Sketchy Techty.

This post is inspired by:

The video on Facebook about technology and how we are not in touch with reality. 

If you have not watched the video the link is right down below:

http://blog.petflow.com/a-video-everyone-needs-to-see/

At first, I didn't think the video would really be worth while. 

But I was pleasantly surprised...it really made me think about screens and technology is taking over our lives.

Especially the part about how kids being born today NEVER will have seen us without a cellphone. That will be a main part of how they remember us, and that is really sad. 

I never remember my mom being on her cell phone as a child...only her leaving it on the car and driving away. 

Also, technology is a mask. People become different people, act different ways. 

Technology is really the downfall of us all.

Below I have compiled a list things that would be harder without cell phones, computers, etc.

1. Being an ass hole. 

Without phones, people would not have the kahoonas to be mean. This typically goes for boys from my experience, but in high school, there was a lot of cyber bullying, etc. People would never say half the things they say without being behind the shield of their cell phone. 

So the phone, is like, the ultimate tool to just be a raging a-hole.

2. Ignoring people.

First of all, I think ignoring people is like the rudest thing a person can do. It's basically saying, you are not worth the air to breathe because I am just going to intentionally show you that I don't care. If there was not cell phones and we could only talk to people in person, you would not just stare at me and walk away. Cause that's basically what ignoring is. 

1 and 2 kind of go hand in hand. Doing number 1 does not always involve number 2, but doing number 2 always involves doing number 1.

And then there's the whole thing with read receipts.

Those things were intentionally made to show someone you ignored them.

Don't stoop to this level, people.

3. Being self conscious 

Social media subjects you to SO many people that without technology you would never see. Beauty gurus, minor celebrities, etc. It just gives you access to constantly compare yourself to all these random people, who aren't you, have no similarities to you, etc. If you can look at beautiful people and still know you're beautiful, go for it. But we just have to realize just because social media is there, does not mean we are not absolutely fantastic in our very own right.

4. Being anti social

Guilty as charged...when we see a person coming our way, conveniently, a "text message pops up." It's a really bad habit that is hard to break. A cell phone takes away the awkwardness that we create in our heads. It is not awkward to say hi...we have just created that concept in our mind. If we came from the 1950s and looked at us now, we would look like a buncha snot holes.

5. Finding places

Cell phones aren't all bad. They can help you find a random store in the middle of sixty tiny streets.

But we must remember, they make gps systems that don't include texting, Instagram, and Twitter....

6. Always feeling the need to talk

And when people don't respond, we freak out. Now if they are doing number 2, that's their issue. But what if they're busy, phone is broken..I don't know, in jail. And I am guilty of this too...if someone doesn't respond automatically, something is wrong. They're either mad, dead, or... let's see, married? Not sure. If all we had were home phones, then they just aren't home and couldn't answer our call. But now it's just...it's a complete havoc on the human mind really.

7. Talk to your mom

Cell phones really allow me to access my mother whenever I need her. Without my phone, I might have to send her snail mail, and that is just not quick enough. She decided to give birth to me, so she should have known when she signed the contract of motherhood that involves talking to me whenever I deem it necessary.

8. Staying up to date with your old pals

Now this is a good concept, but with bad stipulations.

Because we also use Facebook, Instagram, etc to stay up to date with people we despise. and they do the same to us. So, it's a mixed thing. If only people could use social media to love and not judge...*sigh*

9. Finding viral videos

I am running low on ideas ya'll, i'm getting too excited for the Catfish premiere. 

But without Youtube and people posting videos on Facebook, how would I find videos of people falling off of things, inspirational videos, and cat videos?

I dunno either.

Shout out to little Marcel the Shell.

10. You finding my blog!

How would ya'll find my blog if I couldn't post it to Facebook? 

Duh. 

Thank you so much for reading, love you all. 

PLEASE, PLEASE, please...feel free to message me, follow me, share my blog.

And send me IDEAS for what you want me to write about, I am here to please.

If you don't feel comfortable messaging me directly, send an Ask question.

Facebook: Alanna Jean Hill

Twitter: @alannajean2013

Instagram: lanlanbaby

Ask: ask.fm/alannahill

Much love. 

From Anxiety to McDon's

A lot of my blogs are funny, but I feel the need to get this off my chest..
but I'll try to keep it lighthearted (;

I am writing this blog from my home...
which is not where I'm supposed to be considering I have class until three on Fridays.

buttttt...
yesterday I had an anxiety attack. My mom and I decided the best thing to do would be come home.

Anxiety is something I've suffered from for quite some time now.
I am on meds for it, but sometimes it just gets overwhelming.
And because of my anxiety, sometimes I suffer from depression.

People say, "Well, it's all in your head."
And they're right..
it's something in my head that I can't control.

I wish I was just making it up, because that would my life a WHOLE lot easier.
But when you really have anxiety, you really have it.

When I start stressing out about something, I can't stop.
It consumes every hour of every day.
The latest thing was if I should try out for the ISU dance team or not.
It felt like the be all to end all either way. HUGE pros and HUGE cons to me.
Because all of this, I decided it would be best not to, and focus on MYSELF.
(I also had food poisoning this week so..)

I get anxiety about weird things...weird things.
I have quite a bit of social anxiety, and sometimes that just makes me really awkward.
It's part of the reason I don't go out.
I HATE being in big groups of people.
Sometimes I feel like everyone is staring at.
I get paranoid everyone is out to get me.

I can be thinking in my head, "This doesn't make sense."
But at the same time, I can't control my maniac mind.

I don't really get stressed out about homework.
Right now, I'm stressed because I DON'T have homework, and I DON'T have finals to study for.
It helps me to be doing something, so I can distract myself.

I don't know why I decided to tell people who read this this information.
Maybe for myself, maybe so people can understand me more.
This summer and coming year, I'm just going to try really hard to help myself.
I only want people who are kind and can understand that sometimes I do struggle.

I'm not writing this for people to feel bad for me. I want people to understand me, and understand other people who suffer from this. 

On a lighterrrr note, yesterday I was at the McDonalds drive thru, and I decided to get a BBQ Ranch Burger?

Oh gosh, it was awful.

It had Fritos on it, I was not warned of this.

Why is everyone trying to put Fritos on sandwiches?

Subway's was delicious, and they gave me a warning.

McDonalds, no where in the name did it say FRITOS.

BBQ Ranch Fritos Burger? Not name brand? BBQ Ranch Corn Chip Burger?

It was McNasty.

If any of ya'll have any questions about anxiety, me, or McDonalds, just feel free to ask!

Email: ahill1325@gmail.com
Twitter: @alannajean2013
Instagram: lanlanbaby

The Pressures of Being a 21st Century Young Adult

Hi y'all. I know it's been a while since I wrote on my beloved blog...poor little guy. Just with the wifi issues in my dorm...it's almost impossible to get anything done, let alone a blog post. But here I am, so yeah, let's go.

I was watching the Iowa State Men's Basketball game today (Go Cyclones), and I really started thinking about the pressure our generation faces...so much. And it's not just college athletes...it's ALL of us starting extremely young.

Our parents were pressured and pushed...no doubt. But we face...that's pressure.
Starting off with education, college is just expected. Back in our parents day, college wasn't even always thought about. It wasn't just automatically assumed that someone was going to college. Nowadays, your freshman year of high school...it's all about "What college do you want to go to?" "What are you going to major in?" I was pressured so hard all through high school being the top of my class...and now it has caught up with me. I hate college, but that's where I had to go because everyone EXPECTED it from me.
And not to mention...we're expected to go to college more and more as tuition rises higher and higher. I am completely overwhelmed thinking about paying for college next year. So once we do (hopefully) get jobs, we start our lives off with tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt. It's actually very ironic if you think about it...

And then there's athletics...not that most of us are still in them, but we all were there. The world of sports has completely evolved, and I would argue not all for the better. Every season overlaps another season. When our parents were kids, there wasn't six open gyms on Sunday. There weren't 4 $250 camps every summer. 

And everyone is expected to be the best. If you make a mistake, damn you to hell. The bar is set higher and higher every single year. Kids are faster, stronger, jump higher, lift more, more flexible (dance world), then ever before. But they also have to be the best in every thing they're involved in. And if you're not the best...you're the worst. If you're not first, you're last. 

And then there's the issue of teen pregnancy. I'm not promoting people get pregnant when they're 15, 16... but how can adults look down upon it? When my mom talks about high school, half the girls ended up getting pregnant, dropping out, and living in a trailer with their husband.

I think the world is too demanding of young adults. If you don't go to college, you might as well go fill out an application at Mcdonald's and hope you make minimum wage. But kids are never allowed to actually FIND what they want to do. They are pressured into what they are expected to do, or forced to do something that will make ends meat. Our society is so expensive, and I think we have a lot of people in the country doing things they don't really enjoy. And that just sounds like an awful life..

We should all support each other as the kids of the 21st century. Because I don't think adults really understand what growing up now is like...

"Am I A Hipster Yet?..."

So today, I was stuck between writing about high school and this...

but high school is a whole other can of worms. Oh gosh, it sucked.

SO the topic of the day (my goal of the year is to write a post EVERY SINGLE DAY) is...

"those people who think they're too overtly cool and hip for the rest of the world."

I don't really know if that technically is "hipster", no, it's not. Because it could go for any "stereotype", there is always that person who is so much cooler than you... in their minds anyways. 

We ALL know one of these people...they knew about everything before us, said a word before everyone else in your town, they totally wore that style before it was in Vogue.

Here's a classic one: "Oh, I hate that band now. Everyone went totally band wagon and started listening  to them. I knew about them before everyone else. It's so annoying."

No no no, right now, you are. Gosh forbid someone likes the same music as you. It's a travesty! Because it is hurting you so much that someone knows about the same band as you... I guess I'm missing the issue here. Personally if I like a band, I want everyone to share that love. "Love should multiplied, not divided." (Sister Wives reference...anyone?)

And then there's the, "Oh my gosh, she's totally copying my outfit. She wants to be me."

Now, I'll admit it, I suffered this syndrome in high school. Of course there were 50 kids in my class... I don't know if you went to a small school you get it. It feels like everyone is copying you because there's like ten of you. But you realize real quick in college, people truly don't care what you do. You develop your own personal style. And you should be flattered if people really are looking to you for fashion inspiration. Embrace that, some people make a living off it. 

How about the people who just claim whole words and phrases? "I totally said that first. You can't say that. That's my thing." Now, I'll give you credit. You may have been the first to say it around your town, but I also promise you, you got it from somewhere else. And you pick up on the terminology the people around you say, so calm down there, big shot. Imagine if the person who had first said "Hi" had claimed that word for just themselves. Or cool, neat, or fetch...

And then there are just those people who turn this attitude into their whole personality. We'll never be to their level. They are just so "alternative." "No one understands me." Let's not get ahead of ourselves... we get you perfectly fine. You have an ego. You might be a poser. I have the ultimate poser in my head...boy? girl? I'm not telling you. But this person is always posting about how they... Never mind. That would just give it away.

All I'm saying is let's not think we're the only person in the world. Everyone has the same rights to words as you...if it's in the dictionary, Webster's or Urban, that word is free game. If you invent a word yourself, call me. We can talk about it. People aren't trying to copy you or jumping on your band wagon. You can still listen to your "secret" band. Compliment that person on their outfit.