf Camera—another defeat.
Now fast forward to high school. Gas is scarce, and lines frequently form outside the local BP and Shell stations. My twice-cheated mind starts to wonder about solutions for this inescapable problem, and it hits me: kudzu. We need an energy source that is abundant, and preferably something that we can continue to produce in a short amount of time. So, what is something that we have a lot of and furthermore, that we need to get rid of? Kudzu! I’m going to invent a car that runs off of kudzu, I told myself. I was so proud of my idea that I protected it, and only shared its possibilities with a select few. No one would steal this idea from me. Well, while unsuspectingly listening during a recent ecology lecture, my professor begins to talk about energy resources, and guess what one of the topics was that we discussed? A new product, one formed in the garage of a man living in Tennessee: Kudzunol. The product is developed from the weed and actually works to run its inventor, Doug Mizell’s, farm machines. I sat in that lecture |
astounded that this was really happening to me again, and livid that someone had beaten me to it once more.
My point in sharing all of this is not to claim ideas that were once mine—although that is a nice perk—but rather to encourage you to claim you own. Inventions seem implausible when they first form in the inventor’s mind, but they often become a part of our everyday lives. Your idea can be anything from a concept, a product, a revolutionary solution to a problem, or a simple thought, but you should always try to make it a reality. Don’t wait until you’ve found out that someone else had the same idea, and stare back with regret; acknowledge your light bulb, and act on it before someone else outshines you. |
Disconnect to Reconnect
written by first-year, Megan Robertson
On Wednesday, March 6, 2013, around 11:45 a.m., I got the sign I had been waiting for since ninth grade. The UPS website had been open on my computer screen for several hours as I obsessively tracked the progress of one tiny box from Roswell to Athens. After another refresh, there it was, such a beautiful sight I almost teared up with childish excitement: “Your package has arrived.”
One bus ride later, I was in front of my mailbox, grinning like a fool. I pulled out an unassuming cardboard box, hastened to the elevator, and desperately attempted to open the packaging with the teeth of my keys. (I was unsuccessful, and my fellow elevator passengers seemed cautiously confused by my mania.) At last, in my room with the help of a pair of scissors, I freed from its casing something magnificent... A smartphone. When I direct the movie of my life, for this scene I will tell Jennifer Lawrence (who, naturally, will play the role of Megan Robertson regardless of her age at the time of filming), “Now hold up the phone and look like angels have parted the clouds to sing life back to your weary soul.” Because that’s how it felt. I had never had a smartphone. Instead, my pragmatic parents had bestowed upon me a scratched red flip phone, circa 1999. It could text, make calls, and take grainy pictures. Sometimes it would randomly block numbers or refuse to send messages. It had character, and I had been its reluctant but proud owner for more than four years. But its time had passed. My first week with my new phone was an adjustment. It was, as always, a process to transfer contacts, one I’m still working on. But it went beyond that. I could send picture messages; I could video chat my brother from a bench on North Campus; I could take pictures of my lunch, add a filter, and post it on Instagram! I could tweet from a moving bus! I could do crossword puzzles whenever I wanted! Do you people realize how magical technology is? The future is here! But I digress. (Sorry, it still baffles me.) |
I started to notice little changes aside from my divine superpowers of mobile social media. People lost my attention as I read movie reviews on IMDb. I would be overcome with burning curiosity for a meaningless question (e.g., What movie have I seen Gael García Bernal in before?), Google it as I walked down the sidewalk, and almost run into four disgruntled people as I realized, of course! Gael García Bernal was in Letters to Juliet. “You’re obsessed with your phone now,” my friend told me. He thought it was funny, but it was surprisingly sobering.
I have never had a problem focusing on people. I like to be genuine and present in my interactions with others. And my phone, glorious as it is, can water that down if I’m not careful. I had to remind myself to get my nose out of my phone and give my surroundings, especially the people in them, the attention they deserved. Twitter, Facebook, crossword puzzles, email– they’re all convenient (and, I maintain, magical), and they have their place. But they need to stay in that place, and it took a few weeks of being in my own Samsung Nexus-world to figure that out. |
Increase
written by by first-year, Erik Wien
My parents had told me to “increase my study habits” since they were sub-par in high school, and at first, I listened to them. I tried to hit the books as hard as I could to sponge up all the information from my classes, but that strategy didn’t sit well with me. Maybe this lesson only applies to me; I learned that my study habits were the only things I shouldn’t increase in my time at school. It may sound counter-productive, but through my almost 14 years of pre-school, primary schooling, and secondary schooling, my brain has been programmed to multiply and divide, and my eyes have been trained to recognize any and every grammar mistake written. I have spent a majority of my childhood and adolescence, as we all have, learning in schools– and through all of those years I have developed successful study habits that suit me and have brought me here to UGA. I continue to utilize these habits as I attend my classes, write essays for English, and study for the next Political Science exam, but I don’t believe in studying extra in my free time.
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My study habits have worked for me and continue to work, so I did something much more important with my free time. I lived up college. That sounds terribly cliché, but I used that time to learn much more important lessons than the material for the next Chemistry test. One of the hardest things to do as a freshman is acclimate to University where you are forced to meet new people all the time, so I increased the amount of time I spent with my friends. As a result, I have made a small group of friends that have already impacted me greatly and I hope to remain close with for many years to come. I increased my knowledge about small, independent tasks as I begin the transition of relying on parents to living largely on my own. Life was fairly easy with two strong, smart adults backing me every day in high school, but I recognize that after college, I won’t have the buffer between me and the real world anymore. I increased my opportunities
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to have fun in college because as my dad told me, “College is going to be the best years of your life.” Not only will having a good time in college reduce stress and give me great memories, it may open up opportunities I never even considered before. I have already made some great memories such as two awesome concerts I attended out of spontaneity, strengthened relationships, and I’ve increased love for where and who I am in just one year.
School and grades are important, but there are many other important aspects to college. I haven’t increased the amount of time I spend in the library because I don’t want to miss out on the beginning years of becoming an adult and the last few years of being a kid. |
Learn Something New
written second-year, Allison Branch
I recently came across a shocking statistic: the average American watches 34 hours of TV a week. At first, this bothered me. I tried to think of ways to encourage people to decrease their time spent sitting in front of a TV or computer screen. Then, I realized that equally important to hours of TV watched are the types of programs people watch. Are they romantic comedies and reality TV shows? Maybe the new “Arrested Development” or “How I Met Your Mother”? I enjoy these on occasion, but I recently discovered an affinity for another type of film.
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A few weeks ago I watched an amazing documentary called “Waiting for Superman.” It revealed ways in which the American public education system fails children, and discussed issues that I never knew existed. It highlighted the lives of five young children in different regions of the United States who are forced to attend failing schools and whose futures are at risk. Because of this film, I started watching more documentaries and learning so many new things about our world.
I had become so enthralled with fiction in TV shows and movies that I had forgotten how interesting nonfiction could be. Documentaries, like movies, have a beginning, middle, and end, and they keep viewers engaged. Previously, I had associated documentaries with boring, monotonous films shown in high school when we had a substitute teacher. But the documentaries I have watched have captivated my attention and made me interested in new topics and issues in our society. You don’t have to completely step away from the TV screen, but consider making some changes to what you’re watching. Instead of renting a movie, rent a documentary. You’ll learn something new not only about our world, but about your own passions. |
Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster and Donate
written by first-year, Kari Saunders
When you think about moving out of your beloved abode in Athens for the summer, a few words can come to mind. They probably fall along the lines of ‘stress’ or ‘struggle.’ A word that might not be as quick to appear is ‘charity.’ Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster is a movement started by Hillel at UGA that makes it simple for students to donate unwanted items to local Athens charities instead of donating them to the dumpster. Over the past few years, the program has partnered with the Office of Sustainability, University Housing, the Residence Hall Association, GoGreen Alliance, and SEA to help donate over $50,000 to needy organizations.
This year DDDD will take place the entire week of move-out, April 30th - May 10th, and will provide donation stations in convenient locations to make it easy for you to donate. Community groups and organizations around Athens developed wish lists for DDDD to strategically develop the most impactful experience for the community. Volunteers will set up at Brumby, Russell, Creswell, OHouse, Legion Pool, Reed Quad, Myers Quad, and Building 1516. Basically anything you own is donate-able! DDDD accepts electronics, furniture, bikes, clothes, refrigerators, futons: basically everything, including the kitchen sink.
The Facebook event for DDDD is located at: https://www.facebook.com/events/555423177822749/?fref=ts If you’d like to get more involved with Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster, they are looking for volunteers to help during the week. Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster looks forward to seeing you during move-outs!
This year DDDD will take place the entire week of move-out, April 30th - May 10th, and will provide donation stations in convenient locations to make it easy for you to donate. Community groups and organizations around Athens developed wish lists for DDDD to strategically develop the most impactful experience for the community. Volunteers will set up at Brumby, Russell, Creswell, OHouse, Legion Pool, Reed Quad, Myers Quad, and Building 1516. Basically anything you own is donate-able! DDDD accepts electronics, furniture, bikes, clothes, refrigerators, futons: basically everything, including the kitchen sink.
The Facebook event for DDDD is located at: https://www.facebook.com/events/555423177822749/?fref=ts If you’d like to get more involved with Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster, they are looking for volunteers to help during the week. Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster looks forward to seeing you during move-outs!