My personal writing process.

 The following is an essay I handed in for one my classes.  I had so much fun writing it that I decided to post it as a blog post since I've been rather lacking lately.

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For me, the writing process is 80% procrastination, 15% perspiration, and 5% inspiration. Some works deviate slightly from this formula, but they all tend to fall within a marginal degree of separation from these percentages. To understand this writing process is to understand each individual stage within the work, therefore elaboration is required to promote a thorough and discerning look into the context of the process.

To begin, procrastination has to take place. This could be considered by many to be the largest and most tedious step within the writing process. To spend time doing other activities in substitution of your primary objective is an exhaustive step and must be dealt with on a day to day basis. Procrastination is also completely dependent upon the predetermined date of completion concerning a piece of writing. To determine when the final stages of the procrastination phase are over, one must divide the number of hours in the remaining time by the number of pages required for a work. If the number is is lesser than or equal to two, then you are ready to move out of the phase of procrastination and into the phase of perspiration.

In the perspiration step, one must ascertain the requirements of the work. When all requirements are noted and deliberated on, then it is time to begin the piece itself. Beginning the paper starts with adjusting margins to assure that there are fewer needless words and phrases upon the page, which would only confuse and dismay your reader. Remember, in the perspiration phase, quality of word choice is much more important than quantity. To allude to everyday life, take the Stop sign for example. Very few words are actually spoken within the work, however, the impact of the statement is phenomenally high. It does not contain a thesis, nor does it warrant support, therefore the word 'Stop' is by itself, the most powerful word within the context of the piece. This brings up my second point: During the perspiration process, it is important as well to make your text large and your font consuming. By stretching the limits of the pixels your font contains, you stretch the meaning of the work into the stratosphere. Once again, one must apply a mathematical formula to determine when the final stages of the perspiration phases are coming to an end. If the final number of the previously mention formula is less than or equal to one, then it is time to move to the final step of the writing process: Inspiration.

Inspiration is the final stage in the three step writing process, and should be the primary area in which you focus on the writing itself. In the inspiration stage, all material, thought, source work, study, and deliberation must come together to form the introductory line of your paper. When the introductory line has been completed it becomes important to fill the essay with useless dribble that neither supports a thesis nor comes to a conclusion on anything, and should almost never have anything to do with the topic at hand. If you properly constructed the opening line, then the rest of the paper is line out for success. Turn in your newly finished work without checking for spelling or grammatical errors and never leave time for revision. Revision is only to be made when your work does not return with a satisfactory mark.

By following this suggested outline, you should find yourself breezing through college essays and thesis papers. Just remember the simple steps and anyone can be confident writers of collegiate level material: Procrastination, Perspiration, and Inspiration.

The Middle Class Situation

"I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money"
- Pablo Picasso.

If someone who has nothing can be proud of having nothing, and someone who is rich be proud of their vast wealth, why can't we in the middle class be proud of our meager accomplishments?

I am so sick of hearing sob stories about how Billy Joe and Sally Sue grew up in the poor part of town, and didn't have anything, and didn't have anybody, and didn't have any chances, and didn't have a car, and didn't have  time to go to school, and didn't have any money, and didn't have a house, and didn't have... well you get the picture.  On the flip side of the coin you have people with a lot of money, and they know they have money.  They went to private schools, Ivy league Universities, and went on to become Doctors, lawyers, and politicians much like their fathers before them.  We don't look down on them, and they don't want us to.  They're proud of their lives.

The point I am trying to make is that if poor people can be proud of being poor, and rich people be proud of being rich, then why are so many of us in the middle class caught in the crossfire of where we stand?

My life has not been a struggle, and I don't wish to convey it as such.  It has been a series of battles that I have either overcome or failed to accomplish, but all in all, it has been just an ordinary life.  I don't see why then, that the poor seek to shame me for having that style of life, while the rich persecute me for not being wealthy.

The poorest of our nation live better than some of the richest of others, so why is then that we live in a world where we base who we are on our social status?

The upper and lower classes are focused on heavily for whatever reason.  When growing up I would hear thigns like, "You know, he's come so far for not having anything," or "He so nice, you'd never know he was a millionaire."  That always seemed to prick me because you never hear things like, "He's come along way from being middle class," or "He's so nice, you'd never know he was middle class."  See what I mean? Those phrases just don't sound right.  It's as if the elite have to be bastards, and the poor have to be meek.  From the experience that I gather it's often the other way around.  The richest of men are more than often those who have worked hard for what they have, and have stood their ground in the face of adversity.  The lower class spend what little they have on foolish things, trying to make themselves look good to each other.  Both classes all the while chastising the middle class for either having to much or not doing enough to have more than enough.

The middle class is not without fault here though.  Often times we let tradition and ideas that are incorrect lead us through life.  If something sounds like it is good, we take it as gospel.  We here phrases like, "God helps those who help themselves," and "Cleanliness is next to Godliness."  Both of which are religious examples, but they serve the purpose of showing that we latch on to phrases, even if they are not completely correct.  I'm not going to go into the religious debate about these quotes, but I'll leave it at saying that neither of these lines are in the Bible.  You can check.  Don't be afraid.  It's only every little line we've been fed growing up that's at stake.  So what does that mean? That means that we are ruled by ideas and traditions that we do not choose to overcome or to question.  We are complacent, if you will, to live in a "live by your means" mind set.  That means that we are, frankly, alright with being the working class.  This is what bothers me the most.  We have set ourselves in a hole, but it is not uncomfortable.  It is a hole with cable TV and carpeted flooring.  It is a hole with heating water and central cooling systems.  It is a hole that we would like to get out of, but are comfortable staying in.

In south-eastern Oklahoma, a person who makes $100k+ a year is considered wealthy, where as someone who makes under $25k is considered in poverty.  The middle class tends to make around $45k to $65k with some being higher or lower.  This puts most of us in an awkward place when it comes to financial aid or scholarships for school.  Because of that, many of the middle class are forced into working for meager expenses while going to school as well.  This is the problem of the middle class and a phrase you hear quite often, "The poor get everything paid for by the government and the rich have enough money to afford it anyway, so the middle class get screwed by being the difference."  The working class is forced into being, once again, the working class.  The middle class will work so that they don't have to live off the government, but do not make enough to afford lavish things.  Wherein lies the glory of being middle class then?

Before my great granddad died, he said, "If I could do it all over again, I believe I'd just live on welfare,"  which, needless to say, made my family laugh.  His point of course being that life would be easier if we all just lived off of the government, but my family had too much pride in working for a living.  He's been gone for around 18 years now, but that quote lives on in my family, mainly as a joke, but to me it represents a greater truth about our society.  It says that there is a grander idea in life than our middle class mentality.  It is not a more popular idea, but a grander one.

We should want more for less.  Seems simple right?  In a purely economic stance, we should want more for what we give.  We hinder our selves though.  We have ideas of "less is more," and "money is the root of all evil."  Another misquote by the way, the original text reads: "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. "  (1 Timothy 6:10.)  Money in and of itself is not evil.  When we love money and are willing to go to any extreme to obtain it, it becomes a proprietor of evil.  What this means then, is that our mindset towards money needs to change.  We should not be ashamed to develop large amounts of wealth.  One reason that we are afraid to obtain money is the social change it will put on us.  We will shift out of this middle class standard where we are comfortable and move into the upper echelon of society.  There are different ways to accomplish this, and I'm not going to go into them here; what I want to elaborate on is that we should not be stuck in the traditions of our forefathers at the expense of today.  We should have the courage to chase our dreams, without hindering ourselves on needless self denial.

Anyway, that's all for today.  Give it a thought and leave any interesting comments you might have.


Until next time.

T.G.

Marriage, Purity, Carpe Diem.

  A friend of mine recently married for the third time only taking just a few short months to learn that he was "the one."  You could imagine the doubts that surrounded that authenticity of the claim when she displayed her diamond encrusted ring to us and announced that he asked for her hand.  Although I have reservations toward the life expectancy of the commitment, it has granted me with inspiration to set to work on a short story.  I don't want to reveal the major details of the work yet, but it is safe to assume that the woman in it will have a few marriages under her.
  Their marriage brought some new concepts of human invention to me that I had never before heard of.  For instance: the idea that if you get married a second time, you're not supposed to wear a white wedding dress.  When I inquired as to the reason why, I was answered that the bride is no longer pure, and thus should not wear a dress that represents purity.  Now, I found it strange because most people who get married today are not pure anyway, yet they were the white wedding dress.  They didn't save themselves, but still dawn the white shroud.  Does it not seem odd that a symbol that is supposed to represent purity, is representing a lie instead?
  I had never thought about it much until recently, but it literally angers me when a pair do not save themselves.  There are plenty of pretty women that attend school with me, yet when I imagine them giving their flowers to someone who is not right for them, it disturbs me deeply.  I don't particular pay it to mind with acquaintances and lesser known people, but to those whom I hold a desire for, the thought consumes me.  I'm not going to go into the morality of it because that is a thoroughly beaten horse, but what I do want to say is this:  Why is it so difficult to save yourself?  We are thinking, logical beings, yet we say that we allow our desires to rule us?  We should have desires, yes, because that is the driving force of humanity, but when we allow them to control us to the point of total relinquishment of authority over our souls, then we have truly lost the battle. 
  A common thread in society is the idea that your first time should be with someone you love.  Whether that is right or wrong is up to you, but by itself, the statement seems to be pretty strong.  The only flaw in it is the human interpreting it.  Love is many different things to many different people.  What that means is that one man could consider himself in love when a beautiful woman walks through the doorway, while another would only consider himself in love after knowing the person for years on end.  Love does not always lead to marriage, though we are taught that is should.  We are also taught that we should save ourselves for marriage, but we are often told by the ones who didn't themselves.  This creates a hypocritical situation, where the speaker has no credit or authority.  This means that the statement made is void.  The most powerful voices for self preservation are those who fought the fight of desires and brought them under control.  They are the ones who have the most authority to convince the youth that it should indeed hold on to themselves for the one they marry.  If then, our first time should be with someone we truly love, how do we determine who to give ourselves to?  Again, we are open to interpretation, because I cannot say if you are truly in love with someone, just the same that you cannot tell if I am or not.
  Our society tells us that we should be sure of our decisions even if they are made quickly.  Every job interview I've been to asks me if I have the ability to complete the job.  Now, if I have never done the job before, I have no way of positively saying that I would be suitable for the position.  You get this a lot with first time job seekers, and those looking for a temporary position.  I am then placed in a compromise of my morality.  Should I embellish my abilities to look good and get the position, or should I say that I will do my best, while promising nothing?  If I do the later, it will deter my hiring, because even though it sounds more honest and correct in nature, society wants us to tell them that we can do it, even if we don't know that we can.  Because of this concept, we have had the idea of self embellishment carved into our being that we carry into our relationships.  If someone asks, 'are they the one' we respond, 'yes' without giving it a second thought.  That second thought though, would be the thought that spares us from separation, and misguided attempts at building a partnership that will ultimately fail.
  Carpe Diem.  Seize the day.  I think that we as humans are charged with the responsibility of making every day the best that we can, not only for ourselves, but for the world around us.  To live in harmony with the people we talk with.  To make the world a better place to live.  Carpe Diem does not mean to take a dishonest advantage of the limited time we have here, though it seems as if it has become bent more and more towards that definition.  It has become commonplace to do all that we can now for all that we can get now, and let the future slip through our fingers as it comes and goes.  Some day though, our time will be closing, and when that day comes, I pray that I will know what it means to have truly lived.

Signing In.

      Since blogging seems to be the popular forum for personal reflection, (and sometimes retribution,) it would make sense to start a new page in this grand universe that I might attend to as much or as little as it would seem necessary to me. It would hold no more purpose than for me to express my own thoughts, ideas, and opinions.
      When I was little, I would often keep a journal, and to this day I'm excited at the thought of recording all the days intricacies, though history tells me that I neither possess the patience to use it properly, nor the discipline to make a regular stop to drop off fresh memories. I am not afraid to make a fresh attempt however. I would like to go no longer than a week's time without contributing at least a paragraph to the online clutter that is slowly flooding the internet with useless information and ponderings.
      This is Travis, signing in.