And so it begins....

            What exactly have I gotten myself into? When I first got this assignment I though it would be a check on the to do list. Sure, I was going to put effort into it but, I dint think this little experiment was going to change my mind. Especially not in, its infancy of, 24 hours. What I have found is that it is easy to change and while sometimes I epically failed to change; my failure has me thinking as to why I didn’t stick to my commitments and what was more important that I didn’t or couldn’t. Overall, I am enjoying this experiment and find that I learn the most when things challenge me rather when they are easy. To make this blog easy for you to see my progress and for me to be honest with myself I am assigning a letter grade to every section of my experiment. So far I say I average a B+! But you be the judge!

Transportation: F- Day one and I have failed at walking from main campus to Tenleytown. My excuse is that I was in a time crunch and needed six-dozen flowers in 30 minutes, while in heels, and professional dress. But I am angry with myself. I am not the type of person that says one thing and does another. I understand that under certain circumstances you are obligated to break the rules, especially if others are depending on you. But, I feel like I am a cop out. Even as I write this, I feel the need to convince you all that I had no choice. But the truth is, I did. However, in this situation time was more important to me than the environment. I guess my question is; when will time never be a factor in my decision-making? It is ever present, constantly ticking away. Instead of saying I have no time, I NEED TO MAKE TIME!

Food: A-

Breakfast: a banana and an apple

 Lunch:  salad with carrots, spinach, peppers, and eggs

 Dinner: the largest fruit salad I have ever made

             I thought that changing my food habits was going to be the hardest part of the experiment. But, I was wrong and am enjoying this change. I feel pure or clean; I feel like the death of an animal or an animals flesh is not rotting inside of me. Furthermore, I have noticed that I have more energy. Which, I attribute to the lack of processed foods. Overall, I feel confident I will be able to stick with my whole foods diet and think it might be something to continue even after I’m done with the experiment.

Consumerism: A- I have not bought anything for almost 24 hours. Sure, I can live without spending. But, I constantly feel like there is an angle on one shoulder and a devil on the other.  And while the devil is louder the angel has won or at least for today. But, I am struggling with this aspect of the experiment. This sounds bad; but I have never needed to worry about money. This is not to be taken in a spoiled child sense. Just, I have always saved and spent my money on things I really want or value. I don’t spend to spend. Which, is why I am struggling. Because even without this experiment I thought I was spending smart. But the truth is, I’m not. I need to look at who is making my products. I don’t want a slave child to pick my coffee or chocolate beans, a women to work eight hours a day in a dark lit room with dirt floating in the air, and I certainly don’t want to keep consuming genetically mutated foods. But, this does not mean I wont stop dropping hundreds on designer labels. It just means; I need to research before I retail.  

Technology:  A- Surprisingly only going on Facebook and YouTube for an hour is easy. I have found having this experiment has given me an excuse, a reason to not feel the need to message people right away or watch hours of stupid videos. Rather, after one day I have finished my homework early and instead of a 20-minute walk at the end of my day, I went on an 80-minute walk. Minimizing the time I use on social media has allowed me to make time for other parts of my life. I feel like an efficiency machine. I hope to keep up my enthusiasm for the remainder of this experiment.

Positive Impact/Political Action: A- I am now registered to vote in the state of OHIO! Well, technically it takes 3 to 4 weeks for them to send you official documentation. But, I registered online and it feels great! What is not so great, however, is attempting to figure out how to acquire an absentee ballot. The amount of BS that one must go through to acquire this single piece of paper is astounding. But, non-the less it will get done.

            As well, I researched Santorum Tuesday and today (Wed.). What I was hoping to find was a man that did not live up to his Facebook memes. However, what I found was a man much worse than the Facebook memes. In fact, the memes were generous. Here are my top three reasons for disliking the man.

1.     He does not believe in the complete separation of church and state. (Sorry buddy ever heard of the constitution. Have fun trying to amend that.)

2.     He does not support same sex marriage. (I am speechless.)

3.     His economic plans. (People say he mimics Reagan’s idea of the trickle down theory. But, I think his plans sound counteractive. And he is messing with something he should not have his hands in; sort of like a five year olds dirty hands in a cookie jar. Its just wrong.)

Furthermore, after watching several YouTube interviews I find him to spew false facts and information. If he is knowingly doing this, he is an idiot and if he is unknowing doing this, I shutter to fear him having presidential power. Hopefully, I will like Gingrich better; but I have my doubts.

Health/Happiness: A- I love these nightly walks. These have given me the perfect time to call my parents while I get off campus and take in fresh air. In fact, I have enjoyed them so much they have become hour walks rather than a brisk 20 minutes. This has been the easiest change to implement and helps me work out my daily thoughts and compartmentalize my day. I am confident I will have no problems continuing my walks every night.