Express Yourself

Be who you are and say how you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
--Dr. Seuss

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Awe

I read an article from QuietRev today about The Science of Awe and Why It Matters. I thought about how busy I can get and how far away from awe my life and work has taken me. I need more awe in my life. I need to enjoy the aesthetics, so I can be inspired to create. That is where I get my energy. I love to create and be inspired by people, ideas, and experiences that allow me to fly on the wings of awe. As I read, I began to search my inner thoughts which have been jumbled up for a while.  Why can't I remember what I did yesterday or what I ate for lunch?  Why can't I remember names and concepts for more than five minutes? It is because I have been feasting on high doses of the mundane and have not consumed enough awe and quietness. Life is a total blur. Time to put on the brakes!

As I read the article, I found a few websites that brought me back to insight and tranquility. Jason Silva has a website that you might find invigorating and thought provoking. It is called Shots of Awe. The video called Awe is nothing short of inspirational. I leave his Awe video with you today, so that you might get away from the ordinary to renew and rejuvenate your soul. For the introvert, this is essential.


There is another website that can bring a sense of peace as well. It is called Sidetracked Magazine. There are beautiful photos of excursions to  natural wonders that I find breath-taking. When I need a break, I don't have to pay a zillion dollars on flights and hotels, but I can experience a mental minivacation vicariously. Take a field trip to the aesthetically pleasing parts of our world to engage the mind, if only for a 5-10 minutes a day. Free the mundane and journey to the marvelous.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Thesis Statement-Tape Has Adhesive Properties That Makes Life Easier

Alana Morris asked to me write a blog post about the adhesive properties of tape. Here it is:



You have your scotch tape. You have double-sided tape. You have your duct tape that now comes in all colors and designs. There is masking tape. This all sounds like lines from Forest Gump, but that might be too sticky of a topic. There's one thing that is true. Tape has adhesive properties that simplify lives. Why else would you use them?

I love the new duct tape. I am not talking about the boring gray types. Now there are designs like moustaches, hamburger and fries, and even macaroni and cheese. I use them to decorate and cover my composition notebooks. They have such great adhesive properties that they can be used to join notebooks together. Staples are too dangerous. They tend to protrude and cut human flesh. Tape? NEVER!

I used double-sided tape a lot last year in my classroom. Double sided tape is enormously adhesive. It sticks just about to anything on the wall, door, or windows of the classroom. Posters and anchor charts would never even think of falling down. I could have stuck an elephant to my wall without even a second thought. Unfortunately, there wasn't any available, and it would have taken up a little too much space.

Electric tape is so wonderful for those exposed electrical cords that I refuse to replace. I use it on my old phone chargers. They never need to be replaced because of electric tape's great stick factor.

I love to use scotch tape for my notebooks. I tape everything but my kitchen sink in my notebook. I tape business cards, schedules, tickets, emails, photos, and little Crunch candy bars (a tasty artifact). It isn't messy and nothing will fall out. Again, great stick factor.

No matter how you slice or tape it, the adhesive qualities of  tape makes my life easier. My notebooks, presents, elephants, and chargers thank me for using so much tape. I adore tape!