Obamicon

You can do it too. Here.

What did I begin?

When I was a senior in high school I applied to four colleges. FOUR. I got into two and the others...well it was their loss. The two I got into were BYU and Cal State Long Beach. Random? Yes. You see, I had no idea what I was doing when I was 16. I thought I wanted something specific out of college, explaining, perhaps, why I only applied to California schools willingly (BYU was to appease my mother, who thought I needed saving, which I did). Ironically, as everyone knows, I ended up going to BYU, though I swore I would never in a million years go there.

Let us fast forward now to 2006 when, to my surprise, my little sister Mary, who also swore she would never go to BYU, is practically forced to because her dream Ivy Leaguer turned her down (it was a shock to me too...). And now were to 2009, where my next sister Anna, who isn't as much of a hater and Mary and I, decides to give up her short-lived dream of going to a small liberal arts college in Ohio and applies only to BYU!!!! Anna, who had the most shot of NOT being forced to come here because she didn't get into her dream school (I guess what I didn't realize is that maybe BYU is Anna's dream school).

Regardless, I have now started a tradition in the Downs family that I have mixed feelings about. I want my siblings to go to the college they want to go to. If its BYU, great. It's a good place. And if I learned to love it, I think most people can. I just hope they don't come here because its 'the road already traveled'. Or because its easy.

Let me end with a poem by Langston Hughes, dedicated to all of us who dream big and are disappointed even bigger.

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--
And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

I hope we can all have the guts to go after what we really want. It may be the hardest thing we will ever do.

I want this

I'm curious if all of you like your laptops? Mine needs be taken to the nearest electronic dump very soon and I could use any suggestions you've got on laptops! BTW: The laptop I have now is a Compaq and it has lasted me 5 years! Should I switch to a Mac? Oh so tempting....???

Types of Revolutions

There are two basic types of revolution.

The first= political revolution. This includes coups, civil wars, revolts, and all the "great revolutions" like the French Revolution and the American Revolution (as separated by sociologist Charles Tilly).

The second= social revolution. Now this gets kind of complicated. Theoretically, a social revolution is one in which both the social and political structures are "turned around". But literally, a social revolution is exactly what it denotes--a revolution that changes something fundamental about society as a whole. This can include changes in technology (the Green Revolution, the Industrial Revolution), changes in social mores (The Civil Rights Movement) or culture (The Sexual Revolution).

Theme of the Week

I am now implementing a theme of the week on my blog. This will include all blog content, including, posts, pictures, quotes, colors, you name it.

theme • noun 1 a subject or topic on which a person speaks, writes, or thinks

Theme of February Week 1: Revolution.