There are a lot of things that can make or break a conversation between two people or a group of people. I think one of the biggest issues in maintaining a meaningful conversation is staying focused on the person who is speaking to you, and carefully listening to what they are talking about. Paying attention to someone who is speaking directly to you is not only respectful, but it also lets the person speaking know that they have your undivided attention. When two people speaking together focus on each other they are able to have a meaningful and interesting conversation. There is a certain etiquette when appropriately conversing with someone as well. For example it is insensitive for one speaking party to dominate the conversation, particularly with anecdotes that are irrelevant or not relatable to the other parties in the conversation. Also staying off of electronic devices is pertinent to having an interesting interaction with someone. When someone is constantly checking their phone, it makes the speaker feel as though they are boring or uninteresting, and this is a quick way to kill a good conversation dynamic. Lastly, patience is key in good social interactions. People can tell when you are so excited to get your next thought in that you are hardly focusing on what they are actually saying. In general, if two conversing parties are willing to focus on each other, stay off their phones, and actively listen to each other an interesting conversation can blossom.
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20 Things You Forgot To Thank Your Mom For
Moms are super heroes dressed in yesterday's clothing and they deserve an award for that.
Dear Mom,
You took care of me and my brothers our entire lives and you still continue to! I will not be able to truly grasp all of the hard work that you put into this family until I create my own one day. But, I know that there are plenty of times I forgot to give you a simple thank you or an appreciative smile. I thank you for everything that you have done for me and will continue to do for me. Here are some examples of those times where you had my back and I forgot to pat your back for saving me:
1. For all of the endless hugs and kisses you always seem to smother me in.
2. For teaching me how to cuddle and being the best cuddle buddy still to this day.
3. For teaching me some of the best "mom dance moves"
4. For pushing through all of the sleepless nights and still being super mom.
5. For not killing me every time you found me cutting my own bangs.
6. For showing me all the classics and helping me develop a good taste in movies.
7. And for watching the ridiculous reality TV shows with me because no one else will.
8. For helping me with all of that awful homework that even you couldn't understand.
9 For giving us a taste of our own medicine when we needed it.
10. For setting my curfew at a reasonable hour to ensure I didn't get into any mischief. (I was still able to accomplish a little mayhem though)
11. For spoiling me as a little girl but making me do chores as I got older. I now understand the point of having a clean house.
12. For being the best host to all of the weird friends I would bring over.
13. And for standing up for me when those weird friends stabbed me in the back.
14. For listening when I needed to vent and always giving the best advice possible.
15. For being the absolute best cook. No arguments there.
16. For answering every single phone call and the millions of questions that I always have.
17. For letting me form my own identity and encouraging me along the way.
18. For going on shopping dates with me and always telling me your honest opinion.
19. For rolling the windows down and singing along to the music with me.
20. And for being the best mom possible. I love you!
College is hard. As people ages 18-22, we’re just trying to figure out what we’re doing with our lives, our careers, our eating habits, exercise routines, sleep patterns, and other necessities for adult life. We definitely don’t take proper care of ourselves; it’s basically impossible when we have essays, tests and readings due and somehow we’re supposed to eat right, exercise and sleep. We’re doomed to get sick. I have zero experience in science but when I get sick there are certain things I do to make myself better.
1) Hot showers
Anything with steam. The bathroom in my apartment has a built-in vent system when you flip on the light. However, this isn’t very helpful when you’re congested and you’re trying to use the steam so that you can breathe again. There are two options; 1) you can keep off the lights and use the flashlight on your phone to light the bathroom or 2) you can boil water in a pot, remove it from the heat, cover your head with a towel, and inhale. It looks really weird and you have to be careful not to burn your face on the steam, but it helps clear out some congestion.
2) Over-the-counter medicine.
Vitamins, supplements, Airborne, Mucinex, Dayquil, Nyquil (for bedtime), all of it. When self-medicating you have to make sure that you’re not taking too much of one type of medicine. Use Google to make sure your meds are compatible. Also, read all of the directions; you don’t want to accidentally take too much of something. If you’re feeling nauseous, eat peppermints.
3) Honey.
Honey is a natural healing-agent. If you have a sore-throat you can coat it with the honey. Raw-honey is the most effective type when trying to make yourself feel better. Also, honey in tea is amazing.
4) Tea.
You’ll feel like a damn Brit. (lol, JK love those Brits!) Actually, though, chamomile tea is really good, there're types of tea that help promote relaxation (I love those). You can brew up some tea, put honey in it and it tastes sooooooo yummy! It also helps you sweat out the sickness, stay hydrated, and the steam from the cup helps congestion. Same thing goes for soup, plus it tastes delicious.
5) The expensive tissues.
Yes, it's tempting to buy the super cheap tissues because college kids are poor, but when you’re going to be blowing your nose 80,000,000 times a day, splurging a bit for comfort is the best option.
6) Vicks.
Do you know how many ways you can use Vicks chest rub (or the rip-off brand) to help yourself get better? It’s insane how many places this stuff helps! For a congestion, under the nose clears that out. A cough, putting Vicks on your chest helps you breathe easier. For a sore-throat, you can rub it on your neck and throat and it’ll ease the pain. The weirdest, but best, place to put Vicks is on your feet. It will cause you to sweat. It’ll make the fuzzy stuff from socks stick to you, but it works so well!
7) Rest and avoid alcohol.
I know, rest is hard because we have so much work to do but take an hour long break every once in a while, go to bed at midnight instead of 3, avoid partying. It sucks if you like parties and want to go out, but your body will thank you and you will feel better with the weekend off!
8) Call your mom.
I’m pretty sure this is advice that I give in everything that I do. My mom is a major supporter of me though, and I do call her a lot. She took care of me for my entire childhood, she took care of my sister too. Mom’s have life experience and just know how to help their children if they can. Even though my mom isn’t anywhere near my school, when I’m sick she comforts me and makes sure I’m doing everything possible to feel better, because she’s my mom and that’s what moms do.
9) Go to the doctor.
If you think you really have to. Personally, I avoid doctors on campus, I try to avoid them at home too. I’d much rather take care of myself with honey and over-the-counter stuff but to each their own.
In college, it takes 0.0000002 seconds to catch a sickness that can put you out of the running for a really long time if you don’t take care of it. When I do all of the things listed, except go to the doctor, it takes me about a week or week and a half to fully recover. Best of luck avoiding the on-campus plague, the odds are not in your favor.
Growing Up With A Sibling, As Told By Bob's Burgers
"Your ass is grass, and I'm going to mow it."
First of all, there is no shortage of fun when you're together.
And you often find yourselves entertaining each others terrible ideas.
They are the ones who still love you, no matter what "phase" you may currently find yourself in.
And accept that you can be incredibly awkward.
As well as overly dramatic.
However, you both have a sixth sense for telling when the other is truly hurting.
When someone breaks their heart, you will want to break the person's face.
But you will settle for sharing in their heartache.
You have the ability to coach one another out of terrible moods.
And knowing you're a softy, they will remind you not to take sh*t from anyone...
Because in their eyes, nobody is good enough for you anyway.
You give each other advice, regardless of whether or not it is asked for.
But naturally, they will inevitably test your patience.
And drive you absolutely insane.
There will even be times where your arguments go way overboard.
Resulting in open-ended threats, so the other can't get in the last word.
But at the end of the day, you know you would be lost without them.
Because with a sibling, you can always count on the fact that the love is 110 percent mutual, no matter how close or far away the other may be.
Are you one of those people that gets super upset when you miss out on anything? Well, you may have FOMO, or fear of missing out. In college it’s not hard to experience FOMO every once in a while. You just love doing everything and anything, so hen you have to miss out on something it's the worst possible thing in your mind. Whether you’re sick, have to work, or have so much work to do you could cry – FOMO will hit you hard in college.
1. Denial
You’re in denial about the commitments you already made, and are considering breaking them just so you don’t have to miss out on the shenanigans that your friends are about to get in to.
2. Angst
You hear everyone having an awesome time getting ready, and talking about what they’re going to do once they go out.
3. Unproductiveness
All you can think about is how you you’re probably going to be missing out on the best night of your life.
4. Sadness
Your friends have left, and you’re just sitting on the couch. Alone.
5. Regret
You start seeing the Snapchats and Instagrams of everyone out having an awesome time, and instantly regret your decision to stay in.
6. Anger
Fed up with everything, and wishing you weren’t at home.
7. Lonelieness
You’re so upset that even Netflix can’t fill the lonely void in your heart.
8. Hunger
You start to eat everything in your apartment because you have nothing else to do.
9. Bored
Bored and lonely, you wait for your friends to come back just to hear everything that you missed out on. Yet, they only left twenty minutes ago.
10. Restlessness
It’s late, you have ran out of things to distract you, and all you want is your friends to come home and keep you company.
11. Acceptance
You finally accept the fact that it's fine that you're not out with everyone because you're the life of the party anyway.
15 Struggles Of Having A Resting Bitch Face
Yes, I'm fine. No, I'm not mad about anything.
I've lived a whole 21 years with an RBF (Resting Bitch Face), so naturally, I go through most of these struggles on a daily basis.
And before you ask, yes I'm fine. No, I'm not mad. This is just my face, so take it or leave it! To those of you who have been #blessed with an RBF, you'll probably relate to these more than you'd like to: