Bonus 8 - Midterm Check Up - Brandon Ince

        I am losing steam. Opinions are beginning to become harder to formulate and defend, assignments are harder to keep track of, work conflicts with study and I still haven't made enough to pay off tuition. The amount of pint up stress and dread and the notion of having a relaxed final college semester is neigh irreconcilable. When time is spent doing one assignment I regret not spending that time doing another assignment, when I switch over to the other assignment I wonder why I didn't even finish the first assignment causing an equal amount of grief and distraction - thus the cycle of building tensions begins.  All things considered, I am a wreck. But with this first bonus point blog post I hope to break this cycle of doing-in-vain and commit to doing something that exceeds expectation instead of simply what is on the docket - a "bonus" if you will. Before your very eyes I will lay out my "All American 3 Step Plan to the Betterment of Body, Ethic, and Spirit." (Though it's not necessary that every step betters each virtue all together, like a toddler its best to take it one step at a time.) The goal is nothing as concrete as "loose twenty pounds by May 9th", but simply to feel like a better person on my own terms, in my own way - by May 9th.

All American Step #1 - Low Carb Diet
         I am a sloth. The only form of honest exercise I get every week is the long and incredibly arduous climb to the Education Building second floor for my lovely Discourse 300 class, both the class and the stairs leave me winded, but both are worth it. However, seeing how I'm typically a stagnant human being, carbs are my worst enemy for keeping healthy and beautiful. Spaghetti may be tasty and there may be nor greater pleasure than crackin' a bag of home-style original Lays, but if I'm not planning to run any marathons - or at all actually- then those treats best stay on the shelf. It takes a certain kind of lifestyle to sustain an intimate relationship with the bottom portion of the food pyramid and that certain lifestyle is a foreign to me as French prose.

All American Step #2 - Be Inconvenient  
        Convenience is the root of anxiety. The most dangerous habit I have formed over the years is orienting my schedule to allow me the most amount of uninterrupted rest along with the least amount of work. This method of lifestyle min/maxing is an awful thing to get used to. For me it has engendered an irresponsible amount of procrastination and an influx of low quality/effort work. I know if I am allowed to continue on like this I am bound to collapse - collapse under the stress induced by my hedonistic style in "taking it easy". Instead of fixating on the delights of lethargy, try finding the joys of superfluousness and discomfort. Exercise, which is lauded by intellectuals across the land, is - after all - quite uncomfortable.

All American Step # 3 - The Little Things, baby. 
        Oh what happiness can be found in the little things. Someone once said, "From a blade of grass one can learn 500 lessons" This open minded mentality can lead to lots of things, a better consciousness both social-wise and academically, a greater sense of appreciation for most things, and if you forget your phone in the bathroom then its a great time sink.