I think Being the Change yourself is the always step one.

Hypocrisy is a big no no in my book. It's quick and easy to judge someone else because a) it's easy and b) it means that you're not doing so bad in comparison. But judging others is often unnecessary. (Criticizing is another thing, and that is a topic for another time). Judging others is tricky business because before you can expect them to change, you have to change yourself.

Many people will point out flaws they feel it is for that person's own good. And many times it is. But sometimes people are stubborn, or simply not ready to change yet, and they can't accept criticism and/or don't want to change. So then why force them to? The only person you can really change is yourself -- but you have to genuinely want change first, and that's one of the hardest parts.

But you may ask, if I'm doing well and have my life together, then shouldn't I take it upon myself to change others? Maybe, maybe not. Don't brush aside the fact that setting an example is the best method of teaching. It may sound platitudinous, but it's holds very true.

If you have a positive attitude about life, then others will see that, and consciously or subconsciously will start to do the same. Negativity, just like being positive, is contagious. Before you try to change anyone or anything else, you have to make sure that  you know everything about yourself. Being self-aware is so important, and so many people don't realize that.

Maybe this post, in and of itself, is hypocritical. But I think as you long as you try to be self aware (and do something with that) and try to help yourself while you are helping others... I don't know. Balance these things out, I guess.

http://www.youtube.com/user/endofsuburbia

The End of Suburbia is a documentary focused more on the end of oil and less on the end of suburbia.

I'm watching this and thinking, oh my god. This movie debuted in 2004, almost 5 years ago, and already everything they predicted about politics, oil, food, "buying local", and suburbia is coming true.

I remember reading about the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution in my history textbooks, and now I'm imagining my grandchildren reading about this revolution in their textbooks 60 years from now. Our world, or more specifically, our country, is changing at rates so high citizens don't have the time to realize it. (Or maybe it isn't that we're changing fast, but instead that we are being informed too slowly, too late, and too little).

So as I was watching this movie and ingesting all of its theories about the decline of Wal Mart and the approaching need for local farming, buying, selling, trading... I got to thinking... what if all of this is true? And more importantly, are we, as a country, ready for this kind of change?

I picture myself writing a book about the isles in Costco and how endless they are. I'll talk about what it feels like to take a road trip in a comfortable car. Here I am, describing all these things that millions of Americans take for granted... and within only a few decades, possibly less, it will all vanish. The people of 2040 will be reading my book, saying to themselves, "My father told me about Wal mart. Yeah, he showed me this picture". I will describe the week before Christmas and how all those department stores offer "early bird" sales in the middle of the night. I'll detail how my friend's mom would wake up at 3 in the morning so she could get to Kohls by 4. I'll joke about how everything I buy has a "made in China" sticker on it, but the 2040 residents won't laugh, because they have no idea what I'm talking about because they buy everything from the town over. What about McDonalds? And Dunkin Donuts? I mean if the End of Suburbia theory that everything in America will need to be "downsized" is true... then what will happen to super-sizing? What about buying in bulk?

So then, that's what I will do. I will write a memoir ahead of time about all of those things my children will never experience (not that they'll be missing out on much). I'll clip headlines from newspapers and take video clips from news stations and I'll attach advertisements. I'll romanticize about the times when I could order out and the good old days when vacations were still vacations (and not this staycation nonsense).

We are heading into a deep and troublesome time. There are no immediate solutions, and as a society of instant gratification we will not accept this. Our leaders will make up random resolutions that will get humanity no where. Placebos. That would be a good last name for our next President. When I finally get my career started in the journalism field, I will storm into that office with my values and intelligence in hand and say to them "we have to publicize the truth". It bothers me that such a vital field is being thrown to shit just because reality doesn't sell. They either downplay whats going on or dramatize it to unnecessary levels. It's always either the world is coming to an end or my worst problem is choosing a skin care product.

No more.

My new TO DO list,
- Remember the Wal Marts, the cheap oil, and the suburbs. Rest in Peace, you guys.
- Become acutely aware of all changes - economic, social, political, and natural. Analyze them, be ready for them, and always be thinking of what to do next.

It is common knowledge that money separates people.

A prime example of this is Union Street, Brooklyn. The subway stop is called Union Street and it stands right between Sunset Park and Park Slope. The avenues on the lower end like 3rd and 4th avenue are poor and residential, but then right there on 5th avenue, everything flips. Suddenly, the neighborhood is expensive, boutiquey, and hip. People from the lower avenues and the upper avenues rarely come together. Why go out of your way to do something that isn't immediately neccesary?

I once heard that New York City is not only the most diverse city in the States, but also the most segregated. Sadly, this doesn't just include racial differences. It also describes the segregation between educated and non educated, rich and poor, employed and unemployed and so forth.

So what is the effect of all this? Over time, worlds are restricted to their own areas, and residents are told not to leave. A polarization is created that no one wants to fix.

How different and wonderful life would be if everyone spent a month living a life they knew nothing about? At this point, parents of young children do not usually think to show their children other lifestyles. Children are raised inside a certain community, seeing and experiencing things customary to their own society. This child grows up knowing little of other cultures. And as human beings, what we do not know, we are automatically fear. For survival reasons, we avoid things we don't know.

Will we just go on like this? Is there no hope for coming together? I'm sure anthropologists find this all very interesting and one day, I'd love to have this discussion with one of them. But for right now, my main objective is just this.

If you're a parent, show your son or daughter while they are still open minded, a world they are not used to. Not just the factual things or the surface description. I mean, really show it to them. We are all people. Money, race, education, location - these are only small, superficial differences. So if we can just get past these small differences, we can come together.

This is my first entry. I could write for hours because I love talking and I love it even more when it's in writing. I'm constantly writing. I write letters to my friends, I write journal entries for myself, and journal entries for my teachers. I write blog entries and then I write articles. Sometimes I get tired of it, but then I keep writing anyway.

What's going on in my life besides writing? I'm reading The Catcher In the Rye and of course I love it. I'm sure I'm not alone, it's a big damn classic. Holden is so great and humble and honest. Whether or not he knows it, and I'm sure he doesn't, but he is superior. He is intellegent and modest, he is kind and generous, he is self aware, and he is observant of others as well - but not in a judgemental way. Besides his anger and bitterness, he is a damn good person. I wish I could be a good person. I try, but sometimes it's just easier to fall into temptation.

I wish this thing had spell check.

My mom is a little crazy. Today she wanted to admit herself into a pysch ward and she was serious. It bothered me a little. I should've been sad but somehow I was only angry. What a drama queen, I kept thinking. Right beside that thought was the shame and guilt of thinking that thought.

I didn't play any guitar today. Tomorrow there will be no time, and the day after that also no time. That seems so silly. There's always time for music, yes? I wanted to practice some Calculus today but I got home and I just slept. I wasted six hours sleeping. I sleep more than anyone I know. And I know some sleepy people. I swear there's something wrong with me.

OK. That's it for now.

I really like this thing. But it freaks me a little that other people might read this. Might. Maybe.