Change isn't always easy

I’m actually really glad this week is over. Not wasting anything is impossible, especially if you live on a university campus where you never cook. I think this would have been more successful if I lived in an apartment or house since I could have use silverware and cook for myself. Also, I realized how much waste we use without thinking about it. For example, when I had my burrito on a plate and traveling mug, my friend used a paper plate, foil, and paper cup. Even the workers automatically pick up paper plates and foil to serve the food from fast food restaurants. It seems that our society teaches and, at times, forces us to use disposable products without any other option.

          By abandoning the elevator and limiting my use of transportation, I felt healthier since I was forced to walk and use the stairs. However, during some late nights when I headed back to my room, I wanted to ride that elevator. Taking the elevator really is an unnecessary convenience; however, it’s there when you need it after a long day. We mainly just need to use elevators in moderation instead of using it all the time.

For Easter, I made my parents walk and take the metro to downtown D.C. I enjoyed this much better than taking their car because we could talk longer and see more on the way instead of rushing to our destination. They enjoyed it too, besides being a tired after a full day of moving around the city. Since we weren’t separated in the car, we could more easily talk and form a better relationship since we had more time.

With my Facebook abstinence, I realize how important of a communication tool Facebook has become. Originally, I thought I would have no purpose for ever logging in. However, I had to go onto the website to check for a group project meeting and to see if I had to play piano for church. I still do feel that limiting Facebook is important if you are just looking at someone’s posts all day; however, you can’t cut it out completely because everyone uses it. Social networks like Facebook have become as important as the telephone.

My goal this week was to play piano every day, but that did not happen. Unfortunately, school work, other activities, and piano availability prevented me from accomplishing this. But when I was able to play, I really did enjoy it and lost track of the time. I wish I had more time for music, but as long as I find some time, I will be happy.

Being a vegetarian isn’t that difficult. The most difficult thing for me was ensuring I satisfied my hunger. I feel that meat ensured that I would always feel full; however, I did not miss meat. There are many non-meat food options, but the question arises whether it’s worth it. I feel that, if you want to eliminate meat, it would be easier to begin doing it gradually and try vegetarian options, like veggie burgers, which I completely forgot about getting. I plan on going back to eating meat; however, I will notice more what I am eating because it has now become a habit.

Overall, the drastic changes will not continue with my daily routine. I will probably return to my normal self. But I may keep a few things in my life, such as using the travel mug, making time for the piano, watching what exactly I eat, and use Facebook a little less. Changing your life needs to be practical so you can’t expect to eliminate Facebook, go play the piano all the time, avoid all meat, and not waste what-so-ever. A small change in these areas can greatly impact your life, your friends’ lives, and your campus’ life for a life perhaps worth living.

Wasting is sometimes inevitable

                Trying to not waste anything is difficult. For the past couple days, I have been forced to fail my plan of not using disposable products not because I forgot a plate, but because places won’t accept my plate.

          One day for lunch, my friend and I decided to go to Salsa so I could get a burrito. I walked up to the counter, gave my order, and asked for them to put it on the plate. She said that she couldn’t make it on the plate so she made it on foil and gave it wrapped in foil.  So I still got to eat my burrito on my plate, but I had waste some foil.

          Another day, I decided to try giving the plate at the Tavern. I ordered a piece of pizza so it could be easily transferable. I attempted to hand them the plate but they refused to take it, saying they couldn’t take anything from over the counter. I used the paper plate they handed me just so I didn’t waste that too. Even if I try to not use paper products, it seems that these fast-food places are required to use disposable products and aren’t flexible to alternative options. This may be due to food safety but allowing some flexibility would be nice.

          My Vegetarianism has been successful. I don’t miss eating meat as much as I thought I would. When I removed meat from a grilled meat & cheese sandwich though, I began to miss it. A friend of mine has suggested that I eat some beans to get protein. So I’ve been trying to eat them in my burritos a couple days.

          I missed one day at the piano because all the rooms were filled when I went to the arts center; however, I did spend a while there to prepare for an audition coming up next week. I’m glad I’m doing this because it’s forcing me to not procrastinate.

          Facebook has been pretty much gone from my life. However, I did have to cheat one day. I am in a group project for a class and I had to check to ensure a meeting time. So I logged on really quickly, checked for the time, and logged out immediately. Unfortunately, I had to break this rule, but since it was for class, it worked out.

          I still haven’t been taking elevators, which can get annoying when I’m tired and have to climb 5 flights of steps to my room after hanging out with friends. I have stopped pushing the button and now automatically go to the stairs.

          My friends have found my experiment really interesting, especially the part regarding waste. Whenever I mention it, they ask about what I do for paper plates, cups, paper towels, and toilet paper for example. Of course, I still use toilet paper since I want my experiment to be practical. Of course, my friends still do their normal routine, but some have followed me up the stairs instead of the elevator.

          So only 3 more days left! Wish me luck that the final days are successful!

Experiment Day 1

“It seems that you are living like Jonathan Safran Foer this week,” my friend said over dinner while observing me crunch on my vegetarian burrito on a plastic plate. In certain ways, I am. However, I am doing more than just watching what I eat due to animals; I want to build my relationship with the environment, but most importantly, with people too.

My first day began as if nothing new was happening until I went to eat breakfast with my friends. Even though the alluring smell of bacon made me hungry for meat, I ignored it and ate fruit, yogurt, and eggs instead. Even though I had to watch my friends savor their bacon, I actually didn’t miss eating it that much.

After breakfast, I returned to my room and remembered to take the stairs, which isn’t abnormal for me since I usually take them. However, when I had to go to class, I immediately went to the elevator buttons and pressed down. The elevator dinged; I was standing right in front of the opening doors ready to enter when I remembered my experiment. I quickly turned around and descended the stairs. On the way back to my room after class, I did the exact same thing. I guess I have a button pushing problem, but at least I remembered my no-elevator promise.

In between classes, I decided to try another aspect of my experiment: no disposable products. I washed my blueberry tea-smelling travel mug and used a paper towel to dry it. Immediately after throwing it away, I realized I broke my rule about wasting paper. Even though it was just one little piece of recycled paper towels, I should have remembered a washcloth. This event will remind me for the next time. I then headed to an on-campus grill place called the Tavern to get something to drink. I approached the cashier, told her about my experiment so she wouldn’t hand me a paper cup, and tried to pay for the drink. She smiled and told me to help myself without paying anything.

After this surprising encounter, I bumped into a friend and decided to sit down while he ate some food. During our conversation, I ate some of his chicken tenders. I didn’t realize until hours later that I broke another rule: no eating meat. I ate this without even thinking about my actions at the time. As my week continues, I hope that I will begin realizing the sources of my food.

I went to my French class drink until it was time for me to keep my promise of piano for 30 minutes a day. My plan today was to help a friend with his choir music for learning parts. I helped him until he had to leave for rehearsal. I actually was able to bond with a friend while doing something meant for me to enjoy.

Throughout the day, my fingers would type facebook.com automatically. The first time, I decided that I should post on my wall that I would be doing this experiment so no one should try to communicate with me online until my week is over. After that though, I continued to find myself looking at my news feed. The worst part is that I would be either doing work or talking with friends while doing this. My Facebook habit is going to be harder to stop than I thought.

During dinner time, we decided to eat at a Mexican burrito place called Salsa (which is next to the Tavern). I borrowed my friend’s plate and brought my cup to use during my meal. I ordered my vegetable burrito and handed them my plate. They were able to make my burrito without giving me the foil or paper plate they traditionally use.

Even though I made some mistakes, I hope that the rest of this week will have just as many accomplishments. Besides only throwing away one paper towel, I have yet to see a major impact so I am looking forward to what will happen later this week.

My Experiment

Hi everyone! My name is Brandon and I am currently taking a college writing class based on “living deliberately.” For a class assignment, I will be making changes in my own life to affect six different aspects: technology, transportation, food, consumerism, positive impact within the community, and happiness.

The idea for my project’s focus came to me just by hanging out with my friends. We normally hang out every evening, sitting and talking while watching TV. However, one day I realized what we all were actually doing while being with each other; we were on our laptops looking at Facebook, playing games, watching YouTube videos, and surfing the web without any interaction with each other.  I realized that, even though we do spend a lot of time with each other, most of that time is spent within our own independent worlds. I believe that this needs to start changing. This event inspired me to discover my theme: relationships with other people. In order for this project to be successful, I need a purpose besides my grade. I found my purpose through my friends.

I find that technology can prevent us from engaging in social interaction because we are too involved in our electronic world and ignoring the real world. For this week, I plan on eliminating the use of my laptop except for anything class related. Therefore, all social networks will be eliminated from my life this week (which will be difficult because of my Facebook addiction). I will allow the use of the computer for Skype. I feel that video calling is more personal than texting or phone calls so I will try to optimize my use of Skype.

Since I live on campus in Washington D.C., I normally walk everywhere and take the metro and buses. I also have many lazy days when I chose the elevator over the stairs. In order to lower my carbon footprint, I plan on only walking and abandoning shuttles, elevators, and metros.

Currently, I don’t live on a specific diet but I always try to have a variety of food groups. However, this week I will become vegetarian and abandon all meat. Since I am Catholic, I normally do this every Friday during Lent anyway. I hope that I can make this normal once-a-week tradition into a week-long habit without missing chicken, hamburgers, and pork.

While I am writing this with my friend in the university library, we have two bottles of soda (or pop if you’re from areas like mine), a bag of popcorn, and some candy wrappers. All of our consumer items came in one-time-use containers that will be thrown away. If you think about a day shopping for groceries, everything you buy is in a container that will be used just for storage and easily thrown away after use. This week, I will find replacements for these throw-away items including re-usable mugs and plates and washcloths instead of paper towels. I plan on eliminating all waste from my life.

I do often go to events on campus, especially when I know someone involved. However, this does not happen very often. I am planning on increasing my on-campus participation by attending more events. I believe that since many people care about their organizations, I should support them so these programs and groups don’t disappear.

Every time someone asks me to describe myself, I always include “musical.” I’ve always enjoyed playing piano, singing, and participating in musicals. However, my passion has been blocked by school work and a busy schedule. I plan to return to my music this week. I will ensure that I will play piano and/or sing at least a half an hour each day. Music must return to my life.

I hope that this week will allow me to discover myself in new ways while gaining a stronger relationship with my friends and family. Wish me luck as I make these changes in my life and hopefully keep my promises.