Are You the Bully or the Bullied?

I think we are all guilty of bullying to some degree. I'll be the first to admit that as a child I was. Now, I never put anyone's head in the toilet and stole their lunch money but I have said and done some pretty hurtful things.


I was reminded of this today. I ran into someone from high school and I recognized her but I couldn't place her. When she told me her name- light bulb! I remembered her... then slowly as she and I were talking I remembered all the awful things that I did to her.  To protect her identity we'll call her Lucy.


Lucy and I rode the same bus to school. Me and some other kids on the bus pretty much harassed her every day. It wasn't just the school bus- I know for a fact she was harassed in class too. All of these memories started coming back to me. I would be kidding myself if I thought for one second that she didn't remember how awful we were to her. After she walked away is when it really hit me and I felt terrible, I felt remorse. I wondered how it made her feel.


Where did I get this from? I wasn't raised that way. Why would I treat someone that way? What gave me the right? The only excuse I can come up with is a pretty sorry one- because I was bullied too. The only way I knew how to deal with it was to lash out and be mean to someone else. I'm not saying it's right but it's the only thing I can figure out.


Things are a lot different now days. Kids are still awful and mean but they have more ways to go about it. Now you've got kids being bullied at school, facebook, email, texting.... the list goes on. There have been so many stories in the news lately about children and teens killing themselves over this. It saddens me that someone [a child] can make someone else [another child] feel that bad about themselves. 


So Lucy if you're out there reading this I wanted to say apologize today but I didn't feel it was an appropriate setting. I'm sorry for all the awful things I did and said. There was absolutely no excuse!


www.stopbullying.gov

Bad Moon Rising

Does a full moon really have an effect on our mood and behavior? From everything I've read- no, not really but maybe. 

The moon is at 99% full tonight and that's enough for me.  I encountered several people today that for whatever the reason seemed a little strange or even had a bad attitude. I remembered it was a full moon- there goes the blame. People are crazy today so it must be a full moon. How many times have you heard that? So I wondered if there was any truth to it and decided to do my own research.

There have been multiple scientific studies that seem to disprove the whole idea. However, despite what the studies say, the power of the moon is often used to explain crazy, bizarre things that happen. According to astrology the moon has a lot to do with our mood and behavior.  Astrologist believe when the moon is full, stress becomes a major factor and people become more sensitive to details.

I read about a woman who has a 7 year old son with bi-polar disorder and ADHD. He is treated with medication on does well with it. However, during the time of the full moon he seemed like a totally different child and was out of control. In one Australian study, the relationship between lunar cycles and violent or aggressive behavior was examined [Owen et al, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, August 1998]. There was no significant relationship found. There was also an English study [Wilkinson et al, International Journal of Socialy Psychiatry Spring 1997] that found no correlation either. On the other hand, a Russian study [Lucatelli and Pane Biofizika Sept-Oct 1995] DID find that in some cases of manic- depressive illnesses, "planetary locations in relations to the lunar month could be correlated with the susceptibility to bipolar manic-depressive syndrome".  

If the last finding is true then, why?

The moon controls the tides and our bodies are made up of about 55-60% water. The gravitational force from the moon causes the water to rise up- why wouldn't the water in our bodies do the same thing. Therefor having a biological effect on our mood.

It used to be popular belief that insane or mentally ill people had been effected by the phases of the moon- thus coining the term 'lunatic'.

I'm still a skeptic.

It's that time of year!

This is such a hot topic this time of year. You may or may not know what a big Auburn fanatic I am. I am interested in stirring things up a bit and looking at our Alabamian football culture from an outsiders perspective.

Generally there are 3 types of fans. You have your Alabama fan, your Auburn fan and those that say they will pull for each team when they are not playing each other but when it comes to the Iron Bowl they choose Alabama or Auburn. As we all know both sides have their obsessive fanatics with an en-grained hatred for the other team. Those are the folks I want to talk about.

Why is it that people take things so personally and actually get offended when someone is trash talking about the team you pull for? I am guilty of getting on the defense when I hear trash talking about Auburn- but why is it that way?

Fanatic- this is someone who displays very strict standards and little tolerance for contrary ideas or opinions. A lot of times people who don't understand will question your fanaticism. You hear this question all the time "Well did you graduate from Ala/Aub?" If the answer is 'yes' it's like that person gets a pass for being such a fanatic. What if your answer is no? It's almost as if you don't have the right to be a fan at all. Okay, what about this one- "Are you playing for the team on Saturday?". Most obviously the answer is 'no'. So the question is why are you so die hard for your team?

Why it is so instilled in us to be so much for one side or the other. What makes you the fanatic that you are?

Hello World

When you look up 'blog' in the dictionary it is defined as an 'online diary'. To me diary means personal stuff you don't want anyone else to read. Well I can tell you this blog will not be that. My thought is to put some ideas out there about things I encounter everyday and get people thinking and talking. I know I'm really nobody and some folks may not think it's interesting but those guys can close their web browser.... Now! Hmm.. hopefully I don't end up just reading this to the dog.

Happy Reading

Crystal