honey makes everything magical

i just made the most amazing peanut butter and jelly sandwich i think i have ever made in my entire life. the proportions were just right. the flavors were nothing but the best: jif peanut butter, smuckers concord grape jelly, and nature's own honey wheat bread. expiration date: tomorrow. it was the perfect scenario. i decided to make it even better. the addition: a bit of honey. is there anything you can't add honey too and make it taste amazing?!

the aforementioned sandwich acted as my comfort food for tonight. my mint chocolate chip ice cream, if you will. while i'm on that subject.. whats the deal with all the mint chocolate stuff?.. doesn't that defeat the purpose of both.. chocolate is meant to be an enjoyably sweet candy substance. mint is meant (hehe) to be.. well, a mint.. to freshen your breath. all that good nonsense. combining the two leaves you with chocolaty minty smelly breath.. requiring you to then eat a mint, with no chocolate, to attain the fresh breath you first desired. don't get me wrong, i love chocolate and i love mint, but why can't we keep chocolate and mint in their respective places.. out of each others lives.

i digress. as i was laying in my bed attempting to tire myself with boredom, eventually resulting in sleep, i became hungry.. hungry like the hunger you get after you've just worked out. which would make sense, being that i had just worked out roughly an hour and a half prior. maybe working out at night isn't such a good idea.. it gets my blood pumping. gets my metabolism in high gear.. ready for some food.. all while my brain is ready for sleepy time. then i eat, only causing me to remain awake even longer, leading me here.

but i digress. laying in bed, i was thinking about my plans for tomorrow. go to lsu to pick up an official college transcript to send from the post office with an application for a potential job with the city of baton rouge. go to the bank to deposit a check. go to livingston parish and apply at dsfh, dshs, whs, and lohs to become a substitute teacher.

and thats when it really hit me. i am settling. i have a degree from a respected local college and i can't find employment. society told me to achieve this education and i could go places in life. good thing i am about to become a sub. that education i got means nothing at this point. i have a piece of paper that is worth about as much as the tree pulp and ink that went into producing it. i am taking a job that i could have easily gotten without 4 and a half years in college. without spending thousands of dollars, amassing thousands of dollars worth of debt.. all while working my butt off to achieve something society said would be rewarded. where's my reward?

but i have to settle. i have to obtain an income. i cant continue living off of saved paychecks from the fall. i cant continue scrounging every penny that i can lay my hands on just to sustain my life on the planet earth. money is a necessity. a necessary evil that i am now confronting face to face.

i would love to find a job that is relevant to my degree. i would love to find a job in politics because that is what i am passionate about. i majored in politics because i care about politics. i want politics to become my future, my job, my life.. as sad as that might sound. but i am again confronted with the lack of experience.. and the fact that my degree apparently means nothing to those looking to hire people like myself.

and to the realization that politics is all about who you know.. and while im not complaining about my upbringing in the slightest little bit, frankly.. i dont know anybody. i dont know anybody who matters. therefore my entry into the political realm is not as easy as it is for others. i don't have the luxury of inheriting a political family tradition.. or of inheriting an extremely well-established lobbying firm right out of college (which was the situation at my most recent job interview).

but while some may look at that adversity and see an impossible mountain to climb, i see an incredible journey. an incredible chance for me to work my butt off to achieve the goals i have set out in my life. to not be hindered by society's lack of interest in my "experience" and education.. but to overcome that adversity through hard work, dedication, perseverance, and determination. and when i have reached the top of my game, i can look back and know that i fought my hardest. i wasnt simply handed a title or fame. i earned it. and i'll be proud of that. and i'll have a better understanding.. a better comprehension.. a deeper respect for those who are in my position now.. struggling to find their way. fighting what seems to be an impossible battle.

although the journey may be long and it may difficult, we shall overcome.

honey certainly is magical, isn't it?

from each according to his ability, to each according to his need

Wasting time on facebook, I ran across this political cartoon, and felt it was just too fitting not to share. Its ironic how socialism sounds so great to some, until you turn the tables back on themselves. Only then, when it is unfair also to them, do they disregard their own policies. NO ONE in their right mind would EVER work their butts off (like the rich have) only to have the profits of their hard work distributed to others who have not worked hard for it and don't have any sort of understanding of what hard work is. It's my recollection that Marxism failed.

(click picture to enlarge)

This is America. The land of opportunity. When did we forget this? Anyone can become anything they want to be in this country.. they only have to set their minds to it. No one is dealt an "unfair disadvantage" they aren't able to overcome through hard work and determination. Take the immensely wealthy Rush Limbaugh, who started off, not as a rich commentator, but as a poor college drop out working construction jobs.  He stayed determined to make something of himself and become better than what he was. Whether you agree or disagree with his views, his hard-work is an example that anyone can become anything they want.

Well, he is a white male so he has an "unfair advantage" which made it easier for him to succeed, you say? Well first of all, I disagree completely that anyone is dealt an unfair advantage or disadvantage that cannot be overcome, or lost, by hard work, or the lack thereof. Secondly, to give an example of a non-white person who has become extremely successful in the face of great adversity throughout his entire life is Democratic Presidential-nominee Barack Obama. While I do disagree strongly with nearly all of his policies, his story and rise to power is one to admire and seek to replicate. Obama was born to a non-existent father (as well as a polygamist and a drunk) and a mother who died when he was young. Not only the lack of true parents, he was born as a mixed race child. You can't get much more "underprivileged" than that. Yet despite ALL of these odds against him, he set out to make a name for himself and become something many only dream of. 

The difference he had was DETERMINATION and WORK ETHIC. That is exactly the thing people stricken with poverty are lacking. Get a little motivation and do something with yourself. Obama now has a 50/50 shot of being the next President of the United States of America, the leader of the free world, the most powerful position in the world. Not only the next President, but the FIRST ever black president, crossing a barrier no other person has ever done in the 230+ year history of this great country. Proving civil rights have reached a more equal state. 60 years ago, he could never have even had the dream of becoming President, or really anything for that matter. 

But times have changed, and here he is, knocking on the door of the White House. And he did it without the help of over-reaching governmental programs. Why can't he realize his own success and be an example to others to make something of themselves. Heres why: votes. A message of self-help doesn't gain voter support. A message of "I'll help you," let's get those rich whities for hoarding all that wealth, and here's some many programs to help you get a leg in society.. That gains votes.

Again, what has happened to America? Where is our "can-do" spirit? The gumption to make something of ourselves? To not just accept our situation, but to strive for more? To serve a higher purpose than merely existing? I can't ever imagine sitting at home doing absolutely nothing with my life, stealing the money of those who actually DO something with their lives. That, to me, is one of the most pathetic things ever. And I will go on to say, those who engage in this activity, or lack thereof, are part of the cause of this downfall of our great country.