In my opinion everyone thinks they are different than everyone else, but also in my opinion I really do believe that I am just a tad bit different than most people. J.R.R. Tolkien said "Not all those who wander are lost" and ever since my ninth grade English teacher used it in a prompt for an essay I've adopted it as a sort of motto to my life.
Ask any of my friends and they'll tell you that I've never been one to follow the crowd, and I've always been one to stand out in the subtlest of ways. I've always been one to question, to ask why things are done a certain way and why they can't be done another away. Living outside of the box is a normal thing to me. In my opinion my dad fostered this behavior when he would ask why I needed the clothing item that everyone else had, why not get something different because standing out is always better than fitting in. Being different, even in the subtlest of ways, has its struggles. It's hard at some points to not completely fit in with even your closest of friends. Tolkien's quote reassures every person that wandering does not mean that you are lost. It is completely okay to question everything, to explore every option, just because you don't know where you're going doesn't mean that you don't know where you are right now.
College is a fresh start for everyone and a small part of me wanted to use this opportunity to fit in and be a little less different. To do so I participated in rush to be in a sorority. All of my friends from home were shocked because it is so un-Tyson-like to do be in a sorority. During sorority recruitment I met lots of people and learned a lot about myself. The whole time I felt out of place, not because I had bad conversations in the houses or didn't get back my favorite house, but because it all felt so fake to me. At first I thought it was because the girls were being fake in order to give me a good impression of their house but by the end of the week I realized the girls were genuine and I was the one being "fake." I wanted to show them what they wanted to see in order to get into the houses I wanted and I realized on pref night that being fake to get what I wanted was not me. Yes, I wanted the "sorority experience" but if it was something that the real me questioned why should I force myself to do it? I reasoned that it was a good way to make friends, meet people, it would look good on my resume, I could do lots of community service and I would have lots of fun in the process. But in reality I don't need a sorority to help me to do those things, I am an individual that is perfectly capable of having a fantastic college experience without paying for it.
Part of me wanted to fit in because I did feel a little bit lost in this new place where no one knew my reputation. Though this is a place to completely redo the way people perceive me, I don't think I want to lose the reputation of being different and one to be a complete individual. I want to question, to wander and it's easier to do so while remember that I'm never lost as long as I know who I am and I have friends and family to point me in the right way every once in a while.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
Dear Future Tyson,
Dear Twenty-Eight Year Old Tyson,
In ten years I will be twenty eight, but as of today I am eighteen and a Freshman in college. I recognize that not everything goes as planned, and it is very possible that I will look back on this post in ten years and laugh at how silly my plans were for twenty-eight year old me. But as of age eighteen I have a plan for future Tyson.
I am attending the University of South Carolina to earn a degree in Public Relations. I also plan to get this degree in three years as opposed to the traditional four year college experience and I am well on my way to doing so. When I graduate at twenty-one I would like to have multiple internships that will "wow" major companies and assist me in getting a job at a major company. I hope that there will be a job opportunity present in the South so I won't have to leave this place I love. In this grand plan that I have envisioned I see myself in an apartment in a bustling city. I see myself working hard to work my way up in the standings of a company while gaining the experience I need to be successful in this world. It would be silly of me to not mention my personal dreams as well as my occupational dreams. By twenty-eight I would hope to be married and not have kids just yet. I hope that I would have traveled and done some crazy things before I begin settling down for kids.
This well thought out dream that I have for my future self is nothing without a substantial plan to back it up. By next semester I will technically be a Sophomore and with the two Spanish courses I plan to take this summer at my community college I will start next year as a Junior. In my next year of college I want to study abroad in my Spring semester. Studying abroad will give me an opportunity to broaden my knowledge of communicating with others. I have signed up with Habitat for Humanities to gain some experience in their office doing P.R. for them.The summer after my Junior year I would like to get an internship away from home if possible and hopefully in a large city. I already have a savings account in which I put money away periodically, more during the summer than any other time. This savings account will help me get a jump start on starting my new life. As for getting married there is nothing I can do to prepare for that one except wait on the perfect guy, whether or not I have already found said guy will only be known after some time has passed.
I am very excited about my future and though I hope that I have this "perfect" life that I have envisioned the more realistic side of myself is very aware of the way life has a tendency to stray away from the way I believe it should go. Because I am well aware of this aspect of life I am open to new opportunities, experiences and most importantly I am open to change. Stubbornness to change is the only sure-fire way to fail at anything. Finally, to myself I hope that I always remember through every struggle that I face that "Life ain't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride", Gary Allen.
Sincerely, Eighteen-Year-Old Tyson
In ten years I will be twenty eight, but as of today I am eighteen and a Freshman in college. I recognize that not everything goes as planned, and it is very possible that I will look back on this post in ten years and laugh at how silly my plans were for twenty-eight year old me. But as of age eighteen I have a plan for future Tyson.
I am attending the University of South Carolina to earn a degree in Public Relations. I also plan to get this degree in three years as opposed to the traditional four year college experience and I am well on my way to doing so. When I graduate at twenty-one I would like to have multiple internships that will "wow" major companies and assist me in getting a job at a major company. I hope that there will be a job opportunity present in the South so I won't have to leave this place I love. In this grand plan that I have envisioned I see myself in an apartment in a bustling city. I see myself working hard to work my way up in the standings of a company while gaining the experience I need to be successful in this world. It would be silly of me to not mention my personal dreams as well as my occupational dreams. By twenty-eight I would hope to be married and not have kids just yet. I hope that I would have traveled and done some crazy things before I begin settling down for kids.
This well thought out dream that I have for my future self is nothing without a substantial plan to back it up. By next semester I will technically be a Sophomore and with the two Spanish courses I plan to take this summer at my community college I will start next year as a Junior. In my next year of college I want to study abroad in my Spring semester. Studying abroad will give me an opportunity to broaden my knowledge of communicating with others. I have signed up with Habitat for Humanities to gain some experience in their office doing P.R. for them.The summer after my Junior year I would like to get an internship away from home if possible and hopefully in a large city. I already have a savings account in which I put money away periodically, more during the summer than any other time. This savings account will help me get a jump start on starting my new life. As for getting married there is nothing I can do to prepare for that one except wait on the perfect guy, whether or not I have already found said guy will only be known after some time has passed.
I am very excited about my future and though I hope that I have this "perfect" life that I have envisioned the more realistic side of myself is very aware of the way life has a tendency to stray away from the way I believe it should go. Because I am well aware of this aspect of life I am open to new opportunities, experiences and most importantly I am open to change. Stubbornness to change is the only sure-fire way to fail at anything. Finally, to myself I hope that I always remember through every struggle that I face that "Life ain't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride", Gary Allen.
Sincerely, Eighteen-Year-Old Tyson
Monday, September 9, 2013
College at a Glance
I am writing this blog post on the 9th of September, exactly twenty-six days after moving in to the University of South Carolina, aka my new home. The first week and a half were a a whirlwind of sorority activities and new people. I always knew I was ready to be out of the house and on my own nevertheless being in a new place with no familiar faces was a struggle. I was lost half of the time and the other half of the time I was lonely. Yes, I Tyson Blanton was surrounded by over a thousand girls for sorority recruitment and was still lonely. It took me some time to figure out that I was not lonely, I was just in the wrong place surrounded by people that I felt that I did not fit in with. This realization prompted me to drop of of sorority recruitment fourteen hours before the Bid Day activities commenced. I do not regret this decision one bit and I believe it was the first step in college that will shape me to become a truer version of myself. Everyone believe college is about being independent and part of that is true but I have learned that a bigger part of being in college is learning to depend on the people that surround you. I have made friends, asked complete strangers for help, e-mailed professors countless number of times and made calls back home for advice and just to complain. I may be independent in the sense that my mother does not make me lunch every day and my dad does not edit my papers before turning them in but I am not independent from this university and the new friends I have made.
When envisioning the "college experience" I pictured a roommate who was my best friend, studying late into the night for my classes, professors that lectured in a monotone voice and weekends filled with parties. However, in the real college experience it is not quite the same. I did random assignment to get my roommate because I felt that it would be a great way to start off fresh. My roommate is not awful by any standards but we are completely different people. She is from Prosperity, SC about twenty minutes from here. She is courteous for the most part and a nice person, but it is blatantly obvious that we come from different worlds even though our home towns are less than two hours apart. The one thing that drives me crazy about my roommate is that she smokes, chain smokes and put on her roommate application that she did not. She obviously does not smoke in our room or in Patterson but the smell still contaminates all of her stuff and I feel that it is slowly spreading to my stuff, Frebreze is definitely becoming my best friend. We do not talk very much and she goes home almost every weekend so I do not feel that we will have many problems but it is still a let down from my high expectation of college life. My classes on the other hand are not quite as overwhelming as I had always heard they would be. All of my classes are done by 12:50 every day which leaves me plenty of time to do all of the class work that has been assigned to me. Most of my classes have professors that have a zealous approach to the class they teach and though I may not be on the edge of my seat every class I am also not fighting sleep every minute either. When I did not fully grasp something in class my professors are more than helpful and the textbooks assigned are full of extra information that make me feel secure in my knowledge.
My college experience thus far has been short, educational, an eye-opener, filled with new activities and maybe a little overwhelming. There are still many things I want to do including find a job, volunteer, join a club, do intramural sports and most importantly keep experiencing new things. Everyone is nervous to start a new stage in their lives and people are almost always afraid of change, I am no exception but what I am most afraid of is missing out on an experience that may have an immense impact of my life. For that very reason I am making it my goal to do new and exciting things every chance that I can and for me college is my chance to do these things.
When envisioning the "college experience" I pictured a roommate who was my best friend, studying late into the night for my classes, professors that lectured in a monotone voice and weekends filled with parties. However, in the real college experience it is not quite the same. I did random assignment to get my roommate because I felt that it would be a great way to start off fresh. My roommate is not awful by any standards but we are completely different people. She is from Prosperity, SC about twenty minutes from here. She is courteous for the most part and a nice person, but it is blatantly obvious that we come from different worlds even though our home towns are less than two hours apart. The one thing that drives me crazy about my roommate is that she smokes, chain smokes and put on her roommate application that she did not. She obviously does not smoke in our room or in Patterson but the smell still contaminates all of her stuff and I feel that it is slowly spreading to my stuff, Frebreze is definitely becoming my best friend. We do not talk very much and she goes home almost every weekend so I do not feel that we will have many problems but it is still a let down from my high expectation of college life. My classes on the other hand are not quite as overwhelming as I had always heard they would be. All of my classes are done by 12:50 every day which leaves me plenty of time to do all of the class work that has been assigned to me. Most of my classes have professors that have a zealous approach to the class they teach and though I may not be on the edge of my seat every class I am also not fighting sleep every minute either. When I did not fully grasp something in class my professors are more than helpful and the textbooks assigned are full of extra information that make me feel secure in my knowledge.
My college experience thus far has been short, educational, an eye-opener, filled with new activities and maybe a little overwhelming. There are still many things I want to do including find a job, volunteer, join a club, do intramural sports and most importantly keep experiencing new things. Everyone is nervous to start a new stage in their lives and people are almost always afraid of change, I am no exception but what I am most afraid of is missing out on an experience that may have an immense impact of my life. For that very reason I am making it my goal to do new and exciting things every chance that I can and for me college is my chance to do these things.
Monday, September 2, 2013
The Postmortal
The Postmortal by Drew Magary was, to speak frankly, better than most summer assignments that I have encountered but average in the realm of all books I have read. Some parts of the novel were very interesting and compelled me to read on fervently, while other parts I muddled through. Magary did an excellent job of submerging the reader into the emotions John Farrell, the protagonist of the novel. By submerging the reader in John's journey the reader is forced to feel the hopelessness of this new world Farrell is a part of and travel along with him in his journey to become a person he is proud to be. The idea of a journey or a quest is my favorite part of the novel because of its heavy impact on my life and my peers in this stage of our lives.
The Postmortal presents an interesting concept where Farrell is given more time to take this journey than he ever though possible. This possibility adds more variables to the already complex journey than all individuals are faced with in some point in their life. John is a middle aged man that is faced with many new possibilities because of the cure. These new options differ from following the traditional template of life set out for him by his ancestors. John no longer has to go to school, get a job, get married, have kids, send them to college, retire and enjoy his remaining time in peace with his grandkids. Farrell now has the option to take all the time he needs for himself to figure out who is his before settling down. This new possibility prompts the question of whether more time is a good or a bad thing. For John more time means more mistakes, but time also means more time to make up for these mistakes. Farrell makes many mistakes, through these mistakes he becomes a person that the reader and John himself both despise and though it takes a long time to do so he ratifies the mistakes he has made. He becomes a person that the reader sympathizes with, an individual who's last act is a sacrifice to someone he cares about. By the end of the novel John is ready to die and he has truly accepted all that he has done in his life.
Everyone must take a journey in life to discover oneself, some say this journey starts when one is born, others believe that it begins when one can make their own decisions, I believe that one's journey truly begins when a person is completely submerged in a new environment with the ability to escape all that one has known prior, for instance when one first leaves home. To me John's journey is a symbol to the journey that myself and my fellow classmates are about to embark on. The cure was a new and foreign thing to John that opened up many possibilities, just like college is to us. College is a new beginning, a time to make mistakes, learn about ourselves, explore every possibility, meet people that will influence our lives forever and hopefully a chance to become someone that is proud of who they are. I feel that my journey through college will be a condensed version of John's journey of life with the cure. His story of consists of many mistakes that make even the reader lose hope of a cathartic ending but the fact that even John's tumultuous story can end happily gives any college student hope that no matter how much one hates college and feels there is no way that college is for them, that in the end it is still possible to look back and be grateful for every up and every down that made you who you are.
The Postmortal presents an interesting concept where Farrell is given more time to take this journey than he ever though possible. This possibility adds more variables to the already complex journey than all individuals are faced with in some point in their life. John is a middle aged man that is faced with many new possibilities because of the cure. These new options differ from following the traditional template of life set out for him by his ancestors. John no longer has to go to school, get a job, get married, have kids, send them to college, retire and enjoy his remaining time in peace with his grandkids. Farrell now has the option to take all the time he needs for himself to figure out who is his before settling down. This new possibility prompts the question of whether more time is a good or a bad thing. For John more time means more mistakes, but time also means more time to make up for these mistakes. Farrell makes many mistakes, through these mistakes he becomes a person that the reader and John himself both despise and though it takes a long time to do so he ratifies the mistakes he has made. He becomes a person that the reader sympathizes with, an individual who's last act is a sacrifice to someone he cares about. By the end of the novel John is ready to die and he has truly accepted all that he has done in his life.
Everyone must take a journey in life to discover oneself, some say this journey starts when one is born, others believe that it begins when one can make their own decisions, I believe that one's journey truly begins when a person is completely submerged in a new environment with the ability to escape all that one has known prior, for instance when one first leaves home. To me John's journey is a symbol to the journey that myself and my fellow classmates are about to embark on. The cure was a new and foreign thing to John that opened up many possibilities, just like college is to us. College is a new beginning, a time to make mistakes, learn about ourselves, explore every possibility, meet people that will influence our lives forever and hopefully a chance to become someone that is proud of who they are. I feel that my journey through college will be a condensed version of John's journey of life with the cure. His story of consists of many mistakes that make even the reader lose hope of a cathartic ending but the fact that even John's tumultuous story can end happily gives any college student hope that no matter how much one hates college and feels there is no way that college is for them, that in the end it is still possible to look back and be grateful for every up and every down that made you who you are.
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